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Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#251

Post by zelphirkalt »

justinclift wrote: post #228
eru wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Imagine devices that don't have built-in obsolescence, or licensing that expires, [...] You can buy long lasting stuff just fine, if you are willing to pay. You can get eternal licenses (or an outright sale of rights), if you are willing to pay. It's all about trade-offs, and many people have priorities that are different from 'last as long as possible'. Eg many computers from the 1980s are still perfectly usable t…

> You can get eternal licenses (or an outright sale of rights), if you are willing to pay. Adobe Creative Cloud (among many others) doesn't have that option.

If it had, I would not trust that at all, because they can switch off some cloud thingy tomorrow, if they please, and I would not trust them not to.

Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#252

Post by wvh »

krige wrote: post #248
iforgotpassword wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's stuff from 25 years ago. Try it, get a windows phone with version 8.1 from ebay now and see how far you get.

I still have one, as a backup. It works.

What about the browser? Still loading modern websites? That was an issue the last time I tried to reuse some of my ancient tech stuff.

I guess technology lasting a long time for specific non-commercial purposes is one thing, keeping up with modern society in general another.

Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#253

Post by [deleted] »

II2II wrote: post #197
goldfishgold wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of 100 year old companies doing basically what they did 100 years ago (Exxon, Coke, Hershey, Wells Fargo, etc.). They’re just not tech companies.

I was thinking about companies approaching 200 years old since I knew my point would be more difficult to make if I said 100 years (and because they had a launch window that comes up roughly once every 200 years, though I checked that out and it is 175 years). That said, you're right about my basically overlooking companies that weren't based in technology. Exxon is a cute example though. At one point, they owned Zil…

[deleted]

Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#254

Post by lgeorget »

goldfishgold wrote: post #199
II2II wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking about companies approaching 200 years old since I knew my point would be more difficult to make if I said 100 years (and because they had a launch window that comes up roughly once every 200 years, though I checked that out and it is 175 years). That said, you're right about my basically overlooking companies that weren't based in technology. Exxon is a cute example though. At one point, they owned Zil…

Fair enough. 100yr old companies are pretty easy to come up with, 200yr old companies are much harder.

The other day, I saw a sign on a building for a painting supply manufacturer "since 1748": https://www.tollens.com/la-marque/histoire. I found that quite amazing.

Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#255

Post by wvh »

omeid2 wrote: post #240
zakary wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have worked with some people in the defence industry who got just that from Adobe and a few similar vendors. They had to negotiate with adobe and sign NDAs both ways, and they payed through the nose for it. But you can do it.

"Be defence forces of (checks profile) one-of-the-five nation states" is not a standard of negotiation requirement I deem attainable for just about anyone that isn't one of the five or EU the union.

Fair enough, but how life-crucial can an old copy of Adobe be?... I'm assuming a project like the Voyager mission relies on something a bit more bespoke than a copy of Adobe Creative Whatever. I really hope the defence forces core mission doesn't depend on Adobe Creative Cloud.

Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#256

Post by circlefavshape »

veltas wrote: post #227
tapland wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Europe. Finalizing the shutdowns of 2G and 3G networks in Sweden during 2025.

Yup and in the UK a lot of our card payment boxes for car parks will stop working when 3G is shut down, and will be replaced with an app. People without phones need not apply!

Really? Oh man ... I was in the UK this summer and had to install a different app to pay for parking (or car charging) in every city I went to, and some of them wouldn't accept a non-UK licence plate :( High demand for developers keeps my salary high, but it's all such a waste.

Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#257

Post by zelphirkalt »

sumeno wrote: post #56
jfengel wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't seem helpful. Nothing lasts forever, and if you don't figure out when it's going to fail, it's going to be sooner rather than later.

Maybe the guy who helped launch the two manmade objects furthest from earth knows more about how to build space probes than you

That's an authority argument, even if in this case a strong one. What you seem to be overlooking is, that merely from this one quote, we cannot conclude, whether that is really all of methodology that went into building the Voyager 1 and 2. So while it is a witty quote, it doesn't actually tell us much, without additional statement, that we don't need to look any further for other methods that were applied.

Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#258

Post by ncruces »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #232
Maxion wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Finland will still keep 2G for a long time.

Is there a particular reason? And how do you know so much about 2G in Finland, specifically!?

Portugal will keep it too.

Dumb phones are still being sold that are 2G only.

Not just that, but “landlines” are still being offered that are really a 2G phone restricted to work only in the vicinity of a home that's not (yet?) covered by actual landlines.

It's also used by emergency services.

It's considered a technology of last resort, and the service provider that wins the concession to provide it, with 100% coverage of a given area, probably finds it useful that it can meet the conditions with such tech.

3G has already shut down.

Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#259

Post by dns_snek »

eru wrote: post #180
johnklos wrote: post #152

I think the Voyager probes teach us lots about what's wrong with corporate America. Imagine devices that don't have built-in obsolescence, or licensing that expires, or that isn't built by committee where they just keep shipping requirements around from one department to another. Imagine if it weren't all proprietary and if it didn't have no public or even complete documentation. Think of all the problems we have ins…

> Imagine devices that don't have built-in obsolescence, or licensing that expires, [...] You can buy long lasting stuff just fine, if you are willing to pay. You can get eternal licenses (or an outright sale of rights), if you are willing to pay. It's all about trade-offs, and many people have priorities that are different from 'last as long as possible'. Eg many computers from the 1980s are still perfectly usable t…

> You can buy long lasting stuff just fine, if you are willing to pay. You can get eternal licenses (or an outright sale of rights), if you are willing to pay.

Where do you buy long lasting stuff? This is a serious question, I'm looking for new appliances and I am willing to pay more, within reason.

Let's say I'd pay double of what an appliance with similar technical characteristics would normally cost, which I want to go towards higher quality materials, craftsmanship, and quality assurance. I expect such an appliance to work and and be economically repairable for at least 20 years.

As far as I can tell, this is nearly impossible. Many brands that used to produce higher quality products have downgraded the quality of their materials and craftsmanship in order to juice quarterly profits for investors. Their reputation seems to lag the quality of their products by about 10 years.

Re: Voyager 1 breaks its silence with NASA via radio transmitter not used since 1981

#260

Post by mppm »

eru wrote: post #180
johnklos wrote: post #152

I think the Voyager probes teach us lots about what's wrong with corporate America. Imagine devices that don't have built-in obsolescence, or licensing that expires, or that isn't built by committee where they just keep shipping requirements around from one department to another. Imagine if it weren't all proprietary and if it didn't have no public or even complete documentation. Think of all the problems we have ins…

> Imagine devices that don't have built-in obsolescence, or licensing that expires, [...] You can buy long lasting stuff just fine, if you are willing to pay. You can get eternal licenses (or an outright sale of rights), if you are willing to pay. It's all about trade-offs, and many people have priorities that are different from 'last as long as possible'. Eg many computers from the 1980s are still perfectly usable t…

> You can buy long lasting stuff just fine, if you are willing to pay. You can get eternal licenses (or an outright sale of rights), if you are willing to pay.

Would that 'twere so simple. Most previously reliable premium manufacturers have jumped on the enshittification bandwagon. You can get better design and a more exclusive branding if you are willing to pay more, but where exactly would you turn if you are looking, for example, for a dish washer that will just work for the next ten years? Preferably one that doesn't come with cloud integration. There are still a very small number of ultra-premium brands that really care about their customers, but apart from being way too expensive for most people, they are increasingly hard to find. One of the side-effects of so many companies trading their reputations for "shareholder value" is that trust is eroded for everyone, including those that still deserve it.

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