{"video_id":"PFiR6JesiKM","title":"Expensive Things That Are Now Cheap","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2022-05-05T14:58:16Z","duration_s":295,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":4.8,"text":"The human race is really extraordinary, we're making new fancy expensive things all the time,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.8,"end_s":10.16,"text":"but as we make more of those, the old expensive things become less expensive.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":10.16,"end_s":18.96,"text":"That's right, we're talking about phones. The first consumer cell phone, the Motorola Dynatac 8000X, sounds badass,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.96,"end_s":22.8,"text":"was released at a time when cordless landlines were just starting to catch on,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":22.8,"end_s":34.56,"text":"so it had a really steep early adopter tax. A Dynatac could run you $3,995, which is equivalent to around $10,650 in 2021.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":34.56,"end_s":39.44,"text":"And as you might expect, you didn't exactly get a lot for the money, other than mass.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":39.44,"end_s":45.36,"text":"It stood nearly 10 inches tall and weighed 2 pounds, but after charging the battery for 10 hours,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":46.0,"end_s":53.68,"text":"you only got 30 minutes of talk time. The first true smartphone, the IBM Simon from 1993, was more impressive,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":53.68,"end_s":58.16,"text":"as it had bells and whistles like email, an appointment calendar, and even predictive text.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":58.16,"end_s":64.32,"text":"But its initial price was a still steep $999.93, and like the Dynatac,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.32,"end_s":67.68,"text":"it had terrible battery life, lasting only one hour.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":67.68,"end_s":70.96,"text":"Of course, these days, it's easy to get a mid-range smartphone for only a couple hundred","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":70.96,"end_s":79.52,"text":"bucks, or even for free with certain mobile plans. And by mid-range, we mean its high-resolution photos are just a little less crisp than a flagship.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":79.52,"end_s":85.04,"text":"But other things have gotten cheaper, too. Let's move on to talk about something that's been a mainstay for even longer than cell phones.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.6,"end_s":92.08,"text":"Televisions. One of the first mass-produced, commercially successful TVs was the RCA630TS,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":92.08,"end_s":96.16,"text":"released in 1946 at a price of $352.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":96.16,"end_s":101.12,"text":"Although that doesn't sound like much, that's over $5,600 today.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":101.12,"end_s":107.44,"text":"Roughly enough, to buy an 83-inch OLED. But the 630TS was actually a big chalker.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":107.44,"end_s":114.56,"text":"And I'm not just talking about its 85-pound weight. It boasted a 10-inch screen, which was considered large at the time.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.56,"end_s":120.64,"text":"However, it wouldn't take long for the first color TV to appear with a gigantic 15-inch display.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.88,"end_s":130.64,"text":"This was a Westinghouse model from 1954 that sold for $1295, or $13,000 today.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":130.64,"end_s":134.72,"text":"But if you're not interested in tech that, Agent, we've come a long way in affordability","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":134.72,"end_s":140.48,"text":"from even early flat-panel TVs. The first models that were available to consumers were based on a plasma panel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.48,"end_s":145.68,"text":"that came out in 1997, and even though it cost a whopping $15,000,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.68,"end_s":150.48,"text":"it only had a resolution of 852x480, despite being 42 inches diagonally,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":150.48,"end_s":154.08,"text":"which pales in comparison to today's super low-end 720p sets.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.64,"end_s":161.28,"text":"Yes, they still make those. A big part of the reason today's TVs are much more affordable is that LCDs quickly overtook","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":161.28,"end_s":164.8,"text":"them in the market. LCD sets are cheaper to produce, and over the years,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":164.88,"end_s":169.68,"text":"manufacturing processes improved to the point where they rivaled plasma sets in quality.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.68,"end_s":174.88,"text":"Today, it's not difficult to find sub-40-inch LCD TVs for less than $200,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":174.88,"end_s":181.04,"text":"some of which even support 1080p. Finally, let's have a look at something a little less glamorous, but no less important,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":181.04,"end_s":186.56,"text":"the humble flash drive. Although you can still spend a pretty penny on one with the fastest speeds and the highest","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":186.56,"end_s":190.56,"text":"capacities if you often need to move around lots of data, we typically take them for granted","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":190.56,"end_s":195.52,"text":"these days. They're given away as swag and promotional items all the time at conferences and job fairs,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":195.52,"end_s":201.84,"text":"and even if you do need to run out and buy one, you can find a perfectly functional drive that'll hold 32 gigabytes for less than $10.