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Arrowsmith
Feb 6, 2006

SAGANISTA!

Collateral Damage posted:

Which earned it the nickname "the goatse phone"

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Kidney Stone
Dec 28, 2008

The worst pain ever!

DicktheCat posted:

Sonny, back in my day, a cell phone looked like this:



Oh, I'm actually not that old, then. Oops, I guess I'm just crotchety. :v:


Seriously, though, when I was like, 9, these things were out, and you just could not destroy them. My mom dropped hers in the toilet twice. The first time, we took it apart and dried it, and it was alright, but the second time, no go. The battery was all sorts of hosed.

I seem to remember they didn't get great service, though. Nothing is new.

E: nothing much.

I've just got hold of a new (used) Samsung Xcover 271 for use when away with my scouts - got a standby time of 20 days, a GPS, is waterproof and I can access my email and Facebook on it.

beyonder
Jun 23, 2007
Beyond hardcore.

DicktheCat posted:

Sonny, back in my day, a cell phone looked like this:



Oh, I'm actually not that old, then. Oops, I guess I'm just crotchety. :v:


Seriously, though, when I was like, 9, these things were out, and you just could not destroy them. My mom dropped hers in the toilet twice. The first time, we took it apart and dried it, and it was alright, but the second time, no go. The battery was all sorts of hosed.

I seem to remember they didn't get great service, though. Nothing is new.

E: nothing much.

I have owned twenty of the phones in that picture. Now I feel old.

mystes
May 31, 2006

beyonder posted:

I have owned twenty of the phones in that picture. Now I feel old.
Aren't those phones ftom like a 10 year period? How could you have owned 20 of them?

beyonder
Jun 23, 2007
Beyond hardcore.

mystes posted:

Aren't those phones ftom like a 10 year period? How could you have owned 20 of them?

Had way too much money and lots of "want that" moments.

Lowen SoDium
Jun 5, 2003

Highen Fiber
Clapping Larry

Croccers posted:

There's an N-Gage in that picture. I think that's a good failed technology thing.
Have to hold it on the side to talk.

You had to remove the battery to change the game in it.


Side Talkin'

Games on SD car that was inserted under the battery, requiring you to take the device apart to change the game (fixed in the second version)

Screen in the portrait orientation

The 2 controller buttons were just part of the dial pad


The idea for a cell phone that was also a handheld gaming system was a a really good one for the time, though it was obsoleted by smartphones. It is pretty obivous that Nokia had no loving clue what they were doing. It would have been a successful idea if Nintendo had put out a GBA or DS cell phone. I was actually expecting Sony-Ericsson to put out a PSP smart phone.

Sony finally came out with an Android based Xperia phone that had a slide out controller that was decent, but it felt like a miss opportunity since the PSP Vita came out not long afterwards and wasn't compatible. Sony could have made the PSP Vita be android based (and even port the Android Dalvik VM to the PS3/4) to allow the same games to be played on their handheld, Game Cellphone, and tv console.

In the end, I don't think handheld gaming cell phones are an obsolete technology as much as I think they are a miss opportunity.

Pivit
Oct 14, 2012

And the Itsy Bitsy Spider
went up the spout again.

Still can't believe the only Rifts RPG video game came out on the N-Gage. What a waste of an IP.

Fozaldo
Apr 18, 2004

Serenity Now. Serenity Now.
:respek::respek::respek::respek::respek:

Lowen SoDium posted:

Side Talkin'

Games on SD car that was inserted under the battery, requiring you to take the device apart to change the game (fixed in the second version)

Screen in the portrait orientation

The 2 controller buttons were just part of the dial pad


The idea for a cell phone that was also a handheld gaming system was a a really good one for the time, though it was obsoleted by smartphones. It is pretty obivous that Nokia had no loving clue what they were doing. It would have been a successful idea if Nintendo had put out a GBA or DS cell phone. I was actually expecting Sony-Ericsson to put out a PSP smart phone.

Sony finally came out with an Android based Xperia phone that had a slide out controller that was decent, but it felt like a miss opportunity since the PSP Vita came out not long afterwards and wasn't compatible. Sony could have made the PSP Vita be android based (and even port the Android Dalvik VM to the PS3/4) to allow the same games to be played on their handheld, Game Cellphone, and tv console.

In the end, I don't think handheld gaming cell phones are an obsolete technology as much as I think they are a miss opportunity.

I think the problem they were all worried about is that people want to change their phone more often than their gaming device.

BrainParasite
Jan 24, 2003


Pivit posted:

Still can't believe the only Rifts RPG video game came out on the N-Gage. What a waste of an IP.

No, no, this is totally appropriate.

