# What's the coolest piece of technology you work with **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 17, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458 "2008-10-17T22:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/21 "2008-10-20T22:14:56Z")
I’m making the best of my unemployment by doing family photo archival stuff. So my coolest technology is my Maxtor 1TB external drive. 1TB! I’m still getting used to the massive amount of digital real estate sitting on my desk. And having fun populating it. 😃 When I was working in defense my coworker and I fought over who got to play with the [3D printer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcSzNzmvPTE) (YouTube). Our office had a bigger version that used a wax matrix. Cleaning up the models was a fun break from paper pushing, and a handy excuse to keep from doing real work (“I can’t, my hands are covered in wax from cleaning up this prototype! Come back later!”). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/22 "2008-10-20T22:43:43Z")
I used to run Citizen CNC lathes that were the size of minivan that could make 1000’s of tiny titanium parts that would fit into the palm of your hand. My favorite tools were the carbide drills .0055" in diameter. Just a little bigger than a human hair. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/23 "2008-10-20T22:56:10Z")
> [@atomicbadgerrace](#): > > God, but do I hate thin clients. They’re little more than flash drives that connect your monitor to an actual computer however far away. Neat idea, but not at all preferable if you do any work with graphics. That, and it ruined our YouTubing. I don’t YouTube, for bandwidth reasons, but I’ve never had any problem with graphics. Those people who do major CAD work can get workstations, but we have compute ranches you can hook up to for heavy lifting (even if you have a workstation) so we mostly look at the results of big runs. I had a real computer before I got the thin client, and kept it even after I got it - but I found I hardly ever used it. Having root was cool, but for what I do the thin client is a big win. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/24 "2008-10-20T23:04:05Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > We just got a new Toshiba laptop in the lab which has an actual volume knob to control the volume. You don’t have to find the FN key and whatever other keys you need to press to turn the volume up or down; there’s no backlit icons on the desktop, just a simple little rotating wheel. Awesome. You’re obviously easy to please. 🙂 My old one from 4.5 years ago has this, and so does the one I got this weekend, though the new one has the volume controls and headphone jacks in the front. I preferred them on the side. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/25 "2008-10-20T23:08:38Z")
I may have the coolest, depending on how you define “work with” and “technology”. Does it count if the machine isn’t even built yet, and when it is, I’ll never be in the same state as any of the hardware? Because some of the work I do is for the [LISA gravitational wave detector](http://lisa.nasa.gov/), which, once built, will be the largest and most precise device ever made by man. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/26 "2008-10-20T23:10:28Z")
Unique, custom-made radio and television transmitters. The television transmitter, particularly, is the only one of its kind. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/27 "2008-10-20T23:45:43Z")
It’s not survey grade, but I do get to use this neat little submeter [GPS](http://www.trimble.com/geoxt.shtml), only not as often as I’d like… Maybe I’ll hike some trails with it this weekend! We need those _really_ accurate in our GIS, right? ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/28 "2008-10-20T23:55:16Z")
My stuff is cool, but not in the high tech way. I just got a miniature flash kit for pyro effects and a tiny fogger that we rigged to fit in a prop cannonball bomb so it looks like it is smoking. I saw the same device used in a Bond film! So I use the same stuff as James Bond.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/29 "2008-10-21T01:24:00Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > These too aren’t exactly new but we have a couple of presentation/workrooms set up with SGI drivers that stereoscopically display 3d volumes of interpreted seismic data onto about a 30 to 35 foot wide screen. With the 3d glasses on we can walk into the model to discuss various horizons, faults, traps and entire reservoirs in greater detail with our colleagues. It’s like walking into and studying closely a semi transparent Earth and we can do it for anywhere on Earth we have data, ie several miles underneath the North Sea, GOM, wherever. That’s really fucking cool. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/30 "2008-10-21T01:50:26Z")
It used to be planar transducers. Now, its a hammer. No, wait. A screwdriver is more “hi-tech”. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/31 "2008-10-21T02:17:02Z")
I work in a Data Center, so I interface with lots of whiz-bang internet hardware. But, I’m most proud of my experience on an older technology, the [Lucent 5ESS telephone switch](http://www.alleged.com/telephone/5ESS/). I felt a much stronger bond to the people who I provided dial tone for than any number of anonymous web surfers. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/32 "2008-10-21T02:52:54Z")
[I have a few new toys to play with.](http://www.sudekumplanetarium.com/features/2008/technology/) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/33 "2008-10-21T03:02:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I may have the coolest, depending on how you define “work with” and “technology”. Does it count if the machine isn’t even built yet, and when it is, I’ll never be in the same state as any of the hardware? Because some of the work I do is for the [LISA gravitational wave detector](http://lisa.nasa.gov/), which, once built, will be the largest and most precise device ever made by man. I bow a vastly superior level of coolness. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/34 "2008-10-21T08:19:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I may have the coolest, depending on how you define “work with” and “technology”. Does it count if the machine isn’t even built yet, and when it is, I’ll never be in the same state as any of the hardware? Because some of the work I do is for the [LISA gravitational wave detector](http://lisa.nasa.gov/), which, once built, will be the largest and most precise device ever made by man. You win the thread, makes my Scanning Probe Microscope seem dull in comparison. The XE 100: [http://www.parkafm.com/New\_html/product/product\_view.php?gubun=R&id=2](http://www.parkafm.com/New_html/product/product_view.php?gubun=R&id=2) ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/35 "2008-10-21T08:36:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I may have the coolest, depending on how you define “work with” and “technology”. Does it count if the machine isn’t even built yet, and when it is, I’ll never be in the same state as any of the hardware? Because some of the work I do is for the [LISA gravitational wave detector](http://lisa.nasa.gov/), which, once built, will be the largest and most precise device ever made by man. Emphasis on ‘once built’. 😉 Stuff I work with includes [Chandra](http://chandra.harvard.edu/), [XMM-Newton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XMM-Newton), the [VLA](http://www.vla.nrao.edu/) and the [GMRT](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Metrewave_Radio_Telescope). Which are, in my opinion, all pretty damned cool… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/36 "2008-10-21T13:46:42Z")
Okay, it’s not as cool as everyone else’s in the thread. But right now, we’re working in our field on scanning/reproducing 15th-17th century texts online, to form a complete database, which I think is pretty awesome for researchers everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/37 "2008-10-21T14:04:20Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > [Here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74l96vMPI5c) a YouTube video I found that shows it in action. Did you listen to the sales pitch in that video? “Reliability isn’t an option.” I know what she means, but it definitely made me snicker. > [@MandaJo](#): > > That is really awesome. > > On the other extreme, I have an overhead projector, which consists of a lightbulb and a mirror. I’m actually really fond of it. > > There are some smart boards in the school, but I don’t have one. We don’t have any ceiling-mounted projectors, and I find that having a projector on a stand is more trouble than it’s worth. Wish I had an overhead… ☹ 🙂 Actually, I’m pretty damn happy I have a whiteboard, because a lot of classrooms in the area have only chalkboards. I never really thought about it before, but all but the most pristine of chalkboard setups are kind of a pain to teach with. I end up with chalk all over one hand and on my clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Fritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Fritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/38 "2008-10-21T14:42:34Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > You win the thread, makes my Scanning Probe Microscope seem dull in comparison. > > The XE 100: [http://www.parkafm.com/New\_html/product/product\_view.php?gubun=R&id=2](http://www.parkafm.com/New_html/product/product_view.php?gubun=R&id=2) You beat me to this - I use a Veeco (Digital Instruments) Dimension 3100 SPM: [Like This](http://www.veeco.com/Products/metrology_and_instrumentation/AFM_SPM/Dimension_3100/index.aspx?prodGroup=0) Nothing dull about an SPM/AFM… ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/39 "2008-10-21T15:10:42Z")
> [@Fritz](#): > > You beat me to this - I use a Veeco (Digital Instruments) Dimension 3100 SPM: > > [Like This](http://www.veeco.com/Products/metrology_and_instrumentation/AFM_SPM/Dimension_3100/index.aspx?prodGroup=0) > > Nothing dull about an SPM/AFM… I’m impressed, the XE 100 can only take small slides, a 200mm sample is pretty impressive. What is the maximum scan length (ours is ~400 microns (I think)) ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458/40 "2008-10-21T15:24:17Z")
> [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > Did you listen to the sales pitch in that video? “Reliability isn’t an option.” I know what she means, but it definitely made me snicker. Heh, I hadn’t noticed that when I watched it (I tend to tune out techno-corporate-speak), but that is pretty funny. I have to say that I’m suitably impressed by a lot of the cool stuff people have been talking about in this thread. Also, unless someone who worked on the Manhattan Project wanders in, I think **Chronos** wins! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-coolest-piece-of-technology-you-work-with/468458.md?page=3)