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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?"

4 of 1,022 comments (clear)

  1. 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.

    --
    Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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