Today’s devices are so beautifully designed, so powerful, and so deeply and seamlessly integrated with the Internet of Things that it’s easy to forget just how distinctly our everyday technology has evolved in the past few decades. What was cutting edge less than a generation ago would now be classified as prehistoric, relegated with the dinosaurs to pages of history books. And yet almost every one of us was once delighted with the possibilities these new and evolving technologies presented.
Lest we forget how thrilled we ought to be with today’s tech toys, I’d like to evoke the spirit of “Throwback Thursday” with a few reminders of just how far consumer electronics have come in recent years.
IBM 305 RAMAC
Back in 1956, IBM made history by giving birth to the world’s first hard drive.
It was a 2,000+ lb. behemoth known as the IBM 305 RAMAC (an acronym for
“Random Access Method of Accounting and Control.”) It was designed to
store and retrieve basic information on fifty 24-inch-diameter disks. It
stored less than 5 MB in total – roughly enough to hold a single music
track in modern mp3 format – and cost the equivalent of $160,000 in
today’s money. Its primary goal was to replace filing cabinets that
filled major corporations by the hundreds. And though it was about the
size of a pair of refrigerators, in its time it was truly
revolutionary.
These days, hard drives are small enough to fit in your hand. And whereas the RAMAC offered ~5 MB of total storage, one could purchase a 4 TB hard drive for about $179, providing about 842,000x the amount of storage for about 1/900th of the price. On top of that, companies are beginning to advertise faster, more durable flash storage for the price of disk, meaning the disk drives that descend from IBM’s original RAMAC may soon be obsolete.
Sony Watchman
In 1982, Sony became the first to launch a “pocket-sized” TV, designed to turn watching television into an on-the-go convenience. For almost 20 years technology enthusiasts had dreamed of portable TVs, and the Watchman made those dreams a reality with a 5cm display, an AM/FM tuner, and the ability to pick up both VHF and UHF television channels. The product first launched in Japan, and launched two years later in North America. The Watchman used 6 AA batteries and could run for about three hours at a time. Though advertised as a “pocket TV,” the Sony Watchman was roughly 3.5 in wide, 7.8 in tall, and 1.3 in deep.
These days, smartphones provide a lighter, thinner, and far more powerful method for watching television and movies than the folks at Sony 30 years ago could have dreamed of. On top of that, an iPhone 6 provides a screen viewing area of about 9.4 square inches (with other phones boasting even bigger screens,) vastly larger than the Watchman’s 2.6 square inch viewing area. And with the ability to either download or stream media from countless online providers, today’s “pocket” viewing options are nearly endless.
Sony Walkman
Apple Newton MessagePad
In 1993, Apple laid the stage for what would one day become a booming tablet industry by releasing the MessagePad. The MessagePad was designed to compete with the PDAs (personal digital assistants) of the day, and featured the ability to read a user’s handwriting – and at a far more advanced level than its biggest competitor, the Palm Pilot. It included the now-familiar ability to turn its screen to either “landscape” or “portrait” view, and could even hook up to an external keyboard. The device was powered by either four AAA batteries or an external DC power supply.
These days, a combination of tablets, mini-tablets, and “phablets” go far beyond these tasks. Modern tablets can do everything from creating advanced spreadsheets to accessing the internet to professional-grade photo and video editing and much more. They serve as handy learning tools for children and are even being used in professional sports to provide up-to-the-minute analysis for players and coaches. They’re not only incredibly powerful, but portable and durable.
Underwood Universal
The Underwood Typewriter Company began selling typewriter ribbon and carbon paper to Remington, an established typewriter manufacturer in 1874. They soon went into manufacturing themselves and in 1900 produced the iconic Underwood No. 5, known as “the first truly modern typewriter.” Between 1900 and 1920 they had sold over two million No. 5s and by 1920 they had become the dominant producer of typewriters. These machines were the standard for writing for almost the entire 20th century, with computers finally gaining popularity as a the preferred tool for word processing in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
These days, it’s almost unfathomable that nearly every literary work produced before 1990 was written on a typewriter. Computers, laptops, and tablets (often with wireless or removable, portable keyboards) have become so popular and easy to use that most of us can’t even imagine using a typewriter. Information is now so heavily digitized that physical publications are often viewed as quaint and outdated. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
Kodak M22 Instamatic
In the 70’s, Kodak launched its M22 Instamatic video camera, designed to make it simple for consumers to shoot their own high-quality video with point-and-shoot ease. The camera used “Super 8″ (8mm) color film and boasted 18 frames per second for video recordings. It was powered by two AA batteries and featured a wrist strap and pistol grip. The film cartridge itself was relatively easy to load and unload in any light. This camera came with a one-year warrantee and a 19-page user manual.
