HiWire

AI has gone too far this time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QKeYse5GF8

80s electro-funk compilation... some real bangers:

dat bass

I read the news that Sony shipped their last 4K Blu-ray player today, the UBP-X700. Panasonic is the last remaining mainstream manufacturer (Magnetar is niche and overpriced, in my opinion). https://www.tomsguide.com/tvs/sony-just-killed-its-last-4k-blu-ray-player-here-are-3-remaining-alternatives

The price of the Duo is just insane. Only rich first adopters are going for it. Economies of scale and further development should mean the costs will go down (and more apps will fully support Duos out of the box). I think iOS itself will take a while to find the best ways to get the most out of the Duo's screen real estate. Also, I think it will be a premium portable gaming handheld as well, once you clamp on some controllers.

I like the Duo, too. I think it will be mainstream in a few years.

The Apple TV is far too little for far too much money. The HomeView just looks like a spy device.

I looked up Stereotomy - it got negative reviews and sold badly when it was released, but I think this song shows there were still good parts in that album. AllMusic says Eye in the Sky is Alan Parsons Project's only pure pop album, and I've had my eye on the Mobile Fidelity SACD edition of the album for years. Somebody uploaded the Mo-Fi I Robot - with YouTube compression, your mileage may vary: Also forgotten (from Gaudi in 1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggijVDI6h_0

Matches their golden showers. I don't know anything about portable players any more, but the FiiO JM21 is probably good enough at $180.

At least she's not AI - I found her album easily enough on Apple Music. She's been singing since age before age 7 (2014), debuting on Norway's Got Talent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_Jordan

Every couple of years, I update this madness - they looked at Apple and Astell & Kern flagship prices and said "hold my beer" (ETA January 14, 2027): Sony Walkman NW-ZX900: $1,900 Sony Walkman NW-WM1AM3: $2,900 Sony Walkman NW-WM1ZM3: $5,900

It does look better without the image placeholders. I've gotten used to looking at them, but there must be a way to get rid of them permanently, particularly for the mobile users.

An evolutionary dead end - checking out a prototype Philips DCC prototype player:

Jambalaya on the bayou

A Motown machine that writes music (and I'm not talking about Stevie Wonder or Holland–Dozier–Holland)?

Tropicália ou Panis et Circencis (Latin for Bread and circuses) A Girl Meets Bossanova - Olivia Ong

What is a yute?

Techmoan talks taping off the radio:

California Dreamin'

I play it on my gamepad, same as with Forza Horizon 4 and 5. It runs excellently, since the Forza series came from the Xbox originally. I have tried it with my racing wheel and pedals and it works, too, but, I prefer the controller for casual racing.

Toyota's new GR GT and GT3 race car are coming next year - I've been "driving" it in Forza Horizon 6 already:

Happy Birthday!

A refresher and test of a commercially recorded compact cassette tape - regular 120µs EQ (Type I) vs. 70µs High-Bias Equalization. This video is from 5 years ago - it turns out that manufacturers did not increase quality to supply the compact cassette revival. Theoretically, you could launch a boutique manufacturing company making high-end metal (Type IV) cassettes with Dolby S noise reduction (the patent has expired), playing on Nakamichi-like decks with 3-head setups, dual-capstan closed-loop transports, and auto azimuth correction, but the remaining manufacturers have come in at the bottom with Tanashin clone tape mechanisms and ferric tape reissues, because they know they are selling to a hipster fad, not audiophiles or professionals. Going to replace the belts on my cheapo mid-90s Panasonic RQ-V80 cassette player (which has no bias switches).