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Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

A list of unheralded improvements to ordinary quality-of-life since the 1990s going beyond computers.

These days, people whine endlessly online if a RAM or semiconductor shortage (something that happens every decade or so, as the industry has notorious boom-and-bust dynamics) means that they have to pay as much as they did a few years ago for something, but the long-term trends are dramatic. Hearing Aids are a small fraction the size, available over-the-counter, have gone digital with multiple directional microphones (higher-quality, customizable, noise-reduction), halved or more in price, become water-resistant, and even do tricks like Bluetooth Thus I enjoyed a common 1990s experience: everywhere I went in new buildings, I would suffer the minor humiliation & disgust of having to use a low-flush toilet —if I didn’t walk into a dirty stall, then I might have to reflush, or just look at brown streaks in the bowl.

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