Damn, was this guy right or what?!?

[Omega-TI]

[slinkeey]

My wife and I often talk about how it is just better keeping our old stuff.

 

I have a 1984 Maytag Washing machine that just keeps going and going.

I also have a 1980 Lawnboy lawnmower, and a 1960 something Ariens snow thrower.

 

If it works, I am not upgrading. Everything now days is made for shit.

[RobertLM78]

"They don't make it like they used to."

 

I have always been impressed with everything I've had from TI - from calculators to computers - they make quality stuff.

Edited September 13, 2014 by RobertLM78

[Gary from OPA]

Alot of stuff today is very reliable, just now we don't care as its 'outdated' not that it no longer working.

 

All the iPhone's 1 work still but every 8 months they are throw in the landfill, coming soon tons of working iPhone5s will be throwaway for the iPhone6 only to do it again with the iPhone6s in 8 more months or less.

 

So on that note, companies also see that and say shit way we have to add sheilding, stronger pcboards, more chip bypass protection on power rails, internal surge protectors, power line filters, overated caps, and lots of other extra cost, when we know they just going to throw this model in 8 months or so.

 

Just like everyone that bought 3D TV's only to buy now 4k tv's which are going to replaced soon with curved or 8k tv's, when that old tv was perfecttly working still, just its 'outdated'.

[+OLD CS1]

My wife and I often talk about how it is just better keeping our old stuff.

 

I have a 1984 Maytag Washing machine that just keeps going and going.

I also have a 1980 Lawnboy lawnmower, and a 1960 something Ariens snow thrower.

 

If it works, I am not upgrading. Everything now days is made for shit.

 

Many advances in technology -- electronic and mechanical -- reduce lifespan, reliability, and durability. It does not have to be that way, but in many cases it is, especially since maintaining reliability in these advances requires higher price points. A good manifestation of this is the capacitor scourge of the early 2000s from which we are still suffering today. Whether the disposable society we live in today is a symptom, driving force, or a result is a good topic for debate and has good supporting arguments on all sides.

 

The short: not a lot of people anymore are value-oriented, only price-oriented. Society in general has traded reliability, durability, and longevity for a $5 price tag.

 

One thing people say when I show them my TI equipment is "this shit is built like a tank!" It especially impresses those who are familiar with the competition of the era, like the all-plastic Commodore and Ataris.

Edited September 13, 2014 by OLD CS1

[+OLD CS1]

Just like everyone that bought 3D TV's only to buy now 4k tv's which are going to replaced soon with curved or 8k tv's, when that old tv was perfecttly working still, just its 'outdated'.

 

I still have a 32" CRT TV sitting up on my wire shelf entertainment stand. Was burglarized twice last year, guess what was not taken? heheheheh

 

But it does work, well. Even though advances in broadcast and entertainment technology will eventually render my TV unusable (if it does not render itself as it is reaching about 15 years old): newer movies are coming out on BluRay the players for which only have HDMI output, versus the S-Video my system currently uses, and so on. In the end, I will spend more time rigging up converters to continue using my existing equipment than replacing it (though, to be fair, I have been using this equipment for between 12 and 15 years, so I have definitely gotten value from it.) In terms of reliability, I purchase for value, so I am not a good metering stick against others. (Buddy of mine has had his 22 month-old giant TV repaired five times in the past year and a-half. But he got it for a steal of a deal!)

Edited September 13, 2014 by OLD CS1

[RobertLM78]

Alot of stuff today is very reliable, just now we don't care as its 'outdated' not that it no longer working.

 

All the iPhone's 1 work still but every 8 months they are throw in the landfill, coming soon tons of working iPhone5s will be throwaway for the iPhone6 only to do it again with the iPhone6s in 8 more months or less.

 

So on that note, companies also see that and say shit way we have to add sheilding, stronger pcboards, more chip bypass protection on power rails, internal surge protectors, power line filters, overated caps, and lots of other extra cost, when we know they just going to throw this model in 8 months or so.

 

Just like everyone that bought 3D TV's only to buy now 4k tv's which are going to replaced soon with curved or 8k tv's, when that old tv was perfecttly working still, just its 'outdated'.

