Oh boy, I'm updating this site! What a surprise to the 2 people who ever visit here.
I'm switching to a blog-centric system, and consolidating or eliminating a lot of the other stuff. This blog is intended to serve as a hub for all things vintage technology-related. If you like both technology and history and enjoy the intersection of the two, this is the place for you!
How do I explain the fact that I'm writing about my Luddite hobby on a modern computer connected to that new-fangled thing called the Internet (have you heard of it?), and that I'm doing all sorts of fancy-dancy high-tech stuff at college? Obviously, I am just not a consistent person. I'm very not sorry.
It's fun to look at how engineers of the past solved various challenges with the technology they had available to them at the time. Most of the machines I will discuss on this blog were built to last, and have lasted through the decades, in contrast to modern devices which are designed to become obsolete in about six minutes.
A common misconception that I will attempt to dispel is as follows: "Old technology is bad solely because it is old." I don't know why people think this. I can understand it when the device in question is, for example, an iPhone - I shudder to recall the original iPhone in light of what an improved user experience we now have with contemporary smartphones. But I'm talking about every mechanical device which was shoved under the bus in the wake of the digital revolution. There was a significant movement towards digitizing everything under the sun, as soon as it became viable - as if digital was somehow inherently better at everything. And yes, from a cold-hearted engineering perspective, digital technology is "better" in every way.
But maybe we should think again. Let's see what a great Jedi master has to say:
I'm switching to a blog-centric system, and consolidating or eliminating a lot of the other stuff. This blog is intended to serve as a hub for all things vintage technology-related. If you like both technology and history and enjoy the intersection of the two, this is the place for you!
How do I explain the fact that I'm writing about my Luddite hobby on a modern computer connected to that new-fangled thing called the Internet (have you heard of it?), and that I'm doing all sorts of fancy-dancy high-tech stuff at college? Obviously, I am just not a consistent person. I'm very not sorry.
It's fun to look at how engineers of the past solved various challenges with the technology they had available to them at the time. Most of the machines I will discuss on this blog were built to last, and have lasted through the decades, in contrast to modern devices which are designed to become obsolete in about six minutes.
A common misconception that I will attempt to dispel is as follows: "Old technology is bad solely because it is old." I don't know why people think this. I can understand it when the device in question is, for example, an iPhone - I shudder to recall the original iPhone in light of what an improved user experience we now have with contemporary smartphones. But I'm talking about every mechanical device which was shoved under the bus in the wake of the digital revolution. There was a significant movement towards digitizing everything under the sun, as soon as it became viable - as if digital was somehow inherently better at everything. And yes, from a cold-hearted engineering perspective, digital technology is "better" in every way.
But maybe we should think again. Let's see what a great Jedi master has to say:
Wise, Master Yoda is. Heed his words, we should.
I think this is a good philosophy to have towards technology. Digitally based tech is cold and logical. Mechanical solutions tend to feel more human, more real - like they have heart and soul. And that, to me, is the reason for analog.
RSS Feed