JackFetch Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 I was playing a game with the kids at work today and the question was "Things families take on vacation", and one of the answers was a map. I said why would I take a map, I have GPS in my car. I realized just a few years ago I would never have thought about going anywhere without a map. GPS has spoiled me. What device, that when you got it, changed your life? Others of mine: The computer- Only because I'm old enough to remember before everyone had one. The first one I used was an Apple II in elementary school. I still remember those big ass floppies. The DVR - The greatest thing man ever invented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SammiKat Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 Don't forget that old devil, the cell phone. I only got mine relatively recently ('06) but I have a friend who is 21 whose had one for like 9 years. 100% agree about the DVR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 The Super Nintendo. As silly as it sounds, my life would be in a much different place right now without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 One answer for me: iPod. I hated lugging around extra CDs for my discman (or extra tapes for my Walkman!). As a guy who has over 110 GBs of music, the access the iPOd gives me to my collection is tantamount to Nirvana...not the band, the state of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 I'll agree with Des. I never thought that having an iPod would change my life, but it did. It is always in my pocket even if I don't think I'll need it. The past three weeks waiting on a replacement part has been annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 My first DVD player. I never cared for VHS because the VCR inevitably tried to eat your tape, they were bulky, and it just didn't seem worth it for what you were paying. Once I stated doing DVDs though, I had no trouble spending too much on entertainment. I usually at least got a trailer if not commentary and special features. Plus, being able to watch the movies in the aspect ratio they were created for was what really did it for me. And to top it all off, I remember when it cost 300-600 dollars to get an entire TV series on VHS and it took up so much shelf space. DVD makes it easy to collect tv shows and anime. Anime especially since I remember the VHS market. Two episodes of a series for 30 bucks and you had to choose between the subtitles episodes or the dubbed. Having the ability to switch between audio tracks did wonders. So, the DVD player, the thing that really changed my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 If not for my first iPod, I wouldn't have discovered podcasts. And, as such, I wouldn't be a podcaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 Computer. Family got our first one in HS. ...I'm here now, ten years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 One answer for me: iPod. Absolutely. I always invested in good portable music systems, and never bought anything but Sony. I had a top notch tape walkman, then a minidisk player, then a 1gb MP3 player but my ipod classic absolutely opened my eyes to the potential of portable audio, both through its capacity and the wonder that is iTunes. It was a Christmas present a few years ago from my mum and whenever I mention it I always say its the best present I've ever got. I use it for a minimum of two hours a day and have done every day since I got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drqshadow Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 How about the internet? Autumn and I were commenting yesterday afternoon about how quickly and completely it's tied into everything we do, every day. A decade ago, the words Google, Torrent and Facebook were nonsense. Today they're tools to keep me connected to people I'd normally have never seen again, provide me with a wealth of free TV shows, music and movies from around the world, and answer any question I might have in exhaustive detail in nanoseconds. It's really amazing how different the world is today than it was ten or fifteen years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 I agree with DRQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James D. Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 The Internet is the biggest and it isn't even close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted March 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 The internet isn't a device though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 The internet isn't a device though. True but it's a thing that changed James's life as the thread title states. The ability to access the internet for the average person is only about fifteen or so years old. Before then, sure, I have a computer but all I can do with it is play a few games, word processing, etc. The internet has obviously changed just about everybody's life with easy access to information and the ability to shop and communicate with people from across the globe you would have never met otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James D. Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 The internet isn't a device though. But the thread title says "things". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted March 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 What device, that when you got it, changed your life? The internet isn't even really a thing either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicolette Opal Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Semantics aside, I agree, the internet. Hands down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted March 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Of course the internet would be the biggest change in all our lives. That's why it wasn't supposed to be included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicolette Opal Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Note that I prefaced my comment with "Semantics aside." In any case, the internet kind of goes hand-in-hand with the home computer, anyhow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Note that I prefaced my comment with "Semantics aside." In any case, the internet kind of goes hand-in-hand with the home computer, anyhow. Wow, you are young. I remember having a home PC for years before we got dial-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted March 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 The internet is about more than the computer now since it's on phones, gaming systems, and a hundred other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothian Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Note that I prefaced my comment with "Semantics aside." In any case, the internet kind of goes hand-in-hand with the home computer, anyhow. Wow, you are young. I remember having a home PC for years before we got dial-up. Ditto. My mum did accountancy part-time whilst she was raising me and my siblings, so we've always had a PC for as long as I can remember (although we had a typewriter as well). The internet (obviously), the iPod as my device (still not 100% on iTunes being the best player ever, but it's pretty darn handy) and I'll echo Dubs by going for a computer console. But I'm going with the N64, for this flow chart of reasons: - If I hadn't had/played the N64, I wouldn't have played WCW vs nWo: World Tour - If I hadn't had/played WCW vs nWo: World Tour, I wouldn't have got into watching wrestling - If I hadn't got into watching wrestling, I wouldn't have joined the Rajah, then Oratory forums - If I hadn't joined the Oratory forums, I wouldn't have joined the Earth-2.net forums and known of half of the original community - If I hadn't joined the Earth-2.net forums, I wouldn't have offered up my services for Comic Reel-lief or For Your Ears Only. That and I bloody love the N64. I know computer game historians/journalists haven't been kind to it now that it's a few generations old, but I'm perfectly happy to defend its corner whenever it gets criticised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koete Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 For Goldeneye alone, the N64 is one of the greatest gaming systems ever made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 I really don't feel like having the argument, but outside of a handful of standout games, the N64 was pretty abysmal as a whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothian Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 I really don't feel like having the argument, but outside of a handful of standout games, the N64 was pretty abysmal as a whole. Then we'll save the argument for another time, methinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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