Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
Two obsolete audio formats in one... the VinylDisc
By James Grahame
Trust the Germans to stretch mechanical sound reproduction to the limits of sanity. Optimal Media Production's VinylDisc features three minutes of vintage vinyl goodness on top of a standard 70 minute CD, enabling you to stage an 'analog vs. digital' comparison test in the comfort of your own home with only a single disc. It's a brilliantly silly gimmick that just might entice a few members of the digital generation into dabbling with turntables. I'm OK with that.
"The VinylDisc is a combination audio CD and special record. It consists of two attached layers. The silver layer contains digital audio information, while the black upper layer can be played on every record player.
Physical discs are increasingly used as a marketing tool in the download era. More than ever, Optimal manufactures high quality exclusive audio CD releases and has also seen an enormous increase in vinyl manufacturing. Nothing could be more appealing than the idea of combining the worlds of digital and analog sound, apart from speeding down the Autobahn at 300 km/h in a borrowed Porsche [just checking to see if you're awake...]"
The company also makes a line of perfumed discs that enable you to imbue your latest dance album with the stench of stale beer, cheap cigarette smoke and sweaty half-dressed babes. Oh, the humanity.
