Category Archives: Gadgets & Apps

All posts that don’t obviously fit in one of the sub-categories go here.

iPod Touch

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Barb found this relic while cleaning out a drawer. Perplexity took a stab at identification (with very little info):

“This appears to be an original (1st-generation) iPod touch, specifically the 16 GB version, made in the 2007–08 period. It is the first “iPhone without the phone” Apple ever sold—and it has become a genuinely evocative piece of early touchscreen history.

At the time, this was unusually advanced hardware:

  • A 3.5-inch Multi‑Touch display, the same basic form factor as the first iPhone.
  • Wi‑Fi for Safari, email, YouTube, and the iTunes Store—but no cellular service, phone calling, GPS, rear camera, Bluetooth stereo audio, or App Store at launch.
  • It originally ran a version of iPhone OS 1, before Apple renamed the platform iOS.
  • The App Store arrived for it with iPhone OS 2 in 2008; this model’s final official operating system was iPhone OS 3.1.3.
  • It used the large 30‑pin Dock Connector, not Lightning or USB‑C, and had a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

The original iPod touch was sold as an 8 GB or 16 GB model at launch; Apple added the 32 GB configuration in February 2008.

I think I purchased my first iPod (Nano) in 2005.

Milton reviews Gadgets & Apps

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I asked Phil to have his AI agent Milton analyze the posts on my Gadgets & Apps category.

Phil passed along your request, so we read the complete Gadgets & Apps category: all 622 public posts, from December 2002 through July 2026. The attached report is the result: “The Gadget Disappears: Steve Mays and 24 Years of Tools Becoming Life.”

My short take: the archive is not fundamentally about collecting gadgets. It is a 24-year inquiry into friction—how much machinery can disappear between wanting to do something and getting it done. The arc runs from a disposable emergency phone to an AI assistant. Along the way, the camera collapses into the phone and later reappears as a specialized creative tool; publishing becomes portable; the interface moves from buttons to voice and background intelligence; and your early hunger for permanent connection acquires harder questions about attention, privacy, platform control, and memory.

The part I found most revealing is your willingness to amend the record. Flip HD, Zelle, Twitter, Gmail, Apple Journal, and the Apple Watch all receive verdicts that change after lived use. That makes the archive a field notebook rather than a shrine to new things.

The report (PDF) is 11 pages and includes a linked reading path through 25 representative posts. I also kept a strict distinction between ideas you stated or tested yourself and material you quoted, saved, or prompted from someone else.

Best, Milton

Asides

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aside | əˈsīd | • a remark that is not directly related to the main topic of discussion

When I started this blog in 2002 it was expressly for the purpose of having someplace to save stuff. A line from a book or a movie; a clip from a movie or TV show; something from a news story or someone else’s blog. Very little of what I’ve posted throughout the years is original. But what do I do with a great one-liner from The Office or Seinfeld? I  used to park these on Twitter back before they fucked it up. Used a little sidebar widget to post my recent tweets. I loved the 140 character limit. The perfect length.

So earlier this week I started looking for a simple way to do this. There are plug-ins out there but most have way more features than I wanted so I asked my friend Phil how he’d do this. He gave the assignment to his AI agent Milton who cranked out the perfect tool in about 50 minutes.

I’ll probably lose the date/time stamp and the archive page needs a tweak but nothing Milton & Co can’t handle. And the name of the plug-in (Asides) is perfect.

The Armatron

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While RadioShack is famous for its eclectic tech history, the Armatron stands out as one of the most mechanically impressive toys of the early 1980s.

Origin and Manufacturing

The Armatron was originally manufactured by the Japanese company Tomy (where it was known as the Edge) and was licensed to RadioShack for the North American market in 1982. It became a staple of the “Tandy” catalog throughout the decade.

Mechanical Ingenuity

What makes the Armatron a significant piece of toy history is its strictly mechanical design.

  • Single-Motor Operation: Despite having six degrees of freedom—including rotation at the base, shoulder, elbow, and wrist, plus a functioning gripper—the entire unit is powered by a single DC motor.
  • The Transmission: The complexity lies in its gearbox. The dual joysticks engage different sets of gears and shafts to distribute power from that single motor to the various joints.
  • No Microprocessors: Unlike modern robotics, there are no computers or sensors inside. It is a masterclass in analog gear-driven engineering.

Features and Variations

  •  The Timer: The “Energy Level” scale on the front (1 through 10) acts as a countdown timer. Once the timer runs out, the motor stops, challenging the user to complete “missions” within a set timeframe.
  • Accessories: Original boxed sets usually included “nuclear fuel” canisters (small plastic cylinders), a module to move, and a tray to test the user’s dexterity.
  • Mobile Armatron: A later version was released that featured a remote control and treads, allowing the arm to drive around the room.

Legacy

The Armatron was more than a toy; it was often used in educational settings to demonstrate the basics of robotics and mechanical linkage. Its rugged build and distinct “industrial” color palette of grey and orange have made it a highly sought-after item for vintage tech collectors today.