[simonbarker87]

The product would not have been possible 20 years ago as the fans would have konked out due to the heat, and the plastic would have yellowed and gone brittle also due to the heat.

So we needed materials science improvements to make the product viable. I don't think I was advocating for low hanging fruit but instead progress in various fields allow other things to be invented, some of them I guess become low hanging fruit.

[varjag]

Nearly all commercial plastics available now were available back in 1997. Even exotic things like PEEK.

The yellowing is due to flame retardant additive to ABS granules. Modern flame resistant ABS stock is prone to same issues.

[simonbarker87]

We use a heat-resistant ABS, 20 years ago it would have yellowed, now it doesn't.

[varjag]

Heat resistant suggests a higher melting point, it is not necessarily flame retardant. The yellowed plastics on old consumer electronics aren't specifically heat resistant.