A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now • Hacker News Board

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#61

Post by LegitShady » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:04 PM UTC

ilyt wrote: post #45

Levitz wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also a consequence of constant R&D improvements. We can make appliances that last for 20 years or more, sure, but then when 20 years pass you have an appliance that is 20 years old and doesn't have any of that new stuff that came out in the last 20 years.

There is a level where you don't care about more improvements. Fridge is a box of cold stuff. I don't need much more than that. Sure it could be slightly more efficient but even 20 years old ones are pretty efficient, and I'd rather just slap an extra solar panel or two on the roof rather than replace whole fridge and junk the old one.

Sure but how can I code an ai bot that lives in your fridge and analyzes your shopping habits, and sells that to the highest bidder? Maybe with amazon grocery integration so that it sends your groceries before you even knew you needed them. And Microsoft Tay integration! Ask your fridge questions and have it answer, in a hilariously racist fashion! New Andrew Tate plugins sold as DLC.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#62

Post by marricks » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:04 PM UTC

vsareto wrote: post #27

marricks wrote: post #5

Some of those fridges are refurbished and still around[1]! It's my dream to own one someday when my fridge from the 90's dies. Every couple years there's a HN link to a blog post about how those appliances were built better in the day. Couple highlights I remember were: - Parts were dipped in paint rather than sprayed leading to fuller and thicker paint coverage - Motors had some changes so were actually built to las…

>Parts were dipped in paint rather than sprayed leading to fuller and thicker paint coverage Hopefully not lead paint?

Well that's a compelling point in favor of modern fridges.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#63

Post by AnimalMuppet » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:04 PM UTC

imchillyb wrote: post #23

dustincoates wrote: post #7

This reminds me of the same types of complaints around air travel now versus the 50s/60s. Both ignore the relative costs and the fact that you can still buy high-end fridges or first class tickets if you are willing to spend the same amount of money that you would have had to back then.

There is no real world comparison between air travel in the 50’s with anything else, except perhaps rampant enshitification. Double decker airframes, a standing lounge, smoking on board, unrestrained pets at the lounge… Nothing compares to the removal of these standards on all domestic flights. No industry did the consumer as dirty.

Double decker airframes? Since you're talking about the 1950s, you're sure not referring to what I think that means (747/A380-style "double decker"). What do you mean by your statement.

Smoking on board? Yeah, as a non-smoker, that change was a major improvement. It may have done dirty to the smokers, but those are not the majority...

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#64

Post by CamperBob2 » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:04 PM UTC

nathancahill wrote: post #28

Just today I was using my soldering iron passed down from the 1960s. Heats up to full heat in 2 seconds and has fantastic flow control. Nothing similar exists today under $600 (although that's likely the inflation-adjusted price).

So, it's a soldering gun with a wire tip? Those are still available.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#65

Post by AlecSchueler » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:05 PM UTC

passwordoops wrote: post #18

rascul wrote: post #4

A lot of those features are available in today's fridges. Also, they use less power today. And you really don't have to get one with wifi and a touchscreen.

Yeah but I'd bet the one we see in the video is probably still working, while I'm on my third fridge in 20 years. I think that negates any energy efficiency gains

Why doesn't everyone have old fridges then? You only buy new when the old one breaks down right? But if the old ones were so sturdy why were they all replaced?

I expect there's some survivorship bias at play here.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#66

Post by pikahumu » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:05 PM UTC

ethbr0 wrote: post #16

1950-1970 seems like a local optimum in UX that we've yet to surpass. My personal, completely-unsupported theory is it was a combination of 3 qualities. (1) New types of things, while unlike anything that came before, were still simple and understandable enough that someone without formal engineering training could understand their use and offer improvements . (2) Engineering was still seen as something that was appr…

(4) "Optima" is plural, "optimum" is singular. So, 1950-1970 seems like a local optimum.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#67

Post by ljf » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:05 PM UTC

sdflhasjd wrote: post #46

ljf wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar (or actually not as good) fridge was $330 - so let's say $350 for a better one: https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html $350 in 1950 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $4,431.04 today. My last Samsung fridge freezer was £250 and had a 10 year warranty. Was plenty big enough and did everything I wanted it to (keep food cold and fresh). This idea that 50s devices lasted decades seems odd to…

Definitely not as good, doesn't have all the fancy door bits and slick shelves. I would say the OP fridge would have been more than twice as expensive, so maybe $8K for a fridge. I've still got the fridge I bought after I moved out of Uni halls >10 years ago for £120, so price wise it's probably cheaper to buy fridges every ten years, but terrible for the waste.

Yeah it is a hard trade off - waste vs efficiency. Sad to see waste generated but efficiency is increasing still, so the energy saving of replacing a device can be large.

I brew beer and a lot of people make keezer or kegerators (fridges or freezers to serve kegged beer from).

So often someone will find an old fridge or freezer and want to use that 'as it is basically free' - ignoring the fact that even a 10 year old fridge can use more than £150 a year in electricity (maybe more at current rates?).

I got a brand new chest freezer for £179 and when run as a fridge is uses £35 a year at current prices - so I'm saving money after the first year.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#68

Post by renewiltord » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:06 PM UTC

Well, the patents on that fridge can't be still in action, so why don't you go build it? I suspect no one actually wants it because:

- vegetable shelf is in door

- veg shelf is hard to handle

- ice makers beat ice scraper

- fixed height shelves

- Freezer shelf pull out feature is how they are today, but you need to open this fridge to access them

- much lower capacity

Essentially, this fridge is worse than present day fridge but you could build it today if you wanted and have a failed fridge company that made shitty fridges.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#69

Post by ilyt » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:06 PM UTC

MeteorMarc wrote: post #33

In Europe there are energy consumption regulations for household equipment like fridges, see: https://commission.europa.eu/energy-climate-change-environme... . What energy label would your fridge from 70 years ago have?

It actually might be pretty decent one as it was using freon which is very good at its job.

The process didn't change all that much, neither did engines used in compressor so it is mostly "how well isolated the fridge is"

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#70

Post by trwired » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:06 PM UTC

Levitz wrote: post #24

starbugs wrote: post #3

> Thing is, producing crappy, cookie-cutter, uninspired, overpriced junk that falls apart within 5 years (generously speaking) pays more to the shareholders. That's how we got from there to here. This summarizes it quite well for me.

It's also a consequence of constant R&D improvements. We can make appliances that last for 20 years or more, sure, but then when 20 years pass you have an appliance that is 20 years old and doesn't have any of that new stuff that came out in the last 20 years.

Which is fine by me. I need a fridge to cool things down, oven to heat them up and TV to show moving pictures, all without access to wifi and other bells and whistles modern appliances come with. Just the basic stuff that those appliances could handle 20 years ago. More doesn't always translate to better.