Episode 723 - Changing tech and design
Jan 20, 2025
We're talking about how technology and design changes so much over the years and how that can change things with plot in story and it can also help pinpoint the date of something sometimes better than other things like fashion. The biggest one we talked about were phones, which have changed so much over the last few decades. Universally connected smartphones mean huge story changes- characters can all look up whatever they need at any time, communicate with people instantly, entertain themselves, take photos and videos etc. That can massively affect plots!
Topics and Show Notes
But the look as well as the use is very distinct too. Early phones were the famous candlestick design with the separate speaking tube and you couldn't dial directly, you needed to ask an operator to connect you. Eventually we got rotary telephones with a heavy symmetrical hand-piece on a cradle, they started off with a rotary dial but later versions had buttons, they also featured the classic curly cord between the hand-piece and the unit. The next big change were phones that didn't have a cord, they were connected to the base unit by radio, those were very popular in the 90s and are still in use today, although much sleeker and smaller.
Then came mobile phones, handys or cellphones… The early versions had to be large units because there were almost no phone towers so their batteries and radios had to be very powerful and large to compensate, so initially they were only in cars and a sign of wealth because they were very expensive. They shrunk down but you still needed to carry around a large “brick” with a handle to boost their power due to limited tower infrastructure. When we got more towers that allowed for much smaller phones, although still pretty large, but they could fit on a belt. The next big change was smaller phones with digital screens for texting and they could actually fit inside your pocket! This was dominated by the famous Nokia phones from Finland. Then came along folding “flip-phones” that could be smaller and status and wealth was shown by how small your phone was, Motorola and Samsung dominated there.
We got phones with cameras, this required larger coloured screens and phones increased in size again. The all metal Motorola Razar flip-phone was one of the stand-out designs, but there were many form factors and brands. After that the next big change were the first smartphones, which were dominated by Palm and Blackberry. People could use the internet and full email on them and they were a status symbol for celebs and businesspeople. After that of course the touchscreen smartphones came along, Prada had a famous model but it was the iphone by Apple that kicked off the trend and democratised smartphones for everyone. Google followed with the Android operating system and democratised the concept even further, becoming the “Windows” of phones, with Android being on phones from many makers and creating phones of different price-points and capabilities from basic cheap models to incredibly high end creations.
Things are still changing but the next big change were big size smartphones, lead by Samsung and their “phablet” Note phones that even included Wacom stylus tech, making them mini portable Cintiq tablets. That was initially laughed at by Apple and others but of course everyone eventually followed the new trend. Now we have folding phones with flexible screens, smart watches, smart-rings etc, but none are really taking off yet. “AI” seems to be the next big change but no one really knows what to do with it besides photo editing and writing phone messages for us.
I didn't cover beepers, pagers, tablets, computers and so on but they're significant as well. All this tech has changed a lot, changed us and changes how stories are made. When I did my first big trip over to the USA in 2010 I got my first smartphone, an HTC Desire, the best Android phone at the time, because I didn't like Apple and Android allowed me more freedom. I got a local sim when I went to the states and it was an essential device to me. I justified the purchase because I knew I could have my music on there, it would be my camera, computer, email device, phone, map, newspaper, and everything else I needed. I've had many smartphones since but remember it fondly.
How has tech changed things for you, in your stories, or reality? Does it help you date stuff you watch and read?
This week we're doing another Best-off! Gunwallace did these themes inspired by Bottomless Waitress a few years ago. He was So inspired he gave us TWO!
Bottomless Waitress I - This is such a happy sounding, Southern, joyful track, filled with banjo and layers of guitar, twanging away… bringing notes of sunshine, natural wood, the light glinting softly through tree leaves and making dappled shadows on the ground… Perfect for an advertising jingle!:
Slip into a comfy booth, get your butt comfortable on our soft cushions, and enjoy a plate of down-home cook’n in this fine establishment, filled with a cast of friendly ladies. Try a plate of our famous bottomless fries, a cup of our delicious bottomless coffee, and the sight of our lovely bottomless waitresses!
490 - Bottomless Waitress II - Part two of the BW cannon! Revenge of the banjo! We start off with a tractor roaring into life and a banjo opening us up to the sounds of rural Midwest America- wide open corn fields, golden wheat, grain silos, quiet back-roads, haystacks, big red barns, and a kinky little diner where the coffee is bottomless and so are the staff! Ava’s diner is a welcoming place for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Buttered buns, glazed donuts, and creamy desserts are a house speciality! So swing on by. No entry at the rear, we prefer you to come in by the front door.
Topics and shownotes
Links
Featured comic:
TEMPERAMENTAL - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/jan/12/featured-comic-temperamental/
Featured music:
Bottomless Waitress - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Bottomless_Waitress/ - by Banes and Ozoneocean, rated M.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
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Episode 715 - Apocalypse
Nov 25, 2024
This is the third in our weapons trilogy and it's about what happens AFTER the ultimate weapons have done their work: Apocalypse! The end of all things… This term comes from the bible, with the Book of Revelations which talks about what happens during the end of the world, but aside from the myth it's a pretty real concept- there are a LOT of ways the world can end and has indeed ended for various civilisations throughout history.
Episode 397 - Horror Comics
Oct 22, 2018
Fear: What are we afraid of? Why do we like or do not like media that may reflect these fears or lead us to new ones? How do such comics inspire fear or similar reactions within us. DO we like horror because we like fear to an extent? This Quackcast is about horror comics, how they work and why we like them. We chat about many of the horror comics on DD.
Episode 273 - Promoting Side Characters
May 30, 2016
After last week's massive DD meetup (Next one is on the 18th, BE THERE!), we're back to the core group… me and my side characters, hahaha! Banes, Pitface, and Tantz Aerine join me to discuss the topic of promoting from within the ranks. I did a newspost about this last Thursday (linked bellow), the thrust of which was that when you need new main characters it's so much better and more fun to mine them from earlier in your stories rather than introducing them whole and new minted. This doesn't have to be an unplanned thing though- you can do like Banes or Amelius and have it all designed in advance. What they do is lightly introduce main characters AS side characters initially, knowing they'll be promoted to main status later on, either way it works the same- they fit better in the world of the story, the have more “history” and the audience finds them easier to accept, as we discuss in the Quackcast. Still though, when things aren't so planed, it can be so rewarding when creations grow and find their own voices. This week's theme by Gunwallace is for XTIN , it's weirdly Indian and mournful in a beautiful way that is PERFECT for Xitin!
Episode 256 - Using and creating weapons in fiction
Feb 1, 2016
Tantz Aerine, Banes and Ozoneocean discuss the topic of using and creating weapons in fiction and some of the pitfalls involved- all the things you can easily do wrong and do better! Stuff like using overly specialised weapons in too general a role, like giant swords where they'd be next to useless, or tricked out assault rifles with way too many things hooked onto them so they're oversized and weight a ton- also copying ideas and tropes about weapons usage without understanding why the exist and in the process making many of the same mistakes as others have in the past.
