Office noises, the '90s mix
When Calm Office was released in March 2020, it became a huge hit, instantly. What was meant as a joke - who misses office noises, really? - actually found a serious use during lockdowns. It helped people who were missing the sound of their colleagues to recover an environment favorable for working in. Media gave Calm Office a wonderful coverage. It all started with a report on CBS news, and then many other news outlets followed, including a live interview on BBC World! I was a little embarrassed though: devoting so much effort to traveling the world to record quiet nature ambiences, and being praised for noisy office sounds. Ouch!
That all happened because the pandemic changed our habits and our relationship to noise. When people are forced to work from home, it suddenly makes sense to look for a sound that mimics the sound of their habitual working environment, a sound that their brain has associated with productivity. When such association happens, the subconscious would not even hear it as nuisance anymore, or not even hear it at all! Plus, office sounds turned out to be very good at blocking other noises, and those from your home in particular, like your kids watching television in the room next door for example. So, I discovered - beyond the Calm Office joke - there was a real serious application for it: creating a genuinely quietening environment for people used to working in noisy offices.
Two years have passed. Since, users have requested an office that's noisier than Calm Office. There were also requests for a vintage set of noises, as those sounds we hated then have since gained a certain charm as they now remind us of the past. Vintage Office recreates the sounds of an office that could have existed in the nineties, when floppy disks where still a thing, and inkjet printers were state of the art, certainly in comparison with the dot matrix printers that were still in use then. Computers had a memory of 4MB - about the size of a single mp3 file... and browsers would certainly not be able to run a site like myNoise, but were restricted to display textual contents.
Published by Stéphane on March 3rd, 2022
User Stories
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Memories of having lunch with my dad in his office when I was a kid.
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Working in an office environment, the thing that distracts me the most is the background chatter. Being able to cancel that noise and amplify a busy office environment is such a game changer and does wonders to my focus.
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I love vintage computers and the sounds they make, even as someone who's too young to have used one myself... Can I miss something I never experienced? Because I miss when electronics were this loud, and you could truly feel them come to life.
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Microsoft desktop + floppy drive and I'm back to my childhood.
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We have recently been forced to return to the office, with waist-high cubicles and a break area right next to my desk! I use this to drown out the 'real' office sounds with a steady, predictable drone. It effectively muddles the random chatter. Now if they'd let me put up higher walls, maybe my ADHD brain could concentrate!
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Very clicky, helps me fall asleep.
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I have ADHD, and I love the mechanical keyboard sound the most! It's so clicky! Plus I love the old tech sounds! I use this along with a few others simultaneously, like "Examination Time," "Calm Office," and "Café Restaurant" to kinda replicate what it sounded like in my old school library!
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I'm a full time student, and stumbled upon "Calm Office" in 2020. Somehow, background office noises really does help my ADHD brain and brings me into focus for long durations - especially when I need to pull all-nighters. Just found out that I could support the page and I couldn't be more thrilled! Dr. Pigeon, you do amazing work! Currently obsessing over "Vintage Office".
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Absolutely love this mix!
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Works wonders for an ADHD brain that thrives on immersion and visualization. Suddenly my brain is talking to me like I'm an employee and asking what's due next. If we could get those reports in by Monday? The only thing that could top this would be "Antique Office" - typewriters dings, the trill of rotary phones, the shuffling of papers, the clacking of an abacus?
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I feel like I’m in a news room, it’s incredible :)
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I do not know what it is exactly that I love so much about this, but it's deeply relaxing when my anxiety is running out of control. I suppose I am just the right age to have fond childhood memories of dot matrix printers. They sound so crispy. I'm almost disappointed that there isn't a slider of constant audio of it.
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I like putting this on when playing Progressbar 95.
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This reminds me of my late Primary School years, using BBC Acorn PCs and Dot Matrix printers, in the early '90s; then using Apple Mac PCs and Inkjet printers throughout the mid-late '90s at High School, as the computing department could only afford two or three Windows PCs (compared to their 100+ Macs) at the time.
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This takes me back to all the hours I spent in my mom's office during the early 2000's, futzing around on KOL, Yahoo Kids, Nickelodeon Online, Cartoon Network, and any other silliness I could get our dial-up Internet to load in under five minutes. I can still hear that modem screech to this day...
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Awesome generator!
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I love this generator and it's turned into one of my favorites. Somehow I forget I'm working at home and I'm able to concentrate (while ignoring office gossip). It's like old times, up until the cat walks across the keyboard and ruins the illusion. Thanks for this, I truly appreciate it, along with most of the other noises here, they have been a lifesaver during the pandemic.
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There's something magical about floppy drives...
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I was too young in the 90s to hold a job, but there's something about the sound of printers and fax machines that just screams "it's time to knuckle down and work" to me.
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Vintage bits - this is so awesome. Please add more vintage computer noises and all vintage background noises too.
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I love this one. The plasticky clacking of keys over the white noise is like the best ASMR.
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This has quickly become my favorite noise generator. The sound of the keyboards and the copier/printer manages to both relax me and keep me focused. It's amazing!
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This is amazing! My brain wants to work and focus now!
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I love this, I work alone remotely and needed the back ground office sounds to stop me from going mad. Thank you!
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Try mixing this with Calm Office gen. They sound great together!
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This, along with "Brave World", is extra distopian! It takes me to a ministry in bureaucratic nation filled with propaganda. It is where "Brave New World" and "1984" meet. At least, that is for me.
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Really really exquisite. Pure distilled productivity!
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I was so excited when I saw this because the first thing I thought was '9 to 5'! I loved that movie as a child and was always so impressed by how the three protagonists transformed their lackluster office environment into one of happy productivity (please note: I am older and wiser now). If you add a faint background of Dolly Parton music, this would almost exactly mimic that happy office ;)
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Absolutely in love with this one simply for the computer noises alone. The sound of older desktop computers reminds me of spending cherished moments on the games folder of relative's computers, also lots of MSPaint.
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This generator brings back childhood memories when my mom worked at an advertising agency in the 90s as a media buyer.
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I guess that 'Microsoft desktop' could use some servicing ;-)
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Love this generator. I work in an open office space and this is perfect for blocking out coworkers on calls. It's also got a nice busy energy that keeps me awake and focused. The mechanical keyboard taps remind me of the raindrop generators, but aren't so soothing that they make me drift off at my desk.
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Wow I can so hear the vibes - this is amazing, thank you so much!
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Dr Pigeon, thank you. I discovered myNoise during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns when looking for office noises to work to. I am working to this nosier office and loving it. It makes me feel there are people around me as I work remotely, which is good for my mental health. Also, this is blocking out noisy "home" noises. Man, I never thought I would say this, but I miss the office!
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