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Sandwiched between the reel-to-reel tape and the rise of the cassette as we used to know it, there was, for a brief moment in 1958, what RCA Victor called “A Revolutionary New Triumph in Tape.” Looking for all the world like a mix tape accidentally irradiated in an atomic blast, RCA’s invention “never really caught the fancy of the tape-buying public” as the New York Times delicately explained in 1964. It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying—as this clip from an RCA promotional film shows. More »
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Books on tape might be extremely dead technology, but iPods and eBook readers like the Amazon Kindle have reanimated the medium and turned audiobooks into the commuter's wonder drug. When the book is read well, you'll find yourself sitting mesmerized in your parking space just listening, instead of heading into work. Check out our list of eleven classic scifi audiobooks, and listen up. More »
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What do you get when you combine a sentient, artificially intelligent subway train (starring Emma Clarke, the voice of the London Underground and Keanu Reeves) with Speed and Titanic? It turns out you get "Sentient Subway," a hilarious Hollywood movie pitch that needs a bit of work on its title. However, having heard this whole pitch, I'm going to go out on a limb and say... it ain't half bad. We'd take a ride on it. In fact, we're all for sentient every mode of transportation: bicycles, cars, roller skates, scooters. Just not buses. Those things are filthy. More »
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