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Comment by vanderZwan | Hacker News Reader

Don't forget it's a Japanese company. Which, as I understand, has a culture where people can't get fired, only promoted to positions where they do nothing and are out of people's way. Maybe it was one of those people.

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Japanese companies are also stereotypically drowning in bureaucracy and have strict adherence to hierarchy. Maybe it was a manager that got annoyed and had an underling do it?

That sounds about right. But how come a manager having a 10 year old camera and not a newest model?

Rolling stones gather no moss.

Sometimes, you just love a device and don't want to use something new. I still shoot a 5DmkII, and there's really only one feature that is available in the newer models that I'd love to have on my older body (specifically number of focus points). I've used all of the models after that including mirrorless, but this older body still my fave.

So the 10 year old camera isn't that strange to me.

Fax machines are still regularly used for business purposes in Japan.

While uploading some trip photos at an Akihabara cafe in 2018, I noticed that my laptop at the time (a used Dell XPS from 2015) appeared significantly newer than the laptops of the other patrons. There were even a couple of integrated trackballs, which I haven't seen in a laptop since the late '90s. I also suddenly realized I was a bit under-dressed in a plain polo shirt and slacks.

Panasonic Let’s Note machines look ancient but are packed with the latest processor/memory guts.

Let's note has circular trackpad (It's traditional design, IMO it's bad now) so maybe OP mistook it for trackball. There's no laptop with trackball within a decade AFAIK.

Not mistaken. There were both circular trackpads and a couple of trackballs.

Like this: https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8466/8080447493_c11ce3c520_b.j...

Such model exists until around 2000 but no longer exists. I suspect that you met old laptop enthusiast group at the cafe since it's Akihabara.

Promoted... with increased pay?

I don't know if it's still true but at one point it was said that unlike in the US, the corner office was a mark of shame, because you go into that office, you close the door, and from then on your interactions with the rest of the employees are curtailed.

You get that office not because you've done things they thought were great, but because you've done things they thought weren't and they want you to slow your roll. You're a fish in a bowl.

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