1984 was also the year when Japan’s Waseda University developed the WABOT-2, an “intelligent humanoid keyboard player”. As SynthGear reports:

When it was made, it was considered the ‘most advanced robot of its time’ – it could speak Japanese, and it could play a song on a synthesizer, using both hands and feet, while reading the sheet music with it’s single ‘eye’. It could also listen to a person’s singing voice, adjust its tempo to match, identify the notes and come up with a live accompaniment based on the sung melody. Oh, and it could carry on a basic conversation too.

Seems like the Japanese were already unwittingly contributing to the robotic apocalypse as far back as the mid-80s. SynthGear tries to be cute, warning readers not to anger WABOT-2, as “he’s liable to rip your arms off”. But what’s the joke there? With more powerful limbs, it’s easy to assume that future variants of the WABOT will put the best keyboard players to shame—and have enough power to indeed separate human appendages from their unwilling host torsos. Looks like the time frame of the WABOT-2 and The Terminator is more than a coincidence.

Video of the WABOT-2 playing (and secretly contributing to the robotic master plan for human downfall) below:

Post from: The Gadget Blog

Courtesy the New York Times

The first impression that the graph leaves is that digital downloads are killing the music industry, as relatively lackluster sales are hurting the machinery needed to get our favorite tunes out.

To be fair though, it’s not clear if that was the RIAA or the NYT’s intent. It’s worth noting the chart paints a clear trend: the sales of older media go down as newer media attains critical mass. As the CD led to the demise of cassette, it eventually took up the slack of dropping cassette sales, and eventually the CD became the most profitable music medium ever.

It’s also worth noting that—despite the global recession curbing consumer spending—digital sales are constantly climbing. Eventually, digital downloads will take up the slack and eventually take the sales crown away from the CD. The major label that’s first to see this potential, and realize it by making music easier to buy (and own) than ever, will be a winner for the long-term.

So a suggestion for the big labels: give more control to the people who buy the product, and be patient. Digital downloads will break sales records, as they make it easier for people to buy music—and thus pay money. You’re of course, free to agree, disagree, or remain neutral by leaving a comment below.

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Post from: The Gadget Blog