New Tech you didn't know you needed or even wanted

[Joe13]

Figured this would be an off topic post since there is so much out there, but what new (or new to you) tech stuff have you found or been given and didn't even know you wanted or needed?

Preferably things you can give a first (or second hand if you know someone) hand account of why it was a game changer for you.






My biggest one of many would be the heated coat my wife gave me last Christmas. Just so happened to also be one of those puffy coat designs which she was aware that I have not been a fan of but it was the only style she could find that would fit my shoulders and length of my arms.

First off the coat has a type of heat reflective material similar to a space blanket (but not crinkly like tin foil) on the inside that makes it a great coat with a giant hood with out any of the fancy heating stuff by itself.

Without the battery it probably weighs less then a pound or right around that so it is incredibly lightweight.

(Thankfully) She got me the 5v model which has a longer battery life and is way more then I need for heat vs the 7.2v models. Also the 5v batteries are much cheaper and I even bought a couple generic batteries for something like $15 vs the $32 for the brand that the coat is.

Settings are somewhere around 85f - 115f - 140f (for 1, 2 or 3 clicks of the button).

Even on low, unless it is dang cold outside, I only really need to turn it on for about 15 min and the residual heat stays for quite some time. I did try the 140f setting and got distracted when I all of a sudden realized I was sweating and roasting in the coat 10 min later.

It beats heated car seats by a mile mostly because heated seats tend to get me sweating where I don't want to sweat and it goes with me when I get out of the car.


I was so impressed by the thing that I ordered one of their vests (also in the puffy coat style but it lacks the reflective coating) to wear under my work jackets and honestly it is very nice in a cold house in the winter over a t-shirt on low (I think low is a 10 hour run per battery charge).

Anyway - my wife has an aunt that is always cold (even in the summer) that I tried to talk into trying but anything with a battery or electric anything is of no interest to her lol.


Prior to this I had a co-worker that had a different model that he didn't really talk up much and wasn't good for work wear so he would take it off and leave it in his rig while working so I didn't really think much of them.

Compared to other winter coats these things are very reasonably priced on the Amazon and I would highly recommend them (I don't really get that cold but even I love them).




So what else have I been missing out on?

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[Nosferatu]

They make twist-off bottlecaps for beer now too!

 

[Lilhigbee]

I guess i'm a happy Luddite as I haven't found much "tech" that is an improvement over what it's replacing.
My first cell phone lasted eight years and served me well. Finally ran out of battery life and the OS was no longer supported so I "upgraded" to a Samsung that lasted two years and the screen quit responding. The Samsung camera was never up to the quality of the Nokia in spite of being eight years newer. Got another Samsung and it is even worse; poor camera (comparatively), lots of BS features I won't use and can't turn off, overly sensitive screen in spite of having some sort of "Desensitizing" feature so it won't pocket dial. Ha!! Worst phone ever for that!!

The dishwasher in our house was from the 1985 remodel. Basic, quiet, worked well for thirty-four years. Circuit board quit so I did some re-soldering and it was good for another couple of years. Something finally did the big quit so we got a new one. New one has lots of bells and whistles but doesn't do nearly as good of a job cleaning dishes. Supposedly "high-efficiency", but when it runs twice as long and has to be run two cycles to get everything clean one has to wonder.

Replaced our refrigerator, similar story.

The TV we got for free from @Mikej was much more user friendly and had a better picture than the one we had to replace it with after a few years.

My 1997 Ranger pickup has the factory radio. Accurate clock, good reception, plays music. 2003 Ranger has a Sony stereo. Poor reception, no better sound and a clock that gains two minutes per month. How long has it been since a company the size of Sony couldn't make a digital clock that was accurate??

All in all I dread having to replace anything anymore. The odds of getting something as good, let alone better, than what you are replacing aren't very good.

 

[oremike]

Figured this would be an off topic post since there is so much out there, but what new (or new to you) tech stuff have you found or been given and didn't even know you wanted or needed?

