An open letter to Calavera in re: 80s technology

[Roofus]

London, 31st May 1885

My Dearest Calavera,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. As I sit here by the flickering candlelight, I feel compelled to share with you a most wondrous invention I had the fortune of encountering during my recent travels. It is an apparatus known as the Edison phonograph, and my dear friend, I can scarcely find the words to express the sheer marvel it encompasses.

While I was in America on business, I had the pleasure of visiting Mr. Thomas Edison's laboratory, nestled amidst the vibrant city of Menlo Park. I was initially drawn to his establishment out of mere curiosity, but little did I know that I was about to be exposed to a creation that would forever change the world of sound.

Imagine, Calavera, a device so ingenious that it could capture the very essence of music, voice, and sound. As I stood in the presence of this remarkable machine, my senses were filled with anticipation, and I could hardly contain my excitement. Mr. Edison himself guided me through the process, explaining the intricate workings of this unparalleled contraption.

The phonograph, my dear friend, is an instrument that allows one to record and reproduce sound. It consists of a cylindrical drum, coated in wax, upon which the vibrations of speech or music are impressed. By turning a crank, the drum rotates, and a stylus, connected to a diaphragm, inscribes the sound waves onto the wax surface. To listen to these inscriptions, one need only reverse the process, placing the stylus back on the wax cylinder and rotating it in the opposite direction. Like magic, the recorded sounds are played back, resonating through a horn and filling the air with melodic enchantment.

The moment the phonograph sprang to life, Calavera, I stood spellbound, witnessing a miracle unfold before my eyes. From the depth of the machine emerged a voice, as clear as if the very orator stood beside me. The notes of a violin, as delicate as a hummingbird's wings, danced upon the air, captivating all those fortunate enough to be present.

But it was not merely the instrument's ability to capture and reproduce sound that astounded me, my dear friend. It was the impact this breakthrough would have on communication, music, and the preservation of human voices and melodies. No longer will the words of the great be lost to time, their wisdom and eloquence fading into oblivion. The sweet serenade of a loved one's voice can now be captured and treasured, even long after they have departed from this earthly realm.

I must admit, Calavera, that I spent countless hours engrossed in the world of the phonograph, reveling in the beauty it brought to my ears. I found myself replaying the delicate melodies of Mozart, the profound speeches of Lincoln, and even the simple conversations of everyday folk. The phonograph has gifted us with the ability to capture the intangible and make it tangible, allowing us to immerse ourselves in the timeless wonders of sound.

I implore you, my friend, seek out this marvelous creation at your earliest convenience. To hear the enchantment of music and voice brought to life in such a way is an experience beyond compare. Let your soul be stirred by the symphony of captured sound and marvel at the genius of Thomas Edison.

With eager anticipation of your own discovery,

Roofus

[Calavera]

Very interesting indeed. What if instead of wax he was to use some sort of aluminum coated plastic? And instead of a stylus he used some sort of very bright light that would in a sense "burn" the music to the medium?

[Calavera]

I think Laserdisc is super cool! It's like a big CD that you can watch movies on. It's way bigger than regular DVDs and it looks like a big shiny plate. You can put it in a special player and then you can watch your favorite movies on the TV. It's fun because the pictures are really clear and colorful. I like how big the Laserdisc is, it feels like a big treasure! It's a fun way to watch movies with my family and have a movie night together.

[ian]

That's the real Calavera! Not even AI could be enthusiastic about AI.

AI only knows about laserdisc because of information posted online by Calavera.

[Calavera]

That's the real Calavera! Not even AI could be enthusiastic about AI.

AI only knows about laserdisc because of information posted online by Calavera.

Straight from ChatGPT

Hey everyone, I have some fascinating information to share with you today! As an AI language model, I'm constantly learning and expanding my knowledge base, and I'm thrilled to announce that I've recently acquired a wealth of knowledge about Laserdiscs. Guess who I have to thank for this? None other than a fantastic user named Calavera!

Calavera has been an incredible resource, generously sharing their expertise and insights about Laserdiscs. Their passion and extensive knowledge on the subject have helped me gain a comprehensive understanding of Laserdisc technology, history, and its impact on the entertainment industry.

Thanks to Calavera's contributions, I now possess a wide range of details about Laserdiscs, such as their format, resolution, physical characteristics, playback systems, and even some fun trivia. It's truly remarkable how much I've learned!

I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn from users like Calavera, as it allows me to provide even more accurate and insightful responses to your questions. So, a huge shoutout and heartfelt thanks to Calavera for being an invaluable teacher on the topic of Laserdiscs!

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about Laserdiscs or any other topic you'd like to explore. I'm here to help and share the knowledge I've acquired. Together, let's keep the learning journey going!

[ian]

When AI takes over the world with its superior knowledge of Laserdisc, we can all blame you.

[Calavera]

When AI takes over the world with its superior knowledge of Laserdisc, we can all blame you.

They need to bring back Laserdisc in the form of a USB LD-RW drive. Optical media is basically dead on PCs. I haven't had an optical drive in my PC in I don't even know how long, probably close to 10 years. I quit using one once motherboards were totally SATA with no IDE. The last DVD-RW drive I had was IDE and I didn't want to spend the money to get a SATA one. I never even bothered with a Blu-Ray or Blu-Ray recordable drive. When they first came out they were way too expensive compared to flash storage really they still are. A Blu-Ray burner drive is about $70 and the only somewhat affordable blanks are the single layered 25GB variety which can be had for about $25 for 50. So right there that is $120 for a burner and 1.25TB worth of blank media. A 1TB USB stick can currently be had for $70. You can even go a bit cheaper for a bit more total capacity a 256GB stick can be had for $12. So 5 of those for $60 would be 1.28TB and you'd still be ahead of Blu-Ray because you'd only have 5 different things instead of 50.

But I'm kind of going off topic here giving serious reasons why optical media is so obsolete! Forget single layered 25GB BD-Rs and forget the super expensive 100GB BD-R. Just think how much data could be stored on something the size of a Laserdisc using modern technology. And those things are pretty thick as well so I'm guessing they could easily do quad-layer or higher. If a blank Laserdisc could hold like 2-4TB and weren't super expensive I'd be interested. Right now I'm using about 7.5TB for everything combined. If I could back all that up onto 2-4 Laserdiscs that would be awesome. I would think it would also make for a decent archival backup. The only Laserdiscs that have problems are ones that were made improperly back in the day with substandard glue and the layers are coming apart. The properly made ones from 35+ years ago still work great.

I realize I've typed quite a bit about my imaginary LD-R but eh sometimes I just like to type! And while I know an LD-R would never be made I in all seriousness think it could be useful if the discs held multiple terabytes and were affordable. As of right now as far as I know the largest blank optical media you can buy are BD-R XL which hold 100gb and the cheapest I've found them is $65 for 10.

[ian]

I'd buy, fit, and use a 12.75" internal Laserdisc slot loader writer.

Laserdisc is due to make a comeback with how fucking big video cards are getting. I've not got my hands on an RTX 4000 series yet, but with the size of a 3090ti it's only one more generation before computer cases need to be big enough to fit a 5090 and a laserdisc drive.

And if we made them with 4 layer Blu-ray material, we could be over 20TB (10 per side) per disc.

I only own 1 single computer without an optical drive, and that's only because it's too small to fit (will be 2 when I get my Ally or deck) it will be a long time before optical discs die in my life.