5 ms·

I wonder if the poor quality of the recording made it hard to see how it could be useful for music.

digi_owl 9y ago
That, and the fiddly nature of the early equipment. Never mind that all you had for amplification was a bullhorn. For most commercial venues one already had resident musicians (keep in mind that as late as the 60s the Beatles worked as such in Germany before they hit it big). As the saying goes, don't shoot the pianist.
fudged71 9y ago
I'm reminded of 3D printing. The output today is generally shitty but the progress will lead towards something very important. Years ago I sent the first "3D fax" across the world. It felt remarkable, but it didnt pick up any attention.
- bdamm 9y ago
  It's already revolutionizing aircraft and spacecraft construction. Where I work we have a small mechanical engineering team and they love popping prototype enclosures out of their 3D rig. Seems big already! With massive efficiency gains often comes generational leaps.
- ajdlinux 9y ago
  3D printing is a far cooler technology once you ignore the maker-community and the ridiculous claim that home 3D printing is going to completely revolutionise life for the majority of the population. Being able to 3D print a custom-patterned plastic cup is fun and all that, but the real game is stuff like 3D printing for industrial prototyping, medical applications, and so on.
  - wutbrodo 9y ago
    How is the tech cooler when you _remove_ from consideration one of its potential niches (even if it's a lesser one)? I don't buy the spectacular claim as expressed above either, but it's not beyond to me to think of how it could have a non-revolutionary but solid impact for personal consumers' lives at some point.
    - ajdlinux 9y ago
      Hmm, poor choice of words - I don't really mean removing that niche from consideration, but rather ignoring anyone who thinks that that niche is in fact the main way 3D printing is going to change the world.

That, and the fiddly nature of the early equipment. Never mind that all you had for amplification was a bullhorn. For most commercial venues one already had resident musicians (keep in mind that as late as the 60s the Beatles worked as such in Germany before they hit it big). As the saying goes, don't shoot the pianist.

fudged71 9y ago

I'm reminded of 3D printing. The output today is generally shitty but the progress will lead towards something very important. Years ago I sent the first "3D fax" across the world. It felt remarkable, but it didnt pick up any attention.

bdamm 9y ago
It's already revolutionizing aircraft and spacecraft construction. Where I work we have a small mechanical engineering team and they love popping prototype enclosures out of their 3D rig. Seems big already! With massive efficiency gains often comes generational leaps.
ajdlinux 9y ago
3D printing is a far cooler technology once you ignore the maker-community and the ridiculous claim that home 3D printing is going to completely revolutionise life for the majority of the population. Being able to 3D print a custom-patterned plastic cup is fun and all that, but the real game is stuff like 3D printing for industrial prototyping, medical applications, and so on.
- wutbrodo 9y ago
  How is the tech cooler when you _remove_ from consideration one of its potential niches (even if it's a lesser one)? I don't buy the spectacular claim as expressed above either, but it's not beyond to me to think of how it could have a non-revolutionary but solid impact for personal consumers' lives at some point.
  - ajdlinux 9y ago
    Hmm, poor choice of words - I don't really mean removing that niche from consideration, but rather ignoring anyone who thinks that that niche is in fact the main way 3D printing is going to change the world.