Preferably things you can give a first (or second hand if you know someone) hand account of why it was a game changer for you.






My biggest one of many would be the heated coat my wife gave me last Christmas. Just so happened to also be one of those puffy coat designs which she was aware that I have not been a fan of but it was the only style she could find that would fit my shoulders and length of my arms.

First off the coat has a type of heat reflective material similar to a space blanket (but not crinkly like tin foil) on the inside that makes it a great coat with a giant hood with out any of the fancy heating stuff by itself.

Without the battery it probably weighs less then a pound or right around that so it is incredibly lightweight.

(Thankfully) She got me the 5v model which has a longer battery life and is way more then I need for heat vs the 7.2v models. Also the 5v batteries are much cheaper and I even bought a couple generic batteries for something like $15 vs the $32 for the brand that the coat is.

Settings are somewhere around 85f - 115f - 140f (for 1, 2 or 3 clicks of the button).

Even on low, unless it is dang cold outside, I only really need to turn it on for about 15 min and the residual heat stays for quite some time. I did try the 140f setting and got distracted when I all of a sudden realized I was sweating and roasting in the coat 10 min later.

It beats heated car seats by a mile mostly because heated seats tend to get me sweating where I don't want to sweat and it goes with me when I get out of the car.


I was so impressed by the thing that I ordered one of their vests (also in the puffy coat style but it lacks the reflective coating) to wear under my work jackets and honestly it is very nice in a cold house in the winter over a t-shirt on low (I think low is a 10 hour run per battery charge).

Anyway - my wife has an aunt that is always cold (even in the summer) that I tried to talk into trying but anything with a battery or electric anything is of no interest to her lol.


Prior to this I had a co-worker that had a different model that he didn't really talk up much and wasn't good for work wear so he would take it off and leave it in his rig while working so I didn't really think much of them.

Compared to other winter coats these things are very reasonably priced on the Amazon and I would highly recommend them (I don't really get that cold but even I love them).




So what else have I been missing out on?

I had a jacket liner like that wired into my motorcycle.

Heated Jacket Liners

The Different Heated Jacket Liner Generations Explained

www.warmnsafe.com

 

[Tlock]

I think @Andy54Hawken needs a center fired rifle and a pair of kenatrecks. Trade in the flintlock and moccasins. That would be a serious tech upgrade!

 

[Joe13]

I think @Andy54Hawken needs a center fired rifle and a pair of kenatrecks. Trade in the flintlock and moccasins. That would be a serious tech upgrade!

I'm 99% sure he has a firearm or two from this century - even if he doesn't admit it very often

 

[Tlock]

I'm 99% sure he has a firearm or two from this century - even if he doesn't admit it very often

Ya I know but someone has to give him a hard time. I even heard once he may have a black gun or 2

 

[Nosferatu]

I'm 99% sure he has a firearm or two from this century - even if he doesn't admit it very often

Yeah, but his computer still requires an energetic hamster to keep running.

 

[Joe13]

I guess i'm a happy Luddite as I haven't found much "tech" that is an improvement over what it's replacing.
My first cell phone lasted eight years and served me well. Finally ran out of battery life and the OS was no longer supported so I "upgraded" to a Samsung that lasted two years and the screen quit responding. The Samsung camera was never up to the quality of the Nokia in spite of being eight years newer. Got another Samsung and it is even worse; poor camera (comparatively), lots of BS features I won't use and can't turn off, overly sensitive screen in spite of having some sort of "Desensitizing" feature so it won't pocket dial. Ha!! Worst phone ever for that!!

The dishwasher in our house was from the 1985 remodel. Basic, quiet, worked well for thirty-four years. Circuit board quit so I did some re-soldering and it was good for another couple of years. Something finally did the big quit so we got a new one. New one has lots of bells and whistles but doesn't do nearly as good of a job cleaning dishes. Supposedly "high-efficiency", but when it runs twice as long and has to be run two cycles to get everything clean one has to wonder.

