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Time Machine

Overview

This summer, we’re digging out old devices and seeing what they were actually like to use.

Our phones today are far more powerful than our desktop computers from decades ago. But those old computers worked just fine! The Time Machine project is a chance to revisit those old devices and see what they were actually like to use.

As our hardware has improved, how has the user experience changed? Which parts have stayed the same? Which parts have gotten worse? There’s only one way to find out.

How To Participate
  1. Take video of yourself using an older device. Any personal device from any time period is great. We’re particularly interested in the history of day-to-day devices like personal computers, and mobile phones.

  2. Upload the video somewhere. Upload to Google Drive, Dropbox, or even YouTube - anywhere we can download it from.

  3. Send us the video link + extra info. Tell us about this device, when you got it, what specs it has, and anything else you think is interesting. We’ll get the video posted here on the website for everyone to see.

At the end of the summer, we’ll compile all the submissions into a final report.

Example Submission

Description

This is the iPod Touch I got when I was 13. It was my first major tech purchase and an early device in the iOS lineup. When I purchased this I think it was running iOS 3; at this point it has iOS 5. I was pleased to see that the battery still holds a charge quite well, and it consistently runs at about 30 to 60 frames per second.

In the video you can see several built-in apps. Media playback still works great, and scrubbing around in songs is instantaneous. App switching works well. The calculator launches instantly (as you would hope). I was shocked to see that the old Google Maps app still works - apparently they have kept their old tile-based map servers online. It even gave me public transit directions.

Overall, I would say this device feels only a hair slower than my current iPhone.

Device Info

iPod Touch 3rd gen, model MC008LL

  • Release year: 2009

  • Processor: 600MHz Samsung S5L8922, single-core

  • Memory: 256MB LPDDR2 @ 200 MHz

  • Operating system: iOS 5

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