Remembering Retro Tech

[N`Chync]

Technology has grown pretty fast but now the leaps aren't as big as they use to since everything has advanced so much. I use to read everyday on my phone about tech and there was always soo much new info on upcoming tech. Nowadays it seems the same info is recycling. I use to be big on the smartphone world always keeping up to date so I can plan what phones to get and also just to know what's out there since people always asked me for advice. Of course I always knew we was gonna come to a point like this cuz there's only soo much you can put in a smartphone considering size and cost and companies just wanna milk out as much as they can from what sells before jumping to what they should have already made. Smartphones lately have been made with a cookie cutter design. The high end phones pretty much have the same processor, cameras, and displays with each company adding something gimmicky and their own UI and release by spring and fall. Anything released in between is last season's phone marketed to try to make some sales until next seasons phone comes in. 

[N`Chync]

AOL Instant Messenger

AOL really dropped the ball.  This should really be what people still use today on their phones.  Unfortunately, AOL has made some really bad decisions.  Anyways...

AIM was what people used to talk with each other and leave each other messages.  It was really popular with the college kids.  There were other alternatives, like IRC or MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger, but AIM was top choice.  It was text messaging before cell phones were common.

AIM and such programs eventually added more and more features.  Everything from group chat, voice chat, video chat, file sharing, etc.  Skype is probably the result of all these messenger services.  In fact, MSN Messenger was faded out and replaced by Skype.   

There were even programs that linked all these messaging programs together, like Trillian.

There were hacks that got rid of all the ads, and hacks that let you clone AIM so you could use multiple user names.

AIM was even influential in Siri.  AIM had a bot where you could ask it several questions.  You could ask about movie times, tickets, etc.  It even had smarta$$ remarks if you asked smarta$$ questions, just like Siri. 

Funny thing, I still have have AIM running, but no one is on.  It still works (though maybe not supported).  I am waiting for someone to log back on.   

I miss having AIM, MSN, and IRC. I used to always be logged on. In the early days when Windows Mobile was still good I was always signed on from my phone. Funny back then people seemed to message more when smartphones weren't as abundant lol.

[N`Chync]

Symbian

Oddly enough, a lot of people don't remember Symbian.  As recently as 2010, it was the most popular OS for smartphones.  Symbian was the OS of choice for many manufacturers, especially Nokia.  Unfortunately, like most companies when they are on top, they didn't innovate fast enough.  Android entered and took over the market.  Apple took the niche, and Symbian was faded out. 

Palm and Windows Mobile were good. I enjoyed Windows mobile but I think that was because I enjoyed their phones more. But both should still be around if they would of adapted instead thinking they were too good to be touched. I know a lot at the time didn't think the iPhone was gonna be all that. I know I did and was planning on getting a Windows mobile HTC MDA 2 until I played with an iPhone and bought it. Everyone still had a chance still even when the G1 came out. Heard soo much about "real multitasking" and was disappointed. Real multitasking was already around with Palm and Windows Mobile.

[bulbasaur]

Winamp

Back in the early days of 2x CD burning, a new format came into popularity, MP3.  The compression was awesome because now we could listen to songs at just a fraction of the size.  The player of choice was Winamp. 

There were many other players out there, such as Sonique, Quintessential, WMP, Real, etc.  Winamp was the first (for me anyways), and it was great.  I could DL skins or make my own.  The skins were fun, but the classic look was more functional.  It sounded pretty good, too. 

Over time, Winamp started to lose favor, especially when iTunes kicked into full gear.  Winamp started getting bloated, and users had to pay for all the newer features.  Winamp eventually went under.  Personally, I still use Winamp despite that I know there are better players out there.  But, I still think it really whips the llama's a$$. 

[Sifu]

I still use Winamp.  You want to talk bloat? *looking at you itunes*

[N`Chync]

Winamp was cool. I think everyone used it. I use iTunes now. Simple to use and organizes all my music easy.

[Sifu]

Winamp was cool. I think everyone used it. I use iTunes now. Simple to use and organizes all my music easy.

itunes should seriously consider breaking apart the functions and wazoo that itunes is trying to cover.  I like Apple's aesthetics and build material; top notch stuff for looks, physical feel and 'teh feelz' but damn some of their software user interface can use a major overhaul.  It is so counter intuitive but yeah it's Apple.  Gotta' appease the masses.  I have over a terr of mp3s.  Can you even imagine the mess created if I tried to organize it in itunes?


Never forget the copy protection apparatuses (either a book, manual, extra disk, special tinted glasses to be only able to see certain words or my favorite the wheel).  Never...

