Post the very best in obsolete and failed technology

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titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

b0nes posted:

Is this being used anymore? I always assumed it was an East coast thing, I cant remember seeing any of these in California.

The hotel I stayed at in Atlanta this summer had a door like this, it was awesome at maintaining the 25 degree difference between the lobby and the outside.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2012 20:07

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 15:23

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Tracula posted:

That's well and good and all but I mean a lot of steampunk garbage looks like it's rusty metal randomly crammed together with a few gears and hoses hanging off of it.

Steampunk is lame or whatever, but I've been seeing this "most steampunk stuff looks rusty and will kill you" opinion a lot lately though it never comes with an example.

Here, please point out which bits will make you sick:

# ¿ Apr 21, 2014 06:16

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Exit Strategy posted:

Holy poo poo I am still logged into the drat thing, and my number's eight digits. I haven't looked at Adium's account list in so long that I forgot.

I find it interesting that despite being unable to remember the birth date of my wife of 16 years, I remember both my ICQ number (not my original 8-digit one, but the 10 digit one from 2001) and my Prodigy e-mail address which is a string of random letters and numbers from like 1995.

# ¿ May 15, 2014 22:49

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

moller posted:

Side-open/Safety can openers are obviously superior to anything that goes in from the top.

Any regular wheel-type can opener is a side-opener. Hold it in your left hand and position the cutting wheel on the outer edge of the can. You just have to use it horizontally to the top of the can instead of vertically.

titties has a new favorite as of 04:16 on Jun 19, 2014

# ¿ Jun 19, 2014 04:14

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

MondayHotDog posted:

In my first year of high school we were still using floppies.

SAME

Aristophanes posted:

In my first year of high school we had to have a USB flash drive, and I bought a 1GB drive for about $25. Today, I just got a 16GB USB 3.0 flash drive for a little under $10.

I still have a 64mb flash drive floating around. The first time I saw a full 1gb flash drive advertised it cost something ridiculous like $1000.

# ¿ Nov 25, 2014 03:53

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Dick Trauma posted:

This is going to turn into a repeat of what happened with my pneumatic tubes post, isn't it?

I don't know, can the newspaper shoot burritos at me? I would buy it if it could.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2015 06:29

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Wanamingo posted:

Hell, I'd say computer discs drives are obsolete too. Can't actually remember the last time I used one of those things. A lot of laptops don't come with then anymore, even.

Mine plays blu-ray so it still gets used.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2015 15:02

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

GOTTA STAY FAI posted:

"Blue movies" as in "stuff you have to show your ID to rent at the video store?"

It was porn and any porn on an optical disc belongs in this thread.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2015 15:25

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Pantech makes AT&T-branded flip phones, they cost like $10. I've never had a smartphone and I have somehow managed to survive with a flip phone because spending all of your time staring at your phone is for autists.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2015 17:18

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

flosofl posted:

I bet you don't even own a TV, either.

Don't be silly, everyone needs to watch game of thrones

# ¿ Aug 4, 2015 17:42

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Enos Shenk posted:

This stupid piece of poo poo.

I'll never understand why they were so popular for a brief time. Cheap trash plastic, that idiotic antenna design that broke off within weeks.

Back around 2000 I was working for a cell company down in Florida doing equipment installs, a few guys had these. One day at a picnic type deal for everyone I saw a guy drop his dumb startac from waist-height onto a concrete floor, the thing practically exploded into components and plastic shards. Meanwhile I dropped my Ericsson brick once, and all that happened is the battery fell off.

I had a MICROTac, which was somehow about 3x thicker than that one. I think I still have it in the original box. E: it had a 1-line screen

# ¿ Aug 6, 2015 03:21

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Coffee And Pie posted:

Oh, they still exist, but now they just sell iPhone cases.

On that topic, how did people carry around those big old phones? I never really had a problem with flip phones because I went through a baggy pants phase, but now I even have trouble cramming an iPhone in an Otterbox into my somewhat-tight jeans.

