Tech you miss/ new tech trends you hate - ok boomers

[AnOminous]

I have shelves of that stuff I browse through every few years to go onto some sort of trip of the past and marvel at memories and every time I think about selling some I just cannot do it. It's too fun to look at.

I used to have one of these:

What is it? It's an entire Apple ][ on a card that you would install in an XT and could boot into either machine.

 

[potato fan]

Do you think people in the 2050s will be collecting "classic" Bluetooth speakers and smartphones the way they collect 1970s hi-fi gear and 1980s retro computers nowadays? I don't think they will.

I think they will, especially "first" models or high end units. Higher end walkman from 80's-90's are already very expensive (and old new stock high end tapes too), first gen ipods and iphones are expensive af, same for minidisc players, even old portable CD players (the top models at least) from early 2000's are increasing in price as well. Even tho it is usually impossible to get their proprietary batteries for them anymore.
I am kinda angry that I missed the sweet spot to get the last G5 powermacs when they were still selling for nothing.

I can easily see things like first foldable phones, or first gen m1 apple laptops being collectible items in 20 years

The only problem with smartphones is that due to rapid change and closed ecosystem, old units are becoming just display pieces, as it is impossible to use first gen android devices for anything other than making calls, because factory default apps like maps or twitter no longer connect to the services they are based on, and new versions won't instal on old android.


to add to thread's topic: I miss when burning CDs was a thing. It was such a magical thing to see the progress on NERO burning rom. I always wanted a LightScribe drive, but thjose were super expensive. I looked into it recently, and you can get them siomewhat cheap nowadays, the problem is that they don't make lightscribe CDs anymoe

 

[AmpleApricots]

What is it? It's an entire Apple ][ on a card that you would install in an XT and could boot into either machine.

There used to be something similar for the Amiga too although it was basically just a set of roms and some glue. Due to the same architecture and non-direct hardware banging nature of MacOS software the Amiga was very good at emulating any 68k Mac. A 060 Amiga with graphics card used to be the fastest Mac you could have for a while in the 90s until Motorola killed the architecture because they were pushed by Apple to do so to favor PowerPC. Emulating Macs was the end game for many Amiga users who didn't want to let go of the platform but still wanted new software. If you had a CPU with MMU it also had very little overhead penalty and you could switch back and forth between AmigaOS and MacOS seamlessly, a bit like a modern VM. I personally moved quickly on to PCs and greener pastures.

There also used to be a 286 card for the Amiga which was much smaller and would directly be seated in the 68k CPU socket. It had some custom glue logic and pretty clever software that'd repurpose the 68k and custom Amiga chipset as emulated EGA/VGA graphics (not quite as the old Amiga chipset can't quite do VGA) and Soundblaster compatible sound. There was also a similar thing for the Trapdoor expansion of the A500, just with an 8088 XT compatible NEC V20 CPU. If you had a CPU accelerator in the A500 it would really speed up the graphics operations of that XT. I have both lying around here somewhere. The market moved on so quickly that all of this stuff was relatively pointless and is more a neat annecdote today than anything else, but computers used to be expensive enough that getting such an expansion was economically more viable than getting an entire second computer. People groaning about the current shortages don't know how expensive shit used to be.

 

[seri0us]

[...[ it also had very little overhead penalty and you could switch back and forth between AmigaOS and MacOS seamlessly, a bit like a modern VM. [...]

More like a KVM

 

[Ginger Piglet]

I think they will, especially "first" models or high end units. Higher end walkman from 80's-90's are already very expensive (and old new stock high end tapes too), first gen ipods and iphones are expensive af, same for minidisc players, even old portable CD players (the top models at least) from early 2000's are increasing in price as well. Even tho it is usually impossible to get their proprietary batteries for them anymore.
I am kinda angry that I missed the sweet spot to get the last G5 powermacs when they were still selling for nothing.

I can easily see things like first foldable phones, or first gen m1 apple laptops being collectible items in 20 years

The only problem with smartphones is that due to rapid change and closed ecosystem, old units are becoming just display pieces, as it is impossible to use first gen android devices for anything other than making calls, because factory default apps like maps or twitter no longer connect to the services they are based on, and new versions won't instal on old android.


to add to thread's topic: I miss when burning CDs was a thing. It was such a magical thing to see the progress on NERO burning rom. I always wanted a LightScribe drive, but thjose were super expensive. I looked into it recently, and you can get them siomewhat cheap nowadays, the problem is that they don't make lightscribe CDs anymoe

I'm well aware of NOS cassette tapes and their prices. Thing is, Type IV tapes weren't designed for normies to kill music onto. They were aimed at bands and producers to post a demo or similar to a label or producer or suchlike. Sure, they also sold a lot to "enthusiasts" and similar but for most people wanting to grab some CDs or vinyls from the library and copy them for use in the car or a Walkman or similar, you were better served getting a good quality ferric for bass heavy songs or a nice chrome for classical or very dynamic songs. Which there aren't many of today because of the fucking loudness war.

