Routledge Companion to Media Technology and Obsolescence

Mark J. P. Wolf is Professor in the Communication Department at Concordia University Wisconsin. His books include Abstracting Reality: Art, Communication, and Cognition in the Digital Age (2000), The Medium of the Video Game (2001), Virtual Morality: Morals, Ethics, and New Media (2003), The Video Game Theory Reader (2003), The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to PlayStation and Beyond (2007), The Video Game Theory Reader 2 (2008), Myst & Riven: The World of the D’ni (2011), Before the Crash: An Anthology of Early Video Game History (2012), the two-volume Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming (2012), Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation (2012), The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies (2014), LEGO Studies: Examining the Building Blocks of a Transmedial Phenomenon (2014), Video Games Around the World (2015), the four-volume Video Games and Gaming Culture (2016), Revisiting Imaginary Worlds: A Subcreation Studies Anthology (2016), Video Games FAQ (2017), The World of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (2017), and The Routledge Companion to Imaginary Worlds (2018).

• About the ContributorsPrefaceMark J. P. WolfAcknowledgmentsPaper Slips: The Long Reign of the Index Card and Card CatalogPeter KrappFrom Hero to Zero: The Rise and Fall of the Slide Rule as the Calculating Tool of ChoicePeter M. HoppThe History of Punched Cards – Using Paper to Store InformationRobert S. WahlA History of the Electrical Signal: From the Atlantic Telegraph Cable to the Quest for Artificial IntelligenceDavid HochfelderThe Life, Death, and Rebirth of the TypewriterRichard PoltThe Lure of the TickerBraxton SodermanThe Overhead Projector: Visuality and MaterialityJosh Zimmerman, Judd Ethan Ruggill, and Ken S. McAllisterFlammable Workhorse: A History of Nitrate Film from the Screen to the VaultAmanda McQueenFarewell to the Phosphorescent Glow: The Long Life of the Cathode-Ray TubeMark J. P. WolfThe Moviola and Other Analog Film Editing MachinesLori LandayAnalog Audio Synthesis: Oscillations, Traces, and TrajectoriesPeer D. BodeArmchair Harmonics: Radio Remote Controls and the Historical Persistence of Push-ButtonsBrent StrangStandardized Film LeadersMatt SoarVinyl, Vinyl Everywhere: The Analogue Record in the Digital WorldRichard OsborneDon’t Take My Kodachrome Away: The Rise, Fall, and Digital Rebirth of Kodachrome FilmM. M. ChandlerShake It Like a Polaroid Picture: The Rise and Fall of an Analog Social MediumSheila C. MurphyHollywood in a Box: Time-shifting, Rental, and VideocassettesJoshua GreenbergProjecting Play: The Give-A-Show Projector and Children’s Audiovisual Media Toys of the Mid-20th CenturyMeredith A. BakParakeets, Morse Code, The Roar of the Crowd: The Fading Signal Of The Modem Anne C. DegerIlluminating Obsolescence: Eastman Kodak’s Carousel Slide Projector & The Work of EndingPaige Sarlin"Poor Black Squares": Afterimages of the Floppy DiskMatthew Kirschenbaum Video Game Cartridges: The History of Durable, Removable, and Portable SoftwareMichael ThomassonDigital Data Demise — Obsolete Digital Data FormatsGary LocklairLaserdiscs — On the Way to a Digital Video FutureStephen MamberPerfect Sound Forever? How the Compact Disc Sowed the Seeds of Its Own DemiseJason CurtisHello Again: An Untimely Requiem for the Flip PhonePaul BenzonHD DVD Technologies John Reid Perkins-BuzoAppendix: Timeline of Technological ObsolescenceMark J. P. Wolf