Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
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Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
#2[deleted]
Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
#3Fact: In the 1990s a reasonable capable computer was a significant expense on the order of $1K, and likely to be obsolete within 5 years. My best present laptop is 5 years old and perfectly capable and was free because its previous owner didn't want it any more because of a minor defect. That's an exception, but the fact is, being somewhat tolerant to less than state-of-the-art computers, I haven't bought a new one, or spent significant $$ on a used one, for decades.
On the other hand, the cluttered desktop does involve some nostalgia. The ergonomics of a desk phone were better than any smart phone or Teams app can provide, in terms of quickly making or answering a call. And long into the paperless era, I still keep pencils and scrap paper for quick sketches even though my work computer has a freakishly expensive Microsoft Visio on it and you can get adequate drawing software right in your web browser for nothing.
Simply not being reachable because you weren't near a known phone... that has its upsides and downsides. I'm not entirely sure that being on the "elecronic leash" 24/7 has made life better. Especially as I get older, I kind of miss the slower pace things used to have, where you walked over to someone's desk to ask questions, where "google" took the form of calling people or companies and asking (and they had knowledgeable people answering the phones, etc). The world functioned, and pretty well, back then too.
Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
#4Fact: In the 1990s a reasonable capable computer was a significant expense on the order of $1K, and likely to be obsolete within 5 years. My best present laptop is 5 years old and perfectly capable and was free because its previous owner didn't want it any more because of a minor defect. That's an exception, but the fact is, being somewhat tolerant to less than state-of-the-art computers, I haven't bought a new one,…
> I'm not entirely sure that being on the "elecronic leash" 24/7 has made life better.
My phone is always on silent and I have almost zero notifications allowed. It has built in CallerID so I know exactly who is calling. Unless it's from a very small list of people it goes to voicemail and maybe I return the call later. Also many things that used to be calls are now a couple texts back and forth, again something I can ignore and deal with later.
I like being available but I have no need to be constantly interrupted by my phone. I much prefer my smartphone to landlines because the features are so much more useful to me.
Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
#5Some of the improvements on the list are non-issues best described as cultural differences. Consider:
…not making a dozen phone calls playing Phone Tag, to set up something as simple as a play date
Well this is why hardly anyone was bothering with setting up play dates back in the day† and were letting kids roam. Different culture facilitated by poor connectivity and scarcity of content.
† The title says the 90s but many references in the text go back to 1980s.
Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
#6Some more not mentioned in the article:
Filtered milk. Tastes the same as ordinary homogenized milk but double (or better) the shelf life. Very convenient if you only use small quantities at a time, e.g. for adding to tea.
Microfiber cloths. Much better cleaning than traditional cloths. In many cases all you need is water, or use them dry for dusting. Reusable too.
SSDs. In my opinion, the biggest computer upgrade in my lifetime. Access latency goes from obvious to imperceptible. A great many interactive tasks involve waiting for IO, and this is far more pleasant when you don't feel the delay.
Cheap but transparent audio DACs/amplifiers. This is essentially a solved problem at headphone power levels. Most modern designs have zero perceptible noise or distortion.
Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
#7> No More Coupon Scams: most people recognize rebates/coupons are scams, and the rise of discounters/warehouse stores/Internet shopping has largely obviated them
This one got much worse: now you have to install an app (fast food) and/or join a data-harvesting "loyalty program" (grocery stores, Target, others) to get what should be the normal menu prices instead of the batshit crazy list prices. This affects most of the same places that had coupons (plus, actually, there are still tons of coupons? I don't really understand this item)
Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
#8Some of the improvements on the list are non-issues best described as cultural differences. Consider: …not making a dozen phone calls playing Phone Tag, to set up something as simple as a play date Well this is why hardly anyone was bothering with setting up play dates back in the day† and were letting kids roam. Different culture facilitated by poor connectivity and scarcity of content. † The title says the 90s but…
In the 1970s when I was a kid, we were expected to play outside until the street lights came on, with some general bounds of how far we could go on our bikes.
Adults didn't have to manage our time and friendships.
Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
#9It’s a nice list, but honestly, none of these improvements are really life changing (except the reduction in crime that has been noticeable and good). Things otherwise got a bit nicer and a bit cheaper and a bit faster - but life would have been just fine without these improvements.
Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)
#10I find this list one-sided, an honest account would also discuss the many downsides that have come with some of these changes.