At 30, Game Boys live on in unexpected ways(latimes.com)
latimes.com
At 30, Game Boys live on in unexpected ways
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-nintendo-game-boy-anniversary-20190421-story.html
120 comments
The iPod classics are also wonderful single purpose devices that last a long time, and are quite upgradable. The software is much simpler than an iOS device, and can be changed to the open source Rockbox. You can replace nearly all the older components with cheap Chinese parts eg shiny new outer case, higher capacity battery. Then add a new circuit board so the iPod can use high capacity micro SD cards instead of the original hard drive. The result is all the advantages of the original iPod, with more storage capacity and insanely good battery life.
I’m in the middle of a project exactly like this one. I purchased a used 5th generation iPod video from eBay and I’m in the process of replacing every external facing part on it. The hard drive is also getting swapped for an sd card and the battery upgraded to a ridiculous 3000mAh which is supposed to give it 150+ hours of music playback on a charge. The aftermarket parts are so good that you can get a back case with 128/256/512gb engraved on it instead of the original sizes.
Can you give me some more info on where to find these parts or more info on what I can mod? I have an iPod Classic 4th gen. I have replaced the hdd with an aftermarket adapter. I also got a new battery from ifixit and it barely holds a charge for 5 hours. Also the case is pretty scuffed up so i'd like to replace that as well. Do you know when I can find a super battery for this as well as replacement case parts? Are there any upgrades I can do to the screen?
Check out the resources I posted in another comment. I got all the replacement parts from Aliexpress, takes ages but worked just fine. Message the sellers to make sure you get the correct parts for your 4th gen.
I did the same thing a few years ago and still use it daily: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ultimate-ipod-classic-7... - basically it became the one infinite loop version of the ship of Theseus.
Plus, ya know, Rockbox. Hands down the best mobile music listening experience there is.
I had a original iPod nano, in which I used Rockbox; but Apple freely replaced it for 6th Gen nano after several years due to battery issue in the former. 6th Gen doesn't support Rockbox.
>Apple freely replaced it for 6th Gen nano after several years due to battery issue in the former.
My iPod Nano was similarly replaced with a 6G version. However, I also received a cheque for $5 approx. in lieu of an earlier class action lawsuit, which I never banked and still have it somewhere.
https://www.cultofmac.com/166069/bought-an-ipod-between-2006...
My iPod Nano was similarly replaced with a 6G version. However, I also received a cheque for $5 approx. in lieu of an earlier class action lawsuit, which I never banked and still have it somewhere.
https://www.cultofmac.com/166069/bought-an-ipod-between-2006...
Interesting. I'm in India, I think Apple pre-emptively replaced the iPod to prevent it from blowing up (I appreciate it); where as the other benefits from class action suit could be US specific.
Seconded, I have it on a couple old players and love it so much.
Most supported players are getting old and hard to find though, so I would welcome a port to other platforms, say a bare metal install on a Nano or Orange PI or even shrinking it to fit on smaller MCUs like the esp32, that is, no tools or games, just what it needs to play music through an external DAC (the Odroid GO once fitted with DAC and phones jack could become a really nice option).
Yeah, stuff like note-taking software, Doom remakes, video playback, etc. used to be such amazing features to me, but they just aren't relevant anymore now that I have a touch-screen phone in my pocket.
Just give me theming, the Rockbox media playback support we know and love, the DSP system, playlisting system, etc. and I'm good to go.
Just give me theming, the Rockbox media playback support we know and love, the DSP system, playlisting system, etc. and I'm good to go.
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please give us detail on how to achieve this.i have an old ipod that i will love to use again.
Hey sure. I am delighted with how my project turned out, an old iPod is fantastic in the car, gym, while travelling without data allowance etc. I hadn't modded an iPod before this and it worked out ok.
This has some details: https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/86q47c/i_revived_an_ol...
Get an iPod classic, 5.5 gen if possiible (best DAC, for a nice warm sound)[1] A broken one, as long as it's not totally physically destroyed, is one way to go from ebay.
Get an offical iFlash device, I got the Quad with slots for up to 4 SD cards [2] Get some large capacity micro SD cards (x4 slots in the Quad, meaning several TBs are possible, for relatively cheap as the cards are getting cheaper by the day)
Upgrade the battery, if desired, optional but highly recommended [3]
Replace the front + back covers, clickwheel, screen as desired (pay attention to thin and thick back covers) [4]
For instructions on opening the case correctly, and replacing the parts, look on Youtube there's a bunch of decent videos explaining the process.
Look into installing rockbox[5], an open source firmware. It supports loads of audio formats and let's you escape the cluthes of itunes, to a much nicer application like Musicbee. WARNING for some reason, rockbox never worked correctly with my iPod 5.5 gen. I reinstalled several times, but songs would constantly skip while playing, even though they were fine on any other device. Therefore, I wiped rockbox again back to the Apple factory firmware, and everything works fine. I even figured out a way to sync Musicbee with the default Apple firmware.
If you really want to go nuts, you can install a bluetooth transmittor inside the newly freed up iPod case[6] I read though that the bluetooth has limited range inside the metal case, and it runs the battery down much more quickly.
[1] https://macintoshhowto.com/ipod/which-ipod-has-the-best-audi...
[2] https://www.iflash.xyz/
[3] https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=S...]
[4] (note these links are random examples, pay attention to the ipod generation you wish to purchase for) https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Onjess-Thick-Metal-Back-Hous...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Onjess-Black-Front-Faceplate...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Click-Wheel-Key-Button-Repla...
[5] https://www.rockbox.org/
[6] https://www.instructables.com/id/Mod-Your-5G-Video-iPod-With...
This has some details: https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/86q47c/i_revived_an_ol...
Get an iPod classic, 5.5 gen if possiible (best DAC, for a nice warm sound)[1] A broken one, as long as it's not totally physically destroyed, is one way to go from ebay.
Get an offical iFlash device, I got the Quad with slots for up to 4 SD cards [2] Get some large capacity micro SD cards (x4 slots in the Quad, meaning several TBs are possible, for relatively cheap as the cards are getting cheaper by the day)
Upgrade the battery, if desired, optional but highly recommended [3]
Replace the front + back covers, clickwheel, screen as desired (pay attention to thin and thick back covers) [4]
For instructions on opening the case correctly, and replacing the parts, look on Youtube there's a bunch of decent videos explaining the process.
