Old (lack of?) technologies that are just frickin' better than the new tech

[Azeotrope]

@Rich_G7subs

Gas cans… I hate the new plastic safety cans with the “push down to dispense” nozzles. I’ve broken 3 of them in the last year. What’s wrong with just a regular pour spout and a cap? I still use the old style can (circa 1989) and it’s a thousand times easier than the new ones.

Oh Hell Yes. The new “safety” ones are evil. I don’t get how trying to hang onto a heavy container of gas, trying to finagle the spout into the lawn mower gas inlet, trying to push down, and end up soaking your shoes in gas because something either wasn’t tightened enough or popped loose is safer than a few escaping gas fumes from an old-school can.

Another one for me: books. The Kindle is nice since you can get a book instantly any time of day or night, but I still just like the feeling of holding a real paper book.

[MeanOldLady]

@ZipperJJ

Cell phones, for me at least, have never lived up to the sound quality and comfort of landline phones. I love my cell and I love having communication in my pocket but I cannot talk on a cell for very long and I can barely understand people on the other end. And I cannot hold a cell between my ear and shoulder and type at the same time.

Yeah, I totally need to get a landline, but I haven’t gotten around to it. Plus the reception in my apt is irritatingly bad, which makes it even more shameful that I don’t have a landline yet.

@MandaJo

Mysafety razoris seven kabillion times better than any modern disposable razor. It’s still hard as hell to cut yourself, and since the razors are so cheap as to be almost free, you can use a fresh perfectly sharp one every single time.

Interesting! It never even occurred to me to buy one of these. I just buy a Venus razor at the grocery store like everyone else.

@WhyNot

Agree with calenders and cell phones, and I’ll add address books. Now, I like having all my Contacts in my phone when I want to make a call. But when I’m on the phone, I can’t look up someone’s phone number on my phone to give it to the person I’m talking to. I’ve got to hang up and look it up and either send it as a “business card” or a text or call back with it.

Plus if you lose cell phones as frequently as I do (:smack:) it’s good to have a hard copy of your address book.

[Anne_Neville]

@Arrendajo

Anything with a volume knob that is an actual dial on the hardware itself.

And, importantly, an actual dial on the hardware itself that has no functions other than controlling volume. My iPod Classic does not have this. When a song comes on that’s louder than I would like, I can’t always adjust the volume right away, since the dial might be in some other mode. I want to be able to adjust the volume right away, any time I feel the need to do so. I’m trying to keep what’s left of my hearing…

[kmshrader]

Whet stones. Or, as they were called in my house, “rocks.” To sharpen a knife, you need to remove metal. To preserve the life and edge of your knife, you need the right tool and the skill to use it. Would you rather have your hair cut by a trained professional or an autobot that cuts the same way every time regardless of your preference or needs? Fuck “sharpening systems.” I’ll take a rock any day.

[MichaelEmouse]

@kmshrader

Whet stones. Or, as they were called in my house, “rocks.” To sharpen a knife, you need to remove metal. To preserve the life and edge of your knife, you need the right tool and the skill to use it. Would you rather have your hair cut by a trained professional or an autobot that cuts the same way every time regardless of your preference or needs? Fuck “sharpening systems.” I’ll take a rock any day.

What are the different preferences and needs when it comes to knife sharpening?

[Bridget_Burke]

@ZipperJJ

Cell phones, for me at least, have never lived up to the sound quality and comfort of landline phones. I love my cell and I love having communication in my pocket but I cannot talk on a cell for very long and I can barely understand people on the other end. And I cannot hold a cell between my ear and shoulder and type at the same time.

There are lots of handsets out–not all of them in kryptonite green!

Probably won’t help the sound quality–but I finally went cell-only because my landline sucked so badly. The Company said they’d send a guy out if I took time off for work to meet him, but wouldn’t guarantee the price. Maybe nothing, maybe a bunch. The static got worse & worse, rendering calls impossible. Then it started calling 911! Yup, I enjoyed a couple of cop cars pulling up at my door about 3AM. They said a bad landline could be the cause, but I didn’t want to strain their good humor…

[MegaBee]

@kmshrader

Whet stones. Or, as they were called in my house, “rocks.” To sharpen a knife, you need to remove metal. To preserve the life and edge of your knife, you need the right tool and the skill to use it. Would you rather have your hair cut by a trained professional or an autobot that cuts the same way every time regardless of your preference or needs? Fuck “sharpening systems.” I’ll take a rock any day.

I would like an Autobot to cut my hair, please.

[MoonMoon]

Honest to Pete, I can’t think of a single thing, and wouldn’t give up the newfangled gizmo for any of the examples given so far.

I love living in the future.

[gallows_fodder]

I miss laptops that had CD/DVD drives with a physical ejection mechanism. My laptop doesn’t even have one of those little holes that you could poke a paperclip in to eject the DVD, so when a DVD got stuck in there I had to call tech support and go through some elaborate rigamarole to get it out (that naturally I’ve forgotten, so if this ever happens again, it will be another 45-minute call to tech support).

[kmshrader]

@MichaelEmouse

What are the different preferences and needs when it comes to knife sharpening?

