The LA Times is running an article about the imminent retirement of the VHS tape.
The last big supplier of the tapes is ditching the format, ending the long fade-out of a product that ushered in the home theater.
Read the rest of the article here.
For the better part of my life VHS tapes have been a staple of practical technology; my childhood coincided with its rise to domination. After its victory over Betamax in the great Videotape Format War of the late ’70s and early ’80s, the VHS tape became an integral, deep-seated part of the American way of life. It paved the way for the home theater system and video rental stores. With the rise of VHS came the rise of camcorders, and more and more people were capturing their greatest moments in life on magnetic tape. VHS was even a big player in the movie piracy scene; I remember a video rental place in my home town got busted for renting out illegally copied movies. And I dare you to find anyone over ~20 that’s never taped a movie off of television. Hell, a lot of my favorite movies growing up don’t feel complete without bits of commercials thrown in.
Goodbye, VHS. And thank you.
I love tech, but don’t have as much time or money to spend on it as I’d like. I get what I need to sustain my Geek vicariously through other sources and pass it along to you.