We had belt cases.

titties has a new favorite as of 11:25 on Aug 6, 2015

# ¿ Aug 6, 2015 11:22

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

dissss posted:

Whenever someone posts the 'Nokias are indestructible' meme I feel like I'm missing out on something. I've had a bunch of different Nokia models over the years and without exception the hardware was garbage - either the keys would stop working (removable faceplate models) or the slide/flip mechanism would wear out.

I had to bust out my old Nokia 3100 in 2008 and it was still going strong. The last time I took a look at it it still powered on and held a charge, unlike my much newer slim (non razr) Motorola and Samsung slider.

It didn't flip or slide, and as far as I knew it didn't have a removable faceplate. You just had to get the right kind of candybar phone.

E: apparently it did have something called "xpress-on" cover plates, n/m

titties has a new favorite as of 11:49 on Aug 8, 2015

# ¿ Aug 7, 2015 06:26

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

I'm the super where I live, and I have a lovely, previously-mentioned Pantech flip phone. I plugged it in on my way to bed only to get a CHECK BATTERY warning. I took the battery out and put it back in a bunch of times. I tried different cords and ports. Got nothing. Since I'm on call nights and weekends, the phone not charging means that I wouldn't be able to leave the house.

I spent hours digging around and managed to find the Nokia 3100 I mentioned, as well as the charger. I got it in 2004, and replaced it in 2006. I had to use it briefly in 2008, which was the last time it was charged or turned on.

It still works and is taking a charge. I tested it by sending and receiving calls to my (obsolete) house phone and playing a game of nokia bowling.

As soon as I was done with that, the flip phone started charging again.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2015 11:47

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Mister Kingdom posted:

CRT-TVs went through an all-black to all-silver color scheme in the 90s/00s before flat screens became the norm.

Don't we all have a 300 lb flatscreen CRT to play our NESs and Genesis' on? Mine is silver.

# ¿ Aug 14, 2015 23:19

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Code Jockey posted:

Same, absolutely amazing 480i component-capable 27" CRT that I will never get rid of, ever

32" Trinitron 4 lyfe (because it can't be moved out)

# ¿ Aug 14, 2015 23:49

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Der Kyhe posted:

Well, can't say anything about this particular system, but pedals like these are actually really useful for example to people who transcript conversations. No need to take your hands from the keyboard, when you can manage the recording (rewind, pause) and load another one with your feet.

Yeah, there are a lot of transcriptionists in the Online Moneymaking thread, one of them probably would have been happy to throw out some cash for them.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2015 17:02

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

NLJP posted:

I love this because literally the only reason for a physical copy nowadays is if you have a bandwidth cap.

I can't sell a digital copy at a used-game store.

# ¿ Aug 31, 2015 16:22

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

for shame

# ¿ Oct 21, 2015 19:59

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

HairyManling posted:

You still need a ... bagger to put all of your stuff in bags. Or bag dispensers spread around the store so you can bag your stuff as you go and then get charged as you pass a sensor while leaving the store.

Why? Stores here already have several self-checkout lines where you scan your own items, bag them, then pay with cash / credit / debit. The discount grocery places don't even have bags or baggers, they just have a stack of boxes and a long table near the doors and you do it yourself.

If the cart automatically scanned everything and all you had to do was pull up to a kiosk, swipe your card, and bag your stuff it would save you time over the current self-checkout and it would let the store replace 20 cashiers and 20 baggers with like 3-5 people who respond to issues with the payment system or whatever.

HairyManling posted:

It sounds like one of those 'solutions to a problem that doesn't really exist' things. Sure sometimes you get behind the old lady that still uses checks and takes ten minutes to fill one out, but is waiting two minutes while a checker scans all your items and bags them really a major inconvenience in your life?

It is not a major inconvenience. It is a lot of overhead for the store and it is a position that is no longer necessary. The local Wal-mart has about 8 self-checkout kiosks and like 20 regular registers. If you go in at like 6 in the morning there will be one lane open with a cashier, and one other person maintaining all of the self-checkout, which includes checking ID for age-restricted items.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2015 13:19

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

GWBBQ posted:

Did that happen before or after the 20 minutes you spent downloading the Unreal Tournament kill sound effects plus Homer saying "D'oh" and Nelson saying "Ha Ha"?

