magnetictapedatastorage
tape casette recorders are compatible with literally every. single. thing. im out here living in 2095.
things you can record (audio only), simply by lying to your computer, telling it that the tape recorder is actually a set of headphones:
- discord call
- podcast
- documentary
- radio and internet radio
- music, from any source. without having to download it at all.
- music you make on virtual pianos/etc
- noteworthy news items (fireside esque, interviews, huge events)
- stand-up comedy
- rented or borrowed media
- any other sound your pc can produce
and with a VCR you could do all of this AND have the visuals as well… but an audio cassette recorder is a good place to start, since they’re small and simple. I would not recommend a boombox, because those are large and nowadays all very, very bad quality.
Now you may be saying “how is any of this helpful, I want a digital file…” here’s the fucking magic. You go into Audacity (free program), and lie to it that the tape recorder is really a microphone. Then you hit record on Audacity, and hit play on the tape, and let it play at regular speed. Trim and export the digital file, and you’re doing gangbusters. You’re cooking with gas. You’re thinking with portals. You’ve won the internet.
Congratulations, you can “pirate”* anything you want, and literally no one can catch you, because you’re not downloading in the traditional sense. You’re streaming to an external device, and that device is recording what it receives. It’s exactly like taping a live tv show to a VHS. This is a very low-key and non-strenuous task for the computer, since your tape recorder does all the work.
*Is this piracy? No. Well- it’s time shifting. Sort of. Tell it to my Steely Dan albums. Tell it to my The Sims: Hot Date VG Soundtrack album.
broken-horn-of-equius
OP, dropping surprising knowledge from across time and space:
