So, I sold a download last week to a guy in Brighton UK, he does some kind of blog or radio show over there. He sent me a nice e-mail, asking if he could play part of it on his radio show.
I said sure.
Then he asked if he could get a cassette of the release. I said "Sure" again, not really thinking about it -- I mean, I have a cassette deck that still works....
But then I realized: can you even buy blank cassettes anymore?
And then: my graphics program has templates for making covers for CDs, DVDs, CD slim cases, DVD slim cases, and VHS tapes. Not cassettes. Cassettes are dead technology.
I found a cassette I could erase in my box of old cassettes -- the dozen or so tapes I kept for various sentimental reasons. This one's a decent grade tape with nothing important on it.
I found a template online for cassette covers and transferred the dimensions to a new template I made in my graphics program. Made a cover this morning. Not too hard.
Then I discovered my cassette deck isn't hooked up anymore, hasn't been in close to a decade. Pulled some cables out of storage and started to plug it in -- found one of the output jacks is on a broken piece of circuit board. Stripped down the player, repaired the circuit board, reassembled, plugged in. Tested. It plays and records, yay.
Starting dubbing the album, got about halfway through before the deck suddenly stopped. Found the tape was so old and tired that it wouldn't turn. I "exercised it" a couple times, ran it all the way to end on fast forward, then rewound it, twice. Started recording the second side, it did the same thing, jammed halfway through. Apparently this tape isn't going to be usable....
Started looking online for blanks.
Amazon is out of stock on everything. If available the blanks would go for anywhere from $8 each to $30, including postage for slow delivery (we used to buy them for about $2). Yikes. Two day delivery would be $43.43 per tape! Double yikes. But nothing is available until AT LEAST April 26 to May 1 (if then).
Tell me again: why do kids these days wanna go back to inferior overpriced dead technology?
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