The world is accelerating fast and we — the consumers — are playing catch-up. New gadgets and software updates promise to make our lives better, so we follow the latest innovations with anticipation, hoping to find a way to integrate them into our daily routine.
But as the trends march onward, some people choose the opposite approach and reject them, opting for things they have already been using for years. So when a thread emerged on Reddit, asking everyone to share the "obsolete" piece of technology they refuse to relinquish, many had their say.
From vinyl records to physical maps, here's the list of "relics" that still have their place in our hearts and homes.
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I’m a school librarian - print books are nowhere near as obsolete as people seem to think. Kids still devour them!
A book has a certain feel, a smell, and is an experience of its own. Coffee/tea, candle, blanket, book 💜
Regular buttons in a car instead of touch screen everything.
This, touchscreens are just a distraction in driving. In our company car, just to enter in the aircondition/heating meny, you need to go thry 2 or 3 buttons on touchscreen and it is distracting. Give me a k**b so i can regulate fan and temperature and the direction of the air ffs i dont want touchscreen
I want my physical media. When all these companies start pulling licenses, selling them to new people, making it harder to access content, I want to be able to pull my Blu-ray, DVD, CD, or whatever other media it’s in off the shelf and watch it.
USB drives for data storage.
I have trust issues with cloud servers, and dislike the idea of personal data being stored on file servers that I do not own and control.
"The Cloud" is nearly impossible to avoid entirely; I just minimize my use of it in favor of local backups with planned resilience and redundancy.
USB keys are not great for long term storage. An external hard disk is generally a better idea. A NAS with redundant drives is even better. I don't trust "the cloud" either, at least not for anything of any value!
My entire laptop is backed up on an external hard drive. I cannot even access my files or listen to my iTunes without that hard drive.
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I still have a couple of 2 terabyte external hard drives that I use to store data and I unplug them when I'm done accessing them.
I hope you have those backed up as well. external drives are incredibly unreliable. If they are mechanical types, Id be even more concerned. In fact, powering them up and down is the fastest way to ruin them. They like to be on or off, not change the state between the 2.
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USB drives are still widely available and accepted. If I'm not at home the thumb drive provides me more safety, IMO.
Could not agree more.. HOWEVER, there is no absolutely secure or incorruptible media. A backup scheme will rely on multiples of many types. Redundancy.
The cloud is someone else's computer. While I do like OneDrive and was super handy when I changed laptops, I do have a 1TB USB drive with everything on it.
Just one? Please note that these don't last forever, and of all physical media, thumb drives/cards are probably the least reliable.
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I am still using a 27 year old Apple Powermac 8500 desktop computer. Never failed or froze once in all these years. I use it for MIDI sequencing and music composition daily.
I absolutely refuse to use 99% of Cloud storage! Give me a thumb drive or SD card any day of the year!
Flash drives are not a very good idea for crucial data. They're too unreliable for that. When it comes to long-term storage, all physical media will eventually degrade. That's a very big plus of the cloud, because you don't have to worry about keeping your data safe over many years.
Yes, I need to know that I have something that'll print to a hard copy.
My family pictures have been slowly disappearing from google drive over the past year or so. I'm going to have to move them soon or I'll lose the only copy of a lot of family and vacation pics that are very special to me.
The only two reasons I use "the cloud" are (a) sending things to people, NOT for storage, or (b) travelling abroad, so that snoopy thugs at airports can't read my data. I download my contacts list after I land.
Agreed, but if you have all your tech stolen the cloud is a life saver. I had this happen. Fortunately I had bought 2tb and stored everything there. Yes, the Feds probably looked through it. No, there's nothing exciting.
as long its not your only storage method.. They are very unreliable for long term use.
I can happily report that a micro SD card survived countless wash and dryer cycles and it worked just fine. It was stuck in the seam of a shirt pocket.
It's all well and good having physical media, NAS, EXSDD but a quick house fire or break in to negate all of that. There is an element of the tin foil hat crowd in the age old argument. 99% of people I've spoken to on this subject forget that a lot of the things they are trying to keep secure and "out of the cloud" were generated in a server somewhere already (ID documents, bank records, health records etc etc) with the exception of some personal photographs taken (best not ask what of) most things are already on someone elses computer. If you think anything you do on your own device and squirrel away in a thumb drive somewhere is more secure than doing anything else, that's a really interesting perspective. - Source, 20+ years in IT and cyber security
Umm...this is just smart. There are a lot of things you can do with portable drives.
