A VC - Latest Comments in Legacy Technology Dies Hard

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

ShanaC — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:26:47 -0000

Well I got this: http://www.pubmedcentral.ni...

from a friend who got a year to do work towards his PHD in the NIH (lucky guy). It's about Prescribing habits of doctors. He's been busy so I've been waiting a bit for a response.

That being that, I learned a lot because I had good doctors who encouraged questions, good teachers who made sure I understood biology and chemistry, and some odd coincidences that meant I was being exposed PubMed and words like "comorbid conditions" and "teratogenic in vitro for humans," while doing research because I always ended up being the one who did research and having to explain it to other people or to myself.

Just read PubMed, even abstracts. Get a really good, current, AP Biology/College Biology Textbook, and one for Chemistry, and possibly one for Org Chem (I never took Organic, but it might be helpful) Look everything up, and if you still don't understand, just write to the researcher, or better yet, look on the publishing university website, and write to the research assistants/PHD candidate- their research field is usually mentioned on the school's website, and their name might also be listed on the paper. If they are not teaching, they'll love you just for asking.

As for doctors- I'm not a doctor, and I have no plans on becoming one. I see more with male doctors, or those who plan on going into the field, more concerns of prestige and pay. Females seem to be more concerned with time. Money is vaguely important, but the degree is less so depending on background and what kind of doctor one wants to be. I don't see large amounts of women wanting to suit up for plastic surgery- but I do see lots of them for Family Practices,OB/GYN, and now dental, because of the time element. But that might be who I am talking to.

I have two friends who plan on becoming doctors. One friend clearly "knows" the economics of it: he has commented on it, although it is also in his mind that he does want to help people. Part of it is a driving of economic forces for him.
The other person is female. She just graduated and is taking a year off to think and work in a lab. I have never has a conversation with her that involved any of the economics of it. it doesn't seem to be a driving force for her: Having a Family Practice and Controlling her time in Motherhood, while caring for her patients seems to be slightly more of a force in her idea of what doctors should be like.

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:57:30 -0000

well then thank god legacy technology dies hard

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

gorbachev — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:52:09 -0000

Last time I used a pay phone was during 9/11.

Cellphones weren't working. Payphones had lines of 15 deep, but they were working perfectly.

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:21:21 -0000

You should have seen my kids when they saw a rotary phone for the first time.

'You really have to spin that thing around for every single number???'

It happened a while ago now but I remember that moment so well

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:11:21 -0000

True

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:08:27 -0000

Agreed

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

benortega — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:28:27 -0000

The number of pay phones nationwide plunged from 2 million in 2000 to 870,000 in 2007, according to the Federal Communications Commission. - http://bit.ly/GQ0m

I had the same experience about a month ago when I purchased a "dump run" vehicle (1991 pickup) and when my kids sat in it for the first time, they asked what the handle with the knob does...

...rolls the window up and down!! That was amplified by my youngest who said, "the windows roll down when the car is off too!" They were amazed.

Tech and Innovation are moving so fast. It took 1.5 of a generational change to forget about albums but only took .5 of a generational change to forget about dial-up. (my kids have no idea of anything less than DSL; we're on FIOS now)

It is nice to see hints of where we've come from, as we go through what I feel is the most significant habit change in our times.

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

Jeff DiStanlo — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:54:28 -0000

i have been dogging our old fax machine at work and trying to get us all e-fax lines. then lightning took out our router and internet connection. all of a sudden that old school fax over land line was quite useful. sometimes the old technology just works and has less interdependencies than the new stuff.

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

bombtune — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:36:40 -0000

I see people at pay phones all the time as well. They're still useful which is why they're still in business. Not everyone has a cell phone, just like not everyone has an MP3 player or iPhone to store music. I still see people with CD players so someone must still be buying CDs are we see that in the numbers. But at which point does the industry decide as a whole to kill antiquated technology like the FCC did with analog TV.

That being said, I think the next pay phone runs through the Internet just like everything else that involves communication.

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

cyanbane — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:38:08 -0000

I know someone (in their 20s - law abiding citizen) who refuses to use debit card/credit card's either for that very reason.

I am looking for more examples of groups of people that used a product in mass then reverted back to a previous "generation" (used loosely) of that same type product even when the original product was still being offered.

I think the cc/debit card example is a good use of "information conduit obfuscation" which goes back to Fred's original post and the earlier comment about drug dealers using pay phones it to shade their deals. I think we will be seeing A LOT more instances of certain subsets of the population reverting back to earlier legacy versions of hardware/systems specifically to hide/mask information. The next 20 years are going to be full of this for seedy operations.

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

cyanbane — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:31:11 -0000

"That being said, if there were magic pills for all chronic conditions that worked with very little to no side effects, and little to no interactions, a lot of people, both doctors and consumers, would be happier."

Would Dr's be happier seeing less patients? Part of me says Yes and part of me says No.

I enjoyed reading your reply though, I wish I knew more about the medical R&D world. If you have any 'layman' reading suggestions I would love to hear them.

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

cyanbane — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:28:25 -0000

I'm debating what % of people who used supersonic planes quit using them because they got to expensive vs the % that stopped using them because they were not offered anymore because of the former group.

I agree this is an example of a "mass technological regression" either way though (and probably the most commercially well known one mentioned).

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

Aruni S. Gunasegaram — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:32:24 -0000

So true! Not only legacy technology but also legacy ways of doing things and legacy 'tried and tested' mentality die a long, slow painful death sometimes.

I can't remember the last time I used a payphone. In 3rd world countries though many people use phone cards.

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

Joe Lazarus — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:41:49 -0000

Ha! Believe it or not, my dad has heard of Twitter. I told him I
interviewed there and he said he had read about them & heard them
mentioned on the nightly news. Props to the PR folks at "the
twitter".

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:50:26 -0000

He's too extreme

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

Guest — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:45:42 -0000

Well, that may be the tipping point for me getting an iPhone... If only there was a "cash for (number)crunchers" program where I would get money for the calculator to buy an iPhone...

BTW, I just read an interview with Q. Tarantino, where he says he uses an 80s' word processor to type scripts. That's too extreme...

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:36:19 -0000

I don't even have to click thru. I know what bit it is and you are right. Hilarious!

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

Rocky Agrawal — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:52:37 -0000

The unfortunate thing is that some of the places you'd most need payphones, they're no longer supported because of the economics. I'm thinking of remote areas where cell phones don't work.

When I'm out hiking or in a far out place and I see a payphone I check to see if it's still working. The vast majority of the time, it isn't.

Like this one in Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe:
http://www.flickr.com/photo...

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:50:24 -0000

What a great product

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:49:25 -0000

Great comment

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:48:30 -0000

Nice list. But I still like supersonic trans-atlantic flight best

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:48:29 -0000

Me too Bijan. The sound is better and there's something tangible about putting a record on

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:48:28 -0000

The first time I saw a company do that was 1999. I thought I was a bit crazy not to have a pbx and land lines. But for a small ten person company it worked fine

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:35:48 -0000

I'd love standard chargers instead of outlets at the gate

Re: Legacy Technology Dies Hard

fredwilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:35:46 -0000

Yup. We've largely done away with faxes in our office but it took a lot longer than I thought it would