[bulbasaur]

Creative Sound Blaster

Back in the day, if you wanted sound from your computer, you needed to get a sound card.  These things could run up a few hundred bucks if you got one with all the nifty features.  Some came with a nifty 5.25 bay attachment.  Some had a separate component you put on your desk.  I remember using one to run a podcast in college way before it was even popular.  We didn't call it a podcast though; we called it an online radio show.  I guess I was just ahead of the curve. 

Anyways, most mobos today come with decent 5.1 or even 7.1 surround sound, which is good enough for most people.  Maybe only musicians would get a sound card these days. 

[bulbasaur]

Real Player

Maybe you knew it as Real One, or Real Audio Player, or Real Player G2.  Real was trying real hard to be the multimedia player of choice at the dawn of the Internet.  Some people really preferred Real over Winamp for mp3's (although very few use either today).  The real advantage of Real Player was it's ability to stream.  Really nifty for the time.  It was eventually replaced by Flash, and now, HTML 5.   

Later, the program became a nuisance.  It got bloated.  Adware.  Spyware.  Etc.  Eventually people started using Real Alternative instead of the actual Real Player.  Even then, the .rm format was becoming a pain.  The buffering for videos was just annoying.  You didn't know if it crashed or if it was buffering.  It was even worse if you were streaming. 

All of that being said, I watched Dragon Ball Z on .rm.  It was awful quality.  It's much better to pay a few bucks and watch it in good quality.  Plus, it'll help encourage the series to continue...whi ch may or may not be a good thing.

Apparently, Real is still going.  Personally, I don't mind it being off my computer.  My goodness, look at that cluttered interface.

[bulbasaur]

Gnutella

You may or may not know what Gnutella is, but you most likely used it if you were around in the early days of the Internet boom.  It was a large P2P network that supported Limewire, Morpheus, Bearshare, Kazaa, Shareaza, and many more.  This is what people used for their music, movies, and shady activities.  It was great for its time despite all the viruses and adware. 

These days, there are much better and legal options.  Streaming video services, Youtube, Spotify, etc.  Although businesses hated Gnutella, it was the motivation for these modern services. 

[bulbasaur]

The Flatbed Scanner

They still exist today, but most people don't buy one.  People who need a scanner will usually have it in some kind of printer/copier/scanner combo.  The quality in those are often good enough.  The only people who would get a dedicated flatbed scanners might be professionals who need the best quality.  But that is today...

There was a time when people felt the flatbed scanner was an essential part of the home office.  Every computer setup had a flatbed scanner on the side for documents, pictures, etc.  The scanner was very useful, but it soon started losing its usefulness as devices went digital. 

HP, Epson, and the typical big box companies made scanners then.  They still do now, but they seem to target professionals with specific needs.  However, there were some popular brands that just seem lost in time, like Umax.  They were such a big player in scanners.  What happened to them?

[bulbasaur]

Geocities

For those who don't remember, Geocities was the Facebook of yesteryear.  In fact, Geocities should be what Facebook is today, but poor management hindered innovation, and they went the way of the dinosaurs.  Too bad so sad.

Back in the day, everyone had a Geocities page.  It was the early days of the internet, so there were "Under Construction" banners, blinking signs, gifs, multi-colored font, confusing frames, etc.  Many of the usernames were HoTcHiC_2000 or CuTiEBoI or SeXiGuRLo or something of the sort.  People didn't quite understand webpage design at the time, but it was still a fun way to browse people from around the world and post your pictures. 

Geocities was shut down in America a few years ago, but apparently it is still going in Japan. 

[bulbasaur]

Cingular

Back in the day when cell phones were just booming, one of the biggest names was Cingular.  They were new and hip.  They had some of the slickest phones, and they had a cool marketing campaign.  They were one of the early companies to really push "roll over minutes." 

Today, Cingular is gone; it was bought out by AT&T.  Kids today will never know what fits them best or how to raise the bar anymore.

[bulbasaur]

Maybe?  I always thought Cingular bought AT&T mobile service, then AT&T bought them back.  But, that is after a few more changes and acquisitions.  I could be wrong though.  I am going off memory.    I am sure someone can Google it.

^ I don't think that's what happened.
IIRC. They bought out AT&T's phone service then rebranded themself to AT&T.

[bulbasaur]

I only kinda know because I worked part-time in wireless when I was in college.  The pay wasn't good, but it was fun work. 

Maybe we're both correct lol.

I don't know the latter half too well.  Maybe they were bought by the bigger AT&T later.
I only know the beginning part because I had At&t as a mobile carrier, and then we got swapped over to cingular which eventually became At&t.