BogDew
Jun 14, 2006

E:\FILES>quickfli clown.fli

Lowen SoDium posted:

In the end, I don't think handheld gaming cell phones are an obsolete technology as much as I think they are a missed opportunity.
The N-Gage's problem was that it entered a market where Nintendo was king and Sony was just about to release the PSP, and it looked poo poo compared to both.
That and it clearly was a rushed idea, complete with bad design and an even worse ad campaign that seemed to presume anyone who had one was a psychopath.

The NGage QD was even worse. Despite fixing design flaws it took out MP3 playback, FM radio and USB connectivity to try and push down the price.

The other problem is you're trying to have one device do two things equally well at once. And there has to be a trade off somewhere either in user design or features.

Sony's Xperia Play is the closest way you could come to getting a modern day phone/handheld working as the touch screen and slide out game pad separates the controls. The use of Android provides enough of a universal base that swapping between phone and game isn't that cumbersome. And the issue of limited games at launch is solved from having the Google Store - plus you had some games from Sony that were cheaper than what you got on a PSP.

However, as pointed out, mobile phones live through planned obsolescence and it seems to have lost support pretty rapidly, I suspect to not undercut into the (then) soon to be released PSP Vita.

Speaking of Sony...

The Mylo


This really wins the "fill a niche that doesn't need to be" catergory. It's a dedicated chat device that was preloaded with the IM programs of the day. It relied completely on having a Wi-fi connection nearby to leech off. There's no bluetooth support.
It was basically a phone without the ability to make texts or calls. The idea was that you'd save on bills by not signing up to any plans.

Manky
Mar 20, 2007


Fun Shoe
That would be awesome for kids who can't afford a cellphone + plan or their own computer. I would have loved an AIM device in 8th grade.

Guy Axlerod
Dec 29, 2008
It's basically a proto-iPod touch.

Citizen Z
Jul 13, 2009

~Hanzo Steel~


Lowen SoDium posted:

Side Talkin'

Games on SD car that was inserted under the battery, requiring you to take the device apart to change the game (fixed in the second version)

Screen in the portrait orientation

The 2 controller buttons were just part of the dial pad


The idea for a cell phone that was also a handheld gaming system was a a really good one for the time, though it was obsoleted by smartphones. It is pretty obivous that Nokia had no loving clue what they were doing. It would have been a successful idea if Nintendo had put out a GBA or DS cell phone. I was actually expecting Sony-Ericsson to put out a PSP smart phone.

Sony finally came out with an Android based Xperia phone that had a slide out controller that was decent, but it felt like a miss opportunity since the PSP Vita came out not long afterwards and wasn't compatible. Sony could have made the PSP Vita be android based (and even port the Android Dalvik VM to the PS3/4) to allow the same games to be played on their handheld, Game Cellphone, and tv console.

In the end, I don't think handheld gaming cell phones are an obsolete technology as much as I think they are a miss opportunity.

I still have an N-Gage QB key chain strap thing that I got while working for T-Mobile years ago. It was a dumb phone and no one ever tried to push them even with incentives, but the strap thing has served me well for years as a key chain doohickey.

Lowen SoDium
Jun 5, 2003

Highen Fiber
Clapping Larry

Citizen Z posted:

I still have an N-Gage QB key chain strap thing that I got while working for T-Mobile years ago. It was a dumb phone and no one ever tried to push them even with incentives, but the strap thing has served me well for years as a key chain doohickey.

Ladies and gentlemen, the most positive thing anyone has ever said about the ngage: the wrist strap is OK.

GWBBQ
Jan 2, 2005


I'd like to recall the Nokia 5185, which is completely obsolete now but was a good solid phone at the time with great battery life, great reception, and an easy-to-replace telescoping antenna that cost about $5 to replace which was great because that kind of antenna was always easy to break off.

eddiewalker
Apr 28, 2004

Arrrr ye landlubber
Cell phones with extendable antennas at all are pretty much obsolete.

I only ever played with mine. I don't remember extending the antenna ever making a noticeable difference.

blugu64
Jul 17, 2006

Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?

GWBBQ posted:

I'd like to recall the Nokia 5185, which is completely obsolete now but was a good solid phone at the time with great battery life, great reception, and an easy-to-replace telescoping antenna that cost about $5 to replace which was great because that kind of antenna was always easy to break off.


I've been meaning to get one of the GSM ones to use again. They're single band, so you'll have to figure out which frequency ATT/Tmobile uses near you, but they're easy to unlock, and easy to fix.

Phy
Jun 27, 2008



Fun Shoe

BrainParasite posted:

No, no, this is totally appropriate.

The Glitter Boy was not meant to be known outside of a select circle, godDAMMIT ROB

Pivit
Oct 14, 2012

And the Itsy Bitsy Spider
went up the spout again.

eddiewalker posted:

Cell phones with extendable antennas at all are pretty much obsolete.

