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Technologies that Have Exceeded Their Expectations?

Posted by Cliff on from the didn't-know-it-could-do-that-didja dept.

drfunch asks: "With the recent 'passing' of Pioneer 10 after over 30 years of service, I wonder what other technologies have far exceeded expectations. One example from my own experience is my trusty HP calculator, which is still going strong after 21 years. What technologies or devices have gone far beyond your expectations?"

6 of 1,022 comments (clear)

  1. Trusty Old Computers... by ethzer0 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I love my old Amiga 2000. It still does some things better than a damned PC. *sigh*

  2. Re:The 3.5" Floppy by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'd say it exceeded its expectations. The floppy disk was originally invented by IBM as a way to insert code updates into mainframes (think flash rom but bigger). Computer scientists/engineers found it could make a handy portable storage media and the 3.5" disk that we use today is just an evolved, smaller version.

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  3. Re:I know one.. by neurojab · · Score: 4, Informative

    You mean you never ran DOS 1.x on a 4.77 mhz 8088 processor? The 8086 was the first x86... it was released in 1978, with the mighty 8088 (actually a scaled down version of the 8086) released shortly thereafter.

  4. Almost All Apple Products by cbuskirk · · Score: 4, Informative

    Unless your old laptop burst into flames, if you have owned an Apple product, you understand that Macs are a hell of alot cheaper in the long run than any computer out there.

  5. Re:Ethernet by geirhe · · Score: 4, Informative
    Ethernet must be at the top if the list. The Aloha based system was not supposed to scale.
    Ethernet is CSMA/CD, not Aloha. Aloha is where people talk regardless of what is happening, and scales like shit. Ethernet is Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Carrier Detection, a refinement of the aloha protocol which scales much better - the dip for high channel utilizations is much smaller. More info here
  6. My vote goes to... by NewbieV · · Score: 3, Informative

    The humble paperclip.

    From a history of the paperclip on about.com:

    "Johan Vaaler, a Norwegian inventor with a degree in electronics, science and mathematics, invented the paperclip in 1899. He received a patent for his design from Germany in 1899, since Norway had no patent laws at that time. Johan Vaaler was an employee at a local invention office when he invented the paperclip. He received an American patent in 1901 -- patent abstract "It consists of forming same of a spring material, such as a piece of wire, that is bent to a rectangular, triangular, or otherwise shaped hoop, the end parts of which wire piece form members or tongues lying side by side in contrary directions." Johan Vaaler was the first person to patent a paperclip design, although other unpatented designs might have existed first."

    Over 100 years old and still going strong...

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