That is why I'm not going to mention the technology of TNG on this website. Instead, I'm going to focus on my favorite era of Star Trek: TOS and the movies, up to 6, the Undiscovered Country, and touch on Generations. In other words, I'll focus on the movies that had the red uniforms (well, the aqua uniforms, too).
What's the appeal, then? Well, I am formerly an engineer by trade (broadcast engineer, not design or electrical) and enjoy technology. I have a very active imagination and when I watch TOS, I like to theorize why the Federation would design its starship systems the way they did: bulky, noisy, and mostly devoid of style. (I should stop right here and point out that Yes, I know it's a TV show. I wish to offer rational explanations based on what we are given in the show, and pretend for a little while that such technology is possible. It's the future, right? How are we going to know what the technology will look like in two centuries?)
Another wrench in the cogs is the new show, "Enterprise." I watch Enterprise avidly every week. One of its main criticisms is the fact that its technology, which predates TOS by one hundred years, looks as good as what we see in TNG and its spinoffs. And this may be true. The producers have bigger budgets and more references to draw upon than Roddenberry had in 1966. But, a lot of fans believe that the technology should look a lot clunkier and function much worse than it does, and I'm one of those fans. However, I believe that I've come up with some pretty reasonable explanations as to why Enterprise's systems look better than TOS's. Here's the answer in a nutshell: changing trends in technology. More on that later.
One important point I need to mention is that I am not discussing how the major systems work on the Enterprise, ie, the warp drive, transporter, time travel, etc. These topics have been discussed at very impressive and believable lengths on other website, often by physists and other learned professionals. Instead, the approach I take in this website is that of treating the minor details of the ship and systems. If I mention the transporter or warp drive, I won't be discussing how it works or why it would never work in our lifetimes. I will instead discuss my observations of smaller details of those systems that appear on the show. For instance, if I discuss the Transporter Room, I won't talk endlessly about why it is impossible. I already know that. Instead, I will mention how the Transporter Room is built, and hypothesize why Federation design engineers would install the psychadelic panels inside the transporting chamber. Or why the control panel is constructed the way it is. Stuff like that.
Another of my pasttimes is to observe the environments within Star Trek.. In other words, mainly, the Enterprise and how it is structured and how its personnel interact with the ship. Please check out that link also, it's ever so much fun!