I only ever played with mine. I don't remember extending the antenna ever making a noticeable difference.

I replaced my extendable antenna with a stubby one with flashing LEDs.



I guess cell phone mods/rice are pretty obsolete now.



I think we're better off with rooting and custom ROMs.

eddiewalker
Apr 28, 2004

Arrrr ye landlubber

Pivit posted:

I guess cell phone mods/rice are pretty obsolete now.

I think you're wrong.

Collateral Damage
Jun 13, 2009

Pivit posted:

I replaced my extendable antenna with a stubby one with flashing LEDs.


I remember people saying those things drained your battery faster since they sucked up some of the transmitting power. Don't know if there was ever any truth to that.

Dogan
Aug 2, 2006

Collateral Damage posted:

Even modern film audio is optically coded on the reel for cinemas that haven't gone fully digital yet.

Below a "modern" 3D film frame. The blue bitmap tracks on the sides are SDDS sound and the black bitmaps between the holes is Dolby Digital. If you look closely you can see the DD logo in the center of each bitmap. Then there's the old stereo analog track, and finally the dashed line is for DTS. With DTS the actual soundtrack comes on a seperate CD-ROM and the dashed line is a time code for synchronizing sound and picture.



Okay, I know this is a few pages back, but how the heck does this Dolby Audio track work? Does the projector literally scan the space between each sprocket hole like a QR code to glean the digital audio data off of the film?

mints
Aug 15, 2001

Living on past glories

Dogan posted:

Okay, I know this is a few pages back, but how the heck does this Dolby Audio track work? Does the projector literally scan the space between each sprocket hole like a QR code to glean the digital audio data off of the film?

It's been years since I took the class we covered this in and I'm sure I'm missing some key elements, but the data in-between the sprockets keeps the film synced with the soundtrack which is housed in a HDD in the projection room. This way when a theater has to cut and splice a film that's from a beat up print the audio doesn't come unsynced.

old bean factory
Nov 18, 2006

Will ya close the fucking doors?!
Film is really interesting to learn about, thank you guys for sharing! Do you need to learn about most of this stuff as a projectionist? Because that's always been a job I'd like to do.

Computer viking
May 30, 2011
Now with less breakage.

Dogan posted:

Okay, I know this is a few pages back, but how the heck does this Dolby Audio track work? Does the projector literally scan the space between each sprocket hole like a QR code to glean the digital audio data off of the film?

The blocks between the sprocket holes are exactly that, yes. As wikipedia says it:

quote:

Dolby Digital cinema soundtracks are optically recorded on a 35 mm release print using sequential data blocks placed between every perforation hole on the sound track side of the film. A constant bit rate of 320 kbit/s is used. A charge-coupled device (CCD) scanner in the image projector picks up a scanned video image of this area, and a processor correlates the image area and extracts the digital data as an AC-3 bitstream. The data are finally decoded into a 5.1 channel audio source.

The SDDS track on the outside is presumably similar.

Flipperwaldt
Nov 11, 2011

Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?



EDIT good god, y'all, I'm one slow-rear end motherfucker.

mints posted:

It's been years since I took the class we covered this in and I'm sure I'm missing some key elements, but the data in-between the sprockets keeps the film synced with the soundtrack which is housed in a HDD in the projection room. This way when a theater has to cut and splice a film that's from a beat up print the audio doesn't come unsynced.
The post he quoted heavily implies that that's how DTS works, but also that all the other stuff actually contains the audio.

Computer viking
May 30, 2011
Now with less breakage.

Flipperwaldt posted:

The post he quoted heavily implies that that's how DTS works, but also that all the other stuff actually contains the audio.

Given that a similar amount of space can inefficiently encode an analog stereo soundtrack, it's not entirely surprising that you can squeeze in a compressed digital soundtrack there. :)

Flipperwaldt
Nov 11, 2011

Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?



Computer viking posted:

Given that a similar amount of space can inefficiently encode an analog stereo soundtrack, it's not entirely surprising that you can squeeze in a compressed digital soundtrack there. :)
I guess what surprises me most about it is the precision at which those projectors must run to align all that well enough every loving frame to read it.

dissss
Nov 10, 2007

I'm a terrible forums poster with terrible opinions.

Here's a cat fucking a squid.

Flipperwaldt posted:

I guess what surprises me most about it is the precision at which those projectors must run to align all that well enough every loving frame to read it.

There is really nothing to it - because its between the sprocket holes there isn't anything to get out of alignment.

This is a good pic of how its set up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dolby_Digital_track_reader.jpg

In the time I worked in a cinema I can't remember ever having problems with the Dolby Digital sound tracks - the tricky parts were the bits and pieces which kept the platters the film is fed off and back onto running in sync, and also when we needed to run the film in two theaters at once (basically the film would feed off the platter, through one projector, then up along the wall into second projection room, through the second projector and finally onto the take up platter)

UnfortunateSexFart
May 18, 2008

𒃻 𒌓𒁉𒋫 𒆷𒁀𒅅𒆷
𒆠𒂖 𒌉 𒌫 𒁮𒈠𒈾𒅗 𒂉 𒉡𒌒𒂉𒊑


beyonder posted:

Had way too much money and lots of "want that" moments.

Unfortunately my "too much money/before I met my wife" phase was in the early 2000s so I ended up importing $1,000+ phones like this



Ahead of its time in a lot of ways but Symbian sucked. The GPS never worked. :argh:

Der Luftwaffle
Dec 29, 2008

leidend posted:

Unfortunately my "too much money/before I met my wife" phase was in the early 2000s so I ended up importing $1,000+ phones like this



Ahead of its time in a lot of ways but Symbian sucked. The GPS never worked. :argh:

I want to ridicule you for it's price, but man that is some cyberpunk poo poo right there and I'm totally jealous.

forbidden dialectics
Jul 26, 2005





leidend posted:

Unfortunately my "too much money/before I met my wife" phase was in the early 2000s so I ended up importing $1,000+ phones like this



Ahead of its time in a lot of ways but Symbian sucked. The GPS never worked. :argh:

One of my friends had this and when the iPhone came out, he got SUPER defensive about it and showed people how his phone could do anything an iPhone could. Except with you know, a lot more pain and frustration.

Zeether
Aug 26, 2011

Nostrum posted:

One of my friends had this and when the iPhone came out, he got SUPER defensive about it and showed people how his phone could do anything an iPhone could. Except with you know, a lot more pain and frustration.

I remember Maddox had an article on why his Nokia kicked the poo poo out of an iPhone because of some of the features back when it first came out.

dissss
Nov 10, 2007

I'm a terrible forums poster with terrible opinions.

Here's a cat fucking a squid.

Zeether posted:

I remember Maddox had an article on why his Nokia kicked the poo poo out of an iPhone because of some of the features back when it first came out.

The thing is it was true when the iPhone first came out. People tend to forget just how limited a device the iPhone was at launch.

Ron Burgundy
Dec 24, 2005
This burrito is delicious, but it is filling.

Computer viking posted:

Given that a similar amount of space can inefficiently encode an analog stereo soundtrack, it's not entirely surprising that you can squeeze in a compressed digital soundtrack there. :)

Actually it's backwards compatible matrixed multitrack. There is a left, right, center and surround channel encoded into the stereo track. But it will still work on a mono reader.

Computer viking
May 30, 2011
Now with less breakage.

Ron Burgundy posted:

Actually it's backwards compatible matrixed multitrack. There is a left, right, center and surround channel encoded into the stereo track. But it will still work on a mono reader.

Oh, that's sneaky in the best possible way. I can see it working for stereo as mono (the intensity of an entire "row" is the sum of both stereo channels), but how do you add the other channels? Left/right offset on the signal part of each channel?

BogDew
Jun 14, 2006

E:\FILES>quickfli clown.fli

dissss posted:

The thing is it was true when the iPhone first came out. People tend to forget just how limited a device the iPhone was at launch.
On the first gen iphone you couldn't do multitasking or have a camera flash or a forward facing camera.
My aging P1 still held up fairly well feature wise. But dragging that out in an emergency did remind me how painfully clunky the UIQ3 interface was despite the phone managing to do everything I needed it to do.

eddiewalker
Apr 28, 2004

Arrrr ye landlubber

Computer viking posted:

Oh, that's sneaky in the best possible way. I can see it working for stereo as mono (the intensity of an entire "row" is the sum of both stereo channels), but how do you add the other channels? Left/right offset on the signal part of each channel?

It's all phasing tricks.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_decoder

There are limitations to the complexity of the rear channels, sound placement and differences between the channels.

The idea is still widely used. Dolby Pro Logic and its successors, for example.

Ron Burgundy
Dec 24, 2005
This burrito is delicious, but it is filling.

Computer viking posted:

Oh, that's sneaky in the best possible way. I can see it working for stereo as mono (the intensity of an entire "row" is the sum of both stereo channels), but how do you add the other channels? Left/right offset on the signal part of each channel?

The most basic form of implementation is to make the centre channel the sum of L+R and to make the surround channel the difference between L+R. Dolby units include logic to further process the audio to create more discrete sounding channels. Dolby really are the wizards of this kind of thing. Kind of sad it's all gone now.

This article explains it pretty well.

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Yad Rock
Mar 1, 2005
What was that flip-phone thing James Bond had in one of the late 90s movies that also drove his car? I remember it being really futuristic at the time but I'm assuming it would no longer be so unbelievable in 2014.

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