Mysterious 20-Year-Old Analog Media? 95
discHead asks: "Presently I work for a transcription company. We received an interesting medium that we're having trouble identifying. It looks like a 3.5-inch floppy, but just the magnetic disc itself--no plastic shell, not even a metal hub in the center. It's punched with a small center hole and an additional wedge-shaped hole nearby (but in a different position and smaller than the rectangular hole in a standard floppy's metal hub). It's foil-stamped with a 3M logo and a serial number, but 3M referred us to Imation and Imation is stumped. Our only other clues: we're told it's an analog(!) audio recording and that it dates back to about 1985. Our Google research has yet to turn up anything. Anyone know what in tarnation this thing is and what we can do with it?"
More Information (Score:3, Insightful)
Photographs. (Score:2)
I don't mind a crystal ball!
Re:Photographs. (Score:1)
Re:More Information (Score:1)
Good description but (Score:2, Funny)
No pic? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No pic? (Score:1)
Re:No pic? (Score:2)
Re:No pic? (Score:2)
Er, isn't that usually Pictures[1], as opposed to Picture(1)?
Re:No pic? (Score:1)
You hold the key to unlocking mankind! (Score:4, Funny)
That disk is from the future! It holds the encoding of DNA from the human race 100,000 years in the future! They have cured all major disease and live in a utopic creative society! Do you realize what you have got?!?! You can be on the cover of Time Magazine!!!!
Re:You hold the key to unlocking mankind! (Score:2)
Nah, I got it sussed!
It's obviously an Aroma Disc [xprt.net]. The question is, can you still get a player for it? And if it's the "buttered popcorn" one, will it smell stale or rancid?
Re:You hold the key to unlocking mankind! (Score:1)
Re:You hold the key to unlocking mankind! (Score:2)
Olivetti models had such discs (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Olivetti models had such discs (Score:2)
The Olivetti came out in 1977. That makes it a little late to be "first". Depending on your definition of "programmable computer", they'd been around somewhere between 30 and 100 years before that. The
Analog? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Analog? (Score:4, Informative)
'Hardware to access the tracks' is a worm gear. There's only ONE track, you see.
Re:Analog? (Score:2)
Huzzah! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Huzzah! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Huzzah! (Score:3, Informative)
I used the device for voice recording and for primitive analog sampling.
Re:Analog? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Analog? (Score:2)
I've used one such camera in real life, and the discs it recorder on were 2.5" floppies, almost identical in configuration to 3.5" floppies, only smaller.
Re:Analog? (Score:2)
We had quite a few of these where I went to High School. Back in the early 90's, these were much less expensive to use for photography students th
Re:Analog? (Score:2)
What we also had, however, was a video image capture card in a 486. We could digitize the pictures from the camera with it. Keep in mind that this capture card was not a "frame grabber"... the video had to be steady. So the display from the camera worked, as well as a VCR with good pause tracking, or a video camera looking at static scenery.
Re:Analog? (Score:1)
A little local company (GE) used these cameras to capture jet engine defects. They would bring in the camera, we would hook it up to the IPU and print color copies. Quite a pain as there wasn'
Re:Analog? (Score:2)
why digital sort of? because it recorded single analog video frames on the funky floppy discs it used for storageda.
analog was cheaper once you know - that's why someone would have used it, you wouldn't need as high quality on the medium either.
however, if the guy doesn't know wtf is on those discs it's highly unlikely that he needs the data from those discs.
Re:Analog? (Score:2)
But you should still read TFA before expressing an opinion about it. The dude works for a transcription service. He doesn't know what's on the disk because it's not his disc. Presumably it's important to whoever hired the company to transcribe it.
a game (Score:3, Funny)
Anyone know what in tarnation this thing is and what we can do with it?
Play Frizbee?
Re:a game (Score:1)
Re:a game (Score:2)
Another mysterious media (Score:4, Funny)
Any idea what this could be? Could it be a media left behind by aliens trying to communicate with us?
Re:Another mysterious media (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Another mysterious media (Score:5, Funny)
busy trying to decern the origin of a retangular plastic object with a delicate ribbon of black at one end.
strangely stamped: Best of B.T.O
the aliens are among us!
