Radio games, old PC sounds and compact history of ringtones – in the Audiomania digest

Last time we shared a real “habraserial” about the history of audio technology and the music industry… Today – we will continue to supply the “reading room” with selected articles about how the ideas of technology enthusiasts have changed and continue to transform the world for the better.

More – we will share recommendations on how how to sleep before the start of the working week.


A photo Will francis / Unsplash


Software and video games first hit live radio in Bristol. This happened in the 80s, when the station employees launched a new program on the topic of personal computers.

The management approved him of the experimental broadcast of data “over the air”. We started with a 40×80 image, and then we began to transfer firmware for the Sinclair ZX81 and Commodore.

The Dutch Broadcasting Association joined the movement (they tried to broadcast the games). Later, Yugoslav versions of such shows appeared, which “distributed” dozens of different programs to the audience in just a few years of on-air presence. That was the kind of “radio” open source.


Let us recall the legendary MIDI melodies that came to us from Japan in the second half of the 90s. By that time, they had already sold three and a half million books with instructions on how to write ringtones on their own. And also – there are specialized languages ​​SYNC and RTTTL.

Realtones, SMS ringtones, advertising of all this in newspapers and on TV, and then the powerful influence of mobile melodies on how popular music changed in the early 2000s.

In general, if you downloaded Crazy Frog to your device, there will definitely be something to remember.


A photo Tobias tullius / Unsplash


There are many ways to deal with the history of technology. For example, a number of enthusiasts collect thematic audio libraries – something like an “acoustic heritage” for geeks and anyone interested.

Some take the system sounds of popular OS as a basis, others record the sound of “old hardware”. Still others do not stand on ceremony and collect everything: the noise of a hair dryer, the whirring of a coffee grinder, the rustle of a punched tape or even the ringing of an ordinary can (yes, they load that too).


Libraries of “vintage” sounds, which we talked about in the material above, may be interesting noisemakers… They select and mix everything that is needed for the sound design of TV shows and movies. It can also be custom sounds obtained by combining several simple ones.

But they also try to automate this work. Discussing what AI systems can already do in terms of generating video scales on the fly. Spoiler: so-so so far.



A photo Dane deaner / Unsplash

The news agenda does not provide a single reason to take and stop following the endless epidemiological reports and studies. But as a result, we are increasingly experiencing anxiety, and many are already experiencing sleep disturbances on a regular basis.

Discuss how low frequency waves, white noise, ASMR content and music can help. Although, to begin with, you just need to pay attention to your informational diet.


Additional materials on Habré:

Who tried to share music with extraterrestrial civilizations
Russian-language podcast about home cinemas, “audiomaniac’s wishlist” and sound department
Deepfakes, reverse engineering, music. programming and audio interfaces while driving


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