I used to love setting up my windows 98 machine with custom sound clips, shutdown screens, and animated pointers that glowed with lightening. It feels like that was a very late-90's/early-2000's thing.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2015 06:08

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

I blame EverQuest

# ¿ Dec 27, 2015 05:01

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Is it now obsolete to know the difference between a disk and a disc smdh

# ¿ Jan 28, 2016 12:09

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Jerry Cotton posted:

I call hard disk drives umpilevyasema (enclosed disk drive) instead of the normal kiintolevyasema (fixed disk drive) because that's what IBM called them in Mongolian back in the day and my dad only bought IBM PCs. My vocabulary is obsolete.

catsup

# ¿ Jan 28, 2016 13:28

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

I still have my 32" flatscreen Trinitron CRT from 2003 and I probably always will because maybe in 10 years I will want to play nintendo. And also because that model has to weigh 300 lbs.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2016 00:37

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

flosofl posted:

Seriously? Is that a joke or something?

The video you linked showed some pretty common lamp fixtures but maybe he is, like, rich and they have fancier lamps or maybe he lives someplace that is not America and their normal lamp switches are different or maybe he is really dumb and can't conceive of something being different than he is used to

# ¿ May 24, 2016 15:15

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Trabant posted:

... but it's why I don't get the "overstuffed curriculum" or "kids are overworked" arguments. Is it the focus on athletics or other clubs/extracurriculars that are at fault?

That is probably a component, sure. My oldest kid is only in school from 7:30 - 2:45, but she also has her academic competitions, school orchestra, youth city council, a youth group where she mentors, and her after-school job. A lot of these things are only once or twice a week but they tend to stack up and she has very little free time and she spends (or is supposed to spend) a lot of that doing homework.

# ¿ May 25, 2016 23:50

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

TotalLossBrain posted:

Most of the things you listed there just aren't strong components of the German school system (from what I remember 20 years ago mind you and what I see with my nephews currently).
Sports? Tough, if you want team sports other than what's covered in 3 hours PE, do it on your own time. The type of HS athletics that happen here are unheard of (at least in the state I grew up in).
Orchestra? Okay, that's one hour of instruction per week. No more.
After-school job? Not likely when you're <18.

It's really a combination of under-filled and over-tested curriculum and boat loads of what should be extra-curricular activities crammed into a regular school day.
Plus, what another poster above me said: for some reason, EVERYONE is encouraged to go to college and to prepare for it. I have never seen a strong focus on vocational programs here and I don't understand why. I have quite a few blue collar friends and they tend to make as much, if not more money than I do as an engineer. They work a lot of overtime, but their hourly rates are comparable.

Most of the stuff I mentioned is extra-curricular. Some of it uses the school buildings after-hours but a lot of it is not related to school at all. I went to the same school she does, and my school days were a full hour longer than hers, and I assume some of that is in response to the "kids are overworked thing". She is busier than I ever was, even though I worked more hours after school and went to school longer.

I assume it also helps the school by reducing their operating hours and therefor costs.

As an aside, it is not uncommon in America for kids to get a job at the age of 15 or so. These days they are often competing with 40-year-olds for the same minimum wage jobs and a lot of local places prefer hiring the teenagers because they can treat them like poo poo and the kids don't know any better.

E: I should add that none of her activities are required, but she wants to go to a real school instead of community college like I did and it is a lot easier to get into someplace decent if you have a stupid amount of community outreach / involvement and extra-curriculars.

titties has a new favorite as of 03:18 on May 26, 2016

# ¿ May 26, 2016 03:15

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Jabor posted:

"Memorizing and typing in 10 digit numbers is easier than just picking someone from my contacts list" - a real person, apparently

"Phone numbers are too hard" - a millennial, apparently

# ¿ Aug 2, 2016 12:46

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

KozmoNaut posted:

It's a widescreen, I assume?

A 32" 4:3 would be amazing and gigantic.

evobatman posted:

I've seen a couple of Sony Trinitrons like that when I've been in the US and checking out retro gaming stores. They are AMAZING, and probably about 300 lbs.