Look into installing rockbox[5], an open source firmware. It supports loads of audio formats and let's you escape the cluthes of itunes, to a much nicer application like Musicbee. WARNING for some reason, rockbox never worked correctly with my iPod 5.5 gen. I reinstalled several times, but songs would constantly skip while playing, even though they were fine on any other device. Therefore, I wiped rockbox again back to the Apple factory firmware, and everything works fine. I even figured out a way to sync Musicbee with the default Apple firmware.
If you really want to go nuts, you can install a bluetooth transmittor inside the newly freed up iPod case[6] I read though that the bluetooth has limited range inside the metal case, and it runs the battery down much more quickly.
[1] https://macintoshhowto.com/ipod/which-ipod-has-the-best-audi...
[2] https://www.iflash.xyz/
[3] https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=S...]
[4] (note these links are random examples, pay attention to the ipod generation you wish to purchase for) https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Onjess-Thick-Metal-Back-Hous...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Onjess-Black-Front-Faceplate...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Click-Wheel-Key-Button-Repla...
[5] https://www.rockbox.org/
[6] https://www.instructables.com/id/Mod-Your-5G-Video-iPod-With...
Wow, I had never heard about this. That’s really cool!
The Rockbox interface was pretty bad when I used it - it didn't have the smoothness or good rendering of the official iPod interface, although maybe I just configured it wrong?
Ya it's pretty rough compared to the default Apple UI. The downside of using the default Apple firmware is that you're tied to iTunes, which is awful. The last time I added a bunch of new songs it took multiple tries to even scan the new files and show up in iTunes so I could sync with the iPod.
A lot of electronics between the years of 1999 and 2007 suffered from capacitor plague which severely reduced the effective lifespan of the device.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague
Yeah, some military stuff has pretty impressive longevity. I’ve got a surplus Lee-Enfield No4 Mk I that my grandpa gave me years ago. Stamped 1943 on the receiver. I didn’t realize until a few months ago that these are now considered vintage collector’s rifles... I’ve just been using it as a great deer rifle all these years!
I think it was the US Marine Corps who issued and reissued M1911 frames printed for WW2 until the pistol was finally phased out of all units in the 1990s / 2000s.
You could have had 3 generations of Marines using the exact same weapon. Unlikely of course, but not technically impossible.
You could have had 3 generations of Marines using the exact same weapon. Unlikely of course, but not technically impossible.
It's pretty impressive how long firearms are expected to last given proper storage. I've got a No1 MK III stamped 1914 that still functions alright - doesn't group so well due to a less-than ideal bore but the bolt and magazine shoot fine. People still shoot martini-henry rifles.
50+ years in service for the M16 though.
I just watched that 10 part documentary on Netflix about the Vietnam war. They referenced several times how our M-16s were inferior to the AK's that were being supplied to the Vietcong. And that the M16s would jam and were unreliable...
I used an M16A1 extensively in the 80s without issues. Not sure when they fixed things. Some of my peers had the M16A2, but most didn't.
Those are M16A1’s. M16A4’s are the current model, though if I remember correctly they are being phased out in favor of the M4.
Most of the reliability issues had to do with ammo
Yeah it was ball powder that caused most of the fouling. He gun was designed for IMR.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1981/06/m-16-a-...
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1981/06/m-16-a-...
Yeah but with quite a few revisions to get it to where it is now.
To be fair, the original design was ruined by committees of bureaucrats and "rules because rules."
I wouldn't take an original M16. But I would take an original M2 or M1911.
To be fair, the original design was ruined by committees of bureaucrats and "rules because rules."
I wouldn't take an original M16. But I would take an original M2 or M1911.
> original M2
...Er. Going and looking at the wiki page... Do you mean the M1921, which was a water-cooled fixed-barrel machine gun that had originally been designed to fire .30-06 and was repeatedly trialed by the military between 1921 and 1937 and rejected for being generally terrible? Or do you mean the version that the military eventually adopted circa 1935 as the M2, which was still water-cooled but not quite as terrible as the other options? Or do you mean the air-cooled variants that were finally developed circa 1940 to put on tanks?
Like, I understand the point about the 1911, but even there I have a feeling that if I went digging I'd find a decade of prototypes. There are a lot of patterns out there that people think were first set to paper in their final, perfect form but are actually the result of twenty years of iterative refinement.
...Er. Going and looking at the wiki page... Do you mean the M1921, which was a water-cooled fixed-barrel machine gun that had originally been designed to fire .30-06 and was repeatedly trialed by the military between 1921 and 1937 and rejected for being generally terrible? Or do you mean the version that the military eventually adopted circa 1935 as the M2, which was still water-cooled but not quite as terrible as the other options? Or do you mean the air-cooled variants that were finally developed circa 1940 to put on tanks?
Like, I understand the point about the 1911, but even there I have a feeling that if I went digging I'd find a decade of prototypes. There are a lot of patterns out there that people think were first set to paper in their final, perfect form but are actually the result of twenty years of iterative refinement.
We're not debating iterative refinement here, it's about what the first wide release was.
The CIA guys in Nam loved the early M16 because it came with IMR rounds.
Yes the M2 had a few hiccups in development, specifically related to making it mountable in more applications. But it's singular intent to sling 1/2" lead downrange was never compromised.
The CIA guys in Nam loved the early M16 because it came with IMR rounds.
Yes the M2 had a few hiccups in development, specifically related to making it mountable in more applications. But it's singular intent to sling 1/2" lead downrange was never compromised.
"A few hiccups" and "never compromised"? It took fifteen years of refinement to make it deployable, then a war popped up and it turned out to be totally useless even in the role they'd intended for it.
A gun's "singular purpose" is not to sling lead. It's to sling lead at an enemy, which means slinging lead on a battlefield, and those are far more complex and multifarious tasks than you're making them out to be. The navy ditched it because it turned out to be useless against WWII-tech aircraft. The army was about to ditch it because the water-cooling setup was too finicky and vulnerable and it couldn't be mounted on anything useful. You find the same story in the history of almost literally every piece of weapons technology. There are hundreds of guns out there that are fantastic pieces of focused lead-slinging intent but cost four times as much as the alternatives and are so heavy that you're better off literally carrying two cheaper and less-reliable guns and just swapping when one of them jams.