There is truth to things still being well-made, but it's an exception rather than a rule. I know I've lost a lot of time faffing with broken down things - especially cars.

[Keatah]

The shit made 10 years from now will make the shit today look golden.

 

The amount of abuse my DISK II drives and Apple II have taken when I was kid was just absurd. Falling out my Radio Flyer dragged behind my bike on the way to a "warez conference". The pounding when a game would be lost. The amount of tweaking and dicking inside.. Would kill any of today's computers in an instant.

Edited September 13, 2014 by Keatah

[slinkeey]

The shit made 10 years from now will make the shit today look golden.

 

The amount of abuse my DISK II drives and Apple II have taken when I was kid was just absurd. Falling out my Radio Flyer dragged behind my bike on the way to a "warez conference". The pounding when a game would be lost. The amount of tweaking and dicking inside.. Would kill any of today's computers in an instant.

 

:thumbsup:

[+OLD CS1]

"warez conference".

 

We used to call those "swap parties." Oh, how things have changed.

[Gary from OPA]

 

We used to call those "swap parties." Oh, how things have changed.

 

Yeah swap parties, I belong for a while to CanAM Swap-Shop, and once a sat. we met at a restaurant for breakfast and traded shit and talked shop, it was amazing how many top execs. at various large companies were in it, even people from ibm, microsoft, bell.

[Keatah]

Yes! I was a shit-faced brat, and I was hanging with the bigwigs and I thought I was hot stuff! Amazing! Bell and IBM seemed most numerous. I do have b/w pictures of these meetings (and other classic material of the time).

Edited September 15, 2014 by Keatah

[slinkeey]

The TI-99/4A found itself selling for around the same price as the Commodore VIC-20, even though it was much more expensive to manufacture. Although Texas Instruments and Commodore each owned their own IC fabrication facilities, Commodore used theirs to create custom ICs to reduce the cost of their computers, while TI continued to use off-the-shelf components and make only relatively small revisions to their motherboards. Commodore also made other cost-cutting changes including using aluminized cardboard to build RF shields for some of their systems. Texas Instruments never followed suit, electing instead to continue to use the highest quality components and materials with the unfulfilled hope that the marketplace would recognize it.

True?

Edited September 15, 2014 by slinkeey

[Crazy Climber]

Would be interesting to know if he still uses his TI today?

 

Yes, I concur, I have numerous old appliances that no matter how bad my wife nags I refuse to replace because they work just fine...

 

1954 Nutone stove and range (used daily)

1960 Maytag washer and dryer (used weekly)

1969 Frigidaire refridgerator (has been plugged in the exact same spot since 1969 and never had an issue)

1972 Plus 90 furnace (had first issue last year, replaced fan and fine now)

1970's rotary phone (great for power outages and used semi daily)

2003 For Crown Victoria with 200,000+ miles (driven daily, zero issues)

1981 Water heater - Finally replaced in 2012 (recommended to be replaced every 7 years, Ha! Take that, lol)

 

A few years back my wife convinced me to replace our dishwasher which was 40 years old with a new one for no other reason than the dishwasher looked old. It worked just fine. She had the nerve to go above me and just purchase one. The new one turned out to be the biggest piece of shit ever made and we ended up washing dishes by hand because I refused to buy yet another dishwasher. Her parents felt bad and bought her one because I stuck to my original statement, NO I'm not getting another one, we already had a working one, lol. Now, after that incident, all of our old appliances will stay until they are completely beyond repair

Edited September 15, 2014 by Crazy Climber

[+save2600]

Yes! I was a shit-faced brat, and I was hanging with the bigwigs and I thought I was hot stuff! Amazing! Bell and IBM seemed most numerous. I do have b/w pictures of these meetings (and other classic material of the time).

Share those pics please!

[+OLD CS1]

 

True?

 

The Commodore statement is definitely true. I have plenty of VIC-20s and Commodore 64s cross my bench with aluminum-cardboard RF shields. To my recollection, never seen a Commodore 128 like that, though, and never an Amiga.