For us over 50 - Favourite Technology
Discussion
A map nerd here, used to spend hours looking at them, OS maps, road atlases, nautical charts planning journeys and voyages.
However I have to say GPS and digitised mapping is a bloody revelation. Yesterday we were out in a part of the forest we hadn't visited before. Regular areas we know the paths and even if we go off piste natural sense of direction can get you back to familiar territory.
But yesterday evening, getting dark, already soon needing torchlight, with a veritable maze of tracks and paths, many of which went nowhere into muddy dead ends we needed to figure out just where we were exactly and which way to go. Retracing route was a definite option, carrying on with guesswork would have worked as we know the general lie of the land but to save time we needed an accurate position, out came phone, within seconds an accurate position plot onto a digitised OS Explorer map, add the direction arrow from the compass and we were off down the correct path, out of the 5 alternatives.
Quite sad last week to throw my last copy of the Philips large scale UK road atlas in the recycling bin.
However I have to say GPS and digitised mapping is a bloody revelation. Yesterday we were out in a part of the forest we hadn't visited before. Regular areas we know the paths and even if we go off piste natural sense of direction can get you back to familiar territory.
But yesterday evening, getting dark, already soon needing torchlight, with a veritable maze of tracks and paths, many of which went nowhere into muddy dead ends we needed to figure out just where we were exactly and which way to go. Retracing route was a definite option, carrying on with guesswork would have worked as we know the general lie of the land but to save time we needed an accurate position, out came phone, within seconds an accurate position plot onto a digitised OS Explorer map, add the direction arrow from the compass and we were off down the correct path, out of the 5 alternatives.
Quite sad last week to throw my last copy of the Philips large scale UK road atlas in the recycling bin.
Just shy of 50 (couple of years to go, yet), but another vote for YouTube.
Apart from the huge range of documentaries and other diverting stuff like cats arguing with laser printers, as a guitar player the resources are fantastic. Despite having been playing since I was 18, the stuff I've learned over the last few years on how to properly used more advanced scales and chords is amazing.
Sat Nav is bloody marvellous as well for getting in to and out of unfamiliar city centres
Apart from the huge range of documentaries and other diverting stuff like cats arguing with laser printers, as a guitar player the resources are fantastic. Despite having been playing since I was 18, the stuff I've learned over the last few years on how to properly used more advanced scales and chords is amazing.
Sat Nav is bloody marvellous as well for getting in to and out of unfamiliar city centres
Skype / Line on a mobile.
Back in the 70's and 80's when my dad worked in Oman, it was letters and the occasional phone call (special occasions) or the occasional very sneaky Marisat call from god knows where.
Moving into the 90's he got Net2phone which meant free calls with VOIP.
Nowadays, he can call my brother in Australia, friends in Oman and relatives in Cape town for free, have a face to face video call all in the palm of his hand.
Back in the 70's and 80's when my dad worked in Oman, it was letters and the occasional phone call (special occasions) or the occasional very sneaky Marisat call from god knows where.
Moving into the 90's he got Net2phone which meant free calls with VOIP.
Nowadays, he can call my brother in Australia, friends in Oman and relatives in Cape town for free, have a face to face video call all in the palm of his hand.
Steam engine. Penny farthing. Electric light bulb.
I jest obviously I am not that old, just look it. For me satnav. One of the first mind blowing tech products (excluding mobile phone which needs a mention) I bought when they were first launched, absolute revelation, prior to that it was using an AA road atlas and/or A to Z. I used to visit clients and remember well stopping down unlit lanes at night grappling with the A to Z after a missed turning, and then this gizmo does it all for you.
And the internet and anything related to it, google, youtube, banking, skype, et al.
I jest obviously I am not that old, just look it. For me satnav. One of the first mind blowing tech products (excluding mobile phone which needs a mention) I bought when they were first launched, absolute revelation, prior to that it was using an AA road atlas and/or A to Z. I used to visit clients and remember well stopping down unlit lanes at night grappling with the A to Z after a missed turning, and then this gizmo does it all for you.
And the internet and anything related to it, google, youtube, banking, skype, et al.
GetCarter said:
eyebeebe said:
GetCarter said:
It's also bloody cheap. in circa 1983 the bloke I was working for got a gigabyte hard drive for his Mac. Cost him best part of three grand. I recently bought 4,096 gigs for about a hundred quid.
I doubt it was a gigabyte. According to this link the first gigabyte drive was only made in 1980, cost USD 80k and I don’t think it was designed for a PC! I don’t think things progressed that quickly in 3 years. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_hard_di...Couldn't have been 1mb. Even the first 286s had 40Mb hard drives.
otherman said:
No, 1Gb would be right. Back then, when these things were taking real strides, last year's best thing is this years second on the list. In three years, amazing kit had become old hat. Blank CD prices fell really fast. They were £10, then £1 a year later. Not long before they were 10p.
