Does using Android smart phones, remind you of the 90s and early 20s?

[DesiPower]

I remember when I used to have a 600 some Mhz P3 with 64MB ram and 4GB HDD, using AOL/Compuserve, we were constantly looking for the latest piece of software that could do something cool! One that I still remember is BonziBUDDY! softseek used to be my favorite site (kinda equivalent to today's Google's app store) you could sort by freeware, shareware, free to try, paid only and so on. Trying all the different browser attachments... desktop apps, screensavers, wallpapers, game demos...
Then there was the display, monochrome vs color, screen size, the obsessing about the resolution.
And then once we loaded everything in there, it would get terrible slow, hard disk would fill up, I remember the hunger for more memory, more disk space. Constant crashing of computer, mind numbing slow down, hard boots...
I remember, back in the DOS days we would edit the main exe and com files are replace Windows logo and copyright messages with our custom messages and names… exploring the registry, trying to hack the OS, very similar to rooting or jail braking, updating Android...
With the advent of cable internet and DSL internet was now suddenly 5 - 10 times faster (correlate to 4G) you could suddenly do so much more!
All in all, sometimes I feel like are back in time, 10 - 15 years back, and reliving the same excitement and experience but this time the computer has shrunk into a palm sized device….

/miniblog.atot.com

 

[wirednuts]

yes we are apes with a symbiotic relationship to a mushroom and that has given us self reflection, language, religion and all the spectrum of effects that flow from these things. when cars start driving themselves the world will drastically change again.

 

[Red Storm]

It's a hand held computer. I do not feel like I am in the past at all.

 

[DesiPower]

It's a hand held computer. I do not feel like I am in the past at all.

ofcourse you do feel like being in the past, but does it remind you of the past...

 

[ElFenix]

frankly the smartphone landscape more closely resembles the mid-late 80s to me. you had apple leading the gui revolution with the mac, and now iphone. you had windows running on commodity hardware that MS really had no real control over, which is like android, and then there were a smattering other efforts from old players like commodore and atari (blackberry and windows phone).

 

[vi edit]

Ignoring OS flavor, the smart phone is probably one of the most incredible technical devices an average person can own.

You've basically got a portable computer that fits in your pocket that has upwards of 10 hours of use time, can make phone calls, send emails, video conference with people, shoot images to your TV, watch movies, play games, play days worth of music, ect.

These things are a summary of all computing and communication needs consolidated into a simple to use handheld device.

 

[DesiPower]

frankly the smartphone landscape more closely resembles the mid-late 80s to me. you had apple leading the gui revolution with the mac, and now iphone. you had windows running on commodity hardware that MS really had no real control over, which is like android, and then there were a smattering other efforts from old players like commodore and atari (blackberry and windows phone).

very true, that was my initial thought but the software landscape was not that advanced, real GUI based interactive computers, a software platform where anyone could go and build an application, it all really started with Win95 imho...

 

[surfsatwerk]

Ignoring OS flavor, the smart phone is probably one of the most incredible technical devices an average person can own.

You've basically got a portable computer that fits in your pocket that has upwards of 10 hours of use time, can make phone calls, send emails, video conference with people, shoot images to your TV, watch movies, play games, play days worth of music, ect.

These things are a summary of all computing and communication needs consolidated into a simple to use handheld device.

But can it play Crysis?

 

[Red Storm]

But can it play Crysis?

If Onlive had kept Crysis in their library of games, then yes it could have.

 

[PsiStar]

I just switched from the Samsung Focus to the SGSiii. I feel like mom & dad are no longer watching over my shoulder any more ... sort of like finally moving out and on my own. But, not of the early 20s, sayin'

 

[lxskllr]

The similarity for me is downloading multiple programs that do the same thing, and trying to find one that does it right.

 

[Farang]

I agree, the pace of upgrades is just as ridiculous as it once was with the PC 10-15 years ago. My phone debut was in February 2011 and I feel like I'm way behind (in fact, at least 2 major OS upgrades behind). Because of that I feel like I'm not on the cutting edge, and want an upgrade.

Compare that to laptops and PCs, had the screen not broke on my laptop I would've still been using the same one from 5 years ago with no issues. As it stands I'm using a 2.5 year old device and it works great for everything, running the latest OS.

 

[amdhunter]

Yes. But iOS makes me feel like I'm 20 years into the future. not.

 

[Arkaign]

Yes. But iOS makes me feel like I'm 20 years into the future. not.

iOS is easy, fast, but really weak in multitasking and file management. Hopefully Apple really kicks it up a notch with a new remix with the upcoming IP5 (and also release the update for the Ipad (3), as it should be capable as well).

And to the OP, yes, in a way. We've reached a point that for average non-gaming uses, a $300 basic PC is just as good as a $5,000 psycho PC. Word, Facebook, Email, blah-de-blah all works great on basically anything.

Now phones, they're still relatively weak. They really are. Iphone 4s, Galaxy SII, they're *really good*, but still not a real replacement for a real PC. I think we're coming soon to a point where one will be able to just dock their phone and use it for all purposes, but probably not for another 3-4 years honestly. Yes, they have had a couple attempts at that, but honestly they were pretty lame in end result. We need another next-gen wireless standard upgrade, better cell phone data infrastructure, and better integration with all of the assorted components. And of course significant upgrades to the processing power and storage capabilities. Phone needs approximately the power of an i7-2600k/HD6850/16GB Ram/500GB SSD before it will be a legit total replacement for a desktop (all you need is docking bluetooth kb/mouse/wireless QuadHD display/etc).

 

[DesiPower]

Yes. But iOS makes me feel like I'm 20 years into the past. not.

ftfy

 

[The Boston Dangler]

The similarity for me is downloading multiple programs that do the same thing, and trying to find one that does it right.

haha the more things change...brb i've got a call

by the way, can do you have a recommended list of android stuff? my ancient tmobile galaxy s is still on 2.1update1, if it matters.