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posted by martyb on Monday May 29 2017, @03:27AM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-all-gone-to-bits dept.

From the RooshV Forum:

I constantly get the vibe from people that they think our technology is skyrocketing, that we're living in a new tech age, "where was all this ten years ago?!" etc.

But I disagree with this assessment of our technology. It has made steady improvements in one specific space: software and electronic hardware. That is all. On top of that, the improvements on the hardware have not even been ground breaking. GPS is a ground-breaking invention. Smaller screens are not: they are just an incremental improvement.

Smartphones are merely the result of incremental improvements in the size and quality of electronic components. The only breakthroughs involved are ages old. The invention of the transistor, the laser, etc. The existence of google, facebook, uber, and so on, are merely inevitable "new applications" stemming from these improvements. They are not breakthroughs, they are merely improvements and combinations upon the telephone, the directory, and the taxi.

In my opinion, technology as a whole is borderline stagnant.

A list of why technology is still shit:

The posting goes on to list examples of incremental, rather than breakthrough, changes in the areas of:

  • Electronics & Machines
  • Energy
  • Medicine
  • Clothes
  • Food
  • Finance

Have we really stagnated? Have we already found all of the "low-hanging fruit", so new breakthroughs are harder to find? Maybe there is greater emphasis on changes that are immediately able to be commercialized and less emphasis on basic research?

 
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  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday May 29 2017, @09:03AM (3 children)

    by kaszz (4211) on Monday May 29 2017, @09:03AM (#517072) Journal

    I have read that too. So incredible stupid at least in hindsight. But it ought to been obvious for people at the time too.

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  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday May 29 2017, @04:11PM (2 children)

    by Immerman (3985) on Monday May 29 2017, @04:11PM (#517190)

    I'm not so sure. I mean yes the company basically died - but they were a film (and camera) company - their death was pretty much out of their hands. But a company is only a piece of paper - nobody mourns it's death. So the question is, do the actual people running it benefit more from running it as long as they can and then rebuilding from scratch/taking their money elsewhere, or trying to transform an existing business into something completely different?

    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday May 29 2017, @06:57PM

      by kaszz (4211) on Monday May 29 2017, @06:57PM (#517270) Journal

      They could have awaited the right time to release all digital solutions. Once those image sensors reached 1 Mpixel and the flash memories could hold it for a decent price tag. It should been obvious that it was time to act.

    • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday May 31 2017, @02:10AM

      by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Wednesday May 31 2017, @02:10AM (#518035) Homepage Journal

      The US kodak doesn't make any consumer products - mostly it focusses on motion picture film. But - I think - one of the two just resumed Ektachrome production, and is seriously entertaining Kodachrome.

      I'm a Kodachrome photographer. Very specifically Kodachrome. My ex took my Kodachrome away by demanding I shoot for prints.

      I once gave a slide show at a burning man party. The most beautiful woman to have ever walked the earth said "I like your images". At the next party I gave her a few cibachrome enlargements and she kissed me. Right on the lips. A boy like me doesn't get that kind of treatment very often.

      I didn't pursue her as I thought she was dating some other guy. It turns out they'd just broken up. I'm actually still in touch with her but our lives are too different now.

      Fujifilm still makes slide film; there's a shop here in Portland that sells it. There are two kinds whose brand names I don't recall. One of the two is a reasonable competitor for Kodachrome. I'll buy a roll Real Soon Now.

      --
      Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]