Needs - Knives are made of different materials. They’re different lengths and shapes, with different angles or curves. All of these factors affect the edge, either in its longevity or as things you have to account for when sharpening. A drop-point blade will obviously not get the same edge as a straightback blade from the same movement through a V-shaped “sharpening system.” And serrated blades? Forget about it.

Preferences - Certain edges (convex vs. concave vs. V-shape) are sharper in the short term, or easier to maintain in the long-term, or better suited to one blade type than another. A knife with nick in it can either be sharpened in a way that removes all the metal down to that point (the only option with a “sharpening system”) or, if it’s in an unobtrusive place and isn’t affecting the cut, the nick can be smoothed to a point of compromise, and you lose less metal. Similarly, spots of rust can be more easily and effectively dealt with with a whet stone.

[One_And_Only_Wanderers]

I would love to get my daughter a Speak N Spell and the math one also, whatever that was called.

[Gestalt]

@MandaJo

Mysafety razoris seven kabillion times better than any modern disposable razor. It’s still hard as hell to cut yourself, and since the razors are so cheap as to be almost free, you can use a fresh perfectly sharp one every single time.

@MichaelEmouse

I came here to praise double edge safety razors just as Manda JO did.

Smoother, sharper shaves with a blade that costs a dime & a nickel. Preferably an adjustable razor.

If you want a modern version of the old tool, you can try this if you’re not afraid the monster will eat you: http://www.apetogentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/merkur-vision-razor-butterfly-head.jpg
To correct a mistype though, it is the blades which are cheap, not the razors.

Hmm. I am intrigued. I am fairly clumsy. I can see it being hard to cut yourself when shaving, say, one’s legs, but how about a more contoured area? Like the bikini line?

Also are there any brands of razor and/or blade you would recommend?

[lost4life]

@ZipperJJ

… And I cannot hold a cell between my ear and shoulder and type at the same time.

Oh quit your bitching and get one of these. All the cool kids are wearing them.

[MeanOldLady]

This is not even a joke. Please kill me if I ever wear one of those.

[MichaelEmouse]

“how about a more contoured area”
I shave my face and head with it without problems. The head is almost nothing but contoured areas. Including foaming up, it takes me about 5 minutes for the face and 15 minutes for the head.

I picked up my used Gillette Slim razor for about 35$ on ebay. I’m quite satisfied with it.

Whatever brand you choose, I would very much recommend an adjustable razor. It allows you to adjust the angle of the blade. Mine has 9 settings although I only use about 5. The 1 setting isn’t very close but is very forgiving and creates no irritation (good for high risk areas and the first pass where you shave off most of the hair) . At 9, it provides a very close shave but creates irritation and I have to be careful in tricky places (good for the last pass). After some fiddling around, you’ll get a good sense of which setting to use where and when.
Blades: A sampler pack on Ebay would be a good place to start. The blade brands I prefer are Personna, Astra and Gillete 7 O’Clock. I find those brands sharp, comfortable and forgiving. The Feather brand is very sharp but also unforgiving. If you use a Feather blade as a beginner, all your mistakes will be highlighted in red. The best place to buy blades is usually Ebay.
Another thing that really helps when it comes to closeness and comfort is using shaving cream or a shaving soap. Soaps cost more than canned foam but last a long time (depending on how often and how much you shave, 3-12 months). I bought a bar of Taylor of old bond street over here http://www.traditionalshaving.co.uk/mall/departmentpage.cfm/traditionalshaving/_268160/1/Shaving-Soap . It ends up costing less than foam cans per shave while being more comfortable and close.

To apply the shaving cream/soap, you’ll need a brush. A badger hair brush is best and costs 30-40$.

If you’re hesitant to buy the quality soap & badger brush considering their price, you might try going to a drug store where you’ll find a synthetic brush (5-10$) and a William’s Mug soap (less than 5$).

[drewtwo99]

@MeanOldLady

This is not even a joke. Please kill me if I ever wear one of those.

The horror! The horror!!!

MOL, you make me laugh so hard, I love it.

[enipla]

I agree about cell phone sound quality. And I hate that both people can’t talk at the same time. It seems to me that the younger generation just seems to think that’s the norm. Well… I guess it is, now.

[bouv]

@WhyNot

Agree with calenders and cell phones, and I’ll add address books. Now, I like having all my Contacts in my phone when I want to make a call. But when I’m on the phone, I can’t look up someone’s phone number on my phone to give it to the person I’m talking to. I’ve got to hang up and look it up and either send it as a “business card” or a text or call back with it.

Obviously this depends on the phone, but plenty of them (including all iPhones and Androids, and I assume Blackberrys and Windows Mobile phones) let you “leave” the calling app, but still be on the phonecall, to do other things on your phone.

[BMalion]

A diary is better than online stuff. It is private, personal and battery-free!

I’ve kept one for 30 years, how many people are still able to access a 30 year old computer program without a lot of work?

And for that matter, photo albums, I still prefer mine over having to squint at a little tiny phone screen or stare at a computer screen. You wanna see my photos? Come to my frickin’ house.

[MeanOldLady]

@BMalion

And for that matter, photo albums, I still prefer mine over having to squint at a little tiny phone screen or stare at a computer screen.

Oh god, yes, this! I keep saying I’m going to head down to Walgreens (or wherever) one day and get prints of the photos on my memory card, but that is a lie. For shame.