ABSTRACT
While so many books on technology look at new advances and digital technologies, The Routledge Companion to Media Technology and Obsolescence 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.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter 2|13 pages
From Hero to Zero
The Rise and Fall of the Slide Rule as the Calculating Tool of Choice
chapter 4|14 pages
A History of the Electrical Signal
From the Atlantic Telegraph Cable to the Quest for Artificial Intelligence
chapter 12|19 pages
Armchair Harmonics
Radio Remote Controls and the Historical Persistence of Push-Buttons
chapter 15|19 pages
Don’t Take My Kodachrome Away
The Rise, Fall, and Return of Kodachrome Color Film
chapter 18|14 pages
Projecting Play
The Give-A-Show Projector and Children’s Audiovisual Media Toys of the Mid-20th Century
chapter 20|16 pages
Illuminating Obsolescence
Eastman Kodak’s Carousel Slide Projector and the Work of Ending