I have a 32" 4:3 Trinitron sitting in my living room. It died a few months ago after 15 years of constant use. It needs to be thrown out but I can't carry it by myself and nobody wants to help me :smith:

I wanted to hold on to that TV forever to play my retro consoles on but I sold all my old game poo poo a couple of years ago anyway.

# ¿ Oct 21, 2016 01:35

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

HaB posted:

The reason they don't print $10s/$20s is because the risk (and by extension the punishment) is effectively the same, but the immediate rewards for printing $100s are much better.

I work at a gas station. Over the summer we got several counterfeit $1 and $5 bills. After the bank found the first couple we started marking every bill with the counterfeit pen. I got a fake $2 bill one day during the morning rush. As best we could figure it started happening when the fair came to town.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2017 19:09

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

They also use them to render xrays of your mom

# ¿ Jun 21, 2017 05:13

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Kelp Me! posted:

When I worked at Radio Shack we actually had separate versions of the cd with bristles, one for CD players and one for DVD players and I'm like 99% sure they were the exact same item inside different packaging

I have one for blu-ray drives. It doesn't have a brush because that would be bad. It has a couple of holes in it which are supposed to create little vortexes or whirlwinds to suck or blow dust off the lens or something. It probably does literally nothing.

# ¿ Jul 21, 2017 14:07

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Wasabi the J posted:

The standard GBoard has text cursor movement by sliding on the spacebar???

Thank you very much

# ¿ Sep 15, 2017 15:57

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Hi, did I miss the picture that was supposed to solve the turntable debate about which of them was wrong and dumb?

# ¿ Oct 7, 2017 21:21

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Doctor Bishop posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quF45LvBtwA

Techmoan reviews another old, obscure device, but this time, . Can you guess what it does before the reveal? Hint: it's probably not what you would think based on the name.

I didn't recognize it at first but when I was a small child in the mid-80's I had something very much like this. It went with a series of books that I want to say included Sesame Street titles and stuff.

# ¿ Nov 5, 2017 05:28

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Last Chance posted:

That sounds absurdly expensive for a 38”. Aren’t those like $150 now?

For like a 720p roku tv i think. The 4k 38" sets at Walmart go for around 250 - 300

# ¿ Aug 11, 2020 00:17

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

In the early 2000's I got very excited about a company that was prototyping a Playstation 2 controller with a trackball in place of the right stick but they never got beyond the prototype phase.

I suppose this is not yet failed or obsolete since there's one on Kickstarter that is for pc but i thought i was going to be owning fools with my rad trackball controller on ps2

# ¿ Aug 16, 2020 23:18

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Kwyndig posted:

I'd love to see if you can get it to charge. It won't work as a phone anymore (none of the protocols it uses are still in service) but just getting it to boot would be interesting to see a video of.

I have a nokia candy bar phone from 2004 that could still be used as late as around 2016.

My job at the time required that i were on call but they were so cheap that they were using an at&t pantech flip phone. When that phone stopped working i dug out the old Nokia and it still had 3/4 of a charge and worked perfectly with the sim card from the pantech. I could make and receive calls for the couple of days it took to replace the company phone.

Also i had a very similar Samsung slider from around 2007? I really liked that phone even if it wasn't a motorola RAZR

E: lol i posted itt about having to go back to using my circa 2004 nokia phone itt back when it happened. When did old phones become unusable?

titties has a new favorite as of 06:37 on May 18, 2022

# ¿ May 18, 2022 06:26

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 15:23

titties: May 10, 2012; They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Powered Descent posted:

When I got my great big TV a few years ago, my intention was to do just that. But drat it, the built-in streaming apps (including one for my local Plex server) are just so much more convenient -- using the remote is much nicer than a wireless keyboard/touchpad thingy. I'm sure it's sending usage data and whatnot home to the mothership, but it's an LG, so I presume it's at least somewhat less evil than a Samsung.

My LG allows you to opt out of ads and data collection by just never accepting the agreements. It comes at the cost of not being able to use the LG streaming channels but i wasn't going to use them anyway.

I wouldn't have used the smart features at all except that my pc and my 3rd gen roku don't display 4k so i have to use the onboard apps

# ¿ Jun 6, 2022 00:51

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