Comments on: The iPad of 1935

By: LesB

LesB — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 06:08:00 +0000

Ugh, Blu-Ray, a very clunky technology, almost as laughable as the device above.

Vinyl discs at the seem an achronism, using mechanics to store musical information. But they deliver better fidelity than just about any digital method. .mp3 is the great destroyer of music. The forwarder we go the backwardser we get.

By: John C.

John C. — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 14:10:44 +0000

Some years ago, in 2000, I think, Scientific American had an article about how media can outlive their medium, and how the trend was accelerating. It showed a page from the Book of Kells, over a thousand years old and still quite legible, then mentioned that the U.S. government had the tapes with the raw data from the 1970 Census, but did not have a single machine that could read them. I have read that many consider Blu-Ray will probably be the last physical medium, with subsequent media being downloads, but I prefer having a physical archive copy of everything in case of loss of memory or machinery, and besides, if I don’t have a physical copy, a good case can be made that I do not really own it, even if I paid for it.

By: el baboso

el baboso — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 14:05:14 +0000

Anyone who’s ever done serious research in the microfilm stacks would know exactly how painful this would have been.

By: HarryP

HarryP — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 11:52:28 +0000

I remember using microfiche readers very much like this, except you had to go to library and sit up straight. The “iPad” reference is silly.

By: DonM

DonM — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 05:49:53 +0000

Written documents are subject to technology loss. Hieroglyphics were once a dominant form of writing, but was supplanted by alphabets in different languages. Only the chance of finding ‘ dictionary’ copies permitted rediscovery.

Microfilm was the reason for German preservation of a copy of the secret protocols of the Molotov von Ribbentrop pact. Only after 40 years of soviet and later Russian denials was it admitted that, yes, it existed, and yes, it was a deal between Soviets and Nazis to divide up Europe.

By: frankfromtexas

frankfromtexas — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 04:54:56 +0000

This is Microfiche, not microfilm.

By: Jonas McGarry

Jonas McGarry — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:19:44 +0000

In reference to the comment that microfilm is “winding down” — that really depends on what you mean. It is, in fact, winding down in patron usage in libraries, archives, etc., with the introduction of digital. It is not winding down in those same institutions’ conservation efforts. As Crosh noted above, digital media is not a reliable medium for conservation purposes. The magnetic signal is fragile and, in this day and age, all digital media is reliant on technology and therefore subject to functional obsolescence within a few years. It would be foolish for any institution to rely on digital media and discard their microfilms.

By: Tony Biloni

Tony Biloni — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:10:26 +0000

Thank goodness the lamp topping the whole thing off has a pull-chain to control the bulb. Odds are the reader would keep the lamp unlit while reading, as the angle would result in seeing the bulb.

Also, the base of the lamp would need to be about 3 feet in diameter to keep the contraption from toppling. But who would want to buy a microfilm reader, even in 1935?

By: matt

matt — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:38:01 +0000

@choppa – the “pinstripes” on the pants are the same exact stroke used to imply shadow and texture on on objects, so i dont think the pants are pinstriped. i also think what you see as a tie is really just shadow but i could just as easily be wrong. i do think he is wearing a shirt and smoking jacket tho.

By: Choppa Morph

Choppa Morph — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:52:58 +0000

What are the other two objects on the side table? A packet of cigarettes and an ashtray? (Too small to be a spitoon…)
User-friendly device – a few simple adjusters, otherwise just sit back and relax. No burdensome page-turning.
Why no alcohol?
I like the attributes of ease and wealth (in 1935) – dressing gown over a shirt, tie and pinstriped trousers.
There’s a big problem though – how does he get up (if he ever does) without bringing down the contraption or injuring himself?