What's the first "Newest Technology" you remember?

[Ogandydancer]

I guess the first big thing I remember is our first TV. It was a Crosley probably about a 21" B&W sat on it's own table Then the next big thing would be the 8 track tape players for cars.

 

[29aholic]

On the TV thing. We had a color TV as long as I could remember. I do remember when the size of screens got bigger but they were no longer in cabinets. I guess what I am saying is I remember when they became "portable". Next was the advancement from CRT to plasma and digital. We have a "smart" TV now, but found out last weekend it isnt smart enough to sync my phone to. Now I am going to have to buy a smarter TV to go with my new phone.

 

[Rob613]

Oregon Trail on an Apple II at school. It was awesome, except when your wife died of dysentery.

I was a kid of the 80s.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Two thin gs that affected me.FIrst was the calculator-four functions-rich kid had one in highschool but Brother DOn made him learn how to use a slide ruler like the rest of the class and he had to use the old slip stick for tests.
Next-I remember early 80's when my soon to be Father in Law bought a LORAN for the sail boat. There was a big stink at the club about whether it was cheatin' since we were the only ones that had it. My FIL, a graduate of Kings Point and an old merchant Mariner from WWII piped up to the commodore that it wasn't cheatin' when he (the commodore) started using Dacron headsails in the 50's when everyone else was still using cotton cause they couldn't afford the more expensive new fangled material....
Man you haven't seen grousing until you are in a yacht club bar with a bunch of old guys half loaded bitching about ANYTHING that gives one guy an advantage (actual or percieved). Saw a whole different side of my FIL that night. He won

Now look at the electronics we have available :eek":

 

[Onomea]

Those early TI calculators had lead weights in them so folks would feel they were getting their money’s worth.

I’m still using my HP12C from the mid 80s. Way more complicated than I ever needed beyond a few months when I needed to calculate AAGR (average annual growth rates) for a presentation to a big shot. It was the thing to have for a young businessman back then. If I recall correctly, it cost north of a hundred bucks. Came with a big fat spiral bound instruction book which I also still have, but have never looked at. Still use it for simple calculations though.

 

[29aholic]

Back in the late 90's I had to have a financial calculator for a couple of college classes. They were about $100.00 IIRC.

 

[Burley]

Hey, remember your first aluminum can? And pop tops?

 

[29aholic]

Hey, remember your first aluminum can? And pop tops?

Aluminum was pretty much the norm growing up, but I do remember Coor's had a tabless can that used a special opener. It had a drinking hole and an air hole. You slid a plastic opener over the top and smacked it with your hand opening both holes at the same time.

 

[DWalt]

I still have a couple of slide rules, both K&Es, a 10" (belt) and a 5" (pocket). When I was in college they were essential for engineering students, and you could tell them on campus as many had one dangling from their belts. And solid state pocket calculators were over a decade away. I still keep the 5" slide rule in my car glove box for calculating gas mileage. In my first job out of college, the engineering office had several 20" slide rules, as they allowed a little more precision if necessary. I never needed to use one. There were also circular slide rules which took up less space, but I could never get used to using them. Some people chuckle about how antiquated slide rules are, but they were good enough to get us to the moon.

 

[moosedog]

I was pretty impressed with the invention of the wheel.

 

[Gamecock]

Hey, remember your first aluminum can? And pop tops?

I worked with a guy in the 70s who shared the patent for the pop top.

He was a machine designer. In his previous job, he designed aluminum cans. He said the mandate was to make a can with the absolute minimum material. Unmeasurible by the consumer, but with BILLIONS used, microscopic savings were extremely valuable.

 

[DWalt]

I worked with a guy in the 70s who shared the patent for the pop top.

He was a machine designer. In his previous job, he designed aluminum cans. He said the mandate was to make a can with the absolute minimum material. Unmeasurible by the consumer, but with BILLIONS used, microscopic savings were extremely valuable.

That is a tenet of product engineering. Saving a few cents or a few dollars per unit on labor or raw materials becomes big profits if millions or billions of manufactured items are involved.