1973 saw the creation of Disco and the Xerox Alto system. Disco may no longer be a thing, but everything created at Xerox PARC is very much with us today. I am reading this book.
The IEEE, in charge of the WiFi technology you’re probably using right now, and also Ethernet if that’s what you’re using, has this brief history of Xerox PARC.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/xerox-alto
Here’s some Disco. TSOP — The Sound of Philadelphia — by the late Thom Bell.
A giant space creature from an episode of Star Trek? An amazing new discovery from the JWST?
Nope, it’s something quite ordinary. A ceramic capacitor cut in half, with some white dots I added for effect. There are more bisected wonders over at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers:
I’m watching a DVD I bought in the summer of 2010, that I probably haven’t watched again since then, so today’s viewing is long overdue. It’s the famous T.A.M.I. Show.
Re-reading the DVD booklet, I’m reminded that loveable Teri Garr, just 19 at the time, was one of the dancers. That’s Teri with blond hair, wearing a sweatshirt. Toni Basil arranged some of the show’s choreography.
Here’s Teri during the Supremes set.
Everything about the T.A.M.I. Show is significant, even the way it was filmed. Using the last word in Kinescope technology, customized TV cameras with resolution equivalent to 720p were recorded directly onto 35mm film. I can’t embed the movie, but you can watch it on YouTube, complete and in excellent quality.
This Thursday morning at 9 is supposed to be when the major Boston TV stations will flip the switch to enable ATSC 3.0 broadcasting.
https://www.wcvb.com/article/next-gen-tv-signal-launch-announcement-january-2023/42655417
For all of its potential advantages over ATSC 1.0, including 4K resolution, the only one that matters to me is improved reception. Specifically, freedom from the multipath interference that plagues UHF signals. This relative immunity, as seen in otherwise inferior VHF signals, is made possible by borrowing the modulation technology that’s used in cellular networks.
The problem is, where are the ubiquitous and affordable NextGen TV tuners and, especially, DVR’s? Without an FCC mandate like there was for ATSC 1.0, electronics manufacturers continue to drag their feet. As soon as TiVo has an ATSC 3.0 USB dongle available, I’ll get one. If I have to buy a new TiVo, that’s okay too.
The National Association of Broadcasters has met with the FCC to voice its concern about the slow adoption of NextGen TV tuners by manufacturers.
https://www.nexttv.com/news/nab-to-fcc-atsc-30-transition-is-in-peril
Had a blast at my buddy Bismo’s place, sharing beers and watching the restored Invaders From Mars in 4K UHD. Before directing that 1953 Sci-Fi classic, William Cameron Menzies designed and directed Things to Come in 1936.
Written for the screen by H.G. Wells, with some of the worst dialogue this side of Ayn Rand, Things to Come is a Sci-Fi classic for its impressive design and visual effects. Some of what Menzies envisioned for the future became reality, such as widescreen, flat-panel HDTV.
This coming August my Thorens TD-166 MKII turntable, made in (west) Germany, turns 40. The underside of the 6-lb. platter says so, unless the “8” indicates the week of the year. I’ve been trying to find out, so far without success.
