452

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

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by VinesNFluff@pawb.social to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

481 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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] Tudsamfa@lemmy.world 43 points 2 months ago

Toasters. Specifically the Sunbeam Radiant Control toaster, with the tag line "Automatic Beyond Belief!". There is a fan site (https://automaticbeyondbelief.org/, excellent url). Like, what other appliance line has a fan site? Surely no modern day toaster!

But of course I first heard about it from Technology Connections video.

[-] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

I think a lot of old school products worked better than modern equivalents. Take toasters - when I was a kid our toaster consistently made toast with the same degree of doneness. I've had modern ones that said "microprocessor controlled" on them that couldn't make consecutive pieces the same. Also flashlights. Simple metal flashlights just worked. My new sophisticated one cycles through multiple levels of brightness and then strobing (so I can what, have my own rave?) but sudden motions make it spontaneously turn off. I mean how hard is an ON/OFF switch?

And what's the deal with airline food? I'm thinkin' hey!

[-] ebc@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 months ago

My grandmother used to have one. I never realized how it worked before that video, but I was always fascinated by the fact that the bread would lower itself

[-] Valmond@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago

I'd love a good toaster, do they stil exist or do you have to build your own?

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 2 months ago

They aren't being made any longer but you can buy used ones. The channel in question (or his second channel maybe) goes over a process to make them a little safer for modern use (like using a polarized plug).

this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2024

452 points (98.5% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27253 readers

1301 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

6) No US Politics.

Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.