Tech Podcast: The ‘Optigan’ returns
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I love it when we can jump into the “Way Back” machine for parts of the Tech Podcast. Above you can see the Optical Organ, or “Optigan” as it was and still is called. This is a model 35002, from around 1971. It was made by…get ready for it…Mattel! From the website: “In the early 70’s, Mattel devised this OPTIcal orGAN to play back the sounds of REAL instruments, encoded on celluloid discs like concentric rings of movie soundtrack. The result was pretty crappy sounding and soon forgotten by the world at large, but if this sounds to you like perfect fodder for an obsessive, almost fetishistic website, then you’re absolutely correct!” The Optigan takes center stage in WTP 302, because it would appear that some artists, including a WTP favorite (Crash Test Dummies) have rediscovered this trippy, tekkie instrument.
In this episode, we also examine the the biometric data collected in Iraq. Since 2003, the US military has been recording digital fingerprints and iris scans of millions of Iraqis. Some have been inmates and detainees. But ordinary civilians have been scanned as well. For example, any Iraqi working on a US base, or for the US military, had to have their biometric data taken as well. Now that US combat troops are leaving the country, that data will be handed over to Iraqi authorities. Not everyone thinks that’s a great idea. Some Iraqis think the information might be used against them.
We’ve also got two great stories about smartphones that have been modded for medical purposes. First, the iStethoscope app for the iPhone. Yep, it turns your iPhone into a heart-beat checker. Then, The World’s anchor Marco Werman heads down the MIT Media Lab for an eye test. Of course, this eye test is done via, you guessed it, a smart phone. Check out the video:
And we end the podcast with big birthday wishes for video game old-timer Mario, who turned 25 recently. His mustache is still as bushy as ever, no?
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(Photo: PMDrive1061)