It's the same way with literally any technology. Yeah, Peter Watt had the great idea to condense steam in a different chamber so you didn't have to re-heat the cylinder after every stroke. He then spent twelve years figuring out how to improve the piston seal so this idea actually worked. TCP is simple, right? Literally all it does is transfer packets. Sequence numbers, three-way-handshake, resend unacked, done. Except that we then spent thirty years learning how to fine-tune all the parameters and if you get any of them wrong (TTL, backoff, window length, fast-open) you can't actually transfer any packets. Multipole electromechanical relay: AND or OR. Spring, magnet, connection. Not fast, reliable, cheap, or efficient enough to be an improvement over analog mechanical calculators until almost a hundred years after their invention. I, Pencil: Put graphite on paper. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/I,_Pencil
A gun's "singular purpose" is not to sling lead. It's to sling lead at an enemy, which means slinging lead on a battlefield, and those are far more complex and multifarious tasks than you're making them out to be. The navy ditched it because it turned out to be useless against WWII-tech aircraft. The army was about to ditch it because the water-cooling setup was too finicky and vulnerable and it couldn't be mounted on anything useful. You find the same story in the history of almost literally every piece of weapons technology. There are hundreds of guns out there that are fantastic pieces of focused lead-slinging intent but cost four times as much as the alternatives and are so heavy that you're better off literally carrying two cheaper and less-reliable guns and just swapping when one of them jams.
It's the same way with literally any technology. Yeah, Peter Watt had the great idea to condense steam in a different chamber so you didn't have to re-heat the cylinder after every stroke. He then spent twelve years figuring out how to improve the piston seal so this idea actually worked. TCP is simple, right? Literally all it does is transfer packets. Sequence numbers, three-way-handshake, resend unacked, done. Except that we then spent thirty years learning how to fine-tune all the parameters and if you get any of them wrong (TTL, backoff, window length, fast-open) you can't actually transfer any packets. Multipole electromechanical relay: AND or OR. Spring, magnet, connection. Not fast, reliable, cheap, or efficient enough to be an improvement over analog mechanical calculators until almost a hundred years after their invention. I, Pencil: Put graphite on paper. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/I,_Pencil
> A gun's "singular purpose" is not to sling lead. It's to sling lead at an enemy, which means slinging lead on a battlefield, and those are far more complex and multifarious tasks than you're making them out to be. The navy ditched it because it turned out to be useless against WWII-tech aircraft. The army was about to ditch it because the water-cooling setup was too finicky and vulnerable and it couldn't be mounted on anything useful.
But I think the point the above poster was making is, those deficiencies you listed was due to the obsolescence of continuing to use a .50 caliber round in that role. The M2 fulfilled its role as a .50 caliber machine gun continuously. Sure, it may have originally been designed as an anti-tank gun and by the time it saw major service using .50 caliber rounds for anti-armor was totally deficient. But the guns found other niches like vehicle mounts and aircraft mounts in its lightened version. I think you're indexing a bit too heavily on the fact that water cooling was ditched. Air vs. water cooled isn't an especially large design change - just rip out the water jacket and replace the jacket with a barrel shroud if needed. It's more a trade-off between mobility and ability to sustain fire, and as the battlefield changed an air cooled variant became better suited. The fact that an M2 mounted on a Stryker is nearly the same overall design as the one originally developed for WW1 is still impressive. The only substantive change to how it operates that I know of is the addition of a bi-directional feeding mechanism.
But I think the point the above poster was making is, those deficiencies you listed was due to the obsolescence of continuing to use a .50 caliber round in that role. The M2 fulfilled its role as a .50 caliber machine gun continuously. Sure, it may have originally been designed as an anti-tank gun and by the time it saw major service using .50 caliber rounds for anti-armor was totally deficient. But the guns found other niches like vehicle mounts and aircraft mounts in its lightened version. I think you're indexing a bit too heavily on the fact that water cooling was ditched. Air vs. water cooled isn't an especially large design change - just rip out the water jacket and replace the jacket with a barrel shroud if needed. It's more a trade-off between mobility and ability to sustain fire, and as the battlefield changed an air cooled variant became better suited. The fact that an M2 mounted on a Stryker is nearly the same overall design as the one originally developed for WW1 is still impressive. The only substantive change to how it operates that I know of is the addition of a bi-directional feeding mechanism.
> It's more a trade-off between mobility and ability to sustain fire,
If the design were really the ideal of the perfect tool that only cares about exactly one simple task, these trade-offs wouldn't exist. These items haven't been in service for so long because they sprang fully-formed from the designer's mind with perfect purity of purpose. They've been in service for so long because they were flexible enough to support a literal century of refinement, adaptation, and evolution. The M2 was originally water-cooled because it was meant to be a fixed weapon in emplacements or on ships. They rebuilt it with air-cooling because they needed a gun to put on a tank and it turned out that it was useless on ships. Then they made it fire faster because they needed guns to put on airplanes. Then they added a quick-change barrel system because they needed extended courses of fire. Then they completely redesigned the bolt and chamber because modern machine tools allowed them to use a cheaper, more reliable, and more maintainable design. Then they changed some of the ergonomics to improve mobility and barrel-changing even further. You don't actually want an "original M2". Those were junk, everyone knew they were junk, and it twenty years for them to stop being junk. What the parent is thinking of as the "original, basic M2" is the one with twenty years of adaptations and refinements, and that puts a very neat hole in the entire idea that the pattern was somehow endowed with some kind of lost simplicity. The original M2, compared to the version the OP is thinking of, is just as obsolete and dated as the original iphone is now.
If the design were really the ideal of the perfect tool that only cares about exactly one simple task, these trade-offs wouldn't exist. These items haven't been in service for so long because they sprang fully-formed from the designer's mind with perfect purity of purpose. They've been in service for so long because they were flexible enough to support a literal century of refinement, adaptation, and evolution. The M2 was originally water-cooled because it was meant to be a fixed weapon in emplacements or on ships. They rebuilt it with air-cooling because they needed a gun to put on a tank and it turned out that it was useless on ships. Then they made it fire faster because they needed guns to put on airplanes. Then they added a quick-change barrel system because they needed extended courses of fire. Then they completely redesigned the bolt and chamber because modern machine tools allowed them to use a cheaper, more reliable, and more maintainable design. Then they changed some of the ergonomics to improve mobility and barrel-changing even further. You don't actually want an "original M2". Those were junk, everyone knew they were junk, and it twenty years for them to stop being junk. What the parent is thinking of as the "original, basic M2" is the one with twenty years of adaptations and refinements, and that puts a very neat hole in the entire idea that the pattern was somehow endowed with some kind of lost simplicity. The original M2, compared to the version the OP is thinking of, is just as obsolete and dated as the original iphone is now.