As some one who has 5 figure or higher fines for security issues (HIPAA) I can not emphasize enough how unsecure cloud storage (or cloud anything) is and thus we use local backups (except for some stuff that needs to be in the public internet like our web portal)... note I am one the people who helped pioneer the cloud in the 90's (before it was called the cloud)
I do a twice a month backup of all my files to a thumbdrive. No OneDrive, as little cloud as possible. My brother had to backup from the cloud once, over 24 hours, and not all of his stuff came back.
Paper maps are considered by many to be obsolete, but they are essential for hiking or just being in an area away from civilization where cell service can be unreliable to nonexistent.
Edit: I've had about 100 replies informing me that maps can be saved so they work offline. I am aware of this. However it doesn't do much good when hiking on remote trails that aren't marked in any online maps. It doesn't help when you've unexpectedly driven into a large dead zone and didn't know to save maps in advance. And it doesn't help when leaving the phone behind for an overnight kayaking trip because of the risk of dropping the phone in the river. .
A notebook and pencil. I find writing down lists, making plans or doing financial analysis on paper so 'clarifying'. The pencil must have an eraser on the end.
Yes. When I was studying, paper and pencil. Stuff you write down sticks better, and the soft feel on pencil on paper I find strangely soothing
Regular, non smart watches.
I regularly carry an old Hamilton 21 jewel mechanical pocket watch. My father-in-law was a 55 year watch repairman and taught me how to regularly service and repair them too.
Cast iron cookware. My $15 pan will outlast any nonstick pan you can buy. I can burn it, scrape it, and rust it out, and still recover it into new condition.
Keys for opening my car door/starting the car.
I'm not down with the whole push-to-start/keyless entry thing.
Manual gearbox. Because it allows me to feel more involved in the driving process.
Saying that manual gearbox is obsolete because of automatic is like saying tea is obsolete because of coffee
I prefer to spend cash. It helps my brain process the spending. I'm still bad with money but I got tired of swiping and praying.
A lot of venues are cashless now - hate it.
Handwritten agendas/planners. Writing s**t out by hand in general.
The act of writing is cathartic idk why. Helps me remember things better too.
Books vs ebooks.
Both have their place. With ebooks I can take a dozen on holiday with me but I can't lend a favourite one to a friend. Much prefer print and browsing in book shops but also love the immediacy of being able to instantly download when I was stuck in hospital bored out of my mind!
Hand held compass. Never runs out of battery and has saved my bacon many times.
Any non-smart device other than a smartphone. To hell with those devices collecting my data, serving me ads, and being a pain to maintain.
Notepad and txt files!
They have no formatting and work in all situations. Across every device and every piece of software. And by every, I mean that you can easily hit a txt file with a hex editor and fully understand and manipulate it. The file size is small.
Since notepad has no formatting options, you can paste in any modern day c**p and it will strip out the annoying bits. It kills things like hypertext, color, italics bolding, size, and other font changes. It even does a pretty good job of ignoring non human readable characters.
In other words, it works 100% of the time and returns only the content that you actually want with exactly nothing else.
2 things I have open on every computer I use: Notepad++ and a DOS prompt.
It is not obsolete really. But my 1999 VW Golf.
I despise new cars and refuse to get one even if I had the money for it.
All these mandatory driving assistance features you cannot permanently turn off like lane keeping assistance combined with the f*****g subscription s**t they are putting out and the fact that you cannot repair your car unless you have the software for it.
I want a car to be able to do 3 things. Have AC, have good sound system, be able to get me from point A to B without breaking down. I neither need nor want all these extra system and they'd be fine if I could disable them and never worry about them again. I cannot so I refuse to get any new car until I can.
Magnifying lenses. Why use a digital camera when you can use a magnifying lens that doubles as a solar death ray?
Wired headphones.
I HATE wireless earbuds; they fall out of my ears above a brisk walk.
Are wallets and billfolds becoming obsolete? I have friends who make fun of me for not just using a phone case that holds everything.
Records. I still love the sound of them better than anything I've heard.
I don’t think vinyl ever became obsolete. Vinyl sales have increased 17 years straight. There was a point in the early 2000s where record players outsold guitars. And now even CDs are making a comeback. Apparently we like ownership of things after all.
CDs. I don’t pay for satellite radio so I just play them on repeat in my car.
I bought a 1999 Jeep Cherokee to off road in and discovered a 5 CD disc changer in it. It gets used.
Wired mice on my PC. No need worrying about a battery dying and it’s not like I need to walk around the room far away from my keyboard carrying my mouse. Alas, they’re becoming less common. 😕
(Wireless headphones are useful though.).
