It sucks to be a electronics nerd now. Everything is cell phones.

[Briebee72]

I remember computer stores and electronics stores full of gizmos and doo dads. An entertainment center full of components and wires... Now there is basically one electronic store, best buy, and you only go there for tvs and cell phones basically. Everything is integrated, basically your tv does it all. and the gizmos we have are just basically cellphones on different kinds of stands. google home, alexa, facebook portal... all these gizmos do the same thing and are just variations of a cell phone as you cell phones do the same things they do. I mean once you own a cell phone basically that's it tech wize.... its a boring tech time. Now there is just an app for that. Nvidia shield, chromecast... and many other items . it's all cell phone variations.. My cell phone can do anything all these gizmos do. Computers.. hell 2/3rds of the people I know dont even own one. They just use their cell phone. I mean cell phones are great and all but they basically destroyed tech and social interaction. I looked around black friday sales and didn't find anything I wanted that did anything my cell phone could not..... boring tech time of life.

My entertainment center sits empty. Tv does everything and bluetooths to surround speakers.... no need for anything and nothing fun to play with. Boring.

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[samd1351]

If you need more excitement, let me send over my in-laws / my folks. One has dementia and the other has Alzheimer's. That'll keep you busy enough you won't care about the tech. By the end of the day, you'll just want it work.

Just kidding though. We bought ANOTHER new dryer (why they don't last more than three years is beyond me), and this one is hooked into the wifi. Now my wife gets alerts on her phone when the dryer is ten minutes from being done, five minutes from being done, when it's done, and when the clothes have been in there for more than 30 minutes. The damn thing won't shut up!

I agree with you for the most part. Your phone does 90% of what a laptop / pc would do. All-in-one device controls the lights, thermostat, tv, fridge, stove and laundry.

 

[Qcman17]

I agree on the cell phone stuff & I especially dislike social media that is often associated with them. I'm still an old PC gamer posting here on a blazing fast system......... I like a big screen not a tiny assed one in my pocket. I have a phone because I need one but I don't enjoy it in the least.

 

[Weather Man]

Used to be high end music electronic stores. People went in, wasted 2 hours of a guy who knew what was what and then went home and bought online. Same people cried when the store went belly up and no where to ask questions or get shit fixed.

 

[Interceptor]

Tape measure, a hammer, a saw, and a plan. Go build something!

 

[IPOGT]

I love my analog tape decks and turntable.
Totally understand, I'm in tech and even I've had enough of having to learn something new every six months.
And, if I get another request to review anything........
It's enough already.

 

[Dave TBG]

It's still out there, you just have to look.
One example is audio, my phone can handle that, but even the premium phones are weak when it comes to audio. Phones have crappy DACs and tiny amps that can't exceed the audio quality of an MP3. If you want to listen to high-res lossless audio you will need more than a phone and cheap earbuds.
Once you get home you may crave a bit more. Tube amps are popular again, for the same reason that vinyl is popular again, the modern stuff, as good as it is, is still missing something.
That's just one example. Phones can do just about anything, but they don't always do it well.

 

[shogun32]

I went into a physical store (Microcenter) 2 weeks ago and got every single part for this build.

I'm not seeing a bread board with wrapped wires interfacing with a 8bit PIC to change the LED colors and flash them on/off in time to the music in the background. Dilettantes, I tell ya.

Or maybe you did a good job of hiding the Pi?

 

[shogun32]

As a boy I'd help replace capstan rubbers, change out oxygen-hardened drive belts (basically 2mm dia o-rings) on our 2 reel to reel decks, clean heads with Q-tips, splice tape, and transcode records. Ahh the click and clank of solenoids and whir of motors spinning on rewind and the clatter of loose tape ends. And the joy of slipping tape on an empty reel.

Built my own speaker enclosure with baffling and fiberglass mat - that outperformed many a vastly more expensive setup. Shot large format BW on my granddad's Yashica dual-lens, handheld light meters, and my own dark room.

Never got into HAM or Morse but used to DX for hours after stringing a 14m di-pole across the roof.

 

[Strokerswild]

Did I mention that I looooove vintage tube audio gear? Because it always works.

I'm such a hopeless dinosaur at 50.....

 

[jfleisher]

Micro Center is still a good source for electronics. Breadboards, components, Raspberry Pi, build your own console video games...

 

[tom_sprecher]

As a guy who graduated in '84 with a BSEE I think now is a great time to be alive. Back then we had all these gizmos, and none of it worked together without spending hours of dicking with it. None of the software was integrated. Your word processor did not work with your spreadsheet program that would not work with your database software. It was a huge PITA.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

Borg Central Plexus?

 

[Shadow277]

I think you're half right. It's annoying how everything is formatted for phones. Cell phone websites suck so bad. Tech is getting way far more advanced than the 80s. Nvidia shield streams well for gamers in a house. Audio has gotten so good that it is indistinguishable between fresh records. PC hardware has come a long ways. Times are changing; evolve with it.

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