We all love new technology, but when the arrival of a new generation of hardware signals the end of another, it can be kind of sad.
Vinyl will always be considered classic, but VHS and audio cassettes have sadly gone the way of the dinosaurs, with MiniDiscs (remember them?), and maybe one day CDs, soon to follow.
While CD quality sound is universally recognised as being superior to MP3 music, and despite MiniDiscs still hanging on in Japan years after the west turned its back on them, highly compressed MP3 is fast becoming the format of choice for millions of people, meaning that more and more of our once-loved possessions are relegated to sitting on the shelf or in a desk drawer somewhere.
So what are we to do with those Backstreet Boys cassettes? What fate awaits forgotten Bon Jovi tapes that rattle around the glove-box of a car whose stereo no longer has a tape deck? Are we destined never again to hear their muffled warbles and grainy beats?
Help is at hand!
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Japanese government wants overseas anime market to roughly triple in 10 years, but are they crazy?
Starbucks Japan releases FIVE new Frappuccinos in a day, and we try them all in 90 minutes
Lawson convenience store at popular tourist site is one of the most unusual in Japan
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