The quick change barrel was introduced in 2010. We're still talking close to a century before substantive changes were made to the design. The "Original M2" as most people know it was air cooled, had bi-directional feed, and is very much the same as the ones in service today aside from the shift away from adjustable head-spacing in 2010. The designation "M2" does not refer to the water cooled M1921, but the air cooled version produced after Browning's death [1]. I guess if you want to stretch back the age of the M2 an extra decade you can highlight the ancestry of the design back to 1921 (usually people do this to give credit of the gun to John Browning, similar to how people say the Hi-Power was designed by browning) but bear in mind that the M1921 is not what most people think of as the original M2. They're thinking of the 1933 gun.
I'm not sure where you got the idea that "those were junk, everyone knew they were junk, and it [took] twenty years for them to stop being junk". Strange for a gun that was "junk" to be adapted for use by foreign companies only 6 years after release[2], and imitated by other foreign powers[3] less than 10 years after release. For a gun that was such junk, other countries were eager to imitate it. The M2 was a particularly effective and long-lived design, and one that went largely without adaptation since its initial release in 1933. What other piece of equipment is so similar to its original design from over 80 years ago?
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M2_Browning
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitrailleuse_d%C2%B4Avion_Brow...
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho-103_machine_gun
I'm not sure where you got the idea that "those were junk, everyone knew they were junk, and it [took] twenty years for them to stop being junk". Strange for a gun that was "junk" to be adapted for use by foreign companies only 6 years after release[2], and imitated by other foreign powers[3] less than 10 years after release. For a gun that was such junk, other countries were eager to imitate it. The M2 was a particularly effective and long-lived design, and one that went largely without adaptation since its initial release in 1933. What other piece of equipment is so similar to its original design from over 80 years ago?
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M2_Browning
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitrailleuse_d%C2%B4Avion_Brow...
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho-103_machine_gun
> The "Original M2" as most people know it
Hmm, you're right, I think that I lost my train of thought here. Let me start over.
I understand that the M2 that we all think about is an excellent design, but claiming that it was an ideal pattern from first conception is incorrect, and comparing it to the iphone of all things is asinine. I wouldn't have complained as much if it'd been compared to, say, a Pixel 1 or iPhone 6, since it is annoying that those stopped getting software updates after only 2 or 3 years when smartphones as a concept are only 12 or 13 years old. But comparing the M2 to a first-of-its-kind transformative revolution, then complaining that the revolutionary front-runner was obsoleted in a hurry? Duh. That's what happens when you find a new region of configuration space. The M2 was not in any way something you could hold up as an "original". It was not the first gun to use its action, it was not the first in its role, it was not the first in its class or type, it wasn't even the first to use its cartridge. It was the very end of a long process of refinement.
If you want to compare cell phones to firearms, you shouldn't be using guns from the 1930s as examples. You might as well compare it to the early telegraphs, which had one wire per letter, signaled by electrolyzing bubbles of hydrogen out of a vial of acid, and could barely go from one room to the next because they didn't have high-voltage sources or relays. You should be looking at firearms from the 1890s.
The Maxim gun came out in 1884 and revolutionized the concept of the firearm. It blew up. Everyone started trying to improve on it and refine it. And they did, in all sorts of crazy ways that were obsolete almost before they'd left the factory. We didn't start seeing solid designs until things like the luger in 1989 and the springfield in 1903. By the outbreak of WWI the Maxim gun was thoroughly obsolete, though it did have descendants. Not only are modern electronics more complex, with vast design spaces to explore and multiple orders of magnitude more room to improve into, we're barely 12 years past our Maxim gun equivalent. We'll remember the iphone forever, but it was no more timeless than the Maxim gun was, and I doubt we'll see a "timeless" cell phone for at least another decade. Maybe two. Or maybe the entire idea of the cell phone will turn out to be a an inefficient, clunky in-between that'll go the way of water-cooling.
> "those were junk, everyone knew they were junk, and it > [took] twenty years for them to stop being junk".
Turns out I did misread something, sorry; I'd lost a comma on the wiki page and thought the air-cooled version hadn't been introduced until the start of WWII. Even using the 1933 version, though, it's still more than a decade from the first labeled pattern of the gun in 1921, which was... not great.
Hmm, you're right, I think that I lost my train of thought here. Let me start over.
I understand that the M2 that we all think about is an excellent design, but claiming that it was an ideal pattern from first conception is incorrect, and comparing it to the iphone of all things is asinine. I wouldn't have complained as much if it'd been compared to, say, a Pixel 1 or iPhone 6, since it is annoying that those stopped getting software updates after only 2 or 3 years when smartphones as a concept are only 12 or 13 years old. But comparing the M2 to a first-of-its-kind transformative revolution, then complaining that the revolutionary front-runner was obsoleted in a hurry? Duh. That's what happens when you find a new region of configuration space. The M2 was not in any way something you could hold up as an "original". It was not the first gun to use its action, it was not the first in its role, it was not the first in its class or type, it wasn't even the first to use its cartridge. It was the very end of a long process of refinement.
If you want to compare cell phones to firearms, you shouldn't be using guns from the 1930s as examples. You might as well compare it to the early telegraphs, which had one wire per letter, signaled by electrolyzing bubbles of hydrogen out of a vial of acid, and could barely go from one room to the next because they didn't have high-voltage sources or relays. You should be looking at firearms from the 1890s.
The Maxim gun came out in 1884 and revolutionized the concept of the firearm. It blew up. Everyone started trying to improve on it and refine it. And they did, in all sorts of crazy ways that were obsolete almost before they'd left the factory. We didn't start seeing solid designs until things like the luger in 1989 and the springfield in 1903. By the outbreak of WWI the Maxim gun was thoroughly obsolete, though it did have descendants. Not only are modern electronics more complex, with vast design spaces to explore and multiple orders of magnitude more room to improve into, we're barely 12 years past our Maxim gun equivalent. We'll remember the iphone forever, but it was no more timeless than the Maxim gun was, and I doubt we'll see a "timeless" cell phone for at least another decade. Maybe two. Or maybe the entire idea of the cell phone will turn out to be a an inefficient, clunky in-between that'll go the way of water-cooling.
> "those were junk, everyone knew they were junk, and it > [took] twenty years for them to stop being junk".
Turns out I did misread something, sorry; I'd lost a comma on the wiki page and thought the air-cooled version hadn't been introduced until the start of WWII. Even using the 1933 version, though, it's still more than a decade from the first labeled pattern of the gun in 1921, which was... not great.
I don't think anyone is citing the M2 as some sort of transformation or as a novel design - just as an especially long lived one. There's not much novel about it. It's essentially just a scaled up M1919 (which is itself essentially an air cooled version of the M1917) machine gun.
Machine guns where also designed as area effect weapons.
And in air combat well .50 doesn't work as well for dogfighting that's why Germany then the UK went for 20mm cannons.
