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We had to wear one of these while I was a package handler for FedEx. It was tied into a scanner unit attached to your finger, scan packages as you load.
You’d think you’d get used to it, but it always felt like I had a tumor strapped to my arm while trying to sling things around.
I also was a package handler for fedex those arm computers made your arm so hot and sweaty while in a 110F+ trailer
Can you tell me more about your sweaty package handling?
Yes I can “SatansMaggotyCumFart”
Our building had bay doors lined up on one side of the building, it was the off season so we would only use the first quarter of bay doors. At the end of line of garage doors we would use the last 1-3 bays as a sort of “overflow” (I was only there for a few months so I didn’t fully know what they were for.)
We would call it the “abyss” because no one went back there, and there were a few lights out so it was kinda dark. I mostly worked there, when it was a heavy day and the belts were pretty full they would send all packages to the abyss and we would get so back up with packages it worked jam halfway up the shoot to the trailer. So we would have to get a ladder and a stick to fix the jam.
We would sometimes solve the jamming issue by spraying lube on the shoots to help them slide better. It would make the shoots very slick if you tried to walk on them. Also we had fans blowing air into the trailer and if it was a very hot day they would just blew already hot air into a hotter trailer.
Hey now, as a former FedEx package handler we never walked up the chutes. That would be dangerous. /s
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I too have a disproportionate arm from uhhh… swinging around… arm computers… yeah that’s why.
I enjoyed it for some reason. I think I just preferred scanning and labeling over being in the truck unloading. And it felt like a Pip Boy. But that’s another thing, if you were loading vs. unloading that might be different. I wouldn’t want to lift anything with that on
Loading was my usual, and our hub sucked. Fuck tons of goddamn fruit in wax, and then would come the big packages about right as I was loading on my own, so now I had that thing strapped to me, trying to work around the belt with a damned TV to scan.
Smalls was my dream. Lightweight, wrapping took no time, steady pace but never overwhelming. Night just flew by, chatting about bullshit. Jumped at the chance any time they needed a body.
lol Smalls is where they send the people they want to get rid of in my building. Half of them, probably more, are on permanent medical modified duty so FedEx can’t use them for anything else.
Loading with these things was shit. I primarily loaded as a package handler and it was a pain to have this attached to your arm, scanning every package, and then lifting those packages over your head to fill in the gaps on top.
It’s that thing Turanga Leela wears!
I was curious if Leela’s thing had a name, and according to the wiki it’s apparently called a Wrist Lojak-a-mater..
I don’t think “wrist LoJak-a-mater” was meant to be the name of the device, I think it’s just the name of the device’s tracking feature and the author of the fandom page is jumping to conclusions.
I bet you’re right. I feel like Leela has called it a few different things over the years.
She once referred to it as, “this thing I wear on my wrist.”
Tbh that makes sense. Fandom pages are a fucking train wreck.
War, war never changes…
I’ll buy it from you for 1,500 caps
I remember using something like this - they can hook up to a barcode scanner you wear on your finger
You had to strap them really tight on your arm, if you didn’t the weight of the device would make it rotate around and have the screen point away from you
I have the same problem with my watch. I could tighten it but then it starts to hurt. Anyways I keep it just loose enough to be comfortable but tight enough I can correct it every half hour.
How much does your watch weigh?
Some are pretty heavy. Men’s watches especially can be pretty hefty, easily 5oz.
FedEx package warehouse used theses when I worked there.
They weren’t these exact models when I was there in 2013-2014, but they’re definitely similar. The finger scanner thing was so cool; I was always playing with it when there weren’t any packages coming down the conveyor.
FedEx used their own custom version that booted directly into the proprietary scanner system. The new version uses Android (probably 10 or lower) and does the exact same thing. Also, the scanner attachment is now Bluetooth, which only seems like an upgrade until you give it more than one second of thought and realize how easy they are to lose.
Hah! I was just thinking I used someone similar back in 2008-10 I think? Paired with a little hip printer.