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":203.36,"end_s":209.28,"text":"Packing my day, etc. But when USB flash drives first appeared back in 2000,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":209.28,"end_s":214.8,"text":"you could expect to pay $100 for 32 megabytes worth of capacity.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":214.8,"end_s":218.72,"text":"Although $100 doesn't sound like much compared to some of the insane prizes we discussed a couple","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":218.72,"end_s":224.0,"text":"minutes ago, consider the $3.13 cost per megabyte.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":224.0,"end_s":228.0,"text":"At that price, a Gigabyte's worth of storage would have cost well over $3,000.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.96,"end_s":233.2,"text":"Now, fortunately, due to shrinking transistors and improvements in manufacturing,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":233.2,"end_s":238.24,"text":"flash storage costs have plummeted to as low as around $0.10 per Gigabyte on the consumer side.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":238.24,"end_s":244.64,"text":"But are there other huge price drops that you think we missed? Let us know in the comments and keep your fingers crossed that in a couple years we'll","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":244.64,"end_s":248.8,"text":"be talking about how far GPU prices have fallen so that they're so low now.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":249.2,"end_s":254.32,"text":"That would be really great. Prices may be uncertain right now, but one thing I'm sure of is that this video is over.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":254.32,"end_s":255.44,"text":"Hey, thanks for watching.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1}],"full_text":"The human race is really extraordinary, we're making new fancy expensive things all the time, but as we make more of those, the old expensive things become less expensive. That's right, we're talking about phones. The first consumer cell phone, the Motorola Dynatac 8000X, sounds badass, was released at a time when cordless landlines were just starting to catch on, so it had a really steep early adopter tax. A Dynatac could run you $3,995, which is equivalent to around $10,650 in 2021. And as you might expect, you didn't exactly get a lot for the money, other than mass. It stood nearly 10 inches tall and weighed 2 pounds, but after charging the battery for 10 hours, you only got 30 minutes of talk time. The first true smartphone, the IBM Simon from 1993, was more impressive, as it had bells and whistles like email, an appointment calendar, and even predictive text. But its initial price was a still steep $999.93, and like the Dynatac, it had terrible battery life, lasting only one hour. Of course, these days, it's easy to get a mid-range smartphone for only a couple hundred bucks, or even for free with certain mobile plans. And by mid-range, we mean its high-resolution photos are just a little less crisp than a flagship. But other things have gotten cheaper, too. Let's move on to talk about something that's been a mainstay for even longer than cell phones. Televisions. One of the first mass-produced, commercially successful TVs was the RCA630TS, released in 1946 at a price of $352. Although that doesn't sound like much, that's over $5,600 today. Roughly enough, to buy an 83-inch OLED. But the 630TS was actually a big chalker. And I'm not just talking about its 85-pound weight. It boasted a 10-inch screen, which was considered large at the time. However, it wouldn't take long for the first color TV to appear with a gigantic 15-inch display. This was a Westinghouse model from 1954 that sold for $1295, or $13,000 today. But if you're not interested in tech that, Agent, we've come a long way in affordability from even early flat-panel TVs. The first models that were available to consumers were based on a plasma panel that came out in 1997, and even though it cost a whopping $15,000, it only had a resolution of 852x480, despite being 42 inches diagonally, which pales in comparison to today's super low-end 720p sets. Yes, they still make those. A big part of the reason today's TVs are much more affordable is that LCDs quickly overtook them in the market. LCD sets are cheaper to produce, and over the years, manufacturing processes improved to the point where they rivaled plasma sets in quality. Today, it's not difficult to find sub-40-inch LCD TVs for less than $200, some of which even support 1080p. Finally, let's have a look at something a little less glamorous, but no less important, the humble flash drive. Although you can still spend a pretty penny on one with the fastest speeds and the highest capacities if you often need to move around lots of data, we typically take them for granted these days. They're given away as swag and promotional items all the time at conferences and job fairs, and even if you do need to run out and buy one, you can find a perfectly functional drive that'll hold 32 gigabytes for less than $10. Packing my day, etc. But when USB flash drives first appeared back in 2000, you could expect to pay $100 for 32 megabytes worth of capacity. Although $100 doesn't sound like much compared to some of the insane prizes we discussed a couple minutes ago, consider the $3.13 cost per megabyte. At that price, a Gigabyte's worth of storage would have cost well over $3,000. Now, fortunately, due to shrinking transistors and improvements in manufacturing, flash storage costs have plummeted to as low as around $0.10 per Gigabyte on the consumer side. But are there other huge price drops that you think we missed? Let us know in the comments and keep your fingers crossed that in a couple years we'll be talking about how far GPU prices have fallen so that they're so low now. That would be really great. Prices may be uncertain right now, but one thing I'm sure of is that this video is over. Hey, thanks for watching."}