And in air combat well .50 doesn't work as well for dogfighting that's why Germany then the UK went for 20mm cannons.
If N64 games are still worth playing, it's surely equally true that there's really nothing about the styling of the original iPhone that makes it an eyesore. It's just obsolete.
Zelda OoT and Majora's Mask are still extremely playable. I go through them probably once a year.
And you've got Mario Kart 64, the best version for playing Kario Mart (finish a beer before the race ends), Mario Party 2, smash 64. On and on.
The iPhone isn't an eyesore, but it's definitely of it's time.
And you've got Mario Kart 64, the best version for playing Kario Mart (finish a beer before the race ends), Mario Party 2, smash 64. On and on.
The iPhone isn't an eyesore, but it's definitely of it's time.
The N64 to me is arguably an outlier in console design in terms of how well it has aged. The console unit anyway; a controller for three handed humans still makes as little sense to me today as it did back then. Thankfully history seems to have agreed as the idea arguably died with the N64.
Other than perhaps the original PlayStation, almost all old gaming hardware has aged far worse than the original iPhone’s industrial design in my eyes. It’s also industry trends I’d argue that aged that design of the iPhone as much as the design itself. Modern phones are typically much larger screened devices than what the market expected in 2007ish. A console is still just a plastic box with ports we shove under a TV much as it was in the 90s.
Other than perhaps the original PlayStation, almost all old gaming hardware has aged far worse than the original iPhone’s industrial design in my eyes. It’s also industry trends I’d argue that aged that design of the iPhone as much as the design itself. Modern phones are typically much larger screened devices than what the market expected in 2007ish. A console is still just a plastic box with ports we shove under a TV much as it was in the 90s.
Every once and a while Miyamoto will out think himself. I think he was trying to support / smooth the transition from 2D side-scrolling where the D-Pad was a known interface to the 3D world where the analog stick was a necessity.
But then they shipped with Mario 64 and no one gave a second thought to the D-Pad.
And yeah, I was harsh on the OG iPhone. It's hard being a new design.
But then they shipped with Mario 64 and no one gave a second thought to the D-Pad.
And yeah, I was harsh on the OG iPhone. It's hard being a new design.
I don't think it's so much that they shipped with Mario 64 as that all the games that made more sense to use a dpad for wound up on the playstation instead, which didn't originally ship with any kind of 3d control stick at all.
Nintendo dove deep into 3d on the n64 and they knew they were going to, but they put the dpad there assuming they'd be as successful as they were with the snes and there'd be a much wider diversity of game types for the platform.
Really though I don't think the design is really much of a mystery and I always wonder how the people confused by it tried to hold it. Did they try to grip the outer handle and reach in to the stick or something? It was never unobvious to me how to hold it or why they did it that way.
Personally I'd rather play 3d games with the n64 controller than the dual shock/analog, in terms of layout, just because the stick is in (one of the) primary position. Modern controllers with stick primary and dpad secondary and two grips are, to me, superior to either for 3d games though.
Nintendo dove deep into 3d on the n64 and they knew they were going to, but they put the dpad there assuming they'd be as successful as they were with the snes and there'd be a much wider diversity of game types for the platform.
Really though I don't think the design is really much of a mystery and I always wonder how the people confused by it tried to hold it. Did they try to grip the outer handle and reach in to the stick or something? It was never unobvious to me how to hold it or why they did it that way.
Personally I'd rather play 3d games with the n64 controller than the dual shock/analog, in terms of layout, just because the stick is in (one of the) primary position. Modern controllers with stick primary and dpad secondary and two grips are, to me, superior to either for 3d games though.
> The iPhone isn't an eyesore, but it's definitely of it's time.
I'd argue that the same applies to the N64 hardware.
I'd argue that the same applies to the N64 hardware.
And I'd agree. But the N64 still functions exactly the same today as it did when it was released. It still does it's job. It will still entertain 1-4 players. Same with the S/NES.
How usable is an original iPhone? Is it acceptable as a phone these days? Is it even functional? Hell, can you even get the OS image it needs and software to run on it?
Nintendo still has people on staff at the 1-800 number listed on their machines who will help you troubleshoot your system.[1] They don't have replacement parts anymore though, but they might help you source some.
Good design just keeps working and working. Style might change, but a design's utility should not.
[1] http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/04/random_nintendos_sn...
How usable is an original iPhone? Is it acceptable as a phone these days? Is it even functional? Hell, can you even get the OS image it needs and software to run on it?
Nintendo still has people on staff at the 1-800 number listed on their machines who will help you troubleshoot your system.[1] They don't have replacement parts anymore though, but they might help you source some.
Good design just keeps working and working. Style might change, but a design's utility should not.
[1] http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/04/random_nintendos_sn...
Perhaps more importantly, does it do anything a modern iPhone can’t? An original Nintendo 64 is the only way to run Nintendo 64 games unemulated.
Play music over wired headphones. Connect to peripherals that use the original wide connector. Talk with dongles that communicate over the headphone port, like those credit card readers.
Modern iPhones can play music over wired headphones! Sure, not all wired headphones. But then again, the original iPhone can't play music over all wired headphones either.
Apple has adapters so a modern iPhone can play music over wired headphones or connect to 30pin devices. These probably also work with these credit card readers. Or get a new one after 10 years, they’re only $50.
I believe both GSM carriers in the US turned off their 2G compatibility a few years ago.
I don’t have an original iPhone, but I do have a N original iPod touch with basically the same hardware.
The built in apps still work except for Youtube. You can still sync music to it from iTunes and Google backed Apple Maps still works. You can still restore it from iTunes as far as I know.
The original iPad and any device running iOS 5 is a better story. If you go to the App Store and try to download an app that at one time had a iOS 5 version, you can download “the last compatible version”. Netflix, Crackle, Hulu, Plex, and Spotify still work. Also all of Apple’s iWork and iLife apps still work and sync with newer versions. Google Drive also still works. I can read PDFs stored on it.
Most websites are unusable though. HN being an exception.
Of course I have newer devices.
I don’t have an original iPhone, but I do have a N original iPod touch with basically the same hardware.
The built in apps still work except for Youtube. You can still sync music to it from iTunes and Google backed Apple Maps still works. You can still restore it from iTunes as far as I know.
The original iPad and any device running iOS 5 is a better story. If you go to the App Store and try to download an app that at one time had a iOS 5 version, you can download “the last compatible version”. Netflix, Crackle, Hulu, Plex, and Spotify still work. Also all of Apple’s iWork and iLife apps still work and sync with newer versions. Google Drive also still works. I can read PDFs stored on it.