There’s a lot of wearable/durable tech made for warehouse workers. I wish I had the money to buy all the awesome things I find. They’re still semi usable with new software. A lot run on the “mobile” windows architecture which takes Unix/Linux naively.
Current versions of this run Android.
They’re made by Zebra who bought the Symbol barcode reader company, who bought the Motorola mobile computer business. The hardware is basically the same though.
https://www.zebra.com/us/en/products/mobile-computers/wearable-computers/wt6300.html
Yeah, but they are only marginally better. It’s like moving from a hopelessly out of date platform to one that is only five years old. Is it better than what you had? Without a doubt. Does that make it good? Fuck no.
No, they’re a lot better. The touch screen is actually usable and Android is incredibly much better than WinCE 7. Is it better than a mobile phone? No. Is it much much more durable than a mobile phone? Yes.
It lools okay for 2006 but yeah too old for 2013
It’s industrial equipment, and industry is not really known for frequently upgrading. Floppy disks are still a thing.
These also look like they can take a couple of good knocks and keep functioning. You don’t really want sleek and glass covered like the new modern looking phones for a warehouse.
That too. LCDs meant for industrial use are indeed more robust and made to last. Not only screens of course. Glass or carbon reinforced plastics are used commonly due to really good properties where it can take a beating but remain flexible without cracking. Like you said, metal and glass don’t combine well.
Magnetic tape is still a thing, particularly for long-term data storage. If you want to keep some data around for longer than most humans live, store it on magnetic tape.
Wouldn’t SSDs be cheaper and last longer?
Yeah, but a lot of companies started storing their records on magnetic tape when that became a thing, and it’s more for continuity purposes. It’s still the lowest cost, highest capacity, longest durability solution for archival purposes.
2006 to 2013 felt longer with those, since you could slow down time on demand.
Reading all the comments reminiscing about using these as if they are now a relic of a bygone era. We errr… Still use them to this day, I don’t believe the company has any plans to upgrade in the near future either.
We also still use dot-matrix printers. They’re still being manufactured to this day and the new ones even come with ethernet ports! (As opposed to serial, which again we still have some)
I miss their sound so much
Dv-DvZZZZZT-DvT
DvZZZZZZZZT-Dvt-DZZZZZZZZT-Dvt
Can you imagine how much of a dork you’d look wearing this thing?
I can and I am loving it.
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You’re not alone! Surely with modern tech one could make a thinner, lighter version. But retaining the keypad and large screen.
(And yet I refuse to own a smartwatch hmmm)
You don’t often get to choose what goes into (and out of) a smartwatch.
Bangle.js is something like that
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Nice. I was thinking this would be great to test the limits of an esp32. Been messing with 'em recently using the official sdk with freertos. At 240 MHz it should be able to do all kinds of nifty stuff along with Bluetooth and/or Wifi.
It’s for work-related use, not for personal use. You’d never see someone wearing this outside of the workplace.
Clearly you’re only friends with boring people
Strap this bad boy on, head on out to the singles’ bar.
…do singles’ bars even exist anymore? Am I showing my age? Aw hell… they were old news even in my bachelor days.
How about swingers’ clubs?
Strap this bad boy on, sashay - or strut - on out to your friendly local neighborhood swingers’ club.
We used to use these where I work. They look cool, but they run Windows Mobile and don’t have a touch screen so they actually were very cumbersome to use. Luckily we only had to use them to scan barcodes and that app automatically loaded on boot, unless they fucked up. Rock solid, but also made me hate every moment I had to use them, especially when the scanner attachment wouldn’t register.
Does it run embedded windows? I could have a field day with this.
I’m pretty sure it’s Pip-OS
Idk man but its definitely for boring things like amazon man or doordash man or policeman
It would be cool for a policeman
Other comment says Windows Mobile
its a goddamned pipboy.
Hope it doesnt come complete with skeletal remains.
Doesn’t look older than it is honestly. If you showed me this and asked me how old it is I’d have guessed early aughties
Where can I buy this?
I’m seeing them between $60-2000 at a quick search.
That is a… very wide range.
Yeah, like I’ll take the $60 one please
