Some of my coworkers were talking about using RSS to read blogs, which made some of the younger folks in our team ask what it is and why we keep using it.
Some still use iPods to avoid subscriptions and streaming services, my favorite was one of our sysadmins who showed me Gopher.
I’m curious about others though, thanks!
I use a wheel almost everyday still
Me use fire. Fire hot. Make food good
Where your stick? Me have good stick. Very pointy.
Me use stick make fire. Need new stick hold meat on fire. Where you find good stick?
Bush stick, bush burn, bush taste a little acidic, wrong bush.
BIG cloud dihydrogen go squishhh. Make food. Me climb hierarchy. Me eat fusion photonic self replicating solar panel.
These seemed like the obvious answers at first, but then I realized I don’t actually use either one on a regular basis (I walk to work and cook on an induction stove). So in my case it’s probably the lever.
Somebody gave me firaaaaaah
Stick, great for getting stuff out of holes
Stick, great for putting stuff into holes.
And, break stick in half, get two sticks.
That’s real value right there.
The wheel, rope, fire.
I’ve used a chisel before, but yeah, fire is the oldest I use on a regular basis.
Chisel is just a type of blade or wedge. Equivalent to an axe or even just a a napped flint edge really.
I dont know if there’s any way to know whether fire (as a purposely used technology) predates axe/wedge/blade concept.
I’d guess that axes blades and wedges predate wheels due to being a lot simpler.
I guess abrasives are also very simple.
As physical tech:
- we have lever door handles at work and wheel and axle door knobs at home.
As digital tech:
-
Comma Separated Values as a notation predates computers. Then CSV has been used as a computer file format at least since one of the Fortran variants added support in 1972.
-
The implementation has changed as filesystems evolve but the basic directory/file model of data storage and the associated tools ls/dir, cd, rm/del have been around a while.
ls
has been known by that name since Multics in 1969, but can trace its lineage back tolistf
on CTSS in 1961.
Anything that predates copy/paste is doing alright.
we have lever door handles at work and wheel and axle door knobs at home.
Aren’t those just standard door knobs? Like which others are there (besides maybe smarthome/electronic stuff, but that’s not really widespread esp. for home use)?
Aren’t those just standard door knobs?
Exactly, those two are pretty standard.options.
As far as door latches go the cross bar and draw bolts probably predate it by thousands of years but I don’t use those regularly.
A “Smart” Lock on your home is going backwards on centuries worth of progress as far as your security is concerned.
At this point, it’s so common knowledge that smart locks are so easy to pick/bypass/break into, quietly too, that I can’t help but think they must attract thieves just cuz they look so wild and different and function so terribly.
CSV is honestly one of my preferred ways of stacking up data. It’s so easily transferable between languages and systems. It’s always human readable too! There are older tools that I work with that spit out “fixed-width” formats, but then go and fuck it up by not aligning the headers to the columns making parsing is a pain in the ass. CSV would be so much better.
Spoons, which predate forks, fire, and wheels by about two million years.
“Ima need a citation on that 2 million years info.” — Chopsticks
What did they eat with spoons before fire?
I know certain plant-based foods are naturally stewy inside, though I can’t speak for our prehistoric ancestors on what their intentions were. Most sources though suggest broth.
Ah yes. No stoneage party was complete without a melon baller.
Is fire even technology? It just exists in nature. 🤷🏻♂️
Its viewed as such.
The control of fire by early humans was a critical technology enabling the evolution of humans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_of_fire_by_early_humans
I guess that makes me a tinkerer.
arsonistinventor
Fire is pretty great and I use it all the time.
Are you using bow drill or flint and steel?
Both. Why limit yourself?
Fire.
Fire and rocks, the OG of technology.
Fire isn’t technology any more than water and electricity are. The tools to create or utilize it are the technology part. But since I don’t use a firebowv or flint striker routinely, it’s the wheel for me, baby.
Sewing machines. I’m a professional cosplayer and sewing/embroidering is a big part of that. My newest machine is from 2008. After that, they started adding in all these different electronic features, that are garbage. The machines both break easily and are limited to the technology/software of that time. You want a machine that can sew through leather and silk with the same grace, get an older machine. If you want something newer, avoid electronics or anything with a touchscreen.
My Husqvarna Viking Emerald 118 is so strong that when sewing corsets, my needle commonly punches through the thick ZipTies, that I use for boning, like they were butter. It’s a beast of a machine. If she ever breaks, I’m going to find a used one.
is that the same Husqvarna that makes dirt bikes and chainsaws?
Probably at some point in the past yes. Now they’ve been combined with Singer and a few other brands under these guys https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SVP_Worldwide?wprov=sfla1 who in turn are owned by an equity group so expect the enshitification to really ramp up.
Yes, but the quality is so crappy now. The same model of machine I have from 2008, is being sold today, but it’s rickety and not as powerful as it once was. Singer bought the sewing division in 2004 and kept the quality for a bit, but it plunged down in a few years.
How does one become a professional cosplayer? Is it like some freelancing thing where you show up to events?
Not the poster.
Although I guess they can. The ones I’ve seen are all online.
I consider it a niche of the generic “content creator”… Other examples would be twitch gamers, YouTube channels, even something like onlyfans, etc.
As far as becoming one, start creating content and marketing it. If it becomes popular enough, you get advertising, or sell brand merchandise. If you can live off it, your a professional.
I think they still make new ones that don’t have touch screens, at least at the entry level.
They do, but they’re pathetic compared to their older counterparts
I’m sure, especially if you’re trying to do leather like you said.
I often use the position of the sun to figure out what direction I’m going.
Yeah that’s pretty damn old tech man
Technique yes, technology I would question.
You need to specify whether you’re taking about digital or analog technology, or some other limit on the question, because i think you’re not looking for answers like “fire” or as another user replied “shoes”.
Lever. Suck on that wheel and fire people!
Have you tried setting your lever on fire?
I’ve got a box with several levers and wheels that runs on fire.
What is it with fire heads wanting to shove fire in everything. Yes, fire has its uses, but c’mon
Improvised hammer. Get bonked, lever boy
I’m pretty sure I got a lever around here somewhere
I’ve got some wheels on my car still. I think my furnace uses fire when it turns on.
In computing? RS232 interfaces.
In general? Fire.
Fire.
I eat bread, I drink beer too. Those technologies are both around 40k years old iirc. In terms of computing, probably a calendar, time, or a GBA depending on your definition of computing