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by lavezza 256 days ago
I was interested in when computers started showing up. I flipped through some years quickly. I see a terminal on page 158 in 1984 ('84:158). What looks like an 8-bit computer at '85:103 and a Mac at '86:190. Anyone see something earlier?

This could be a game. When was the first flat screen TV? When was the first CD rack? When was the first microwave?

There is a record player at '20:156. Did record players go away and then come back?

There are at least two typewriters in 2020 ('20:56 and '20:61). I wouldn't have expected typewriters in a 2020 catalog. Maybe that's a Swedish thing? Are typewriters still common in Sweden?
3 comments
bobthepanda 256 days ago
One thing to note is that the setting of a furniture catalog is meant to establish emotional connection to a setting which could cause you buy furniture.

Midcentury stuff like record players came back into vogue in the 2010s and 2020s; a typewriter would be one extension of such a retro fashion. Even today a vinyl is a common item in the merch shops of modern artists and bands. https://a.co/d/9FFBuEF

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criddell 255 days ago
> the setting of a furniture catalog is meant to establish emotional connection to a setting which could cause you buy furniture

I think they do an excellent job of this in their stores. The mock rooms they have look so cozy and inviting. If they had a service where their designers would come to my home and help me replicate that vibe, I'd do it!

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leokennis 256 days ago
> When was the first CD rack?

And when will be the last... Recently a webshop accidentally sent me my order of two fantastic jazz CD's twice and they did not want me to return them. I tried to offload them for free on anyone I know who vaguely likes jazz. None of them had a CD player, none of them wanted two CD's for free...

One of the things I like best when visiting friends, is to have a look at their bookcases and CD racks. But I think I won't be able to much longer.

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InfinityByTen 255 days ago
There's a lot of interesting research one could do through the ikea lens given it has had such a huge impact on cultures (specially the youth) in the west for a good part of a century.
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