Technology is full of planned obsolescence, psychological manipulation, platform lock-in, and e-waste. Streaming services delete your shows. Apps suck your attention and stop working when companies decide to move on. Devices that should last a decade barely make it past the warranty.
Long Play Tech is about finding better tech.
What We Cover
Finding reliable tech. We look for products that don’t require apps or cloud services to function, get riddled with ads after an automatic update, and won’t become useless when a company shuts down a server.
Rescuing old tech. Vintage gear often works better than modern replacements. We show you what to look for when thrift shopping, and which old formats are worth collecting. One person’s e-waste is another person’s reliable CD player.
Escaping big tech. The current system isn’t capitalism—it’s technofeudalism. You don’t own your music, books, movies, or games. You’re just renting access. You don’t even own your printer ink now! Algorithms push content on you constantly and pull your attention away and and steal your time. We explore ways to own and control your media and data instead of being a permanent tenant paying rents on someone else’s platform.
Making old media work with new devices. You shouldn’t have to choose between your vintage video game consoles and modern convenience. We cover adapters, converters, streaming strategies, and how to integrate physical media into contemporary setups without compromising quality.
Finding a balance. Streaming music and TV is simple and readily available. Who has time to rip everything and store it on a home server? We look for balance between every day convenience and when to hold onto special things. When to unplug and be in the moment.
Why This Matters
Every subscription service you cancel, every offline device you buy, every old game console you rescue—these are small acts of independence. You’re opting out of a system designed to keep you locked in paying monthly fees forever and keeping a stranglehold on your attention.
We’re not nostalgic for the past. We’re practical about the present. Sometimes a 20-year-old plasma TV has better picture quality than a new LED TV. Sometimes listening to a record on a hi-fi system is better than streaming the new single to earbuds. Sometimes the answer to modern problems is refusing to participate in modern solutions.
The Philosophy
The term “long play” comes from the idea of planning for the future. If it can’t work offline, if it requires an app to function, if the company can brick it remotely, it may not be worth your money or attention.
Old tech lasts. New tech should too.