When you connect a new device to a ‘smart’ tv, you must pay homage to the manufacturer with a ritualistic dance. Plugging and unplugging the device. Turning them on and off in the correct sequence like entering a konami code.
Every time you want to switch devices, the tv must scan for them. And god forbid you lose power, or unplug something. You are granted the delight experience of doing it all over again.
I have fond memories of the days of just plugging something in, and pressing the input button. Instant gratification. It was a simpler time.
What is some other tech that used to be better?
Depending on your definition of ‘better’ . In terms of repair ability and ease of maintenance, pretty much all old tech. In terms of price… There is no chance, it’s insane how cheap tech has gotten.
The power consumption of old stuff is also extremely bad compared to now. So yeh you can have fridges, washing machines, or whatever appliances from the 70’s that still work and are easy to maintain… They use way, way, way too much power for what they do. In an ideal world where energy is free, sure that stuff is better. We don’t tho.
Also, basically everything that uses software while it shouldn’t, has a worse user experience than before.
Engineers of the past had very limited design knowledge, so generally subscribed to the “I don’t know how to do this. Oh well, more good, morer bettererer.”
My grand parents had a fridge in their basement from the 50s until they died 2010. That thing was built like a tank
Even fridges, washing machines, and whatever else from the '00s was better than now. It’s really been the last 15ish years that literally everything has been “Big Mac-ified” to the disposable products that we now have to deal with.