When TVs were first invented, nobody could afford one. Small towns all over the US installed large cabinets outside of every town hall with the biggest CRT screens they could afford in them, which was only about 9" at the time.
People would crowd around them to watch the news every night.
Sometimes they'd do movie nights where they would put up giant curved mirrors to make the picture much bigger, and they'd put up big loudspeakers for the audio. Only problem is that everything would be backwards, so they couldn't watch movies with subtitles.
Eventually TVs became cheap enough to get in the home, but this was pretty inexpensive entertainment for people, especially during the Great Depression. People would even try to earn a few $ by selling homemade treats during the movie nights.
Back in the old days all subtitles were actually written by humans. TV studios would have huge rooms full of transcriptionists who typed all the subtitles in real time, for every show, on big mechanical keyboards. It's kind of remarkable they could hear anything over how loud those keyboards were. Eventually Big Stenography started snapping up all the transcriptionist talent so the networks switched to AI transcription, which is why today's subtitles don't have the same warmth or depth that classic subtitles have.
That's a premium piece of tech. A Simmons TCR signal isolator, with mechanical switches. Been decades since I saw one. The new SDRs are technically more efficient, but you could dial this baby in so much better than the autoisolators we work with now. Of course external signal gates are a thing so focusing isn't really an issue anymore, but damn do I miss spending half an hour hunting for that perfect shade of orange.
I miss the VXJunkies subreddit. Is there an equivalent here?
That’s the oft-overlooked TRS-66 Micro Computer System. One of the first home computers to feature coloured blinky lights; prior to that, home computers were limited to using standard E26 bulbs.
They keep these in hospital rooms and some obscure roadsides for when people need to be walked through moving jizzsm from your body to a drawer for safe keeping and later consumption.
This is one of the old analog dresser cabinets. We take the technology for granted now but it was revolutionary for its time. A camera from the top drawer is connected to the screen above, so that you can monitor your unmentionables and make sure no one is actively getting into your underwear.
Before we had digital filesystems our ancestors had to use analog filesystems. This one has an analog "browser" called a CRT built into the top of the cabinet, so users could browse their files on the go. It may seem quaint now but it was all the rage back when it came out.
Jeffrey Combs
Prototype Sony WatchMan
You beat me to it. Take my upvote!
Is it an espresso machine?
When TVs were first invented, nobody could afford one. Small towns all over the US installed large cabinets outside of every town hall with the biggest CRT screens they could afford in them, which was only about 9" at the time.
People would crowd around them to watch the news every night.
Sometimes they'd do movie nights where they would put up giant curved mirrors to make the picture much bigger, and they'd put up big loudspeakers for the audio. Only problem is that everything would be backwards, so they couldn't watch movies with subtitles.
Eventually TVs became cheap enough to get in the home, but this was pretty inexpensive entertainment for people, especially during the Great Depression. People would even try to earn a few $ by selling homemade treats during the movie nights.
Back in the old days all subtitles were actually written by humans. TV studios would have huge rooms full of transcriptionists who typed all the subtitles in real time, for every show, on big mechanical keyboards. It's kind of remarkable they could hear anything over how loud those keyboards were. Eventually Big Stenography started snapping up all the transcriptionist talent so the networks switched to AI transcription, which is why today's subtitles don't have the same warmth or depth that classic subtitles have.
That's an old iphone from the 80s.
The Crushinator
That's a premium piece of tech. A Simmons TCR signal isolator, with mechanical switches. Been decades since I saw one. The new SDRs are technically more efficient, but you could dial this baby in so much better than the autoisolators we work with now. Of course external signal gates are a thing so focusing isn't really an issue anymore, but damn do I miss spending half an hour hunting for that perfect shade of orange.
I miss the VXJunkies subreddit. Is there an equivalent here?
A Dalek with an office job.
That's the first costume/makeup pass for Brent Spiner.
Original Model Janet from the Beta version of The Good Place.
That's a console TV on top of the dresser
This is a vintage prototype for a two bay airfryer
R2/D2s father
This is a old filing cabinet with a screen for indexing.
That’s the oft-overlooked TRS-66 Micro Computer System. One of the first home computers to feature coloured blinky lights; prior to that, home computers were limited to using standard E26 bulbs.
It's a Comscanner from The Orville
A vintage oscilloscope in its original wrought iron casing. The drawers are for storing solder, probes, and electrolyte syringes.
Grandma keeps the Atari in the drawers.
I just love the awful tan fabric speaker cover. Couldn't go with a metal grate, which would've been more hi-tech?
It's the machine that goes "BING"
Also downloads comics from the future and can boil an egg at thirty paces. You need to stay away from chickens… it’s not pretty when they blow
Steve Ballmer uploaded his consciousness to a filing cabinet?
This isn't one of those old Kodak cameras where the picture instantly printed out?
Early smartphone
The first prototype GameBoy, with drawers below the screen to hold the cartridges.
It's a trash can from 1984.
PipMan
It's the machine that goes "PING!" From the maternity ward scene in the Monty Python movie Meaning of Life.
1980s hotel minibar
Pan-dimensional periscope.
It's the chest of drawers from a dolls' house. Someone's put a TV on it presumably so they can watch in bed.
I think it's a TOS tricorder.
It's the dolls house version of the HP 8920A RF Communications Test Set.
Ye olde Spank Deposit.
They keep these in hospital rooms and some obscure roadsides for when people need to be walked through moving jizzsm from your body to a drawer for safe keeping and later consumption.
This is one of the old analog dresser cabinets. We take the technology for granted now but it was revolutionary for its time. A camera from the top drawer is connected to the screen above, so that you can monitor your unmentionables and make sure no one is actively getting into your underwear.
Back before we had camera phones we had to take nudes with the dresser cam and send them via courier urchin.
its one of those drawers you can loot in arc raiders
Before we had digital filesystems our ancestors had to use analog filesystems. This one has an analog "browser" called a CRT built into the top of the cabinet, so users could browse their files on the go. It may seem quaint now but it was all the rage back when it came out.
You're all wrong! Fools!
Everyone knows it's a Kirk era tricorder.
It's the tricorder before the one in TOS
The green cumulon