I find it quite fascinating how long tailed single use technologies last. It's been 24 years, but if you encounter a N64, it's still safe to assume that you can flip the switch and be playing.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
[+] [-] huffmsa|6 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] patrickk|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] segfaultbuserr|6 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] tonyarkles|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Abishek_Muthian|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chubot|6 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] theoh|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zyngaro|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] krtkush|6 years ago|reply
F-35 too comes to mind.
[+] [-] awild|6 years ago|reply
https://youtu.be/2e0wg_618ac
[+] [-] taude|6 years ago|reply
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-2_Beav...
[+] [-] sehugg|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] blackflame7000|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Bayart|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tyingq|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chrismaltby|6 years ago|reply
https://github.com/chrismaltby/gb-studio
Still getting lots of use out of my childhood Game Boy.
[+] [-] zeta0134|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] douglaswlance|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vanderZwan|6 years ago|reply
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/
[+] [-] dontbenebby|6 years ago|reply
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_...
[+] [-] hettygreen|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] everdrive|6 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] PopeDotNinja|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] soulofmischief|6 years ago|reply
Why? The simplicity and laser-sharp focus of the original beats the chaotic overdriven mayhem of the second.
[+] [-] trollied|6 years ago|reply
https://www.lookmumnocomputer.com/projects#/gameboy-megamach...
His youtube channel is good fun. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafxR2HWJRmMfSdyZXvZMTw Top entertainment.
[+] [-] tyingq|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tlrobinson|6 years ago|reply
Unfortunately not if you store one with poor quality batteries that leak and destroy it :(
[+] [-] jdhn|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hnzix|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] azhenley|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nfriedly|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pushpop|6 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] lostlogin|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mewse-hn|6 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbHfXdoiW-Q
[+] [-] ipnon|6 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] jagger27|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kilbuz|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] amibang|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] alinani10|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ChrisSD|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] xlance|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] johnchristopher|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] johnchristopher|6 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] usahatecrime|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cryptokernel|6 years ago|reply
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