Most websites are unusable though. HN being an exception.
Of course I have newer devices.
The 2G modem in the original iPhone is obsolete I think, like they upgraded the towers a couple of years ago and now they can't talk to them anymore.
Other than that the old standalone software (stuff that didn't require a cloud service) still works fine. I use mine as a music player sometimes.
Other than that the old standalone software (stuff that didn't require a cloud service) still works fine. I use mine as a music player sometimes.
Or those Beaver [1] sea planes still in use commercially around the country, and by pilots in Alaska.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-2_Beav...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-2_Beav...
Your comment made me think of the musician paradox who for some reason favors using a c64 for his live shows and it's not a gimmick like a 8bit music, you really don't hear it in the music.
https://youtu.be/2e0wg_618ac
https://youtu.be/2e0wg_618ac
That's an Amiga 1200 ;)
You just have to pry open your Zelda cart to solder on a new battery for the static RAM :)
All of my battery backed games are still going strong. Not just the Gameboy ones but all the other retro consoles in my extensive collection too.
However I do think I’ve been exceptionally lucky not to have even one bad egg amongst my archive.
Ironically it’s not the games that’s caused me battery issues but the consoles themselves. My Saturn, Dreamcast and Xbox all needed to have batteries replaced despite being several generations more recent.
However I do think I’ve been exceptionally lucky not to have even one bad egg amongst my archive.
Ironically it’s not the games that’s caused me battery issues but the consoles themselves. My Saturn, Dreamcast and Xbox all needed to have batteries replaced despite being several generations more recent.
Their time is about to come. Invest in some sort of save dumping device while you can.
I’m sure they will die at some point. When that happens I get the joy of playing them all over again. Bar a few RPGs, there’s nothing there that can’t be beaten in a few hours once you’re familiar with the game. Which is one of appeals of retro gaming for me.
Mine actually hasn't died yet. My Pokemon red and blue carts need new batteries, but OoT is still going. Wouldn't expect any less from the GOAT. (You kids these days wont get why it's the GOAT, but it is).
What is this "GOAT"? Is it what kicked the llama's ass? ;)
Greatest Of All Time
I know. I was dropping my own old reference :)
https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/20/after-15-years-of-whipping...
https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/20/after-15-years-of-whipping...
Appropriately, the original Winamp is a pretty good contender for GOAT
I especially miss the old skins:
https://archive.org/details/winampskins
The late 90s/early 2000s had a very unique and IMO under appreciated aesthetic.
https://archive.org/details/winampskins
The late 90s/early 2000s had a very unique and IMO under appreciated aesthetic.
Longevity in aviation in particular is fascinating. The Douglas DC3 aircraft for example is a more than 70 years old design and is still in use. If it works don’t fix it.
Or, rather: if it’s fixable, fix it, don’t throw it away.
Ham radio and SWL are similar. I was given a hand-me-down Swan transceiver which is 40 years old and couldn't believe my luck. To have a maintained and working 1950s or 1940s radio typically gets you fine results and some geek cred as well.
Didn't Elon Musk say that NASA had plan to buy rockets from the 70's or 80's from the Soviets to fly some missions in the 2000's?
That is, not the DESIGNs from the 70's or 80's, but the actual rockets themselves!
I don't know much about space flight but I found that to be fascinating.
That is, not the DESIGNs from the 70's or 80's, but the actual rockets themselves!
I don't know much about space flight but I found that to be fascinating.
Orbital Sciences Antares rocket uses previously mothballed Russian NK-33 engines. These were originally manufactured for the Russian version of the Apollo program but never flown. These are 70's vintage engines that get refurbished and launched. Also notable they are closed cycle engines, which was seen as somewhat impossible to achieve at the time. SpaceX newest engine uses the same concept, probably inspired by these engines.
Documentary about this on Netflix
https://www.netflix.com/title/80119093
I think the documentary makes some great points about how limitations drive creative solutions.
Documentary about this on Netflix
https://www.netflix.com/title/80119093
I think the documentary makes some great points about how limitations drive creative solutions.
That was actually his plan in the early days of SpaceX. But the missiles were too expensive, so they started from scratch.
But a lot of commercial launchers are incremental improvements on old designs. The Delta family is based on the Thor ICBM.
Soyuz was first launched in 1966, and it's the only way to get humans to the ISS at the moment.
But a lot of commercial launchers are incremental improvements on old designs. The Delta family is based on the Thor ICBM.
Soyuz was first launched in 1966, and it's the only way to get humans to the ISS at the moment.
The Z80 microprocessor was designed in 1976. 43 years later, its CMOS version is still being produced and can be purchased new in SMT packages. Intel MCS-8051 was designed in 1980, and today you can still find brand new chips that implement the almost-original version. Also, the original version of NE555 timer, the LM741 opamp, the LM317 voltage regulators were still being produced in large quantity and used until recently, despite the availability of their better CMOS counterparts.
One can argue that their continued proliferation in the 21st century was due to the large number of legacy designs and legacy systems, that's true. But, yet, few still use 8080, 8085, or some forgotten chips from the same era.
So apparently there's another crucial reason for the success of these long-life chip: they were made to do one thing, and they did it well, and still are still doing well in low-lost devices.
One can argue that their continued proliferation in the 21st century was due to the large number of legacy designs and legacy systems, that's true. But, yet, few still use 8080, 8085, or some forgotten chips from the same era.
So apparently there's another crucial reason for the success of these long-life chip: they were made to do one thing, and they did it well, and still are still doing well in low-lost devices.
[deleted]
Game Boy didn't have state of the art hardware when it released, it had reliable hardware. Its competitors had color screen and what not; they all failed.
Common mistake the phone market is still making today.
People don't buy for the tech, they buy for the [games | experience | brand]
People don't buy for the tech, they buy for the [games | experience | brand]
Yeah the original BW gameboy used a modified Z80 which was old even in 1989. It took 4 AA batteries and had twice the battery life of the 6-battery (?) Game Gear.
Well, there's always the caveat of capacitors. Don't expect a Game Gear for example to work well without a fair bit of soldering.
I actually just released an open source React/Electron app for making Game Boy games on Windows, Mac and Linux a few days ago!
https://github.com/chrismaltby/gb-studio
Still getting lots of use out of my childhood Game Boy.
https://github.com/chrismaltby/gb-studio
Still getting lots of use out of my childhood Game Boy.
... wow, this looks polished as all heck, and it produces real ROMs? That's amazing! Kudos, I'll be checking this out this week for sure.
