As a car enthusiast, I can think of a good one, the Ford Nucleon.

During the 1950s and 1960s, there was considerable interest in nuclear power and its potential applications. This led to the idea of using nuclear energy to propel cars. The concept behind a nuclear car was to utilize a small nuclear reactor to generate steam, which would then power the vehicle’s engine.

Of course back in those days, this was extremely futurustic and some at the time thought this would be a game changer, but ultimately, the safety aspect was one of the biggest reasons why this idea was dropped, and I probably don’t have to explain why it may not have considered to be safe, I mean, it was using nuclear power, so even if the engineers tried to make it as safe as possible, IF something went wrong, it would have been catastrophic.

Ever since then, the interests in the automotive sector has shifted to Electric and Hydrogen.

Still, a very intriguing concept car and idea.

Outside cars, you have blimps, and I personally believe if we tried to make something like a hindenburg today with existing technology, we might have been a lot more successful than back then (as it goes way back to 1930s), there are still some blimps used occasionally, I also don’t believe those use hydrogen(?), but they are not the “game changer in air travel” it was once seen as, although we can’t rule out a comeback.

What about you guys?

  • BlackEco@lemmy.blackeco.com
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    1 year ago

    Back in the Windows 8 days, Microsoft tried to push Universal Windows Platform (UWP), a new application format that could run on any devices running Windows 8: desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets and even Xbox without any modification while being much more secure by default.

    It failed for a multitude of reasons:

    • It was a big break from the previous application model. You had to rewrite everything.
    • To improve security, it enforced many limitation that legacy apps did not have.
    • While it was the only way to create and distribute apps for Windows Phone and Windows RT (a Windows 8 variant for low-powered laptops) their low market share did not incentivize developers to migrate to or create UWP apps.
    • It was strongly tied to the divisive Metro UI of Windows 8. People already hated interacting with this part of Windows 8, they had no desire to install apps that would force them into this UI.

    UWP still lives on in Windows 10 and 11 as well as in Xbox One and Series: many system apps are now UWPs, as well as all Xbox games and apps, some cross-devices games from Microsoft Studios and some apps in the Windows Store.

    • digitalgadget@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Maybe I’m a curmudgeon, but I hate using “apps” on my desktop machine. They’re always designed to be friendly for touch interface and smaller screen size, and are terrible to use on my 30" monitor with a 1/8" cursor. I just want my menu bar, toolbar on the left, and status on the bottom, please and thank you.

      • eighthourlunch@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I hate using most apps on my phone. It’s not that I’m a curmudgeon. I’m a developer, and I don’t see any good reason for so many damned apps when a browser works just fine.

        • HidingCat@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          You’ll always get asked about apps whenever a new service or whatever is launched. Even here, there’re people asking for a Lemmy/Kbin app.

        • digitalgadget@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          The worst offenders are the ones who make their mobile site impossible to use so you will download the app. Unmovable banners, incorrectly sized floating menus, and features unnecessarily locked out unless you switch to Desktop mode or use the app. Guess what, I’m definitely not installing it now!

      • yukichigai@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Nah, you’re not. It simply is not possible to have a single UI that works just as well on both a touch-driven 5-inch interface and a pointer-driven 20-inch interface. Different input methods require different UIs. But publishers are lazy so they try to pretend you can.