Technological Improvements...

There has been a significant amount of technological advances made in the world in recent years. Technology has been receiving a lot of negative media attention as of late but there are also many positive advances in technology as well. This blog is geared towards the improvements in a few technological devices of what it was like then and what it is like now. Since I was born in 1984 and have been able to experience 26 years of technology, my comparisons will mainly deal with devices that I have been able to utilize first-hand.

Televisions then: 

• black and white or colored
• long antennaes that never seem to get good reception
• large in size - awkward placing
• often blurry

Televisions now: 

• flawless colored screen
• flat screen 
• can fit easily up against or on wall
• swivel pedestal for moving the screen easily
• can go up to HDTV 1080p resolution
• LCD, LED, DLP, or Plasma TV options

Video Games then:

• one dimensional
• one to two players
• wired controllers
• game cartridges can get internally dirty
• joystick controller with one or two buttons

Video Games now:

• two or three dimensional
• one to four players
• can play online with at least 14 other players
• excellent quality graphics
• wireless controllers with many buttons for a variety of uses
• can attach headset and keyboard during online play

Computers then:

• one dimensional
• can only access one screen at one time
• no mouse or pad to navigate
• no internet

Computers now:

• two or three dimensional
• access multiple screens and programs
• surf the internet
• watch television channels
• watch movies
• navigate with a mouse or touch pad
• different internal drives
• USB hook ups
• DVD player
• can burn CDs and movies onto a disc
• variety of computers and screens, including touch screen

Cell Phones then:

• unable to see who is calling
• unable to save contacts
• gigantic in size
• only owned by "important" people

Cell Phones now:

• able to see who is calling
• saves contacts
• easy to fit in pocket or purse
• able to surf the internet
• can text message
• some phones have QWERTY keyboard for easy texting
• camera applicable
• can listen to music
• wide variety of devices to choose from

Cameras then:

• roll of film required
• large in size
• bulky and heavy
• could not view the picture beforehand
• had to look through a small hole in order to take an accurate picture
• had to drop off or mail in to develop film roll
• certain cameras that had zoom were much more expensive
  

Cameras now:

• can look at back screen while taking the picture
• can preview the picture
• can delete pictures if desired
• thin and light devices
• great zoom lenses
• many different aspects and functions for different kinds of pictures
• can take videos
• can save pictures on the camera or on a memory stick
• can upload pictures and videos onto the computer for easy access

Video Players then:

Videocassette Recorder (VCR):

• utilized with VHS tapes
• tapes got stuck often
• rewind and fastforward would take a long time
• recording quality always much lower than actual TV live quality
• usually very large and bulky
• cleaning was often tricky at times

Video Home System (VHS):

• would often get stuck in VCR
• internal film would get tangled if rewound or fastforwarded too often
• very large - took up too much room on shelving or drawers

Video Players now:

Digital Video Disc (DVD) Player:

• sleek and thin
• plays DVDs with crisp and clear quality
• can skip through chapters at quick pace
• easy fastforward and rewind viewing
• can also get Blu-ray player for better quality viewing 

Digital Video Disc (DVD):

• very thin
• easy for storage
• can navigate through DVD easily
• can clean DVDs quickly
• Blu-ray discs (BD) are of better quality and are played in Blu-ray players 

Portable Music Players then:

Portable Audio Cassette Players:
"Walkman"

• bulky and heavy
• buttons would break easily
• required multiple batteries 
• battery life would often be short
• music quality was often low
• radio stations were often full of static

Cassette Tapes:

• cassette got destroyed easily 
• rewinding and fastforwarding would take forever

Portable CD Players:
"Discman"

• heavy and bulky
• radio stations would not come in very clear
• required multiple batteries
• battery life was fast

Compact Discs (CD):

• would often get scratched
• purchasing multiple cds was expensive 

Portable Music/Media Players now:

iPOD and Zune:

• sleek and thin
• long battery life
• saves over a thousand songs
• able to access internet
• check email
• can store games
• can watch TV and movies
• camera applicable
• easy to rewind and fastforward through songs
• easy to skip back and forth through songs
• can access song of choice through menu screen
• can listen to radio stations
• access the weather

The devices I mentioned are only a few of the many positive technological advances that has occurred in the world. Although I only pointed out the negative aspects of the "then" items, I know at the time I was not complaining much about them and was grateful to have them. The intentions of my blog is to show the positive aspects of the evolution of technology. In my opinion all of the previous mentioned devices are better "now" than they were "then".