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Thread: [Old vs. New] vs. [New vs. Old]

  1. #1
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    [Old vs. New] vs. [New vs. Old]

    I've had an idea for a thread like this for a long time.

    Some new things or ideas are much better than older ones. However, the reverse can be equally true. Whether for philosophical discussion, earnest debate, or rants from humorous to bitter, here is a shiny new thread that I sneaked past the Thread Police while he was napping in the official GTXF hammock above a pile of empty RC Cola cans and Moon-Pie wrappers.

    I'll start with a point/counterpoint example of a well-known consumer product. This is an example discussing a physical thing, but ideas, concepts, and traditions are fair game for conversation as well, from the serious to the absurd.

    It just so happens I've chosen one product to mention as better in some ways before but better in other ways now. Subsequent posts do not need to follow this format.

    New vs. Old:

    Band-aids today are much better than when I was a kid. Today's stretchy fabric-like band-aids stay on when wet, unlike the old ones that fell off at the first hint of water, sweat, or humidity. Remember seeing used band-aids floating around near the filters in swimming pools as a kid? Disgusting - even then before coronavirus and HIV. I'm not in pools very often these days, but I'll bet that's not as common as it once was. And, today's band-aids come in shapes to fit knuckles and other specific body parts. New "high-tech" band-aids are much better than the old one-size-fits-all rubbery plastic ones we used to have.


    Old vs. New:

    Band-aids used to have a red string along one long edge of the rectangular envelope to let you easily rip open the wrapper with one hand and your mouth while blood poured from the other hand. Where did the red string go? It was a victim of corporate cost-cutting, no doubt. Now it takes both hands to open a band-aid envelope. Band-aids used to come in nice metal cans that could be reused indefinitely to hold not only band-aids but other stuff too. My wife and I still have an old metal band-aid can in our medicine cabinet, filled with modern band-aids sadly missing useful the red string. And why are there twenty different varieties now? I want the nice stretchy fabric-like ones I bought last time but can't remember the brand or the style I bought a couple years ago. There are just too many choices now, and not all of them are as good as the best ones are.

  2. #2
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    Music. It's undeniably better that I have my entire music collection available to me all the time, including situations like being on an airplane or cruise ship, but I also miss sitting listening to records while checking out the sleeve/reading along with the lyrics on the insert.

    Video games too. My Steam collection is huge and awesome, and I miss going to the store, buying a copy, and sneaking glances at the manual on the way home. Hell, I miss having a manual.

  3. #3
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    Yeah, anything new or innovative gotta obliterate the old somehow otherwise people will tend to go back to the old or stick with the original.

    New Coke failed miserably.

    For space launches, obviously the original rocket/capsule beats the ‘new’ shuttle.

    It’s also rare that a sequel/remake/reboot can beat the original movie or car...

    Anyway, what I hate the most is companies not only shoving new software down my throat but also taking away or render my old version useless... so there’s no way one can stick with the original even if the new sucks!

  4. #4
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    Speaking of software, I noticed just today that Outlook has changed its Search window. It now requires two or three more mouse clicks to perform the same search than it did yesterday. I now have to click on All Mailboxes to get to a sub-menu to change it from All Mailboxes to Current Folder. Previously, changing the location to be searched was a one-click operation.

    A couple more mouse clicks? Who cares? Trained monkeys like me doing data entry, that's who.

  5. #5
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Servo View Post
    Hell, I miss having a manual.
    Remember propping up the keyboard settings card so you could see it while you played, before you had everything memorized? I came across one of those in a box not too long ago for an old FPS called Starsiege: Tribes. It was next to an original CD of Quake II my brother-in-law gave me a LONG time ago when he got a newer version or got bored with it or something. He was (and is) an IT guy and had some hot PC that would run games like that when they were new. I put it away until such time as I had a PC capable of running the graphics it required and didn't find it again for many years.

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    Senior Member G'day Mate's Avatar
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    Vaccines seem to be almost painless nowadays, but those against them are increasingly painful.

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