Ask Slashdot: What Tech Products Were Built To Last? 702
itwbennett writes: "When you think about tech products these days, you probably think 'refresh cycle' more than 'built to last.' But there are plenty of tech products that put up with hard, daily use year after year. Here's a few to get you started: Logitech MX510 mouse, Brother black & white laser printer, Casio G-Shock watch, Alvin Draf-Tec Retrac mechanical pencil, Sony Dream Machine alarm clock. What's your longest-lasting, hardest-working device?"
Commodore Amiga 3000T (Score:5, Interesting)
Still works as does my IBM PS2 Model 95. There are still DEC PDP-11s in daily use as well.
Re:Commodore Amiga 3000T (Score:5, Insightful)
Fluke multimeters...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Re:Commodore Amiga 3000T (Score:5, Interesting)
I used to work there (on that line for a while), and one of the jobs was to beat them up a bit before they went out the door, just to make sure they could take it.. (We were careful not to scuff them up, but did need to subject them to a couple of impacts in each direction as part of the final testing).
Note, when he took it apart in the video, he very likely *did* make it go out of spec at that point.. It's normally just the high voltage that goes out of spec, but would normally only mean that you got a reading of 1007 VAC instead of 1000 VAC.. Still somewhat close..
He should send it back for recalibration after his adventure..
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My Radio Shack Micronta 22-203A 30,000 ohm/volt analog multimeter I received at age 12. It ss still working fine and is accurate. If component ever has problem it has schematic and troubleshooting instructions. I'm over half a century old.
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My Sony alarm clock has been my most robust piece of gear (I recently had to replace my Logitech gaming mouse, so that's off the list). The Sony clock is particularly ironic.
The Japanese use the phrase SOny timer for planned obsolescence, both in a general sense and a specific assertion that all Sony products have such a timer to kill the device one day after the warrantee is up (except the PS, because they need to sell the games). Funny that the clocks are the only Sony product without the "Sony timer". [wikipedia.org]
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My HP-41CV calculator from 1981. My wife still uses her HP-12C. My HP calculator's cutting edge usefulness vastly outlasted any computer. It's finally been replaced by a calculator app on my Android phone that emulates it!
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My HP-97 from 1978 is still working fine. Time for some new rubber on the card loader, though.
My toilet (Score:5, Funny)
It's gotten nothing but shit every day for 30 years and it still works just as well as when I first got it.
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Let me guess, you piss in the sink?
Re:My toilet (Score:5, Funny)
Works better when you hook it up to your home water supply.
Re:My toilet (Score:5, Insightful)
Toilets really are one of the best tech inventions of all time. And I do mean tech in every sense of the word. Porcelain is the best material for it, and while the chinese had it for a long time, when the west (Kingdom of Saxony) got it/discovered it, it gaurded the secret closely. Thankfully it got out, are it would be relegated to fancy sculptures and plates.
This isn't to mention all the requirements like running water and sewer system... but a lot of tech resembles Maslow's hierarchy of needs, as in the oldest stuff is generally the most essential, and as time goes on, the newer stuff is icing on the cake.
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I picked up a magnavox am/fm radio turntable cabinet model at a yard sale in the 80s the couple told me they had got it for their son as a gift when he started college in 1962 but he didn't have room for it so it sat in their attic. It was open but still had the original packaging I used it for about 10 years then gave it to a friend who still uses it {the fm radio anyway it has a really great sound}.
It's actually older than my toilet.
Atari 800 (Score:3)
My Atari 800 home computer is my longest-lasting, hardest-working electronics device. It was built like a tank (the metal shielding alone weighs several pounds).
Other than that, I suppose my alarm clock. I've had it since 1988 and it just keeps going. Nothing fancy - LED display, just a clock with alarm, no radio functionality or anything like that.
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"Hardest working"?
Re:Atari 800 (Score:5, Funny)
Its not easy to get JoeWalsh out of bed in the morning. I assume it is because he goes to parties.... sometimes until 4.
Re:Atari 800 (Score:5, Funny)
"my scsi-3 bus is fast and its wide,
I lost my R-term and now it won't drive."
Re:Atari 800 (Score:5, Funny)
I have a firewall
So I won't get jacked
My password's weak
So I still got hacked
Re:Atari 800 (Score:5, Funny)
So got me an office
With a fat cat-6 pipe
Send me an email
Maybe I'll skype.