Replaced our refrigerator, similar story.

The TV we got for free from @Mikej was much more user friendly and had a better picture than the one we had to replace it with after a few years.

My 1997 Ranger pickup has the factory radio. Accurate clock, good reception, plays music. 2003 Ranger has a Sony stereo. Poor reception, no better sound and a clock that gains two minutes per month. How long has it been since a company the size of Sony couldn't make a digital clock that was accurate??

All in all I dread having to replace anything anymore. The odds of getting something as good, let alone better, than what you are replacing aren't very good.

I am 100% in agreement.. I still have an Xbox 360 (that is a 3rd gen model I believe - competed with a PS3) because I don't like new flashy stuff (and I'm cheap/frugal plus my video game windows are more like a couple months followed by a year or 3 of nothing played).


I do have the original Oven in my house that was built in 1958 that I have replaced the bulb a couple of times in the 20 years I've lived here and by some miracle I found a shop that the owner had probably hoarded every element that he had ever come across and that ol''boy only needed to look for about 3-4 minutes before locating to bring me something so close to the original that it fit and worked perfectly when my oven's element died.

I am really not looking forward to when she quits because it is built into the 1" thick actual wood cabinet and it may take most of my considerable skill in woodworking to fit a new one in there because I don't even have to measure it to know it will not even come close to fitting what is standard these days.



Also I worked for Sprint for a decade and remember the trend of smaller is better and they got a flip phone down to half the size of a deck of cards, so I was surprised when phones started getting enormous.

I kicked and screamed to avoid the whole 'smart phone' thing but eventually gave in after a couple years when my wife went to upgrade hers and demanded I take her old one (this was shortly after getting very very lost up in the Seattle area and having the mini mart clerk look at me like I was speaking mandarin when I asked for a local map - he was gracious enough to pull up a map on his phone to at least get me headed the right direction on the right freeway. Anyway that was the push I needed and now my phone is like my knife, I feel nekkid without it within reach if not on me).

 

[Joe13]

They make twist-off bottlecaps for beer now too!

Side pet peeve…. Why does almost everything have a 'bottle cap opener' integrated into it…

I don't drink anymore but when I did, it was really easy to keep a nice opener on my key ring - I don't need every gadget and tool to have a bottle opener on it.

 

[Joe13]

If you have a smartphone and steam movies or shows my kids BF showed me an APP called. 'Justwatch'.

Free to use. Open the app. Hit the magnifying glass icon up in the top right. Type in what you want to watch and it comes back with where you can stream it for free, with ads, rent it or buy it, on what streaming service and how much it is.

Seems like maybe not a huge deal but I have been using it ever since when I find a movie on Prime that is a rental situation, only to find out it is on Netflix for free or whatever.

It has certainly saved me a bunch of $3-7 rentals in the last few years (no I don't rent $20 movies - I can wait for it to be cheap or free).

If someone recommends a movie or show and you have multiple streaming services, it also makes it much much faster to find where it may be available vs searching every platform. Thankfully I have slimmed mine down to prime and the cheapest netflix and that's more then I really need.

Anyway I highly recommend the App.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I think @Andy54Hawken needs a center fired rifle and a pair of kenatrecks. Trade in the flintlock and moccasins. That would be a serious tech upgrade!

I'm 99% sure he has a firearm or two from this century - even if he doesn't admit it very often

Yeah, but his computer still requires an energetic hamster to keep running.