Thanks! Yeah it uses GBDK to make real ROMs. It can only make a very specific kind of game right now but it’s early days.
This is almost a beat-for-beat rip off of MKBHD's well produced Game Boy "Retro Tech" special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy8zSYKkczI
I did not realize just how much nostalgia I have for that original Game Boy start-up sound.
Also, I honestly would love if more modern mobile hardware was built as solidly as the Game Boy was.
The last thing I owned like it that felt kinda similar to it was my netbook, an Asus Eee 1005HA-P. I have an absolute powerhouse of a laptop now (Lenovo P51) and I'm extremely happy with it - it basically feels like I own the power of a desktop PC but in portable form, but I have to say, that little laptop served me really well for many years (especially after I put Lubuntu on it). It had an unbeatable battery life, and trying to squeeze as much performance as possible out of that little machine was weirdly addictive. I'm considering pre-ordering a Dragonbox Pyra to see if it will have a similar feeling, or I'm just being nostalgic but really prefer this big beast of a laptop these days.
[0] https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/pages/pyra/
Also, I honestly would love if more modern mobile hardware was built as solidly as the Game Boy was.
The last thing I owned like it that felt kinda similar to it was my netbook, an Asus Eee 1005HA-P. I have an absolute powerhouse of a laptop now (Lenovo P51) and I'm extremely happy with it - it basically feels like I own the power of a desktop PC but in portable form, but I have to say, that little laptop served me really well for many years (especially after I put Lubuntu on it). It had an unbeatable battery life, and trying to squeeze as much performance as possible out of that little machine was weirdly addictive. I'm considering pre-ordering a Dragonbox Pyra to see if it will have a similar feeling, or I'm just being nostalgic but really prefer this big beast of a laptop these days.
[0] https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/pages/pyra/
One huuuge difficulty is that a lot of computer stuff is dependent on the era you’re using it in.
If you take a computer now, you’ll end up using modern websites, stuff like Slack, etc, which will not mech well with older form factors or software.
Meanwhile my grandparents had a computer with XP, Diablo 2, and .... codeBlocks? The C/++ IDE.
Many years beyond a lot of this software, the computer experience is still pretty excellent. Especially when i can turn on a radio next to it to close off the last piece (having some music to listen to)
It’s been many years since I’ve used that machine , but it was great because I wasn’t trying to use the machine to watch YouTube or use Twitter
If you take a computer now, you’ll end up using modern websites, stuff like Slack, etc, which will not mech well with older form factors or software.
Meanwhile my grandparents had a computer with XP, Diablo 2, and .... codeBlocks? The C/++ IDE.
Many years beyond a lot of this software, the computer experience is still pretty excellent. Especially when i can turn on a radio next to it to close off the last piece (having some music to listen to)
It’s been many years since I’ve used that machine , but it was great because I wasn’t trying to use the machine to watch YouTube or use Twitter
Long after Apple stopped supporting my 32 bit Core Duo 1.66Ghz circa 2006 Mac Mini with 1.5Gb RAM, I was able to install
Windows 7 and my mom still uses it occasionally with the latest version of Chrome, iTunes and Office 2010 as a secondary computer.
Her main computer is my old Sony Vaio 1.66Ghz Core Duo (bought used from Woot in 2007) all in one desktop with 2Gb RAM and a 1600x900 17” monitor. It’s running Windows 7.
Neither feels slow.
My Plex server until earlier this year was a 2009 Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz Dell business laptop with 8Gb RAM, gigabit Ethernet and one of the last great 1920x1200 displays.
Her main computer is my old Sony Vaio 1.66Ghz Core Duo (bought used from Woot in 2007) all in one desktop with 2Gb RAM and a 1600x900 17” monitor. It’s running Windows 7.
Neither feels slow.
My Plex server until earlier this year was a 2009 Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz Dell business laptop with 8Gb RAM, gigabit Ethernet and one of the last great 1920x1200 displays.
> The last thing I owned like it that felt kinda similar to it was my netbook, an Asus Eee 1005HA-P.
For those who still have a netbook-class device laying around, Debian GNU/Linux still works quite well on those, better than Lubuntu in fact. (Of course in most cases you're limited to the i386 branch due to lack of amd64 support in hardware.) With 1GB RAM or more, you can even do some light web browsing in current versions of Firefox.
(Today there are cheap ultrabook-class laptops from Chinese OEMs that are broadly similar in some ways, perhaps even more solidly built with metal frames - but the Linux support is very hit-and-miss, and there's essentially zero reliability in the longer run. You might be better off buying a cheap refurbished ultrabook that's from a well-known brand and with verified Linux support.)
For those who still have a netbook-class device laying around, Debian GNU/Linux still works quite well on those, better than Lubuntu in fact. (Of course in most cases you're limited to the i386 branch due to lack of amd64 support in hardware.) With 1GB RAM or more, you can even do some light web browsing in current versions of Firefox.
(Today there are cheap ultrabook-class laptops from Chinese OEMs that are broadly similar in some ways, perhaps even more solidly built with metal frames - but the Linux support is very hit-and-miss, and there's essentially zero reliability in the longer run. You might be better off buying a cheap refurbished ultrabook that's from a well-known brand and with verified Linux support.)
What about any of the GPD form-factor devices?
I miss the gameboy. My old Gameboy Color got something like 35 hours on a couple of AAs.[1]
I kept that thing around for a long time, because it was great for flights and road trips.
Nowadays I stick to podcasts (an iPhone can run a long time with wifi off just playing audio) but I wish more manufacturers would focus on battery life instead of folding up phones like a wallet.
[1] going by this source I dug up since memory is fuzzy: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/09/ever_wondered_how_...
I kept that thing around for a long time, because it was great for flights and road trips.
Nowadays I stick to podcasts (an iPhone can run a long time with wifi off just playing audio) but I wish more manufacturers would focus on battery life instead of folding up phones like a wallet.
[1] going by this source I dug up since memory is fuzzy: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/09/ever_wondered_how_...
My favourite use of the Gameboy is the album cover of Neil Young's "Silver & Gold". It was a picture shot by his son using a gameboy camera, and reproduced in full pixely goodness on a 12" x 12" sleeve.
I still play gameboy on a regular basis. At this point, all the games have "aged" as much as they're ever going to.
Some people enjoy the modern features or graphics of a game above all else. (and so from this perspective, there would be no real reason to return to Borderlands 1 after you have Borderlands 2) But at this point, those people would have left gameboy behind at least 15 to 20 years ago. A gameboy was already incredibly simplistic next to a PS2 in 2001, and was therefor limited to much simpler games, graphics, and music.
