7 ms·

I've always said we peaked at the technology level of the late 90s. We had everything we needed, and none of the BS; cell phones, e-mail, instant messaging, SMS

I've always said we peaked at the technology level of the late 90s. We had everything we needed, and none of the BS; cell phones, e-mail, instant messaging, SMS, file sharing, blogs, forums, and broadband internet were all widespread at that point. Everything since has just been layers of monetized, corporate controlled, walled garden crap that has objectively ruined society and turned the techno-utopian dreams we had then into a dystopic Orwellian nightmare.

ricardobayes 6y ago
Unfortunately, couldn't agree more. We need more cancel culture in tech.
hattmall 6y ago
So how do we get it back?
- thesuitonym 6y ago
  Give everyone you want to talk to your phone number, then delete all of your social media accounts, for a start.
icedchai 6y ago
Yes, I always thought this as well, but was not sure if it was influenced by me feeling nostalgic for the 90's...
- Shared404 6y ago
  I was not around enough in the 90's to have nostalgia, but looking back at history I have to agree.
zeroonetwothree 6y ago
Blogging wasn’t really widespread until ~2001-2002
goodoldneon 6y ago
I wonder if a community will form around this philosophy, and we'll end up with a new kind of Amish. Like in the year 2200, there's a group of people called the Seinfeldians who refused to use any technology introduced after 1998
- fingerlocks 6y ago
  It’s pretty much guaranteed. Live long enough and you witness the cycle of one generation’s legacy become taken for granted by the next, followed by rejection and rediscovery by each subsequent.
- _ezkx 6y ago
  Arguably the "new kind of Amish" are... just the Amish; they've continued to adopt new technologies when they comport with their particular values. Other intensional communities may have different values. Love "Seinfeldians" :)
  - MaxBarraclough 6y ago
    Interesting, I didn't know that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish#Use_of_technology_by_different_affiliations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish#Use_of_technology_by_dif...
- jefurii 6y ago
  There are the various Tilde.club and similar servers, and SDF.
- MaxBarraclough 6y ago
  The kinds of people who'd use SourceHut and Gemini [0] and run a lightweight desktop Linux distro? RMS is famously unbending in his refusal to use non-Free software. There aren't many like him though. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(protocol) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(protocol)
tw04 6y ago
I might be the outlier here: but I think we had everything we needed BEFORE cell phones and SMS (or more specifically before cell phones were common). Sure, it's nice in an emergency to have a phone anywhere you are, but in a society where you can be reached 24/7 there's a sense of urgency all the time. I struggle to even describe the difference because it's been so long since I've felt that sense of calm that comes with: hey guys, I'm going to X, I'll be back at dinner - and nobody expecting to hear from me until dinner. I'm sure there are a privileged few that will say you just need to shut your phone off, but for most of us that's not an option. On a vacation? Sure. Outside of that, good luck.
- bussierem 6y ago
  I'm really curious what you mean by "privileged" for a person to be able to say "just shut your phone off". I recently broke my phone and it took ~10 days to get a replacement. During this time, I had my wife text my family that I had no phone and wouldn't be responding to anything for a while. I felt no urgency, nobody got upset that they couldn't reach me, and thankfully there were no emergencies. What level of privilege do you consider me having (or lack thereof that you apparently have) that doesn't let you do this? Genuine question btw, not trying to be facetious. I found the use of "privilege" here to be an interesting word choice and was hoping you could expand a bit.
  - Lammy 6y ago
    It's a pretty big deal to ask somebody to shut off what might be their only form of social connection. It sounds like you have the privilege (not pejorative) of having a decent social network irl if you have a wife and family, as do I now that I'm later in life, but I can remember being an only-child teenager in the middle of nowhere with no social outlet other than online.
    - bussierem 6y ago
      I know you're not the OP, but this is a very fair point. I would imagine though that if you're in such a situation you don't see your online time or phone as much of a detriment; You would see it as a lifeline and most likely be quite happy to have it. The GP does not seem happy with the idea of phones in this case.
hh3k0 6y ago
I'd argue that cellphones, e-mail, instant messaging, and SMS were already developments detrimental to the well-being of the average Joe.
sleepysysadmin 6y ago
>I've always said we peaked at the technology level of the late 90s. The 1890s was a good time! Surprised an Amish posted on HN.
Lex-2008 6y ago
Video calls? Skype initial release was in 2003. Consumer OS with server-grade kernel? Windows XP first release was in 2008. USB thumb drives? Windows 98 didn't have drivers for them, so they came bundles with CD with drivers? Web browsers? Firefox initial release was in 2002, much hated IE6 - in 2001. In 90s you had IE5 - I doubt it was much better than IE6.
- Lammy 6y ago
  Skype's big innovation was its ability to work in NAT-to-NAT situations, not anything to do with its actual calling functionality. People were video chatting even way back in the mid '90s: https://www.sattlers.org/mickey/CU-SeeMe/internetTVwithCUSeeMe/chapter08/culture.html https://www.sattlers.org/mickey/CU-SeeMe/internetTVwithCUSee...
- hundchenkatze 6y ago
  > Windows XP first release was in 2008 Not the 90s, but XP was released in 2001.
  - Lex-2008 6y ago
    Thanks! I looked at a wrong release date on wiki ("Final release", which is actually Service Pack 3)
- sovsovsod 6y ago
  There was Windows NT 4 which was awesome, released in 1996, and Windows 2000, released in 1999. As a kid I used both of those. NT 4 was a bit hard to use since most programs (read games) were written for DOS or win95/98. But Windows 2000 was awesome. It was like having winXp a couple years early
  - Lex-2008 6y ago
    Yes, I deliberately tried to exclude the NT family by mentioning "consumer OS" :) BTW, how was Windows 2000 in terms of software (read games) compatibility?
Wowfunhappy 6y ago
I definitely don't need 24/7 access to news and social media, but I still really appreciate the ability to access the internet "on the go." If my destination changes, I can look up new directions. If my friend and I are making plans to meet up again later, I can check an up-to-date weather forecast. This was an ability I actively longed for as a child growing up in the 2000s (I'm 26 for perspective). I bought that special web browser for my Nintendo DS, but it was useless away from a wifi hotspot. (And it was slow as heck.)
totalZero 6y ago
Nothing better than waiting two days for a video file to download.
Dracophoenix 6y ago
>> I've always said we peaked at the technology level of the late 90s. I like having Wi-fi and Bluetooth and these didn't become popular until sometime around 2004. In 99, most people would still use ethernet cables and floppy disks. And corporate controlled, walled gardens have existed even before the commercial net. Online service providers (like Compuserve and AOL) were a huge market until the Dotcom bust.
cherrycherry98 6y ago
In the movie The Matrix, Agent Smith explains that the Matrix is designed after the peak of human civilization, which just so happens to be the late 90s.
XCSme 6y ago
I tend to disagree: spending the last 4 months in lockdown would have been really hard for me, but playing Table Tennis in VR with my home 3D printed paddle made things so much better.
partingshots 6y ago
This is what we call boomer speak. Stop wallowing in your nostalgia, and look at reality as it is.

