In 1971, six transistor radios were the rage. And then Dougy Rademacher and Terry Opanasenko showed up, almost to the day, sporting General Electric seven transistor radios
All the boys swooned. Surely the evolution of coolness had crested. We dreamed of the day when we could afford the pinnacle of electronic sophistication.
General Electric no longer manufactures and sells portable radios.
Intel 286
IBM personal computers based on the Intel 286 chip were blindingly fast, for the time, at 4MHz. They also had the equivalent of 134,000 transistors. All the cool kids craved a 286 based box.
IBM no longer manufactures and sells personal computers.
Today's icons of coolness
An Apple smartphone and a Tesla.
How long before smartphones become a commodity and Apple's profit machine stumbles?
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| The good news is that it did not burst into flames in the attached garage. |
Time will tell.
Heh, we're showing our age...
ReplyDeleteLOL.
ReplyDeleteFirst computer we bought...ca. 1990; had a kid right out of computer science program in college advising us...
286!!!, he said... You'll NEVER need more than what THIS will do!!!
Remember when those transistor radios were made in Japan? Considered junk although they worked just fine. Now you have a hard time finding Japanese goods, just Chinese junk.
ReplyDeleteThe radio in my first car as a transistor radio. Got it at Radio Shack, probably. I sprung for the deluxe model with the wrist cord, so I could hang it from my rearview mirror. By 72 I was driving a Ford Fairlane that had an in-dash radio and air conditioning.
ReplyDeleteThe girls loved that sled and it kept me in good stead until I finished college in 75.
a kid right out of computer science program in college advising us...
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