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What's Some Tech That Was Better Than It Is Now? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 months ago by wuphysics87@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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When you connect a new device to a 'smart' tv, you must pay homage to the manufacturer with a ritualistic dance. Plugging and unplugging the device. Turning them on and off in the correct sequence like entering a konami code.

Every time you want to switch devices, the tv must scan for them. And god forbid you lose power, or unplug something. You are granted the delight experience of doing it all over again.

I have fond memories of the days of just plugging something in, and pressing the input button. Instant gratification. It was a simpler time.

What is some other tech that used to be better?

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[–] bloodfart@lemmy.ml 38 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Car stereos.

They used to have buttons and tape decks and cd players in em. From the factory.

I don’t want to do a complex install of some aftermarket thing. I want a car stereo with buttons, knobs, a tape deck, cd player, am/fm and aux input that looks like it belongs in my cars interior and is designed with the same ideas as the rest of the cars controls.

[–] Arfman@aussie.zone 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I still feel touchscreen controls are such a bad idea in cars. Old stereos have dots and grooves on them so you can operate them without having to take your eyes off the road.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Honestly, just have both. I've got physical buttons for basic controls (think volume, power, seek, skip..etc) and touchscreen capabilities for maps, connecting phone, managing car settings. Also, my car has a physical pointer stick that you can use to move the selection around on the screen, so you can even interact with soft buttons using a physical interface.

[–] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'm on the fence about this as most (all) modern cars also have steering wheel controls so you don't even really need to move your hands much. My car is from the mid '10s and the touch screen is absolutely slow garbage but I was just in a friend's 2020ish Sienna van and her touchscreen is lightning fast like a smartphone which was fine to use comparatively. I do agree that having all the control on the touchscreen sucks but hers still had physical buttons for the HVAC and other commonly used items.

[–] Arfman@aussie.zone 1 points 4 months ago

I guess that's fine as long as you have both options for touchscreen and buttons