Of course, while I agree that the first gen M1 Macbooks may be collectable, this is assuming that they last. Apple pioneered the non-replaceable battery, the bricking by update if repaired by someone else, and the sealed unit to encourage its strategy of planned obsolescence. I suspect they will be landfill fodder in 5-10 years. Fewer if the battery goes.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

I hope USB flash drives aren't being phased out. That would be a tech I'd miss.

 

[Drain Todger]

I remember Iomega Zip Drives when I was little. I don’t miss those. “*click clunk*, your data is gone.” This is what raw PTSD sounds like:

We had a ThinkPad with a Pentium running Windows 98. It had a 4-gig hard drive. I used to run Bryce on it. I’d have it generate complex landscapes and shit and spend 24 hours rendering, making that poor little Pentium its bitch.

I miss when laptops had good keyboards like that ThinkPad did. These days, newer laptops all have Chiclet/Island-Tile keyboards and they drive me up the wall. I don’t use a laptop as my go-to word processor. I use a tablet with a Filco Bluetooth mechanical, to get that scalloped feel of nineties laptop keyboards back. I’ve been gathering parts to do a Raspberry Pi cyberdeck build based around a Unicomp remake of an IBM Model M.

 

[stupidpieceofshit]

I remember Iomega Zip Drives when I was little. I don’t miss those. “*click clunk*, your data is gone.” This is what raw PTSD sounds like:

We had a ThinkPad with a Pentium running Windows 98. It had a 4-gig hard drive. I used to run Bryce on it. I’d have it generate complex landscapes and shit and spend 24 hours rendering, making that poor little Pentium its bitch.

I miss when laptops had good keyboards like that ThinkPad did. These days, newer laptops all have Chiclet/Island-Tile keyboards and they drive me up the wall. I don’t use a laptop as my go-to word processor. I use a tablet with a Filco Bluetooth mechanical, to get that scalloped feel of nineties laptop keyboards back. I’ve been gathering parts to do a Raspberry Pi cyberdeck build based around a Unicomp remake of an IBM Model M.

Along with shit keyboards most laptop these days don't have actual mouse buttons instead you need to click on the touchpad, I hate it, half the time it registers a click on the left as a right click and vice versa on everylap I have used with this type of bullshit.

Also Unicomp's models Ms are not really "remakes" but are direct linage successors to the IBM model M since they use the original equipment to make them (even if the keys are not the same etc).
Now if the modern M holds muster to a classic IBM Model M that is a different discussion.

 

[Erika Furudo]

I miss laptops with CD drives. I know CDs can be shit with CD rot, but I feel more comfortable owning a phyical copy than the current BS where everything is done via download and "the cloud". I legit don't understand why people see not owning a thing as progress.

Given their love of the cloud and hatered of physical storage, will USBs ever be replaced?
Yes I know I can buy an external disc drive, but I don't really trust some unknown brand from China to not try and spy on me. I get it's pretty much impossible to not have spyware now, especially with intel chips, but the less the better.
Will PCs actually be better in the future, or worse? Also thinking about laptops, if disc drives vanish there, whats to stop them from no longer manufacturing them for desktop pc's? Even when you buy a game disc it requires a fucking code and steam to install. Would it be worthwhile to buy an extra CD drive in the even anything breaks, or are we pretty much set to move past them?

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

Along with shit keyboards most laptop these days don't have actual mouse buttons instead you need to click on the touchpad, I hate it, half the time it registers a click on the left as a right click and vice versa on everylap I have used with this type of bullshit.

Making rapid movements also sucks. Sometimes I'll move the touch pad too quickly and accidentally click on something like a link or closing the window entirely. Scrolling's also a pain because mine requires two fingers, but if I do it ever so slightly off, I end up zooming in instead.

 

[AnOminous]

I remember Iomega Zip Drives when I was little. I don’t miss those. “*click clunk*, your data is gone.” This is what raw PTSD sounds like:

I loved Zip disks. They had some reliability issues. Okay, so did floppies. They were just really big floppies. I think storage and backups should have moved in that direction, with an emphasis on increasing reliability and a use of compression and parity files (or something like them) so that the loss of one (or even two or more) parts of the backup didn't prevent total recovery of the data.

What I really miss, though, were Jaz drives. These were basically removable hard drives. They were unreliable as fuck, and seemed to fail as often as they worked, but damn, they were cool. Seriously, fuck you, unplug your shitty dot matrix printer, I'm hooking a hard drive to the parallel port.

 

[Drain Todger]

They had some reliability issues. Okay, so did floppies. They were just really big floppies.

*click-clunk, click-clunk, click-clunk*



“I felt a great disturbance in the Force. As if hundreds of Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh pics cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.”

 

[Kosher Dill]

I miss when laptops had good keyboards like that ThinkPad did.

You can still get them custom-made: https://xyte.ch/

 

[Drain Todger]

You can still get them custom-made: https://xyte.ch/

Now that’s more like it.

A lot of those older ThinkPads have some really eyestrain-inducing TN panels with horrible viewing angles. These days, everyone is pampered with IPS OLED or QLED panels on our mobile devices. It’s hard to go back to a 10-year-old ThinkPad just for the keyboard when it starts killing your eyes right away with grainy text. I’d heard of people swapping different panels into them as a drop-in upgrade, but never of ThinkPad mods that extensive. That’s amazing.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

I remember Iomega Zip Drives when I was little. I don’t miss those. “*click clunk*, your data is gone.”

I remember using Zip disks during a brief transition from floppies to flash. Didn't lose any data back in the day thankfully (like I did with floppies). The first flash drive memory I had access to was rather overpriced and only 256 MB - which was still over 2.5 times what Zip disks could store. Recently I got a Zip disk drive. I think some of the data on my old Zip disks was gone by then (not shielded).

 

[Ginger Piglet]

ThinkPad

I never liked the nipple mice on those. But they were built to last and be repairable.

Modern laptop keyboards are nasty.

 

[Drain Todger]

Along with shit keyboards most laptop these days don't have actual mouse buttons instead you need to click on the touchpad, I hate it, half the time it registers a click on the left as a right click and vice versa on everylap I have used with this type of bullshit.

Also Unicomp's models Ms are not really "remakes" but are direct linage successors to the IBM model M since they use the original equipment to make them (even if the keys are not the same etc).
Now if the modern M holds muster to a classic IBM Model M that is a different discussion.

Touchpad clickers are shit, except for the haptic ones on the newer MacBooks; those are pretty nice and have decent tactility and response.

Indeed, Unicomp bought Lexmark’s tooling and stuff to make their boards. The Unicomps lack the steel backplate, and the keycaps are a little funky and rotated, and their company logo sticker over the light cluster has shitty adhesive and wants to fall off. Having used both a Model M and a Customizer 104, I can say that the Model M just feels better to type on. Something about the Unicomp feels a little weird by comparison. I mean, they’re okay, but the springs rattle ever-so-slightly. The original Model Ms had more damping of the resonation from each key press, probably because of the mass of the steel in there. I recently picked up one of their integrated-trackball units for my little project. A nice all-in-one typing and pointing solution for the Pi, hopefully. I asked them if the Raspberry Pi recognized the trackball and they said yes. Right after they shipped out mine, they stopped selling them and won’t resume selling them until the end of the year. I think they’re low on supply with the trackball component itself.

I remember using Zip disks during a brief transition from floppies to flash. Didn't lose any data back in the day thankfully (like I did with floppies). The first flash drive memory I had access to was rather overpriced and only 256 MB - which was still over 2.5 times what Zip disks could store. Recently I got a Zip disk drive. I think some of the data on my old Zip disks was gone by then (not shielded).

I think every single Zip disk I have ever had has failed after a few months.

Anyone remember that weird Netbook fad in the late 00s/early 10s? For a brief time, we had Intel Atom-powered poverty laptops, like the Acer Aspire One. They were dog shit and could only run like a dozen browser tabs at once. And then, they all vanished. They were caught between tablets and laptops, and people eventually ended up leaning towards those options. They picked up a bad reputation because of cramped keyboards, weak CPUs, low RAM, and small screens. People wanted bigger screens to watch Netflix bullshit in HD.

Today’s tablets are easily powerful enough to be laptop replacements. How long before laptops themselves are basically eradicated by the rise of the tablet? It seems like a lot of newer electronic devices are designed around content consumption rather than content creation. If there’s one tech trend I hate the most, it’s that.

 

[The Real SVP]

Anyone remember that weird Netbook fad in the late 00s/early 10s?

I loved the netbook form factor, just between fullsize and sub notebook, but I never got one because the actual hardware was shit. I am considering getting one for nostalgic reasons. I have seen good condition ones sell for ~20€, and the batteries should not be too expensive either.

 

[Ginger Piglet]

It seems like a lot of newer electronic devices are designed around content consumption rather than content creation. If there’s one tech trend I hate the most, it’s that.

Well quite. How can you do anything on a tablet other than tweet and shitpost and like and subscribe.

Can you write a novel on a tablet? Do a spreadsheet? Write a program? Compose a song? Record the parts for said song? Mix them appropriate?

Can you fuck. The touchscreen is the worst possible input device for any of these things.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

Speaking of storage media, I remember accidentally wiping a floppy just by having it squished in a binder in my backpack. Like I said, Zip disks and floppies aren't shielded like HDDs, so external stuff like weak magnetic fields and pressure can easily damage them.

wow Flexible magnetic media - at least stuff like VHS, stuff like Zip, and floppies - really were unreliable...