@garbados see, *this*. the iPod is a really good example -- with the exception of how unopen (and wasteful) they were even back then, its proof that in some if not a lot of cases, "things are even worse now" has a flip side, namely, that things back then were actually better
not perfect, but better. the iPod for all its flaws was sort of a wonder, the more recent iPhones in particular, not so much (or at all)