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Sadly my digital alarm clock from that era just a few months ago started running fast. It was free with the digital watch I purchased back then (or vice-versa, the watch was $9 and the alarm clock was free, I don't remember which).
Longest lasting have been calculators, home stereo, and Amiga computers; but nothing is as long lasting and hard working as automotive electronics and sensors, ranging from sub-zero temperatures to hundreds of degrees (Fahrenheit), and lasting decades.
I'm surprised a Logitech mou
MacBook Air 13 Inch (Score:2, Interesting)
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I had a 12" Powerbook G4 that I sold a couple of years ago. It was just too slow to running the applications that I needed to run.
I still have a Powerbook 540c (from 1995) that I play SimTower on. I also use it as a serial console for my collection of Sun lunchbox systems and Axil 320 SPARCstation 20 clone. They still all still run (despite PROM battery failures), but I don't use them frequently.
MacBook (2007 model) (Score:2)
My primary work laptop is a 2007 MacBook. When the time came that the company would buy me a replacement, Apple products were no longer on the list of corporate approved laptops, so I have just continued to use the MacBook. It has been pretty much trouble-free. Had to replace the battery and the power adapter and that's it.
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Re:MacBook Air 13 Inch (Score:5, Funny)
A computer that has run for three years. That's so cute!
HP Calculators (Score:5, Insightful)
I still use my HP-11C and HP-32S calculators at least weekly. They're now 25+ years old, and I've changed the batteries maybe twice.
Enter > Equal ..... Yeah!
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I, too, have an HP-11C that I still use almost daily and have only changed the batteries twice since I bought it new around 1980.
Later I got a HP-48SX and the keyboard started out as crap and broke just after the warranty expired. They just don't make them like they used to...
RPN FTW!
Model M Keyboard FTW (Score:5, Insightful)
TZ
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Damned right.
I tend to type hard. I've broken a space bar or two. My Model M has put up with me for almost three decades now, and has almost no visible damage. Some of the key caps might be getting a bit worn, but I expect they'll last until I bother to print replacements.
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November 6, 1989 is the date on the sticker on the back of mine.
I found it in a thrift shop while killing time walking around in a small downtown area waiting for an appointment. It was in a pile of used crappy bubble keyboards. I paid either $5 or $10 for it -- can't remember which. I should have asked if they had any artwork or old vases too.
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mine is the 122 key model (24 function keys, 2x12). weighs over 8 lbs. The coiled cable is thicker than what the old analog phone receivers used to have
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Apart from cockroaches, the Model M keyboards will be the only things to survive a nuclear blast.
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HP LaserJet 4M+ (Score:5, Insightful)
It sits there in standby waiting for print jobs that almost never come, then with a wheeze the top fan blows out the accumulated dust, the lights dim briefly and I get my printout like it was 1999.
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The 4 series was built fairly well, but it was nothing compared to the beast that was the LJ 3 series. I once was called out to repair an ~15 year old LJ3 with just under 1M pages (at ~3PPM!). The reason it needed repair? The single sacrificial plastic gear had grown brittle with age, everything else in that beast was metal.
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I have a Laserjet 4L from 1994 or 95. Until about a year ago, I was still using it in my office to print checks -- it's one of the few printers it's easy to find MICR ink carts for. Anyway, it finally started making terrible screeching noises and so I replaced it because it would be a real pain to be without a check printer. Plus, the 4 page per minute print rate was getting sort of old -- but there is no question, that thing was built to last.
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I think that's mostly because of the fuser warming up. It has a hollow teflon coated roller with a 9" long lightbulb inside it to heat it. I don't remember them being more than 250-500W though. I used to repair copiers and printers.
LaserJet II and LaserJet 3 (Score:5, Informative)
HP LaserJet II and LaserJet 3 - worked reliably for 20 years and probably quite a few of them still in use.
sPh
Admittedly as noted above no high-tech product can yet match the longevity of a well-built plumbing system - some of them are over 2000 years old and still functioning as designed, while most major cities still depend on water and plumbing infrastructure build 1880-1920.
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we have two laserjet II's here that print 300 invoices a day. and we will use them until they catch fire or explode.
Re:LaserJet II and LaserJet 3 (Score:5, Funny)
You'll probably still use them after they catch fire though.