ricardobayes 6y ago

Unfortunately, couldn't agree more. We need more cancel culture in tech.

hattmall 6y ago

So how do we get it back?

thesuitonym 6y ago
Give everyone you want to talk to your phone number, then delete all of your social media accounts, for a start.

icedchai 6y ago

Yes, I always thought this as well, but was not sure if it was influenced by me feeling nostalgic for the 90's...

Shared404 6y ago
I was not around enough in the 90's to have nostalgia, but looking back at history I have to agree.

zeroonetwothree 6y ago

Blogging wasn’t really widespread until ~2001-2002

goodoldneon 6y ago

I wonder if a community will form around this philosophy, and we'll end up with a new kind of Amish. Like in the year 2200, there's a group of people called the Seinfeldians who refused to use any technology introduced after 1998

fingerlocks 6y ago
It’s pretty much guaranteed. Live long enough and you witness the cycle of one generation’s legacy become taken for granted by the next, followed by rejection and rediscovery by each subsequent.
_ezkx 6y ago
Arguably the "new kind of Amish" are... just the Amish; they've continued to adopt new technologies when they comport with their particular values. Other intensional communities may have different values. Love "Seinfeldians" :)
- MaxBarraclough 6y ago
  Interesting, I didn't know that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish#Use_of_technology_by_different_affiliations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish#Use_of_technology_by_dif...
jefurii 6y ago
There are the various Tilde.club and similar servers, and SDF.
MaxBarraclough 6y ago
The kinds of people who'd use SourceHut and Gemini [0] and run a lightweight desktop Linux distro? RMS is famously unbending in his refusal to use non-Free software. There aren't many like him though. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(protocol) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(protocol)

tw04 6y ago

I might be the outlier here: but I think we had everything we needed BEFORE cell phones and SMS (or more specifically before cell phones were common). Sure, it's nice in an emergency to have a phone anywhere you are, but in a society where you can be reached 24/7 there's a sense of urgency all the time. I struggle to even describe the difference because it's been so long since I've felt that sense of calm that comes with: hey guys, I'm going to X, I'll be back at dinner - and nobody expecting to hear from me until dinner. I'm sure there are a privileged few that will say you just need to shut your phone off, but for most of us that's not an option. On a vacation? Sure. Outside of that, good luck.

