When you connect a new device to a ‘smart’ tv, you must pay homage to the manufacturer with a ritualistic dance. Plugging and unplugging the device. Turning them on and off in the correct sequence like entering a konami code.

Every time you want to switch devices, the tv must scan for them. And god forbid you lose power, or unplug something. You are granted the delight experience of doing it all over again.

I have fond memories of the days of just plugging something in, and pressing the input button. Instant gratification. It was a simpler time.

What is some other tech that used to be better?

  • Dr. Wesker
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    5 months ago

    The internet.

    The internet of the 90s was wild, creative, and not as accessible. We dreamed that as it grew and became more accessible, a utopia of information and creativity would flourish.

    Instead we got a bland, corporate wasteland, and free soapboxes for every shithead out there.

    • @doctortofu@reddthat.com
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      585 months ago

      Yup, most of the internet is now sadly an ad-infested monetized corporate hellhole, and as a bonus it’s now rapidly being filled to the brim with AI slop, because it clearly wasn’t bad enough just yet… :(

      • Dr. Wesker
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        575 months ago

        There is a bit of a smolnet renaissance happening in niche tech and creative circles. Using IRC to socialize, reviving gopher protocol for blogs, creating lofi and pure HTML/CSS sites instead of using bloated JS frameworks. And of course, creating simple and/or federated services for media sharing.

        Tell me if you’d like to know more. Additionally, my home instance is full of people with such interests.

          • @Zoop@beehaw.org
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            25 months ago

            I hope they reply (and that I remember to come back and check again so I can see it,) I’m very interested, too!

        • @AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net
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          85 months ago

          I’ve been thinking of starting a blog to help motivate me to do more writing. For a while I felt burnt out because I knew I’d have no hope in hell of being able to do a bunch of SEO stuff to enable people to actually see if anything I write, but I’ve concluded that people based networks are the only way something like this will work for me. After all, most of my favourite blogs or blog posts are ones I’ve heard of through word of mouth.

          I’ve not heard of gopher protocol though, that sounds interesting

          • whoareu
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            55 months ago

            If you are interested in gopher you might also like gemini protocol.

        • ddh
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          45 months ago

          If you haven’t tried I2P, it gives me those old web vibes.

          • @Zoop@beehaw.org
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            25 months ago

            Ooh, I looked it up and it sounds interesting. I look forward to figuring it out and experiencing it for myself, thanks! :)

      • Walking Coffin
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        145 months ago

        Webrings, decentralized networks and list of links proposed by a blogger you like. That’s a good start I’d say.

      • @vext01
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        15 months ago

        Go back to gopher :)

      • @makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml
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        115 months ago

        Finding it is almost impossible though. I’ve tried and tried but the search engines don’t show any of these cute little niche sites that are definitely out there.

          • @Donjuanme@lemmy.world
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            85 months ago

            I feel the bigger problem is that there just aren’t as many of them.

            Why host a webpage now when you can just set up a Facebook page for it?

            • Maeve
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              85 months ago

              I wish people would realize there are people from every generation who won’t touch Facebook, IG and other meta things. When we finally got s new mayor who actually said our town with soon have a real website, I nearly wept with joy.

            • @LeFantome@programming.dev
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              15 months ago

              “aren’t as many of them”

              I do not believe that. There is more of everything now than there was Internet before. The web used to be tiny.

              You are not going to find what you want by clicking on the “Mozilla Cool Site of the Day”. But they are out there.

              Not that I do not agree with the point the OP is making. The “cool site” story itself illustrates the overall story-arc of the Internet pretty well:

              https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Site_of_the_Day