Ya I know but someone has to give him a hard time. I even heard once he may have a black gun or 2

No to the first one....
Yes to the second one...
As for the third one...Well...I do gotta keep an eye on my cats when I am online here at NWFA.....
And yes to the fourth one....
Andy

 

[Jay Walk]

Yesterday we purchased a car that DOES NOT have a factory cassette player, while Bummed, the large infotainment screen makes it much safer to check an incoming text as it comes through audibly.
I do like that feature. I hope I can find a cd player hidden somewhere

 

[orygun]

I've seen these heated vests and jackets for a while. There's one time I'd like to have one and that's when I park my butt in a treestand!
I have to dress like the Michelin man and slide partway into a wool bag to stay warm all day, and I usually have to partially undress during the afternoon to keep from melting. Being able to switch the heat on and off would be kinda nice.
A long time ago I had battery powered socks and they sucked. But back then cordless drills pretty much sucked, too. Good, cordless tools have replaced most of my air powered tools at work. Some things are much better now than they used to be. But home appliances don't appear to be one of them.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I got a "child's smartwatch" (no bluetooth) for $15 pretty much for the timer but the hr monitor is nice too. They say 2 minutes between exercise sets is about right and on vibrate it's way better than guessing, nothing, egg timer, forgetting, or yonder phone.
And I look like I might actually be up with the times for the widder hens and suchlike so I got that going on.
Lulz

 

[Mikej]

Yesterday we purchased a car that DOES NOT have a factory cassette player, while Bummed, the large infotainment screen makes it much safer to check an incoming text as it comes through audibly.
I do like that feature. I hope I can find a cd player hidden somewhere

NEW new cars don't have CD players. i figure you'll need to link from a bluetooth device to get music? Maybe if you pay closer to 30K? I SWORE we'd never have a car with one of them damned huge TV screens in the middle of the dash. WTH were they thinking with something like that? People watching TV while they drive. Preposterous and dangerous! We love the damned thing! Didn't pony up for the larger screen, this one has been fine. Going to estate sales is what we do know that we gave up fishing. Using Wifey's "smart" phone linked to the screen has been great fun. All over rural and city roads with ease! And when she gets a call on her phone, it comes through the speakers in the car. Nothing to interfere with keeping eyes forward.

One thing I'll say about stoves/ovens. Those glass top stove suck the big one! Hard to keep clean. Miserable to keep something cooking at a steady temp without it over simmering, or not simmering. A fan constantly running on/off in "Bake" mode. Not convection/air fry mode.

 

[Alexx1401]

I have toyed with the idea of those heated coats and never actually looked at one. The critters around here are showing signs of us getting a real winter this time. Up here we only get a real one every few years or so. If the critters are right may have to try one of these. The one dog wants her walks twice a day no matter what its like outside so something like this would be nice.

 

[solv3nt]

And yes to the fourth one....
Andy

It doesn't count if you're using black powder in it or painting a flintlock black.

 

[Jay Walk]

NEW new cars don't have CD players. i figure you'll need to link from a bluetooth device to get music? Maybe if you pay closer to 30K? I SWORE we'd never have a car with one of them damned huge TV screens in the middle of the dash. WTH were they thinking with something like that? People watching TV while they drive. Preposterous and dangerous! We love the damned thing! Didn't pony up for the larger screen, this one has been fine. Going to estate sales is what we do know that we gave up fishing. Using Wifey's "smart" phone linked to the screen has been great fun. All over rural and city roads with ease! And when she gets a call on her phone, it comes through the speakers in the car. Nothing to interfere with keeping eyes forward.

One thing I'll say about stoves/ovens. Those glass top stove suck the big one! Hard to keep clean. Miserable to keep something cooking at a steady temp without it over simmering, or not simmering. A fan constantly running on/off in "Bake" mode. Not convection/air fry mode.

New car brakes and swerves automatically for me while I am busy smashing icons on the big screen

 

[Mikej]

swerves automatically

I accidentally activated the "keep in your lane" feature once. Wasn't sure what was happening at first. Then I tested it on purpose. I was impressed, going on the freeway and the car steering it's self through the gentle turns at 65mph. Then it stopped working and a big message came across the instrument panel stating ""STEERING REQUIRED"". Go figure. Good thing I was looking down instead of at the road to find that out! Yeah?