[rsaavedra]

You might win an Iphone.

http://www.wired.com/special_multime...get_tournament

The winner for me was the IBM PC, but I will recheck all my choices before deadline (August 8).

Actually entered just because I was curious to check the candidates they had.

Some are rather odd, but all of them interesting nonetheless. The main ones I thought of were all considered, except for a few ones: regular wrist-watches, not just led-display based ones. Also prescription glasses were missing. I guess since they are health-related items, they might not qualify as a "gadget". They had typewriters, but no computer mice. They have Color TV and the Microwave Oven among the candidates, but no refrigerator, which was odd.

There were many entertainment/communication related gadgets (radio, telephone, cell-phone) which was fine, but in some cases they included the first item that launched the widespread adoption of a technology, in other cases they choose the best seller, and not the first one.

So the criteria used to select those candidates overall can be highly questionable. But I think it's worth reading the interesting descriptions associated to each one of their choices anyway.

 

[Jahn]

i wasted all that time to not be able to register - i typed in the word in the pic "3hex" but come up butkus.

 

[goldenratiophi]

I went through all that only to learn that I needed to be 18 or older to register

So I said I was 18.

Anyway, in my bracket the winner was the Walkman, with the runner up being the microwave.

 

[wafflesomd]

I ended up with the rio pmp.

 

[Superpredator]

How does one choose between an Atari 2600 and a JVC HR-330 VCR?

Impossible, I say. My brain exploded on that question, and I gave up.

 

[rsaavedra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn /img/forum/go_quote.gif i wasted all that time to not be able to register - i typed in the word in the pic "3hex" but come up butkus.

Aha! So you are a robot after all Jahn

 

[Jahn]

my team is flesh-based, if that matters!

 

[rsaavedra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superpredator /img/forum/go_quote.gif How does one choose between an Atari 2600 and a JVC HR-330 VCR? Impossible, I say. My brain exploded on that question, and I gave up.

Yes that question also kept me thinking for a while. I voted for the Atari, but not fully convinced.

The problem is the methodology they use. They force voters to chose one gadget completely above the other. Black or white, there are no gray areas in their questions. And they don't compare everyone with everyone, they do what I would call a simple pyramid-style elimination. Why did they start comparing the Atari with that VCR, instead of with let's say the handheld Nintendo Gameboy?

There are other methodologies which allow much more refined selection of choices given specific criteria. One such method is AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) which I have used at my work, and which I have seen online behind tools that help people make a choice with respect to what kind of a car to buy. But AHP has its own limitations and disadvantages, as you can see in the criticisms section on Wikipedia's entry for AHP.

 

[hembergler]

A lot of those were comparing apples to oranges, so I don't think any of my choices were very good. The little captions for each item were good though.

 

[M0T0XGUY]

I ended with the sextant from 1757.

 

[patman657]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M0T0XGUY /img/forum/go_quote.gif I ended with the sextant from 1757.

I did too. The problem with modern gadgets is that, for the most part, they only slightly improve upon older inventions. The sextant helped discovered much of the world; how can you compare that to a Game Boy?

 

[boomana]

My fav choice to make was between the AK-47 and the nail clippers.

I went with the gun.

 

[Duggeh]

My 4 finalists were the Bic Biro, the Zippo, the penknife and the Gameboy.

I chose the penknife over the biro because its actually a gadget, as opposed to a hoover syndrome tool. The Biro is now so utterly ubiquitous I thought it trumped the very definition of gadget.

I chose the zippo over the gameboy because quite simply it is a greater gadget, the gameboy is a toy if anything.

I chose the penknife over the zippo. Lets be honest it really is the granddaddy of all gadgets, once the chaff of separating gadgets from true tools, toys and machines is all done.

Hurrah for the penknife. I know if love mine, and its ancient and slightly crap and I found it on a beach and it took me weeks to get it to open smoothly and sharp again.

 

[goldenratiophi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patman657 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The sextant helped discovered much of the world; how can you compare that to a Game Boy?

Where do I even start?
The Game Boy lets me battle cute creatures and drop blocks into lines. The sextant doesn't.

The winner is clear.

 

[Samgotit]

Hitachi Magic Wand... hands [size=xx-small](and pants)[/size] down the first "legitimate" gadget for womankind.

Edit: And mankind... I guess. Maybe if your shoulder hurt or something.