4 ms·

Cool. Can we enter that time portal and live in that alternate reality?

IgorPartola 2y ago
When gasoline was leaded, cigarette smoke was normal everywhere, and asbestos was used for everything you can think of? It is a fascinating decade but also quality of life likely has skyrocketed since.
- oguz-ismail 2y ago
  > quality of life likely has skyrocketed since it hasn't
  - azinman2 2y ago
    Depends on the specifics of your life. As a gay man, I’m much happier in 2025.
  - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
    Is that an objective truth or rose-tinted nostalgia speaking? (I wouldn't know, I wasn't alive then.)
  - msla 2y ago
    I survived cancer because of modern medical advances. I'll take the world with Rituxan and CAR T-cell therapy, thank you.
- smeeger 2y ago
  it is fascinating to consider that this might not be true even though it seems true
  - msla 2y ago
    No? Thinking the world has gotten worse is classic old person chuntering from time immemorial.
    - smeeger 2y ago
      thinking the world can only get better is another thing too
- queuebert 2y ago
  Depends on what you value. Purchasing power of wages has declined, for example. That's probably not better. I suspect the sentiment is more that it would be nice to live in a simpler time, with fewer options, because it would reduce anxiety we all feel about not being able to "keep up" with everything that is going on. Or maybe I'm just projecting.
yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago
I mean... Sure? Go buy an actual VT* unit ( maybe https://www.ebay.com/itm/176698465415?_skw=vt+terminal&itmmeta=01JMGKP0Z52R2ZT2KZ40PN27NP&hash=item29240c9c87:g:YBwAAOSw6wdmTinD&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fStCHV%2BleGX7TFpGyT5VyGazLl1R1n81hNDgDGP%2Bq6MDDQsytarbgrYyJZnyK%2FjfFm2KzGu3PgZt9emfJR9JWVO7YJRY58iTD%2BDMKdZRBdAR5%2FsqU1G4fB%2FyVuOMlioYWuxnbX82M3C%2F21vZMA9Iy9z8j8kL3Lobq2LK5Tyg8ph0YcbtXZjXei%2Bhbw2IMEXq%2BZxTlhWdYx8EuHQI1pKvNNE3wfjitR0MHyFtOwAslW5sZa2CpvVWL62R9SEEAnd29WWuMjiSb67wVD5PN766q4um4GihoWvDBXSnyQ5UV00g%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9yP2JOkZQ https://www.ebay.com/itm/176698465415?_skw=vt+terminal&itmme... ?), get the necessary adaptors to plug into a computer, and run simh on it running your choice of *nix. I recommend https://jstn.tumblr.com/post/8692501831 https://jstn.tumblr.com/post/8692501831 as a reference. Once you have it working, shove the host machine behind a desk or otherwise out of sight, and you can live like it's 1980.
- MobiusHorizons 2y ago
  Ha, I just bought a VT420 a couple of weeks ago. I just finished a hacked together converter for USB keyboards working well enough (in the last hour actually). Next job is to connect it up as a login terminal for my freebsd machine.
  - icedchai 2y ago
    I love those old terminals! I remember using them during late nights in college...
- an-unknown 2y ago
  The only problem with real VTs is you have to be careful not to get one where the CRT has severe burn-in, like in the ebay listing. Sure, some VTs (like the VT240 or VT525) are a separate main box + CRT, but then you're missing the "VT aesthetics". The VT525 is probably the easiest one to get which also uses (old) standard interfaces like VGA for the monitor and PS/2 for the keyboard, so you don't need an original keyboard / CRT. At least for me, severe burn-in, insane prices, and general decay of some of the devices offered on ebay are the reason why I don't have a real VT (yet). The alternative is to use a decent VT emulator attached to roughly any monitor. By "decent" I certainly don't mean projects like cool-retro-term, but rather something like this, which I started to develop some time ago and which I'm using as my main terminal emulator now: https://github.com/unknown-technologies/vt240 https://github.com/unknown-technologies/vt240