Re:Another mysterious media (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Another mysterious media - wow! an 18" record! (Score:2)
Never Seen one!
Where can you get a turn-table that can play one of those? (standard albums are around 30 cm.)
Re:Another mysterious media - wow! an 18" record! (Score:2)
Re:Another mysterious media - wow! an 18" record! (Score:3, Informative)
In an old radio station's junk pile, perhaps. There used to be transcription disks (like what let Armed Forces Radio broadcast stuff like Bob Hope and Jack Benny to troops overseas during WWII) that were bigger than the standard 12" 33 1/3 rpm album. The old WMBL-Morehead City, N.C. studios on Radio Island had turntables with platters about as big around as garbage can lids.
Re:Another mysterious media - wow! an 18" record! (Score:2)
Needle recordings have come in a wide variety of sizes, formats, materials, and even encoding methods. World War II-era pre-recorded radio broadcasts often came on records that were close to 17" in diameter. WCPR had at least a pair of 2-foot diameter turntables. I'm sure they are LONG GONE by now.
In the past, records have been made out of wax, a thick tin foil, a shellac/cotton, hard rubber, and any number of other semi-hard materials. And while most recordings encoded the wave as effectively wigglin
Shot in the dark, courtesy of google groups (Score:5, Interesting)
Lead me to posts regarding compusonics [google.co.uk] who patented and marketted such a technology. Although whether it was analouge is questionable.
Regards, and I'd please let us know any outcome.
Alex
Re:Shot in the dark, courtesy of google groups (Score:1)
I think I have a shirt that says that. Or was it "All your media unknown analog are belong to us."?
Re:Shot in the dark, courtesy of google groups (Score:1)
Re:Shot in the dark, courtesy of google groups (Score:4, Funny)
Sorry, not to harp, but...a Laserdisk as to a CD disk as a Space Shuttle at launch is to OS-360. Both are big, and impressive--each in its way--but one is, if not the pinnacle of cahievement in its field, a milestone on the way; while the other is just a big, ugly abortion. I submit that CD is the latter. The head on a CD disk does make contact with the recording surface, unlike the Laserdisk. Both the media and the read head suffer from this. I've heard a rumor that the CD is to soon be no more, while the future of the Laserdisk seems assured, so let's not mix the two, eh?
In a nitpicking mood,
Dave Ihnat
ihuxx!ignatz
I, for one, welcome our future-assured Laserdisk overlords!
Re:Shot in the dark, courtesy of google groups (Score:2)
Ok, folks enough! There've been a number of publications that have abbreviated the abbreviation, and referred to the CED disk
as a CD--and I was thinking that way when I posted, ok? Sorry, and it's a non-issue, since it's the CED that's defunct.
*Give 'em a match, and they'll burn Chicago to the ground...*
-Mrs. Murphy
Dave Ihnat
ihuxx!ignatz
Re:Shot in the dark, courtesy of google groups (Score:2)
Re:Shot in the dark, courtesy of google groups (Score:2)
The patent [uspto.gov] refers to the media in question.
In the preferred embodiment of this invention the storage medium is a 5.25" magnetic disk commonly in use for digital magnetic storage and retrieval. These disks have a storage capacity of about 1 megabyte (1 million bytes or 8 million bits) and are anticipated to reach 10 megabytes in the near futur
I can tell you what it's not... (Score:2)
It's a disk of plastic with metallic particles.
It's probably useless as the readers are probably all gone.
It'd make a good frisbee...
Who's up for a game of ultimate?
Re:Entire article is just a troll (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Entire article is just a troll (Score:2)
RIP: Disc Camera, 1982-1990 (Score:2)
Ah, the good old days. Surf this link [itl.net] and turn on some Def Leppard, Foreigner, or Wham.
I know EXACTLY how to find out! (Score:2, Funny)
1. It is classified as Other.
2. Is it usually colorful? No.
Does it break if dropped? Unknown.
Does it come in a box? Unknown.