Some people enjoy the modern features or graphics of a game above all else. (and so from this perspective, there would be no real reason to return to Borderlands 1 after you have Borderlands 2) But at this point, those people would have left gameboy behind at least 15 to 20 years ago. A gameboy was already incredibly simplistic next to a PS2 in 2001, and was therefor limited to much simpler games, graphics, and music.
My favorite Tetris port is the Gameboy version. I haven't played that in a long time!
Except Borderlands 2 was mindless hogwash that completely missed the essence of the first game. I still routinely play through B1 every two-three years but B2 never gets any spin time.
Why? The simplicity and laser-sharp focus of the original beats the chaotic overdriven mayhem of the second.
Why? The simplicity and laser-sharp focus of the original beats the chaotic overdriven mayhem of the second.
My favourite Gameboy fiddler is Look Mum No Computer. He makes modular synth stuff out of random things (Furbys, for example).
https://www.lookmumnocomputer.com/projects#/gameboy-megamach...
His youtube channel is good fun. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafxR2HWJRmMfSdyZXvZMTw Top entertainment.
https://www.lookmumnocomputer.com/projects#/gameboy-megamach...
His youtube channel is good fun. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafxR2HWJRmMfSdyZXvZMTw Top entertainment.
I wasn't aware the Sharp CPU was a sort of hybrid 8080/Z80. Interesting series of blog posts here: https://realboyemulator.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/the-nintend...
> Game Boys have infinite lives
Unfortunately not if you store one with poor quality batteries that leak and destroy it :(
Unfortunately not if you store one with poor quality batteries that leak and destroy it :(
In my case, the poor quality batteries exploded while I was playing it. The best part is that it keep chugging along even with only 3 working batteries until later that day when I took the battery cover off for some reason and found the gruesome remains.
Often you can just file the corroded battery contacts clean and it will work again.
I’d love to teach a university course where the students just build a gameboy or NES emulator as group projects.
There have also been some cool Game Boy Zero mods where folks replaced the insides with a Raspberry Pie and a color screen, added more buttons, and installed a bunch of emulators and retro games.
I really wish people wouldn’t mod old hardware that can never be replaced with new hardware that will have a significantly shorter shelf life. Particularly given how affordable 3D printing has become where you could render your own retro looking case without destroying any existing hardware.
I mean I have no issue with back light mods which takes the original and improves it subtly and without taking any essence away from the original hardware design. But I’ve seen so many people rip perfectly serviceable innards of retro systems just to shove a Raspberry Pi in its shell. Then 6 months after the mod when the hacker is bored with his or her creation, the bastardised console ends up in the junk heap because nobody wants it anymore. Meanwhile the stockpile for original parts becomes evermore scarce.
I mean I have no issue with back light mods which takes the original and improves it subtly and without taking any essence away from the original hardware design. But I’ve seen so many people rip perfectly serviceable innards of retro systems just to shove a Raspberry Pi in its shell. Then 6 months after the mod when the hacker is bored with his or her creation, the bastardised console ends up in the junk heap because nobody wants it anymore. Meanwhile the stockpile for original parts becomes evermore scarce.
RetroPi is pretty good. I use mine for N64 Mario Kart. It’s a tiny bit under powered but only when all the Karts are onscreen (so don’t allow that to happen).
If you're a gameboy color fan, google the freckle shack kit. It's a backlit lcd with a custom pcb that doesn't require any soldering. New design by BennVenn who has been on the scene for a while.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbHfXdoiW-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbHfXdoiW-Q
I saw a man wearing a Game Boy Advance with Pokemon Yellow as the pendant of a big chain around his neck a few days ago while riding the train.
I couldn't imagine doing that when I got one. It was so precious to me then, but now the GBA is practically worthless except to archivists and the sentimental.
It makes me wonder if someone will be doing wearing a necklace made of an iPhone in a couple of decades.
I couldn't imagine doing that when I got one. It was so precious to me then, but now the GBA is practically worthless except to archivists and the sentimental.
It makes me wonder if someone will be doing wearing a necklace made of an iPhone in a couple of decades.
The Pokemon Yellow cartridge is probably more valuable than the GBA.
It isn’t. At least not unless it’s boxed with manual and in mind condition. But then that’s not really a fair comparison because if the GBA was boxed then that would be worth more too.
Gameboy games are the one area of retro consoles that hasn’t ballooned in price during the last few years plus Pokemon Yellow is a pretty common game too.
That said, GBAs aren’t exactly commanding a high price tag either. So there isn’t actually that much between the two price wise.
Gameboy games are the one area of retro consoles that hasn’t ballooned in price during the last few years plus Pokemon Yellow is a pretty common game too.
That said, GBAs aren’t exactly commanding a high price tag either. So there isn’t actually that much between the two price wise.
The same number of years passed (15) between the Game Boy (1989) and Nintendo DS (2004) as from the DS until now (2019). That surprised me, as the DS does not feel like the 'half way point'. Probably a lot to do with my age during these time periods, (10 years old is 1989) and how that affects the passage of time.
The Game Boy came out around the same time as the Atari Lynx, which was much more advanced graphically but had a terrible battery life. Advances in battery tech are very important for handhelds.
My friend had a Scooter that could be tuned with a Gameboy (In Norway bikes are capped at 45 km/h for 16 year olds.)
Could you tell us more ? https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=norway+tu... first result is your very comment at the moment :).
It looks like Aprilia scooters ECU reprogramming through a Gameboy:
https://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?101978-DI...
https://youtu.be/XXK8NHum4Zw
https://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?101978-DI...
https://youtu.be/XXK8NHum4Zw
One version of diagnostic system for Ford cars used the same LCD panel as the Gameboy.
I was wondering about that as a colleague of mine got a gig with our national broadcast tv for producing a podcast set up i the future and based around geeks looking after a gameboy.
I had a Gameboy as a young boy. It was cool. But we got way better tech and stories now.
This all feels like the 60-70-80 and now 90's marketing cycle to me.
I had a Gameboy as a young boy. It was cool. But we got way better tech and stories now.
This all feels like the 60-70-80 and now 90's marketing cycle to me.
Google Trey Frey, incredible chiptune using Gameboys and LSDj (a gameboy DAW)
Whereas the multipurpose OG iPhone isn't even a good paperweight because it has dated styling.
And it's not just electronics. The Browning M2 is still in service. It's one job is to deliver reliable .50cal rounds. Versus the m16/4 or m246, which are constantly under scrutiny because they promised multirole capability.
Aviation, B-52 is projected for 100 years of service.