When gasoline was leaded, cigarette smoke was normal everywhere, and asbestos was used for everything you can think of? It is a fascinating decade but also quality of life likely has skyrocketed since.

oguz-ismail 2y ago
> quality of life likely has skyrocketed since it hasn't
- azinman2 2y ago
  Depends on the specifics of your life. As a gay man, I’m much happier in 2025.
- Cthulhu_ 2y ago
  Is that an objective truth or rose-tinted nostalgia speaking? (I wouldn't know, I wasn't alive then.)
- msla 2y ago
  I survived cancer because of modern medical advances. I'll take the world with Rituxan and CAR T-cell therapy, thank you.
smeeger 2y ago
it is fascinating to consider that this might not be true even though it seems true
- msla 2y ago
  No? Thinking the world has gotten worse is classic old person chuntering from time immemorial.
  - smeeger 2y ago
    thinking the world can only get better is another thing too
queuebert 2y ago
Depends on what you value. Purchasing power of wages has declined, for example. That's probably not better. I suspect the sentiment is more that it would be nice to live in a simpler time, with fewer options, because it would reduce anxiety we all feel about not being able to "keep up" with everything that is going on. Or maybe I'm just projecting.

yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago

I mean... Sure? Go buy an actual VT* unit ( maybe https://www.ebay.com/itm/176698465415?_skw=vt+terminal&itmmeta=01JMGKP0Z52R2ZT2KZ40PN27NP&hash=item29240c9c87:g:YBwAAOSw6wdmTinD&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fStCHV%2BleGX7TFpGyT5VyGazLl1R1n81hNDgDGP%2Bq6MDDQsytarbgrYyJZnyK%2FjfFm2KzGu3PgZt9emfJR9JWVO7YJRY58iTD%2BDMKdZRBdAR5%2FsqU1G4fB%2FyVuOMlioYWuxnbX82M3C%2F21vZMA9Iy9z8j8kL3Lobq2LK5Tyg8ph0YcbtXZjXei%2Bhbw2IMEXq%2BZxTlhWdYx8EuHQI1pKvNNE3wfjitR0MHyFtOwAslW5sZa2CpvVWL62R9SEEAnd29WWuMjiSb67wVD5PN766q4um4GihoWvDBXSnyQ5UV00g%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9yP2JOkZQ https://www.ebay.com/itm/176698465415?_skw=vt+terminal&itmme... ?), get the necessary adaptors to plug into a computer, and run simh on it running your choice of *nix. I recommend https://jstn.tumblr.com/post/8692501831 https://jstn.tumblr.com/post/8692501831 as a reference. Once you have it working, shove the host machine behind a desk or otherwise out of sight, and you can live like it's 1980.

MobiusHorizons 2y ago
Ha, I just bought a VT420 a couple of weeks ago. I just finished a hacked together converter for USB keyboards working well enough (in the last hour actually). Next job is to connect it up as a login terminal for my freebsd machine.
- icedchai 2y ago
  I love those old terminals! I remember using them during late nights in college...
an-unknown 2y ago
The only problem with real VTs is you have to be careful not to get one where the CRT has severe burn-in, like in the ebay listing. Sure, some VTs (like the VT240 or VT525) are a separate main box + CRT, but then you're missing the "VT aesthetics". The VT525 is probably the easiest one to get which also uses (old) standard interfaces like VGA for the monitor and PS/2 for the keyboard, so you don't need an original keyboard / CRT. At least for me, severe burn-in, insane prices, and general decay of some of the devices offered on ebay are the reason why I don't have a real VT (yet). The alternative is to use a decent VT emulator attached to roughly any monitor. By "decent" I certainly don't mean projects like cool-retro-term, but rather something like this, which I started to develop some time ago and which I'm using as my main terminal emulator now: https://github.com/unknown-technologies/vt240 https://github.com/unknown-technologies/vt240