Fountain pens. I take a lot of notes because I do a lot of research and writing. I mean hours at a time. Featuring details I have to learn as I go. Fountain pens are the only kind of writing instrument I can use that doesn't tire out my hand. Or my brain. It gets out of my way and stays out of my way.
Gel ink means less drag and tiredness in your hand than a standard biro, so I can imagine a fountain pen would help.
I wear a wristwatch. Not only is it not a smartwatch, it's not even quartz! It's mechanical, full of gears and springs and stuff.
I still wear the pocket watch from my grand father from time to time.
Typewriters because they're just so beautiful.
The Bialetti moka pot. Hard to beat, unless you have coffee shop grade espresso machine.
Thank you so much for this info! My daughter would love an espresso machine but she can't afford a good one and I can't afford to buy one for her. Just checked online and these are affordable. I plan on gifting her one for her birthday.
Wired headset, keyboard, mouse. Not interested in charging or needing to change any batteries.
I am sick to death of having to sync, link, charge each and every f***ing thing I need to use. When I try to do something, I end up having to reconfigure, pay to subscribe, check for updates, wait for downloads, re-establish connection, and then restart the app. FFS I just wanna switch it on and have it work,
Oh man I am a total retro grouch. Vinyl records, old steel bicycles, safety razors, film cameras, the whole hipster gamut.
Looking at a black and white picture derived from Ilford HP5 400 is so much better than digital photos
My landline telephone. It always works. No need to worry about a getting a, signal or needing a charge. I even have one corded one so I never need electricity. I did just get upgraded to fiber from copper however, not VOIP though so I'm certainly hoping all the same benefits are there. AT&T is deprecating the copper in the area and said "switch or be cut off." The technician made the switch and ran off before I got to really ask him anything!
I have a landline which still runs on copper. My broadband is fibre-to-cabinet and copper for the last few hundred metres. This will change before long as everybody moves to fibre-to-premises. I don't make calls, but I do receive calls regularly on it. It never runs out of charge and works in a powercut. I feel for some of my elderly neighbours who rely on theirs. If it is your only phone, when you switch to VOIP, you will need a battery backup on it.
Analogue Mixer. I've had an all digital mixer (X-Air XR12) and it stressed me out. I play in a duo and it's much easier for me to just reach to the fader half blind than trying to move a line on a touch screen.
Digital mixers are fine when scenes change and one needs to quickly recall a microphone configuration, like in live stage and live performance shows. But they do need a dedicated sound man to run them. Good sound men are hard to find. I stopped going to live concerts because the sound was almost always mixed with too much bass, like they want it to sound like a hip-hop car stereo going down the street.
Note: this post originally had 40 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
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I have one that I don't think was mentioned above (at least not specifically). When I go to the grocery store, I still prefer a written grocery list instead of a list on my phone. The written list is always right there. My phone keeps shutting down, so I have to enter my password every time I want to check the list.
yes. I tried this and gave up. Also, you're likely to have it snatched in some areas.
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I don't know if what I'm about to say really fit shere but..... my mum doesn't have internet connection, she barely has a phone signal but every medical appointment, referral to some medical service, access to local government etc requires that she needs an internet connection, just phoning someone to make an appointment or speaking to a human is now impossible. How long before they start adding other things you 'need' in order to do anything making accessing service impossible for so many people.
I would add a good old fashioned plumb bob and line levels. Builders have used them forever for a reason
T9 phones, aka Featurephones, aka "Dumb" phones are making a comeback. Many young people want phones without social media or constant internet access, they just want to make and take calls. Featurephones make up 20% of the market in India, went up to more than 1% in the US, and rising in other markets. The primary driver of this increase in every market is TEENAGERS, so it's not "old people who can't handle tech".
Bicycles. As proven by the 2017 Mexico City earthquake, the 2011 Sendai quake, after numerous typhoons and hurricanes, AND when oil hit $150 per barrel (in 2011, and soon in 2024-2025), bicycles became invaluable. They're cheaper than cars, more efficient, can go everywhere, and are fast enough. Cars are temporary, bicycles will still be around in a century. The only danger to riding a bike are cars.
man I'm 16 and I also prefer older stuff. new stuff is great, but old stuff is so much cooler. being able to listen to metallica and iron maiden on my wireless headphones is great, but it sounds so much better on vinyl! also with the car stuff, I'm also a mechanic, and yeah I hate the computers and stuff too. I'm a mechanic, not an IT specialist!
As modern tech tries to see just how inexpensive you can produce something it doesn't care if it only last an unreasonably short time...thus making it even more expensive and wasteful.
