Old Technology That is Still Better Than It's Modern Day Tech Replacement

[TolerancEJ]

In a way, manually locking/unlocking doors on a vehicle. This will require a brief explanation. When I had my first few cars, I would always open the door for my gf at the time. These days, I rarely remember to do it because the unlock button is handy on the key FOB.

 

[Mike N]

....... If something goes wrong with a new engine the mechanic can literally get a readout to a computer telling what's wrong.

Maybe the latest Auto Zone commercials have led you to believe this, but it's not the case.

 

[Papazita]

The sun > my neighbor's porchlight.

 

[fdeck]

I had a desktop computer with a CRT monitor for many years. I could look at the screen at night with no offset lamp and have NO eye strain. No way could I do that with my current laptop. I have to have a lamp on when I'm looking at the laptop screen at night, and even then there's eye strain after a while.

I suspect your habits have changed, or you've gotten older. Also, the laptop screen is probably too close to your face, if you can reach it with your arms.

The worst eyestrain headaches I ever got were with a CRT, when I was programming for nearly 8 hours a day.

I learned a few tricks for dealing with it:

1. Look away from the screen frequently, so your focus isn't in one constant place.

2. Take breaks.

3. Use text based software whenever possible. For instance I can program using a text editor, while rarely having to look at the screen.

 

[FilterFunk]

I suspect your habits have changed, or you've gotten older. Also, the laptop screen is probably too close to your face, if you can reach it with your arms.

The worst eyestrain headaches I ever got were with a CRT, when I was programming for nearly 8 hours a day.

I learned a few tricks for dealing with it:

1. Look away from the screen frequently, so your focus isn't in one constant place.

2. Take breaks.

3. Use text based software whenever possible. For instance I can program using a text editor, while rarely having to look at the screen.

I appreciate the tips, but I went straight from the desktop CRT to the laptop, and the difference was instant. The laptop screen is no closer than the CRT screen was.

A note about this thread: I don't think anyone is suggesting that older technology is overall better than new technology. But to paraphrase the title of this thread, I believe that some old technology is still better than it's modern day tech replacement. Much of modern technology is smaller, more convenient, has more features, etc., but it isn't automatically better in every way.

And I say this as a 55-year-old who loves being able to look up, download, or buy just about anything with a few keystrokes. To say that some older things are better doesn't take rose-colored glasses or nostalgia. It only takes experience.

 

[fhm555]

Maybe the latest Auto Zone commercials have led you to believe this, but it's not the case.

Sounds like there is still a difference between skilled troubleshooters and skilled parts changers.

 

[two fingers]

Maybe the latest Auto Zone commercials have led you to believe this, but it's not the case.

It's not ALWAYS the case but it is MOST of the time. I stopped driving a 1999 Tahoe last year that had a third of a million miles on it. Stuff broke on it all the time. My mechanic is a personal friend. He would let me walk back in the shop when he did diagnostics on it. He hooked some plug into a socket under the hood and said "See that code? Let's see what it means." Then he would log into some system that told him the code for that truck and say something like "Oh that's just your fuel filter. We can have you outa here in no time."

I know zero about engines.....maybe even less than zero. I'm jist telling you what I saw on a 99. I bet diagnostics on a 2017 are even better.

 

[farshore]

A live human on the phone compared to an automated menu system.

 

[farace]

I know zero about engines.....maybe even less than zero. I'm jist telling you what I saw on a 99. I bet diagnostics on a 2017 are even better.

I think what Mike N might have been saying is that yes, you'll get a code pointing to a problem, but often the problem being reported by the code is a symptom, not the cause. And often the code isn't as specific as it seems. For example, the error code my partner's Subaru is throwing up right now, an evap system error, can be caused by something as minor as a loose gas cap, or it can be a rusted-through filler neck (the likely cause), or any number of other things. The code points in a general direction, but I still have some diagnosis to go through.

 

[David Jayne]

Right

A Vette with a club would be no problem for a thief with a cordless grinder and a cutoff wheel..

The easy and preferred method of defeating the Club is to simply cut the steering wheel with a bolt cutter. Takes one second.

 

[Mike N]

Sounds like there is still a difference between skilled troubleshooters and skilled parts changers.