Couldn't have been 1mb. Even the first 286s had 40Mb hard drives.
My first 286 came with a 20Mb hard drive. Parkard BellCouldn't have been 1mb. Even the first 286s had 40Mb hard drives.
Blib said:
Uber. A terrific app. I use it often in London and it switched seamlessly to provide a service recently in NYC and Washington.
If you live in an area that Uber serves, they're great. I can call one and have it here in 2 minutes, and I can see it coming on my screen. Drivers always love the job, because they can do whatever hours they want. Same app worked in Nantes and Nashville, and they're cheaper than regular black or private hire.
Compare this to private hire who tell you it'll be ten minutes and it could be anything from 5 minutes to half an hour. Chase them up and they say, yes, he's just round the corner now. Much less reliable.
vixen1700 said:
Shazam app on my phone. What witchcraft is this? Two years of randomly hearing tunes, Shazaming it and finding out instantly what it is. Probably my favourite ever thing of the 21st Century, something Joe 90 would have had. 
Well I've got some news for you, technology gone bad. Apple have bought Shazam, and are changing so that it only suggests tunes that are available in the apple store, and offers to sell them to you. This sort of sEdited by vixen1700 on Saturday 10th November 20:23
t is why some people are so against apple.otherman said:
No, 1Gb would be right. Back then, when these things were taking real strides, last year's best thing is this years second on the list. In three years, amazing kit had become old hat. Blank CD prices fell really fast. They were £10, then £1 a year later. Not long before they were 10p.
Couldn't have been 1mb. Even the first 286s had 40Mb hard drives.
There's not a chance in hell of getting 1GB of storage for a personal computer in 1983, it simply didn't exist. My first drive to breach the GB barrier would have been probably 1995ish.Couldn't have been 1mb. Even the first 286s had 40Mb hard drives.
hutchst said:
Online banking.
I'm in Kuwait. My son in Kilmarnock needed money for something. He was out. So was I. He sent me a text message. I went online, transferred money from my account to his, and he was able to spend it in the shop using his card in less than an hour.
That is astonishing when you think about it.
Possibly better in the old days when you had to leave Kuwait to effect the transfer.I'm in Kuwait. My son in Kilmarnock needed money for something. He was out. So was I. He sent me a text message. I went online, transferred money from my account to his, and he was able to spend it in the shop using his card in less than an hour.
That is astonishing when you think about it.
Less reasons to leave cannot be good ...
PositronicRay said:
Hotel reviews and booking.
It beats driving to a town and spending an hour finding somewhere second rate to stay.
I don't know about that one, I miss playing hotel roulette. Now if you turn up without an internet booking it confuses some of the stuff.It beats driving to a town and spending an hour finding somewhere second rate to stay.
I'd say that the internet is the best modern thing, it brings all the TV and music streaming anyone could need and even has some genuinely educational videos hidden amongst the cat and naughty stuff, although both of those are pretty useful too.
DIW35 said:
GPS. I used to do a lot of orienteering in my much younger days ....
I still do and technology has revolutionised the sport. Control punching is all electronic now; no paper cards and pin punches/ink stamps, no cheating by taking controls out of order, instant results (and DSQ's) at the Finish.You can log your course on a GPS watch to see where you got lost, but you mustn't use it for navigation - that's still paper map & compass.
deckster said:
There's not a chance in hell of getting 1GB of storage for a personal computer in 1983, it simply didn't exist. My first drive to breach the GB barrier would have been probably 1995ish.
Agreed, I got a 170mb HDD in my Amiga 1200 in 1993 IIRC, and that was considered a decent size then. In fact my first PC may have had a 1Gb hard drive and that was 1996. So yeah, 1Gb in 1983, no chance! Most people were using C64s and 48K Spectrums back then!We were stood in Parliament Square this morning for remembrance, we could see the cenotaph but not all that well. My Mrs asked what was going on, 30 seconds later I was streaming bbcs live feed via the iplayer. It was about 1 min delay but I did have to have a think about how amazing it was that we can do for free at next to no notice.
I've tried to give up the what phone up but I'm struggling.
I've tried to give up the what phone up but I'm struggling.
otherman said:
Well I've got some news for you, technology gone bad. Apple have bought Shazam, and are changing so that it only suggests tunes that are available in the apple store, and offers to sell them to you. This sort of st is why some people are so against apple.
Wow! That's pretty st is why some people are so against apple.t. 
vixen1700 said:
otherman said:
Well I've got some news for you, technology gone bad. Apple have bought Shazam, and are changing so that it only suggests tunes that are available in the apple store, and offers to sell them to you. This sort of st is why some people are so against apple.
Wow! That's pretty st is why some people are so against apple.t. Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff