Love it when a comic teaches me something new. Good tribute.
What else could you do with cassettes? Save computer programs on them! In the 1980s, you could buy a Commodore Vic-20 — it looked like a glorified keyboard, with (gasp!) 2K of RAM. Your monitor? You connected the Vic-20 to your television, using a “Game/TV Antenna” slider switch. It came loaded with the BASIC programming language, and had no built-in storage. Hobbyists such as myself saved programs on cassettes or on 5.25" floppies, but those drives were extra. The cassette drive ran about $30; the floppy drive, about $150 (this after paying $300 for the computer). (All amounts in 1980s dollars, of course.) I didn’t own the machine — borrowed it from my brother — so I wasn’t going to invest in the more expensive drive. This was 1984 – 1985; took another decade before I got into programming as a career. In hindsight, the whole thing was clunky and archaic, but the memories are sweet.
eolan59 over 3 years ago
I wonder if he designed the hole to be the same size as a pencil
Templo S.U.D. over 3 years ago
Wouldn’t have guessed the inventor to have passed away already. (Know of anyone who still utilizes cassettes tapes and a cassette player?)
nosirrom over 3 years ago
Lou Ottens committed murder. He killed the 8-track tape industry.
I like anime over 3 years ago
Rest in peace
raybarb44 over 3 years ago
It was great in its day…….
Quabaculta over 3 years ago
I still remember the pencil/eraser trick to try and rewind the tape. Sometimes it worked, sometimes—sometimes——nnnoootttt snif
paullp Premium Member over 3 years ago
Love it when a comic teaches me something new. Good tribute.
What else could you do with cassettes? Save computer programs on them! In the 1980s, you could buy a Commodore Vic-20 — it looked like a glorified keyboard, with (gasp!) 2K of RAM. Your monitor? You connected the Vic-20 to your television, using a “Game/TV Antenna” slider switch. It came loaded with the BASIC programming language, and had no built-in storage. Hobbyists such as myself saved programs on cassettes or on 5.25" floppies, but those drives were extra. The cassette drive ran about $30; the floppy drive, about $150 (this after paying $300 for the computer). (All amounts in 1980s dollars, of course.) I didn’t own the machine — borrowed it from my brother — so I wasn’t going to invest in the more expensive drive. This was 1984 – 1985; took another decade before I got into programming as a career. In hindsight, the whole thing was clunky and archaic, but the memories are sweet.
Ricky Bennett over 3 years ago
If I had a penny for every time I rewound a cassette tape with a pencil, I’d be a billionaire…