© B Y ..S T E V E ..W E L S H
Oregon MacPioneers User Group (Omug)
Welcome to the first of many, we hope, digital barkings.
For those that like to know the story behind a name, ours comes from a love of the Great Northwest outdoors and forests, and man's best friend (his dog). Thus, the "Bark" -- the skin layer of our environmental friends, the trees, and the sound of a pup yapping into the night air ... which is what it sort of feels like when you post a column (or blog) online, yapping into thin air. You don't know if you will hear any yelps back (and we barkers like to travel in packs).
The "Digital" part we're sure you've figured out already.
Blowing off the dust from my typewriter (OK, my Mac keyboard, but I'm old enough to have actually used a typewriter, and I'm a romantic), I tap-tap-tapped out 2 topics for this column: (1) the advent of 22nd century publishing here and now, and (2) the amazing world of digital sound. I hope you'll stick around for both.
I keep shaking my head in wonder of today's technology online and in our Macs. Right now the digital music revolution continues and is center stage, with Apple's iPods and iTunes Music Store (ITMS) online leading the way. If you live long enough, you may see some truly marvelous inventions or events, and this is one of them (another, for me, was man stepping foot on the moon). But there was another revolution before, and that one was in print.
I was an eye-witness and hands-on participant in the evolution of desktop publishing in the mid-1980s -- also pioneered by Apple, with its Macs and LaserWriters -- which was a joy for this journalist to be a part of. Years earlier, I watched a cold press in action, on a college campus, as my column was molded into individual lead letters and lined up backwards and reversed into racks, to then be inked and press out the pages. It wasn't quite as primitive as being there with Johann Gutenberg and his first printing press, but it was close. Many other technological advances took place afterward in the printing evolution but, when Apple introduced the LaserWriter (and Aldus gave us PageMaker), the power of personal publishing hit warp drive.
Today you can download electronic books (ebooks), read them on screen in PDF format, click on links in the text to take you directly to websites or instantly to other chapters within the book. And that ebook may cost you only $5. This is an interesting enough story for a deeper look, so I am going to point you to our Omug interview with Adam Engst (you might already know him from TidBITS fame). Adam and his wife Tonya created the Take Control Ebooks series just over 2 years ago, with titles to teach and educate beginners to the pro on Mac, iPod, networking and other topics. Welcome to 22nd century publishing.
Now, from eyes to ears.
You can hear a similar revolution, already upon us, in music. More accurately, its a digital SOUND revolution, period. If think you are too old to own an iPod, are not a music or techno buff, or just don't see the value in this area, well, I'd recommend looking under the hood and exploring a bit more. There are some amazing discoveries -- some sound choices, if you will -- out there (the web) for all ages and listening types.
In high school, a friend of mine actually had several of the 78 rpm vinyl records of Spike Jones and his "City Slickers" orchestra, saved by his father and grandfather. That was my introduction to Jones and his wacky musical creations. We laughed as we listened to one after another spinning on the turntable with the arm and needle bouncing as each 78 disc revolved. Vinyl records -- hey, put a 1,000 of THOSE in your pocket, pal.
Now, skip past vinyl records, 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, CDs and DVDs to today:
I can go online, quickly "step into" the ITMS with iTunes software, do a search, and find -- in about 5 seconds -- one of those 1940s recordings of Spike Jones, listen to a 30-second preview to confirm it's the one I was looking for, and then with one click purchase that song (for 99 cents) and download it to my hard drive, where I can then listen to it in iTunes only minutes later, and also transfer it to my iPod to listen anywhere, anytime. Before digital music, I would have had to drive to my nearest music store, order the record, wait 10 days to 2 weeks or more for it to arrive, then drive back to the store, and certainly spend more than 99 cents for it -- and that's if the store could even get it. And I certainly couldn't carry a turntable around with me to listen at the fishing wharf.
But the digital sound revolution isn't happening only in the ITMS. As the internet often does, it took me from one news blurb I was reading one evening to a discovery. This time I journeyed back to the past -- 100 years back. I found the University of California at Santa Barbara's online collection of waxed cylinder recordings, some as early as 1902. Over 5,500 recordings in MP3 format (2-4 mb sized downloads each, roughly 2.5 to 5 minutes long, varied quality).
And for free!
It's officially called The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, Department of Special Collections, Donald C. Davidson Library, at UC Santa Barbara.
Talk about a history lesson. Time to grab your daughter or grandson and let them listen to a few of these classics from the dawn of recorded sound. Yes, these were digitally recorded from the 8-inch cylinder TUBES that Thomas Edison created! Some even from the rarest of all cylinders, the "pink" Lambert types made from celluloid between 1900 and 1902. Browsing only the first handful of pages of this collection I found quite a variety of performances, from hymnals to marching bands to orchestral efforts to polka to classic Americana to minstrel shows to a yiddish wedding, even recordings from other countries.
As a sample, these were the recordings I downloaded, picked randomly as I came to them:
- 23rd Psalm and Lord's prayer by the 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church Choir (1912)
- Akahi Hoi by Toots Paka's Hawaiians (1913), and the same song again but a version by the Ford Hawaiians in 1917 to compare
- Alabama Minstrels by the Edison Modern Minstrels (1904)
- Apple Blossoms by the American Symphony Orchestra (1915)
- At The Village Post Office by the Edison Vaudeville Company (humorous recitations, 1907)
- The 74th Regiment March by the Edison Military Band (1907)
- German Yodle (sic) Songs by George P. Watson (1910)
- The Baseball Girl by Miss Ray Cox (narration, 1909).
When you gather the youngsters, arm yourself with a few cylinder tidbits (gleaned from the site):
"The cylinder boom started in 1897, when 500,000 cylinders were produced. Cylinders are acoustic recordings -- performers sang or played into a recording horn, not a microphone. Microphones were not in widespread use until 1924 with the advent of electrical recording. Edison originally envisioned sound recording as a tool for office dictation, not entertainment. The last commercially produced cylinders were Edison Blue Amberols, made until July, 1929. Except for Edison cylinders and discs, most early sound recordings will remain copyrighted and not enter the public domain until February 15, 2067."
When they hear the hisses and pops that were typical of such "crude" recording and playback 100 years ago, they probably won't complain any more about the speakers they have plugged into the computer or in the car. If you are a purist, most of the recordings are also available in unedited 24-bit WAVE files, which weigh in at 35-70 mb each. The hisses and pops should sound exceptionally good on those (wink). Many you can stream (play directly from your browser while online) right from the site, too.
So, step into the time machine and visit this site for a listen. It should give you a full-circle appreciation of this sound revolution we are in. And it might even whet your ears for more digital sound discoveries, or make you say, "Oh, so that's what that iPod thingy is good for." Believe me, you've just scratched the tip of the iceb... er, record... er, cylinder.
PS--For the potential iPod buyer sitting on the fence, the new iPod owner, or an iPod user just wanting to learn more about their digital wonder, Apple has just created an excellent intro and examination of its creation in all its forms on the Apple Support site, check it out. Likewise, this follows the equally helpful intro for new Mac owners.
Until next column, keep your eyes on the portable digital VIDEO revolution taking place right now with more and more television and movie content becoming available through the ITMS -- which, of course, is easily poured into the iPod with Video.