Today, there are a few dozen smartphones on the market capable of capturing video in 4k format, including the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3. In addition, the iPhone 6 shoots slow motion video at speeds up to 240 frames per second. Best of all, high quality video shot on a smartphone does not demand the use of film nor does it require development at a local video processor. One can simply upload this video straight from the smartphone to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Google Drive, or use any number of other avenues to instantly share their high quality video with the world.
Revue Lux Sound 80 Stereo
Back in 1979, the Revue Lux Sound 80 was one of the premier 8mm movie projectors on the market. It weighed in at just over 23 lbs. and advertised projection speeds between 18 and 24 frames per second. Its capacity was 360 m of 8mm film which equates to about an hour of playback at 24 frames per second. Did I mention it can play film in reverse?
These days, high quality projectors usually weigh in the neighborhood of 7-10 lbs. and project digital media. More importantly the ability to screencast from smartphones, tablets and computers to HDTVs using far less expensive products like Apple TV and Google Chromecast (which, by the way, weigh roughly 9.6 oz. and 1.2 oz. respectively) has generally replaced the need to “project” home movies across the room for the whole family to see. Isn’t it amazing?
These days, hard drives are small enough to fit in your hand. And whereas the RAMAC offered ~5 MB of total storage, one could purchase a 4 TB hard drive for about $179, providing about 842,000x the amount of storage for about 1/900th of the price. On top of that, companies are beginning to advertise faster, more durable flash storage for the price of disk, meaning the disk drives that descend from IBM’s original RAMAC may soon be obsolete.
Sony Watchman
In 1982, Sony became the first to launch a “pocket-sized” TV, designed to turn watching television into an on-the-go convenience. For almost 20 years technology enthusiasts had dreamed of portable TVs, and the Watchman made those dreams a reality with a 5cm display, an AM/FM tuner, and the ability to pick up both VHF and UHF television channels. The product first launched in Japan, and launched two years later in North America. The Watchman used 6 AA batteries and could run for about three hours at a time. Though advertised as a “pocket TV,” the Sony Watchman was roughly 3.5 in wide, 7.8 in tall, and 1.3 in deep.
These days, smartphones provide a lighter, thinner, and far more powerful method for watching television and movies than the folks at Sony 30 years ago could have dreamed of. On top of that, an iPhone 6 provides a screen viewing area of about 9.4 square inches (with other phones boasting even bigger screens,) vastly larger than the Watchman’s 2.6 square inch viewing area. And with the ability to either download or stream media from countless online providers, today’s “pocket” viewing options are nearly endless.
Sony Walkman
1978 was the year an audio
engineer named Nobutoshi Kihara invented a simple, portable cassette
player so that Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka could listen to his favorite
opera music during long plane flights. At the time, vinyl records were
the standard and it didn’t take long for Sony to realize they were
sitting on a great product. The “Walkman” was first introduced to
Japanese consumers in 1979, followed by a launch into the U.S. in 1980
(the American model was originally branded as the Sony “Soundabout.”) It
was incredibly popular during the 80s and early 90s before being
replaced by portable CD players, including Sony’s own “Discman.”
These days, we have access to more music than most of us even care
for. It’s accessible through downloading and streaming services such as
iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Pandora and most mp3 players (yes,
they still exist) and smartphones can hold enough music to last for days
and days of nonstop play. The widespread availability of music in mp3
format took off in earnest with the launch of the wildly popular iPod, released by Apple in 2001. Apple Newton MessagePad
In 1993, Apple laid the stage for what would one day become a booming tablet industry by releasing the MessagePad. The MessagePad was designed to compete with the PDAs (personal digital assistants) of the day, and featured the ability to read a user’s handwriting – and at a far more advanced level than its biggest competitor, the Palm Pilot. It included the now-familiar ability to turn its screen to either “landscape” or “portrait” view, and could even hook up to an external keyboard. The device was powered by either four AAA batteries or an external DC power supply.
These days, a combination of tablets, mini-tablets, and “phablets” go far beyond these tasks. Modern tablets can do everything from creating advanced spreadsheets to accessing the internet to professional-grade photo and video editing and much more. They serve as handy learning tools for children and are even being used in professional sports to provide up-to-the-minute analysis for players and coaches. They’re not only incredibly powerful, but portable and durable.
