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[-] jeena@piefed.jeena.net 35 points 2 weeks ago

fax machines, both in Germany and Japan.

[-] Libra@lemmy.ml 14 points 2 weeks ago

They're common in the US too in doctors offices and hospitals because of the security requirements of transmitting patient records and such.

[-] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 36 points 2 weeks ago

Legally defined as secure, not actually secure.

They are fairly insecure in practice, since they are throwing the data at misdialed numbers and they are frequently placed in shared and insecure locations in the building where lots of people can access whatever comes through.

[-] Libra@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 weeks ago

Sure. But as someone who used to work IT with a focus on cybersecurity, physical access to anything trumps everything else, and people who put fax machines in insecure locations will also put email servers or whatever in them. Also throwing data at misdialed numbers is a tiny threat because the odds of transposing a number or whatever and also getting a fax machine are pretty tiny.

Although the guy above you was just talking about how he works in the industry and they mostly do efax now, which.. Iono how that's supposed to be more secure than just email or whatever. I guess if you're sending to physical machines it's more secure on that end, but if the senders are using efax some of the receivers prolly are too, at which point we've lost the whole point of using fax machines.

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[-] RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com 5 points 2 weeks ago

And it's WAY older than people think. The first patent for a fax like machine was granted in 1843.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax

[-] blackstampede@sh.itjust.works 32 points 2 weeks ago
[-] truxnell@aussie.zone 4 points 2 weeks ago

If some of the stories are to be believed, some of the code dates back to 3.1/dos too

[-] meekah@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago
[-] truxnell@aussie.zone 5 points 2 weeks ago

Oh that's tremendous, I don't run windows to see this. But come to think of it I have come across some ancient screens doing odbc/data connections ancient popups in excel at work!

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[-] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 31 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

IPv4.

IPv6 became a recognized standard by 1998.

EDIT: https://www.google.com/intl/en/ipv6/statistics.html#tab=ipv6-adoption

Nearly 30 years later, and less than half of the connections to Google are via IPv6.

[-] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 2 weeks ago

Fucking NAT. Never should have been allowed to escape from the lab.

[-] Chocrates@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

Lolol, you're not wrong. NAT made IPv6 a later problem

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[-] Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 2 weeks ago

It surprises me how many system utilities I use that are older than I am. I am currently initializing a disk on a cloud server with an application that was written when Ford was the US president.

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[-] BlushedPotatoPlayers@sopuli.xyz 15 points 2 weeks ago

I'm surprised nobody mentioned jack plugs yet. Basically unchanged since 1877 when it was invented for phone switchboards, roughly as old as safety pins or modern hairpins (give or take a few decades)

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[-] Tattorack@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

Steam engines.

The vast majority of our power comes from making something really hot and boiling water. Coal plant? Oil plant? Gas plant? Nuclear fission plant? Geothermal plant? The grand holy grail of energy production that would be a nuclear fusion plant? All steam engines.

Yes, unbeknownst to everyone, this is what a steampunk society realistically looks like.

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[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 13 points 2 weeks ago

Air traffic control still uses floppy disks, windows 95, and a plastic board of paper tag numbers to keep track of shit instead of a computer.

[-] Windex007@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago

To be fair I have infinity more confidence in the system you just described than whatever tech bro disruptor was going to pitch

[-] Skunk@jlai.lu 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Not all of them, most of ATC in EASA airspace is Linux based and use electronic strips instead of the plastic paper strips.

But the foundation of the ground/ground communication is still AFTN based on x400 network (Europe used to have an X.25 network for its CIDIN communications).

The latest and newest tech for international data exchange is AMHS based on X400, often it is x400 over IP ok, but still a 50 years or so tech.

The main idea behind ATC and aviation tech is reliability and compatibility with countries with less money to upgrade tech.

[-] ExFed@programming.dev 12 points 2 weeks ago

The Wheel. We should've graduated to antigravity by now, don't you think?

[-] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Back to the Future lied to me again!

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[-] tuckerm@feddit.online 12 points 2 weeks ago

There's a used bookstore near me that has the oldest cash register I've ever seen. It has keys like a typewriter, and makes the most satisfying "ka-ching" sound when it opens. They always use it to add up your purchase and print a receipt, even when you're paying with a credit card. But I always try to bring cash when I'm there so that the drawer gets used. (And also, y'know, screw credit card companies taking their cut.)

I know that's not really "in widespread use" today, which is probably what the question meant, but that was the first thing that came to mind for me.

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[-] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 2 weeks ago

Car thermostats for the radiator. You don't want the coolant flowing when the engine first starts, because it will run like shit. So you have a cylinder filled with wax that expands with heat. That controls a valve to set the flow of coolant. Low tech, works fine, no particular reason to change it.

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[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago
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[-] toddestan@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

It surprises me how little stick-built houses have changed in the last 50 years or so, at least in the USA.

[-] bacon_pdp@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago
[-] Zak@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

A decade ago, I thought phone numbers would soon die out. Instead, the most popular messaging apps use them as identifiers and adoption of those in North America is poor.

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[-] HK65@sopuli.xyz 8 points 2 weeks ago

An Ikarus 256 was used as a train replacement bus in normal traffic in Hungary yesterday

[-] BlushedPotatoPlayers@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 weeks ago

For the uninitiated, Ikarus was a Hungarian bus factory that produced buses to the Eastern block, some of those are probably still running somewhere in Mongolia. The Ikarus 256 was produced between 1974-2002, so in the best case that thing was at least 23 years old.

But even better, someone got to travel on an Ikarus 55 on the same day (1954-1974), which used to be great in their time, but definitely weren't made for 36C summers, the lack of air conditioning combined with the sunshine roof that used to increase the feel of comfort in 1958 created a living hell for the passengers packed into that rolling museum with barely openable windows.

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[-] fubarx@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago
[-] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Hospitals use pagers because the frequency band they run on is better at penetrating walls. Shorter waves carry more data, but are easily blocked by walls. Pagers don’t need a lot of data, so they use really long waves.

And hospitals are built like bunkers, to avoid the potential need to evacuate patients during an emergency. Things like fire breaks between individual rooms, earthquake protections, being strong enough to stand up during a hurricane, etc… The goal is to be able to shelter in place instead of evacuating, because a mass evacuation of bedridden patients who all need monitoring equipment would be a logistical nightmare.

But this also means hospitals are really good at blocking wireless signals, because the walls are all super thick and sturdy. So they use pagers, which use long waves and can reliably penetrate the bunker-like walls. You don’t want a doctor to miss an emergency call because they were sitting in the basement; Hospitals need a wireless connection that reliably works every time. And pagers just happen to fit that specific niche.

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[-] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 weeks ago

Mirrors on cars.

I mean, logically I know why, but it just feels so weird and out of place in the 21st century.

Like you got this high tech vehicle with a bunch of computers inside and a lot of screens/displays, radios, GPS, “assisted driving”, then you see this mirror that’s thousands of years old and not some advanced 360 radar system.

I know that a mirror isn’t gonna fail like electronics do, so its better reliability, but still feel odd seeing old tech and new tech merged.

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 weeks ago

I spend a fair bit of time on construction sites, and cameras have one huge issue compared to mirrors: They're one-way.

With a mirror, I can see the driver in the mirror. I can make eyecontact and confirm that they've seen me. With a camera, I have no idea if they've seen me. Maybe they can see more, but if they happen not to be looking, I have no way to tell.

And our stupid road regulations don't allow for both.

[-] skozzii@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 weeks ago

You better take a long look in the mirror before you make a controversial statement like that.

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[-] naught101@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

They should get rid of the windows too.

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[-] frenchfryenjoyer@lemmings.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

there's still new passenger airliners which use old fashioned control cables over fly by wire

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[-] scottmeme@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

SS7, part of the old ass 2g and 3g networks

[-] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 weeks ago

Kinda surprised this doesn't have more upvotes considering it seems that it continues to be a massive security vulnerability.

[-] scottmeme@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago

Yep and a family member of mine was a victim of a SS7 attack yesterday

[-] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

Are they a CEO or something?

If they are just an average person, this is kinda unsettling... 😬

[-] scottmeme@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

Average person, nothing special. Got a SMS OTP code for their Uber account and changed the information (email, phone #).

[-] JustRalph@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago
[-] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 2 weeks ago

Bidet gang ~~rise up~~ sit down!

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[-] Fedditor385@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Fax, still in official use in Germany.

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[-] affenlehrer@feddit.org 4 points 2 weeks ago

A lot of production industry still runs on PLC from the 90s or older and uses DOS supervision systems. They would continue using it but are usually forced to upgrade once they run out of spare parts and / or staff that can maintain it.

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this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
55 points (100.0% liked)

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