You know that the legendary Tetris game was made by the Soviet scientist Alexei Leonidovich Pazhitnov? However, a commercial version of a computer puzzle was released by a company from the USA. Why this happened, to explain, I think, is not necessary. The USSR, both in marketing and in material and technical terms, still lagged behind the West. The country's main resource revolved around the defense industry. But there were examples when our citizens were ahead of the rest. Or at least they didn’t lag behind the civilized world.
In the Soviet Union, technology was respected. The state generously encouraged innovators and inventors. And for the development of new technology not single handicraftsmen were involved, but integral research institutes. In the vastness of the USSR, many brilliant ideas were born in the field of electrical engineering. But it was not always possible to bring finished devices to the mass consumer. However, there are pleasant exceptions. Let's remember what gadgets Made in USSR we can be proud of, and compare them with modern counterparts.
A laptop
The first domestic laptop came out at sunset in the USSR in 1991. Today “Electronics MS 1504” looks like an anachronism, but for its time it had good characteristics: a 16-bit 4.77-7.16 megahertz processor, 640 kilobytes of RAM and a screen with 4 shades of gray.
Microwave
Soviet scientists were at the forefront of the study of microwave radiation. The fact that these waves can heat objects without fire was known even before the war. In 1941, they even made a prototype of a microwave oven for heating food. But the war nullified the project.
They returned to this idea only in the 1970s. Serial production was established in 1978, but according to the old Soviet tradition, useful equipment instantly entered the category of scarce ones. Did not contribute to the popularization of the "gadget" and a very high price for a Soviet person about 350 rubles.
Radiotelephone
Many companies and even countries argue over the title of creators of the radiotelephone. It is generally accepted in our country that the radio engineer Leonid Kupriyanov invented the first instrument in the world for transmitting a speech signal through radio communications in 1957.
It is curious that the number on the mobile (without exaggeration) device was dialed in the old manner, using a digital disk. Leonid Ivanovich improved his apparatus, reducing its weight to 3 kg without loss of functionality.
Personal computers
The development of computers in the Soviet Union was also given close attention. And if the first computers were the size of a cabinet or more, by the 1980s they had decreased in size to the level of personal ones. Some models of the "computer" (as many called it) were self-sufficient and connected to any TV.
"Wait for it!"
Pocket game console "Electronics" was the dream of Soviet girls and boys. Ever seen, the electronic game “Wait a minute!” Could be played in the yard, at school, with my grandmother in the village. Yes, anywhere! In fact, this is an analogue of a modern tablet, only with extremely truncated functionality.
A rare case: such a popular gadget was not acutely deficient. At least in our city, you could buy it without resorting to connections. The game is based on the development of the Japanese company Nintendo. Only if Mickey Mouse was catching eggs from the bourgeois, did the wolf from the animated film show miracles of dexterity in the Soviet device.
Cassette players
In our yard, the table of ranks was distributed simply. If you have a portable cassette player - you're cool. Although domestic models have been produced since the 1970s, the thing was rare, in short supply. All the fault is the high cost (over 100 rubles) and mediocre quality.