3. Do you hold it when you use it? No.
4. Is it manufactured? Yes.
Is it an electro-mechanical device? Unknown.
5. Is it found on a desk? Rarely.
6. Is it smaller than a loaf of bread? Yes.
7. Would you find it in an office? Doubtful.
8. Is it round? Yes.
9. Is it black? Yes.
10. Does it come in many varieties? No.
11. Does it roll? No.
12. Is it a tool? No.
13. Doe
Re:I know EXACTLY how to find out! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I know EXACTLY how to find out! (Score:2)
Right, Wrong, Close
25. Is it red? Yes.
24. Can it bend without breaking? No.
23. Does it come in specific sizes? Yes.
22. Does it bring joy to people? No.
21. Can you buy it at a store? Yes.
20. I guessed that it was a tree house? Wrong.
19. Is it worth a lot of money? No.
18. Is it soft? No.
17. I guessed that it was fertilizer? Wrong.
16. Can you walk on it? Yes.
15. Was it ever alive? No.
14. Is it heavier than a pound of butter? Yes.
13. Is it healthy? Irrelevant.
12. Is it man
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I know EXACTLY how to find out! (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I know EXACTLY how to find out! (Score:1)
Maybe when you find out what the disc goes on, it shoots out a low-quality hologram and goes "Obi-Wan, you are our only hope"...
So 20q may be more correct than it seems!
Flex disc (Score:2)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexi_disc [wikipedia.org]
In which case, it would play on a standard turntable. (though, of course, you'll want to be sure of that first -- if it isn't one, playing it on a turntable will probably wreck it, whatever it is....)
They've thrown them all out (Score:1)
photo? (Score:1)
Wow, that's funny. (Score:1, Troll)
Mod this post, I dare you! (Score:1, Offtopic)
Dictaphone machine (Score:5, Interesting)
I'd start by contacting Dictaphone http://www.dictaphone.com/ [dictaphone.com] , then maybe Google for other Dictaphone contacts, perhaps a museum or broker of "antique" electronic gear.
Re:Dictaphone machine (Score:2)
Dictaphone joke (Score:3, Funny)
"Opewater, please give me Susquehanna twee-twee-twee-twee."
The operator was amused by this, and asked the man to repeat the number several times as she called coworkers over to hear the guy say "twee-twee-twee-twee." The guy caught on, and said to the operator:
"Opewater, do you know Dictaphone?"
Operator says, "Why, yes, I am quite familiar with it."
TT Guy says, "Good. Then dictaphone up your ass and connect me to Su
Core memory... (Score:2)
For now I've just got them framed [nuxx.net] and hanging on the wall of my living room.
Re:Core memory... (Score:1)
rec.audio.pro (Score:2, Informative)
Re:rec.audio.pro (Score:2)
You can also access rec.audio.pro with Google Groups.
Anyone know a newsreader client that works and looks like Google Groups did back in 2003?
Cutting Archives? (Score:2)
They seem to have lots of information on obsolete audio formats.
Re:Cutting Archives? (Score:2)
I like this: "If we don't have the equipment necessary we will either obtain it or our trained engineers will construct a machine that will be able to do the job." Dang, think that'll bump up the cost a bit?
20 years ago... (Score:2)
I was only about 10-12 years old at the time, but the gist of it was, they were "processing the audio signal using a computer to remove the unimportant information and store only the important information on the disk."
I seem to remember they had a man playing the trumpet in the studio and they recorded him playing. On the comp
Dead Media Project anyone? hello? (Score:3, Interesting)
The Recordon [hetnet.nl], aka the Mail-A-Voice [audiotools.com], was a magnetic disc-based dicatation device made in the 50s. It used a paper-based disc (originally; later it used plastic discs) which in theory could be folded, mailed in an envelope, and played back. The media was sold by 3M but not made by them.
A search on DeadMedia for "magnetic disk" also turns up the Timex Magnetic Recorder [deadmedia.org], though it's believed this was never actually sold.
Dead Media List? (Score:3, Informative)
A photo for those who doubted its existence (Score:4, Informative)
This is what you need (Score:1)
We have a winner (Score:1)
Thanks to all who provided input.