Look, I'm the one person who prefers to have both a mobile phone and a landline. Yeah, streaming is ok but nothing beats a VHS/DVD/CD/cassette/vinyl/8 track as THESE items don't Advertise me to Death! They don't need an app nor updates nor WiFi to operate
well they are if you have a smartphone. But the point of the list is that people still like them.
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Don't criticise new stuff, just because you prefer old stuff. You prefer the old stuff, fine. You don't have to make up reasons why the new stuff is bad. New stuff is often also fine. You're allowed your preference.
It depends. Planned obsolence is, unfortunately, a thing that exists and it's rampant.
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I give up on Cards been hacked 3 times so am back to Cash & coin.
It's what you prefer I guess? I've never liked vynyl and always prefered modern formats, I prefer physical games and not downloaded ones, and I have a smart watch but torn with my nice non-smart watches... We're all different.
Wow, there's a lot of hate for new things flying around in this article! Hate this, can't stand that, despise these things, just because they're new and different from what you may be accustomed to. I understand appreciation for tried-and-true things, and sometimes shiny new things don't work out, but all this unbridled disgust with new things just makes you sound... old.
Does it help if I don't like old things OR new things?
Load More Replies... yes and no. I think objectively some of these are correct. For example streaming video. Many movies can be hard to find online but not on your DVD collection. Etc.
Load More Replies... I have one that I don't think was mentioned above (at least not specifically). When I go to the grocery store, I still prefer a written grocery list instead of a list on my phone. The written list is always right there. My phone keeps shutting down, so I have to enter my password every time I want to check the list.
yes. I tried this and gave up. Also, you're likely to have it snatched in some areas.
Load More Replies... I don't know if what I'm about to say really fit shere but..... my mum doesn't have internet connection, she barely has a phone signal but every medical appointment, referral to some medical service, access to local government etc requires that she needs an internet connection, just phoning someone to make an appointment or speaking to a human is now impossible. How long before they start adding other things you 'need' in order to do anything making accessing service impossible for so many people.
I would add a good old fashioned plumb bob and line levels. Builders have used them forever for a reason
T9 phones, aka Featurephones, aka "Dumb" phones are making a comeback. Many young people want phones without social media or constant internet access, they just want to make and take calls. Featurephones make up 20% of the market in India, went up to more than 1% in the US, and rising in other markets. The primary driver of this increase in every market is TEENAGERS, so it's not "old people who can't handle tech".
Bicycles. As proven by the 2017 Mexico City earthquake, the 2011 Sendai quake, after numerous typhoons and hurricanes, AND when oil hit $150 per barrel (in 2011, and soon in 2024-2025), bicycles became invaluable. They're cheaper than cars, more efficient, can go everywhere, and are fast enough. Cars are temporary, bicycles will still be around in a century. The only danger to riding a bike are cars.
man I'm 16 and I also prefer older stuff. new stuff is great, but old stuff is so much cooler. being able to listen to metallica and iron maiden on my wireless headphones is great, but it sounds so much better on vinyl! also with the car stuff, I'm also a mechanic, and yeah I hate the computers and stuff too. I'm a mechanic, not an IT specialist!
As modern tech tries to see just how inexpensive you can produce something it doesn't care if it only last an unreasonably short time...thus making it even more expensive and wasteful.
Look, I'm the one person who prefers to have both a mobile phone and a landline. Yeah, streaming is ok but nothing beats a VHS/DVD/CD/cassette/vinyl/8 track as THESE items don't Advertise me to Death! They don't need an app nor updates nor WiFi to operate
well they are if you have a smartphone. But the point of the list is that people still like them.
Load More Replies... Don't criticise new stuff, just because you prefer old stuff. You prefer the old stuff, fine. You don't have to make up reasons why the new stuff is bad. New stuff is often also fine. You're allowed your preference.
It depends. Planned obsolence is, unfortunately, a thing that exists and it's rampant.
Load More Replies... I give up on Cards been hacked 3 times so am back to Cash & coin.
It's what you prefer I guess? I've never liked vynyl and always prefered modern formats, I prefer physical games and not downloaded ones, and I have a smart watch but torn with my nice non-smart watches... We're all different.
Wow, there's a lot of hate for new things flying around in this article! Hate this, can't stand that, despise these things, just because they're new and different from what you may be accustomed to. I understand appreciation for tried-and-true things, and sometimes shiny new things don't work out, but all this unbridled disgust with new things just makes you sound... old.
Does it help if I don't like old things OR new things?
Load More Replies... yes and no. I think objectively some of these are correct. For example streaming video. Many movies can be hard to find online but not on your DVD collection. Etc.
Load More Replies...