We had one at work, the damn thing smelled like a fucking two-cylinder engine puking fumes when it printed even though the prints were fine.
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Those early-generation LaserJets were built like tanks. I've seen them pushed off a table (which took some effort -- the early ones were 70 lbs), hit the floor, and aside from some cosmetic damage, just keep printing. The same-era Digital Equipment Corp LN03 was pretty good too (except for having a toner tub which could spill); corresponding Xerox printers while larger-capacity and faster were much finickier.
HP and Apple's printers of that generation used the Canon print engine and optics. Whatever happen
Re:LaserJet II and LaserJet 3, LaserJet 4L (Score:2)
I still use a LaserJet 4L at home for light printing work. This is now over 20 years old. It was used heavily in business for about 5 years then light use at home. I just buy a new cartridge about once a year (recycled ones cost about $15).
This thing never jams, always feeds properly and the print quality is as crisp and sharp as the day it was new.
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Anything built before 2001 (Score:4, Insightful)
The quality difference between pre 2001 electronics and now is astounding. Current products are all utter junk compared to earlier stuff.
Re:Anything built before 2001 (Score:5, Interesting)
There were junk devices back then too.
I got a $15.00 mouse that worked for 2 month and failed.
Laptop Drives were notoriously bad. Memory could fail on you...
I needed to get a new internal modem every few months.
The real difference before 2001 we were expected to pay a couple of grand on your PC. and a lot more for a workstation. Because these things were so expensive they made sure they used quality parts. Post Tech Bubble pop. We started to opt for cheaper/faster/lighter So cheaper and Lighter means more flimsy plastic, where metal was used, but we wanted faster too so they had to cut costs in more areas of quality. Having it last 4 now is considered a good run.
Re:Anything built before 2001 (Score:5, Insightful)
We always get a false impression of the reliability and quality of old stuff, because the stuff that sucked and broke got thrown out years ago, and the only things that we still encounter are the ones that were well made. It's true with old houses, old cars, old furniture, pretty much everything. I'm sure there's a law for this phenomenon with some pompous dude's name on it but it's a well established and discussed phenomenon.
Re:Anything built before 2001 (Score:5, Informative)
I believe the term you are looking for is Survivorship bias [wikipedia.org].
Egarland's law (Score:3)
Re:Egarland's law (Score:5, Funny)
I think you're confused.
egarland's law states that only pompous windbags have their names associated with obvious phenomenon that everyone has always known.
The clear winner overall is so obvious (Score:5, Informative)
IBM's Model M keyboard.
Clock Radio! (Score:3)
A 1971 Panasonic AM/FM clock radio with this erie, blue-green glowing, segmented time display. It's the size of a goddamn shoe box, and easily weighs 3-4 pounds. It was my brother's, and when he moved out of the house he gave it to me. It's as old as I am and has survived multiple in-city, in-state, and one cross-country move, in addition to numerous drops, bumps, being rained on through open windows, splashed with various items spilled from ill-placed glasses, etc.
I haven't used it as an alarm or for music in years (my phone took over those functions some time ago), but I can't bear to remove it from my nightstand at this point.
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Mine is similar - I have a GE AM/FM alarm clock radio with red LED segmented display, but mine is a bit newer - I got I think in 1993. 21 years is pretty good - 100% fully functional (go go pre-ROHS analog radio!) and still keeps accurate time. Only thing wrong with it is the tab on the 9V backup battery compartment broke, so the door falls off if you lift the thing off the nightstand. I refuse to keep my phone by my bedside, so I still use the alarm function.
Contrast to a new one - it was either Emerson or
test gear that was made in USA in the 50s and 60s (Score:5, Interesting)
I always like to point to one of my fave brands of TM gear (test and measurement): power designs.
go to ebay and search for these 3 words 'power designs precision'. see the metal concentric dials? those are not to be seen in today's gear; unless its a photo of one on a touch screen somewhere (sigh).
I have at least 4 of these models and they date from the late 50's to early 60's. some caps might need changing (not need but suggested) and some deoxit-d5 cleaner on the switches and that's that! 100uV dial-in resolution, microvolt level noise and hum, current load at full rated cap for 7x24 duty cycle and the PSU can be thrown off a truck and still work to factory specs.
they tend to be $100 or so, used. if you built that today using those specs, it would be 10x to 50x the price, if you could even GET it built today (no, china could not even build this if they tried).
old tektronix and HP gear still works great after 30+ yrs. lots of old US designed and BUILT gear is still fully reasonable to use today. its repairable and the user guides, back then, actually had circuit descriptions, schematics and even names/addresses of companies that make the parts that go into the box! you NEVER see anything like that today. you can't even get schematics from agilent or fluke or keithley or tek anymore, on their current gear.
