I have such a huge nerd crush on this guy. Witnessing the incredible skill of making even the most humble and obsolete of technologies seem like an absolute pinnacle of human ingenuity is always a pleasure.

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pjerem 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

I actually think that "old tech" is pinnacle of human ingenuity.

When you see the inside of a camcorder, or a VCR as per his latest videos, those were object humans had to design not only for aesthetics but also for their function.

I'm not sure I'm clear but now, I feel like everything is just a randomly designed box stuffed with circuit boards. And more importantly, I really frequently feel like most objects I buy today are never tested by real people before being sent to production lines. If it was the case, somebody, somewhere would have noticed that a tactile snooze button alongside the buttons to change the hour on an alarm clock is stupid, or that the screen is too bright for you to sleep.

When objects were a complex arrangement of things that moved smartly together to create a function, the people designing had to test them. They also had to think actively about ergonomics because there were real constraints to solve in creating a camcorder that you can use with only one hand so you'd better place the buttons in an ergonomic place.

	▲	jonah 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Re "old tech": some of it is still being made! I'm currently in the middle of cleaning/ rehabbing, a 30ish year old Kenmore vacuum cleaner that I inherited from my grandparents when they died a decade ago. It's not precious or an heirloom or anything, but it's still works perfectly. The thing that struck me when completely disassembling it to clean it was how well and how simply engineered it was. The vacuum is held together with four screws which once you remove them The top simply lifts off and everything is right there. The only "electronics" is a single relay. Everything inside comes apart and goes back together very easily with no tools. There is even a wiring diagram on a sticker inside the case. The powerhead is similar, two screws and two clips (with text and an arrow pointing to the screwdriver slots to release them). Again, very simple and modular and repairable inside with another wiring diagram and instructions for replacing the belt on the inside of the case. The "headlight" bulb is incandescent and socketed. The rubber bumper around the edge is attached with tab-and-slot and not overmolded so it is easily replaceable. I haven't looked, but I'm sure there's a comprehensive catalog of replacement parts available. It's apparently been a very successful design for them because they're still selling models which are extremely similar[0]. It looks like some of the molds are probably the same. [0] https://kenmorefloorcare.com/products/vacuums/canister-vacuu...

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Finnucane 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Because at the time it may have been the pinnacle of ingenuity. Engineers had to figure out a new thing, or a way to do a thing in certain constraints, with what they had on hand, and had to be clever about it.

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SirMaster 3 days ago | parent [-]

And they don't have to do that now designing things like folding phones to be super thin with no gap and with cameras with optical zoom and all that? The engineering of a bleeding edge folding smartphone seems pretty ingenious to me.

	▲	justinator 3 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I still look at every folding smartphone and you can see the crease.
	▲	Finnucane 3 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		It's always true, that's the point.