Any monkey can change parts, it's knowing what part needs to be changed that is often the hard part.

 

[Mike N]

It's not ALWAYS the case but it is MOST of the time. I stopped driving a 1999 Tahoe last year that had a third of a million miles on it. Stuff broke on it all the time. My mechanic is a personal friend. He would let me walk back in the shop when he did diagnostics on it. He hooked some plug into a socket under the hood and said "See that code? Let's see what it means." Then he would log into some system that told him the code for that truck and say something like "Oh that's just your fuel filter. We can have you outa here in no time."

I know zero about engines.....maybe even less than zero. I'm jist telling you what I saw on a 99. I bet diagnostics on a 2017 are even better.

See the response from @farace in post #149. He's spot on.

 

[Mike N]

I think what Mike N might have been saying is that yes, you'll get a code pointing to a problem, but often the problem being reported by the code is a symptom, not the cause. And often the code isn't as specific as it seems. For example, the error code my partner's Subaru is throwing up right now, an evap system error, can be caused by something as minor as a loose gas cap, or it can be a rusted-through filler neck (the likely cause), or any number of other things. The code points in a general direction, but I still have some diagnosis to go through.

Bingo. You know how many Ford Windstar vans I've seen with new 02 sensors for a lean code? The real problem is the intake gasket, but because the code reader will show that the 02 sensors are seeing a lean condition, 99% of the guys out there will fling 02 sensors at it instead of diagnosing it.

Same with every 2000's ford Taurus sporting a new EGR valve because the trouble code reads insufficient EGR flow. I've only ever seen one bad EGR on a Taurus , the rest of the time it's a plugged passage or a bad DPFE sensor.

I guess for some (read: people who rely on Vato Zone to "diagnose" their car) it's easier to load up the diagnostic shotgun and fling parts at it, hoping eventually the light will go out.

The funniest part of the whole thing is when people finally bring the car to me (a professional wrench) I'm seen as a crook because I charge for diagnostics. There really is no magic box you can hook up that will tell you what's wrong.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

I would regret getting rid of anything with a 327 in it. I had a 327 years ago that I screwed together for $250 (including purchase price) that ran bottom 13's (with a Quadrajet) in a heavy 79 Camaro. I sold the engine many years later for $1000 and I've missed it ever since.

Consistently the quickest-revving and best-sounding small-block Chevies around, in my opinion. I loved that trucklet, and should've kept it. I'll have another one one day, but it'll be considerably more expensive and probably LS 5.3 powered (the new 327, if you will). Gotta have a stick, though...

 

[Mike N]

Consistently the quickest-revving and best-sounding small-block Chevies around, in my opinion. I loved that trucklet, and should've kept it. I'll have another one one day, but it'll be considerably more expensive and probably LS 5.3 powered (the new 327, if you will). Gotta have a stick, though...

The short stroke did wonders for the 327, and the 302 that was used in the 67-69 Z/28.

Years ago we had a guy at the track with a 67 Camaro that ran high 8's / low 9's with a 331 (.030 over 327) and a 4 speed. I think he left the line at 6000 rpm and shifted somewhere close to 9500.... it was the sweetest sounding SBC, and to watch that car stand itself up at a 45 degree angle when he dumped the clutch was amazing.

Myself, I'll pass on the stick..... give me a well prepped auto and a loose converter any day of the year.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

The short stroke did wonders for the 327, and the 302 that was used in the 67-69 Z/28.

Years ago we had a guy at the track with a 67 Camaro that ran high 8's / low 9's with a 331 (.030 over 327) and a 4 speed. I think he left the line at 6000 rpm and shifted somewhere close to 9500.... it was the sweetest sounding SBC, and to watch that car stand itself up at a 45 degree angle when he dumped the clutch was amazing.

Myself, I'll pass on the stick..... give me a well prepped auto and a loose converter any day of the year.

