New Technologies

contributed by Libby Orsega .

In an age where we can ask our iPhones just about any question in the world and immediately get a response; of iPods, iPads, and thermostats that automatically set the temperature to what you like when you like it; it is hard to remember a time when 8-track tapes and pocket cassette recorders were the new technology that everyone was talking about.

Most college students today cannot even dream of a time when their technologies were not thin enough to fit in the smallest pocket of the skinniest jeans without even being noticed, or not able to share their important daily routines and thoughts with the world via twitter. In a time where “having an app for that” is common knowledge and punching in an address to a GPS is how we find our way around, it seems surreal that there was once a time where college students did not have computers, iPads, iPods, and phones falling out of their bags everywhere you look.

If you want to see what kind of technologies NC State students were using at any time since the 1920s, check out the Technician.  In  the November 1969 edition,  an ad was posted for Audio Center Inc., advertising their new technology, especially their brand new product, the KLH record player. The KLH was a record player with large speakers, and is advertised as only being sold to people above the age of 18.

“You’ll hear sounds like you have never heard before. It has a Sensoud Garrard changer and the biggest pair of speakers in its price class. It’s shocking…if you plug it in with wet hands...and we will sell it to you for just $249.95 if you can prove that you are over 18! (Rated M)”

This new, small record player is advertised many times throughout the 1969 Technician as the first portable stereo player that you can take anywhere as long as there is an AC outlet. It is the smallest and sleekest way to play stereo music, weighing only 28 pounds.

Other technologies advertised in this November edition of the Technician are the “EasyMatic Stereo Cassette-Corder Deck,” the “Stereo Solid-State 8-Track Cartridge Recorder,” the “Easymatic Pocket Cassette-Corder,” and more. Each of these tape playing products are advertised with features that today we would not dream of not having in our music players. Things like “pause control,” or “stereo headphone jack included” are all expected today in 2011 for our music players; how else are we supposed to listen to our music while walking to class?

If you are interested in finding out more about technologies the Technician was running advertisements for in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s or beyond, be sure to visit the NCSU Special Collections at /scrc .

For more images like the two found here, please visit Historical State at https://historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu/ or our newest images website at https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/ .