80 years of magnetic recording

The Register has a fantastic article (part one of two) about the history of magnetic tape, which more or less turn 80 today.

tape pioneer Fritz Pfleumer, source: the reg

Things really start coming together on page 4 of that article, thanks to Fritz Pfleumer (above). Also on that page is this youtube relay:

Apart from the fascinating aspect of traveling back in time via a pioneering recording (see the annotation on youtube), I must say that I am captivated by the musical performance of these two fragments—and that via youtube and a laptop speaker…

update: part two is also available now, though mostly about computer applications, beyond the first page.