bussierem 6y ago
I'm really curious what you mean by "privileged" for a person to be able to say "just shut your phone off". I recently broke my phone and it took ~10 days to get a replacement. During this time, I had my wife text my family that I had no phone and wouldn't be responding to anything for a while. I felt no urgency, nobody got upset that they couldn't reach me, and thankfully there were no emergencies. What level of privilege do you consider me having (or lack thereof that you apparently have) that doesn't let you do this? Genuine question btw, not trying to be facetious. I found the use of "privilege" here to be an interesting word choice and was hoping you could expand a bit.
- Lammy 6y ago
  It's a pretty big deal to ask somebody to shut off what might be their only form of social connection. It sounds like you have the privilege (not pejorative) of having a decent social network irl if you have a wife and family, as do I now that I'm later in life, but I can remember being an only-child teenager in the middle of nowhere with no social outlet other than online.
  - bussierem 6y ago
    I know you're not the OP, but this is a very fair point. I would imagine though that if you're in such a situation you don't see your online time or phone as much of a detriment; You would see it as a lifeline and most likely be quite happy to have it. The GP does not seem happy with the idea of phones in this case.

hh3k0 6y ago

I'd argue that cellphones, e-mail, instant messaging, and SMS were already developments detrimental to the well-being of the average Joe.

sleepysysadmin 6y ago

>I've always said we peaked at the technology level of the late 90s. The 1890s was a good time! Surprised an Amish posted on HN.

Lex-2008 6y ago

Video calls? Skype initial release was in 2003. Consumer OS with server-grade kernel? Windows XP first release was in 2008. USB thumb drives? Windows 98 didn't have drivers for them, so they came bundles with CD with drivers? Web browsers? Firefox initial release was in 2002, much hated IE6 - in 2001. In 90s you had IE5 - I doubt it was much better than IE6.

Lammy 6y ago
Skype's big innovation was its ability to work in NAT-to-NAT situations, not anything to do with its actual calling functionality. People were video chatting even way back in the mid '90s: https://www.sattlers.org/mickey/CU-SeeMe/internetTVwithCUSeeMe/chapter08/culture.html https://www.sattlers.org/mickey/CU-SeeMe/internetTVwithCUSee...
hundchenkatze 6y ago
> Windows XP first release was in 2008 Not the 90s, but XP was released in 2001.
- Lex-2008 6y ago
  Thanks! I looked at a wrong release date on wiki ("Final release", which is actually Service Pack 3)
sovsovsod 6y ago
There was Windows NT 4 which was awesome, released in 1996, and Windows 2000, released in 1999. As a kid I used both of those. NT 4 was a bit hard to use since most programs (read games) were written for DOS or win95/98. But Windows 2000 was awesome. It was like having winXp a couple years early
- Lex-2008 6y ago
  Yes, I deliberately tried to exclude the NT family by mentioning "consumer OS" :) BTW, how was Windows 2000 in terms of software (read games) compatibility?

Wowfunhappy 6y ago

I definitely don't need 24/7 access to news and social media, but I still really appreciate the ability to access the internet "on the go." If my destination changes, I can look up new directions. If my friend and I are making plans to meet up again later, I can check an up-to-date weather forecast. This was an ability I actively longed for as a child growing up in the 2000s (I'm 26 for perspective). I bought that special web browser for my Nintendo DS, but it was useless away from a wifi hotspot. (And it was slow as heck.)

totalZero 6y ago

Nothing better than waiting two days for a video file to download.

Dracophoenix 6y ago

>> I've always said we peaked at the technology level of the late 90s. I like having Wi-fi and Bluetooth and these didn't become popular until sometime around 2004. In 99, most people would still use ethernet cables and floppy disks. And corporate controlled, walled gardens have existed even before the commercial net. Online service providers (like Compuserve and AOL) were a huge market until the Dotcom bust.

cherrycherry98 6y ago

In the movie The Matrix, Agent Smith explains that the Matrix is designed after the peak of human civilization, which just so happens to be the late 90s.

XCSme 6y ago

I tend to disagree: spending the last 4 months in lockdown would have been really hard for me, but playing Table Tennis in VR with my home 3D printed paddle made things so much better.

partingshots 6y ago

This is what we call boomer speak. Stop wallowing in your nostalgia, and look at reality as it is.