I like to point to power designs (precision) line of gear as stuff that was built to last 50+ yrs and I have actual proof that this is not a dream. I'm over 50 and I'm not doing as well as some of the gear in my tech shop.... ;)
Re:test gear that was made in USA in the 50s and 6 (Score:5, Informative)
I would say that my old HP48SX calculator with a card for additional functions still works and is useful. Engineering calculations are engineering calculations, and the tactile feel of the buttons is a lot more accurate than trying to use an emulator on a smartphone.
Just the small engineering touches showed outstanding build quality. For example, the card had an edge connector, but there was a sliding metal flap that kept the connector on a card shielded until it was inserted into the calculator.
Household appliances (Score:2)
Toaster Oven... a 25yr old Hamilton Beach Standmixer. Though there's probably a few people out there with ones older than this.
I still use the same lawnmower I bought in '79. Had to replace the blade, but it still cuts the grass without problems.
Teletype machines (Score:5, Interesting)
I have several Teletype machines from the 1926 to 1940 period. [aetherltd.com] All are in good working order. They're completely repairable; it's possible to take one apart down to the individual parts and put it back together. But they're high-maintenance. There are several hundred oiling points on a Model 15 Teletype. There are things that have to be adjusted occasionally, and manuals and tools for doing that. Every few years, the entire machine has to be soaked in solvent to clean off excess oil, then relubricated and adjusted. This is the price of building a complex machine good for a century or more.
(The Model 33 of the minicomputer era is not one of the long-lived machines. This was by design. The Model 35 was the equivalent long-lived, high-maintenance product; the 33 required little mainenance but had a llimited life.)
As a cyclist: Garmin Edge 500 GPS Computer (Score:2)
IBM Model M Keyboard (Score:2)
Typing this on a Unicomp model based on the original design. Awesome keyboard, but it lacks the heavy steel backplate of the original.
Please buy a keyboard from this company so they keep making them. :-) http://www.pckeyboard.com/ [pckeyboard.com]
Generally, any computer equipment before the mid 90s was made quite well, simply because it was so expensive at the time. It also tended to be heavily over-engineered. Some Compaq ProLiants from that era are 100 pounds because they're just solid metal all the way through.
Alarm clock???? (Score:5, Interesting)
Alarm Clock? Really?
I used to live across the street from police & fire stations. I can sleep through anything. A few years ago, searching for ever louder and more earth-shaking alarm clocks, I got to thinking about that. For tens of thousands of years mankind has not had alarm clocks. We relied on the Sun and Daylight to wake us up. So I went down to the local megamart and bought a digital outlet timer. You know, the sort of thing you use to turn your lights on automatically while you're out of town. Hooked up a power strip to it, and plugged in a bunch of $5 floor lamps. Nothing like a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Lamps.
Every morning at exactly 6:55 the digital timer turns on and my room is brightened by 5,000+ lumens of light. It's a nice way to wake up. Very gentle. You come out of sleep slowly rather than abruptly.
HP48g (Score:4, Insightful)
Still works like a charm (and still a bit slow, hehehe).
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I didn't think about calculators, but my daughter is still using my Casio FX-4000P in high school.
Mine looks about exactly like this (except in English):
http://mycalcdb.free.fr/galerie/Casio/casio_fx-4000P.7.jpg
I also have an HP 28S that still works great (although it has a really bad interface):
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/HP_28.jpg
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My mac SE/30? (Score:2)
The thing still turns on and runs. Unfortunately Iost my ADB keyboard and mouse so I can't use it.
My Monkey Wrench (Score:2)
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yeah, but do you have the joe pesci autographed model?
that may be worth some moolah, someday...
Old Nintendo Products (Score:2)
Canon 1Ds (Score:2)
Palm IIIx (Score:2)
LED lighting (Score:2)
Cheap noname LED spotlights, cheap noname LED flashlights...
I'm sure pricey brand name LED lights don't break very often either.
