You can finally sleep soundly knowing you’re not killing the music industry by using Spotify. And vinyl sales are strong. So all music enthusiasts are happy.
Except for Brendan Dawes.
The UK-based designer isn’t satisfied with the separation of analog’s ritual from digital’s convenience. So through some engineering wizardry, he combined the two. The end product: Plastic Player, which looks straight off the shelves of Toys ‘R’ Us. But as Dawes explains, it’s a little more complicated than the tiny device would suggest.
“The system consists of two main components — a Raspberry Pi running PiMusicBox connected to my 50 year old B&O stereo, and an Arduino Yun with an NFC shield,” he writes on his website.
And what does he substitute for vinyl?
Slide mounts. Yes, those middle-school science-class supplies that most have stuffed into dust-coated boxes by now. He attaches stickers to each that, when laid flat on the device, trigger Spotify to play an album or playlist. No need to expend any energy clicking on the app on your phone or computer.
Add it to the list of DIY projects you’re doing “for the kids.”
Photos via http://www.brendandawes.com/projects/plasticplayer/
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