Routledge Companion to Media Technology and Obsolescence

<p>While so many books on technology look at new advances and digital technologies, <i>The</i> <i>Routledge Companion to Media Technology and Obsolescence </i>looks back at analog technologies that are disappearing, considering their demise and what it says about media history, pop culture, and the nature of nostalgia. From card catalogs and typewriters to stock tickers and cathode ray tubes, contributors examine the legacy of analog technologies, including those, like vinyl records, that may be experiencing a resurgency. Each essay includes a brief history of the technology leading up to its peak, an analysis of the reasons for its decline, and a discussion of its influence on newer technologies.</p> <p><strong>About the Contributors</strong></p><p></p><p>Preface</p><p>Mark J. P. Wolf</p><p></p><p>Acknowledgments</p><p>Paper Slips: The Long Reign of the Index Card and Card Catalog</p><p>Peter Krapp</p><p></p><p>From Hero to Zero: The Rise and Fall of the Slide Rule as the Calculating Tool of Choice</p><p>Peter M. Hopp</p><p></p><p>The History of Punched Cards – Using Paper to Store Information</p><p>Robert S. Wahl</p><p></p><p>A History of the Electrical Signal: From the Atlantic Telegraph Cable to the Quest for Artificial Intelligence</p><p>David Hochfelder</p><p></p><p>The Life, Death, and Rebirth of the Typewriter</p><p>Richard Polt</p><p></p><p>The Lure of the Ticker</p><p>Braxton Soderman</p><p></p><p>The Overhead Projector: Visuality and Materiality</p><p>Josh Zimmerman, Judd Ethan Ruggill, and Ken S. McAllister</p><p></p><p>Flammable Workhorse: A History of Nitrate Film from the Screen to the Vault</p><p>Amanda McQueen</p><p></p><p>Farewell to the Phosphorescent Glow: The Long Life of the Cathode-Ray Tube</p><p>Mark J. P. Wolf</p><p></p><p>The Moviola and Other Analog Film Editing Machines</p><p>Lori Landay</p><p></p><p>Analog Audio Synthesis: Oscillations, Traces, and Trajectories</p><p>Peer D. Bode</p><p></p><p>Armchair Harmonics: Radio Remote Controls and the Historical Persistence of Push-Buttons</p><p>Brent Strang</p><p></p><p>Standardized Film Leaders</p><p>Matt Soar</p><p></p><p>Vinyl, Vinyl Everywhere: The Analogue Record in the Digital World</p><p>Richard Osborne</p><p></p><p>Don’t Take My Kodachrome Away: The Rise, Fall, and Digital Rebirth of Kodachrome Film</p><p>M. M. Chandler</p><p></p><p>Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture: The Rise and Fall of an Analog Social Medium</p><p>Sheila C. Murphy</p><p></p><p>Hollywood in a Box: Time-shifting, Rental, and Videocassettes</p><p>Joshua Greenberg</p><p></p><p>Projecting Play: The Give-A-Show Projector and Children’s Audiovisual Media Toys of the Mid-20th Century</p><p>Meredith A. Bak</p><p></p><p>Parakeets, Morse Code, The Roar of the Crowd: The Fading Signal Of The Modem </p><p>Anne C. Deger</p><p></p><p>Illuminating Obsolescence: Eastman Kodak’s Carousel Slide Projector & The Work of Ending</p><p>Paige Sarlin</p><p></p><p>"Poor Black Squares": Afterimages of the Floppy Disk</p><p>Matthew Kirschenbaum </p><p></p><p>Video Game Cartridges: The History of Durable, Removable, and Portable Software</p><p>Michael Thomasson</p><p></p><p>Digital Data Demise — Obsolete Digital Data Formats</p><p>Gary Locklair</p><p></p><p>Laserdiscs — On the Way to a Digital Video Future</p><p>Stephen Mamber</p><p></p><p>Perfect Sound Forever? How the Compact Disc Sowed the Seeds of Its Own Demise</p><p>Jason Curtis</p><p></p><p>Hello Again: An Untimely Requiem for the Flip Phone</p><p>Paul Benz</p>