Bose Wave Radio (Score:2)
Scoff if you must -- I'm not using it for audiophile, but as an employee-project-completion gift, it's made a fantastic $300 alarm clock.
I've had it for close to 15 years now (it debuted in 1998). It does exactly what I need: Good UI, wake up to radio, tone or CD with slow volume increase, two alarms. Most CD players I've seen don't last this long, and this thing has been a rock.
A pencil? (Score:2)
The Hayes AT command set (Score:2)
It's been decades, and that thing is still going strong. When we're all gone, phones will be making calls by mapping whatever you're doing to:
ATDT your_number
Note: does ADTP still work? What if you did that on a 4G modem?
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1975 Casio Pocket-mini calculator (Score:2)
Logitech TrackMan Marble Mouse (Score:2)
Keeps cutting (Score:2)
Powermatic 66 table saw
Texas Instruments calculator (Score:2)
TI-36 solar version. Came with the vinyl flip case which still has part of its spine holding on like grim death.
Bought it just out of high school (back in the day) and recently used it for my stats class (about 2 years ago).
I still take it with me every time I go grocery shopping to keep track of how much I'm spending.
IBM 3720 terminal (Score:2)
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Compaq P1210 (Score:3)
My Compaq P1210 catwarmer [cuug.ab.ca] only died a few months ago, after daily use since early 1998. When the cat went to jump on top of the new LCD and simply landed on the desk behind, he was not amused. I put a pillow back there, and now it's his secret hiding place; he leans up against the back of the LCD for his catwarming needs. (This is Canada; as I write, a nasty mix of snow and rain is blustering around outside.)
Voyager 1 & 2 (Score:4, Insightful)
Roughly 40 years old and still doing science.
Simpson 260 (Score:3)
REAL Telephones (Score:3)
MicroVAX 2000 (Score:3)
Late 80s, upgraded to SCSI and 16 MB @ 200ns, run OpenVMS 7.3.
Also, my penis, late 50s, works just fine, does everything I want it to.
Bird 43, Simpson 240/260 (Score:3)
I also have a stack of old HP and Tektronix test equipment -- stuff that has service manuals and more-or-less replaceable parts (except for things like 'scope front ends, which are custom assemblies made of pure unobtanium).
MX 510? Really? (Score:3)
I replaced my 8th and last MX510 with a RAZR Imperator about 3 years ago, and haven't looked back since.
Nokia 5110 (Score:4, Insightful)
Car, anyone ? (Score:3)
Anything made by Belkin (Score:3)
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Back in the day I played the heck out of my Nintendo Gamecube.
God I'm getting old.
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Let me help you.
I've still got a NES that works fine apart from the usual cartridge connector issue.
Still feel old? Alright...
I've got an Intellivision 1 that still works fine but could use new controllers.
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XP on my ThinkPad that was made before IBM sold the division to Lenovo. The machine will be 10 in August. The battery died a few years ago, otherwise the only problem is with the left mouse button which is cracked from use and held with tape. The machine chugs along in some punishing environments--no AC here, and it flakes out sometimes on hot days. I probably need to open it up and blow the dust out. Yes, I'm concerned about such an old hard drive, and back up in various ways.
About $1500, and worth ev
IBM ThinkPad (Score:5, Interesting)
I was going to say the IBM Thinkpads, too. Like any computer, they eventually get old and underpowered compared to the new stuff, but they keep chugging. Mine is from 05, I think right after Lenovo bought 'em, but it's still the IBM version. One key is missing, case is cracked and there are a few grey pixels, but it still works (typing this on it now). Made it through deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, too.
Is that "long lasting" or is it sad that 9-10 years out of a laptop is considered long?
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Western Electric desk phones. Had to buy one on eBay to replace a string of junky modern ones that failed within a year each; the WE phone was manufactured around 1970 per the serial number.
sPh
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There's people in Guantanamo whose only crime is to wear one of those: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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Thanks for posting this. I had a 15C which I gave to a friend when I got a 28S. The 28S is still on my desk and still works brilliantly. Both calculators are my favourites. The 28S takes "N" batteries which were for "cameras" when cameras still had film in them. So they are getting a little harder to find. It takes a few years for them to die, but I'm starting to stockpile them anyway.
I'm guessing the button cells for the 15C are a little easier to find.
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Somewhat related: the youngest flying B52:s are now more than half a century old. By the time the last one is taken out of service it will probably be pushing 90.