Underwood Universal
The Underwood Typewriter Company began selling typewriter ribbon and carbon paper to Remington, an established typewriter manufacturer in 1874. They soon went into manufacturing themselves and in 1900 produced the iconic Underwood No. 5, known as “the first truly modern typewriter.” Between 1900 and 1920 they had sold over two million No. 5s and by 1920 they had become the dominant producer of typewriters. These machines were the standard for writing for almost the entire 20th century, with computers finally gaining popularity as a the preferred tool for word processing in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
These days, it’s almost unfathomable that nearly every literary work produced before 1990 was written on a typewriter. Computers, laptops, and tablets (often with wireless or removable, portable keyboards) have become so popular and easy to use that most of us can’t even imagine using a typewriter. Information is now so heavily digitized that physical publications are often viewed as quaint and outdated. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
Kodak M22 Instamatic
In the 70’s, Kodak launched its M22 Instamatic video camera, designed to make it simple for consumers to shoot their own high-quality video with point-and-shoot ease. The camera used “Super 8″ (8mm) color film and boasted 18 frames per second for video recordings. It was powered by two AA batteries and featured a wrist strap and pistol grip. The film cartridge itself was relatively easy to load and unload in any light. This camera came with a one-year warrantee and a 19-page user manual.
Today, there are a few dozen smartphones on the market capable of capturing video in 4k format, including the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3. In addition, the iPhone 6 shoots slow motion video at speeds up to 240 frames per second. Best of all, high quality video shot on a smartphone does not demand the use of film nor does it require development at a local video processor. One can simply upload this video straight from the smartphone to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Google Drive, or use any number of other avenues to instantly share their high quality video with the world.
Revue Lux Sound 80 Stereo
Back in 1979, the Revue Lux Sound 80 was one of the premier 8mm movie projectors on the market. It weighed in at just over 23 lbs. and advertised projection speeds between 18 and 24 frames per second. Its capacity was 360 m of 8mm film which equates to about an hour of playback at 24 frames per second. Did I mention it can play film in reverse?
These days, high quality projectors usually weigh in the neighborhood of 7-10 lbs. and project digital media. More importantly the ability to screencast from smartphones, tablets and computers to HDTVs using far less expensive products like Apple TV and Google Chromecast (which, by the way, weigh roughly 9.6 oz. and 1.2 oz. respectively) has generally replaced the need to “project” home movies across the room for the whole family to see. Isn’t it amazing?
Seiko UC-2000 Wrist Information System
Seiko gave a rare and beautiful gift to the world in 1984. This
integrated watch and wrist calculator combined to form a powerful tool
that was able to store up to 2K of data. It included word processing
capabilities (which went primarily unused due to the small 10×4
character display,) and could even be adapted to a larger, more potent
UC-2200 terminal that included up to 4K of RAM and 26K of ROM. It was
sold for $300, which is roughly equivalent to $662 in today’s dollars.
These days, smartwatches are a reality (though they are still reliant on smartphones, much like Seiko’s UC-2000 system) and wearable technology seems to have finally arrived in earnest. With the launch of the Apple Watch only a few months away, it’s safe to say that we have merely scratched the surface of wearable technology. And yet in just a few years it’s clear that we have indeed come very far.
Steve Jobs once said that all the work he had done in his life would be obsolete by the time he’s 50. “This is a field where one does one’s work and in 10 years it’s obsolete,” Jobs told the Silicon Valley Historical Association in 1994. That statement has held true not only with Jobs’ early inventions but with the once cutting edge technologies mentioned above. One has to wonder: Just how long will it be until today’s great innovations achieve their own glorious obsolescence?
Tayven James is a Utah-based husband, father, and tech fan who loves to discover and opine about what’s new in the world.
These days, smartwatches are a reality (though they are still reliant on smartphones, much like Seiko’s UC-2000 system) and wearable technology seems to have finally arrived in earnest. With the launch of the Apple Watch only a few months away, it’s safe to say that we have merely scratched the surface of wearable technology. And yet in just a few years it’s clear that we have indeed come very far.
Steve Jobs once said that all the work he had done in his life would be obsolete by the time he’s 50. “This is a field where one does one’s work and in 10 years it’s obsolete,” Jobs told the Silicon Valley Historical Association in 1994. That statement has held true not only with Jobs’ early inventions but with the once cutting edge technologies mentioned above. One has to wonder: Just how long will it be until today’s great innovations achieve their own glorious obsolescence?
Tayven James is a Utah-based husband, father, and tech fan who loves to discover and opine about what’s new in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment