this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2024

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444

What's a technology that was cooler in its older iterations? (pawb.social)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

475 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I don't mean BETTER. That's a different conversation. I mean cooler.

An old CRT display was literally a small scale particle accelerator, firing angry electron beams at light speed towards the viewers, bent by an electromagnet that alternates at an ultra high frequency, stopped by a rounded rectangle of glowing phosphors.

If a CRT goes bad it can actually make people sick.

That's just. Conceptually a lot COOLER than a modern LED panel, which really is just a bajillion very tiny lightbulbs.

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[–] [email protected] 49 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (6 children)

Bicycle shifters.

The first iteration that could be operated without stopping was the Campagnolo Cambio Corsa.
To shift, you had to reach behind you, where there were 2 levers.

The first one loosened the rear axle so it could move freely back and forth in the dropouts.
The second one had an eyelet you could use to move the chain sideways.
You put the chain on a different cog, and the rear wheel jumped forward or back due to the changed chain length.
Then you tightened the rear axle again.

It's terrifyingly beautiful:

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[–] [email protected] 91 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (21 children)

In the near to mid future, I think an answer to this question are Internal Combustion Engines. I love electric vehicles and look forward to the tech improving. But the sheer coolness factor of moving a large machine through perfectly timed and calibrated explosions is tough to beat.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Please tell me this doesn't run on gas! Gas explodes, you know?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I recognize that reference, but I can't quite place it. Futurama? Star Trek: Lower Decks?

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

And the fact is "mechanic automated" system for me is what makes it even cooler. All you had to do to start is twist it a couple revolutions and bang, it works as long as you have fuel because everything simply works. Of course, today you have electronic fuel injection and so one, but if you want you can make it works just with a lot of metal to do the right parts.

Man, I'll miss combustion engines (but I hope its use ends ASAP because planet can't wait anymore)

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Portable music players.

They were the coolest when they used minidiscs.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

"Steam gauges" on car/plane instrument panels. Yeah, digital displays are cheaper to manufacture and less prone to failure, but they kinda suck the fun out of it.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 2 days ago (3 children)

These huge mechanical clocks in church towers.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

cooler then or now? because I would argue all retro tech is cooler now

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago

The Gameboy.

The switch is neat, but it's too large.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (2 children)

The Apple II is still such a fucking cool computer.

Sure, my watch is about a billion times more powerful, but my watch will never be as cool as the Apple II.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

It's mainly cool to me because of what it represented in its era. It was personal computing available for the masses, yes, but it's also the embodiment of the American dream. Here's these guys soldering and writing code in their garage, and all of the sudden they're in stores across the world, and competing with giants such as Xerox, and IBM. It's a product from a story for the ages.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Not really an "older iteration" as much as a "sideways iteration", but the Novint Falcon was the coolest controller I've ever used. It had a ton of potential, but it seemed like the company had no clue how to utilize it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I still have mine sitting on a shelf in my office.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

I still have mine in its original box in my closet. I wish there were modern drivers for it with custom game support; so you could mod support into your favorite games.

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[–] [email protected] 94 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Steam locomotives. The crazy streamlining, the size of some of those motherfuckers. 6 foot tall wheels, 100 tons moving at 125mph and all that shit accomplished 80+ years ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4468_Mallard

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