If I were a drag racer, I'd agree. There's nothing as consistent and predictable as the setup you just described. I, however, am just a guy who likes to laugh like a crazy person while making an ass of himself while driving loud stuff and making a lot of billowy white smoke, haha! I went to high school with a guy that was building a 67 Chevy II wagon with his old man, looking to make it a corner-carver autocross-type rig. It was more or less an all-new tube frame and all that, coilovers, etc. Fast forward 10 years and I ran into him at a gas station, and he wanted me to see the finished product and have a beer, naturally I did. Apparently, his dad had a real Z/28 when he was young, so they chose to build a crazy all-forged 303" (I think) SBC for said Nova. I've heard an awful lot of joyful noises come out of LS motors, but I've never heard anything as good as that little screamer. It'd just barely idle, and I swear he had to have had it up around 9+ every gear change (T56) when he took me up the road in it. Awesome.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

Must've had like 4.88s, too, because it was neck-snapping quick.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

I remember floor dimmer switches and I'm glad they were moved to the column. Up here in the dead of winter your floor can get packed with snow, ice, salt. The switch seizes up, corrodes, shorts out. But yes, my newest vehicle is a 96 Cherokee that was an early 80s design.

I always thought the CRTs had a better picture. And the rounded CRTs I thought were clearer than the flat ones. When I was a kid I'd look at the TVs and things in Sears and compare.

I shouldn't remember them fondly (I'm 31), but I've always had old cars and liked them. We get some good winter weather around here, I never thought of that being a problem (despite changing like a gross of them due to corrosion), that's an excellent point. I just hate how much junk is on the column anymore.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

To me, the only old technologies that are "better" are things that we still use in a primitive manner. And even then, the newer versions don't work as well simply because the manufacturers are using cost cutting measures in the manufacturing process.

An old ax will have harder steel and a better handle than a new consumer grade ax. But that's not due to the lack of technology. That's due to manufacturers making an ax the average Joe can afford.

Then there is give and take. To me digital music technology is ten times better than vinyl. Why? Storage is tiny, cheap and limitless. Acquisition is cheap and limitless. Sound quality is great. Portability is tiny, cheap, and transferable.

Vinyl (or tape or whatever), to you, might "sound better". But storing the junk takes huge amounts of cubic footage, climate control, and shelving. You can't take the stereo, or even much of the music, with you without a huge hassle. If you damage the medium, it's all over unless you know how to splice tape or somehow regroove a record.

If you decide you want a live Miles Davis album I can have it downloaded and be listening to it before you find you car keys to go to the record store or find the album on Ebay. And if I don't lime it I can simply delete it and try something else.


I have 140 songs on my phone. Through the same account I can listen to any if them on any of millions of devices simply by logging into my account. I can delete and add all I want for 10 bucks a month. If my phone gets hit by an asteroid tomorrow I can get my songs back in another phone for free...other than the flat 10 bucks a month.

So, "better" is subjective. The get off my lawn crowd thinks I'm nut and thay there's "nothing better" than an old vinyl record run through a bazillion dollar tube mono block. I say "meh". Give me some ear buds or Bluetooth speaker or line into my stereo or Bluetooth to my car stereo or any number of other convenient options every time. Heck, I even run my phone into a powered mixer for learning songs in my jam room.

AM radio sounds horrible. I'm a ham radio guy and hear all kinds of varying quality radio signals. AM stinks for anything other than spoken word.

Old engines were OK to tinker with, I guess. But your attachment to them is romantic. They aren't "better". Modern engines work fine. You can do zero to them other than change the oil for over 100,000 miles. That was never true for any older car I ever owned. If something goes wrong with a new engine the mechanic can literally get a readout to a computer telling what's wrong.

I like old stuff too. But it's not "better". It's just old stuff I like.

By and large, you're absolutely right. New stuff is almost universally better, that's why it's around now and the old stuff isn't (unless manpower costs make the old way unprofitable). 'Good', however, doesn't always mean 'enjoyable'. In the information age, it seems like everyone has to be super-stimulated at all times and from every possible direction, and as a result simple pleasures seem to be far less pleasurable and commonplace as they were when I was a kid, let alone in years before that. The simplest thing in human history, fire and a clear sky, still enthralls me and always will. Lots of stuff that has gotten FAR better doesn't make me feel as good as its predecessor (or its predecessor...) does, and that makes it inferior to me.

 

[Frank Tuesday]

My '40s Graflex camera takes better pictures than any DSLR made today.