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Let’s take a walk down memory lane, where nostalgia meets technological relics! We’re talking about those old gadgets from yesteryear — the bulky TV sets, calculator watches, the Atari 2600, and more. They were the cool kids on the block, the trendsetters that had people hooked.
There was the Tamagotchi — a virtual pet that you had to feed, care for and clean up after. It was our first test run with responsibility as pet owners. And then there were also the gaming systems from Nintendo and Atari that blessed the kids of the ’80s and ’90s with gems like Super Mario Bros., Contra, Duck Hunt, and Donkey Kong.
Sadly, the old technology couldn’t keep up with their sleeker, more advanced successors. They had their limitations, whether it was functionality, connectivity, or user experience. And you know how it goes – when you can’t keep up, you fade away. The 36-roll film cameras have been replaced by smartphones. Calculator watches have given way to smartwatches now.
We’ve compiled a list of old gadgets for you. They may be outdated, but they hold a special spot in our hearts. They’re like time capsules, reminding us of a simpler era when waiting patiently and savoring the moment was all part of the fun. The obsolete technology is nothing more than a memory now. A select few in our list are still in production and are used for micro-niche products.
So get ready to geek out and embrace the retro vibes!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Dumb Phones
Dumb phones were the opposite of smartphones (obviously!). They were just meant for sending and receiving calls and messages. No apps, no games — except for the snake game, of course.
Will Cable 2 years ago
When phones were so big they had their own case, then got so small you could put them in your pocket with ease and now they are getting so big you need a bag to carry it in.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
They got too big for my hands after the iPhone 5. Now they’re way uncomfortable for me to hold for very long. Kind of counterintuitive, don’t you think?
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PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
Analog bag phones could get full signal in a concrete-and-steel building and had the clarity of a landline (you could talk and listen at same time - not so with digital)
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DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
"Except for snake"...you mean the best phone game ever created! Also, Bounce and Space Invaders...lol
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
If ANY company today made a T9/Featurephone with 4G connectivity and a GOOD camera (12MP or more), I would buy it in a heartbeat. Hell, I'd buy five so I had backups. There *are* 4G T9 phones, but ALL of them have garbage cameras, at best 2MP (and most 0.3MP).
Dustin Miller 2 years ago
It's weird how we went from having bricks in our bags, to wanting them to be as small as possible (Futurama has a good joke about it with Amy's cell being the size of a Lego brick), to now if you phone isn't a small tablet it's not big enough
Gaetan Fournier 2 years ago
Nokia 3310 was not dumb it did anything it needed to do at the time and was indestructible if anything iPhones were dumb (sorry apple) and snake was fun to pass time.
RELATED:
#2
Polaroid Instant Cameras
The instant Polaroids could never come out perfect. But even then, the instant Polaroid was a vintage symbol of authenticity and spontaneity. Its unpredictable colors made each Polaroid unique. It was always there to create cherished memories.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
I still think these are a great idea. I like hard copy photos and the nostalgia and the iconic white border still appeals to me...maybe just me lol
Noname 2 years ago
I have one of the Fujifilm instax cameras. The images are small, but make decent "instant souvenirs" at parties.
Load More Replies... Will Cable 2 years ago
I wonder what percentage of them sold were sold for intimate photos so no sending the film for developing.
Amy Taylor 2 years ago
Serial killers seemed to have a thing for them, unfortunately
Load More Replies... Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
I remember when you had to apply a coating on the old Polaroids, to prevent them from fading and getting a brownish sepia color.
Dogcat vet (retired) 2 years ago
And if you watch "Ghost Adventures" you'd know that Zack uses them all the time to find ghosts.
Bouche, Audi, and Shyla, oh my! 2 years ago
I would hardly be able to stand the excitement, waiting to see the photo develop.
Marley Nachi 2 years ago
polaroids keep getting re-released, so it never really went out of fashion
#3
Floppy Disks
These humble squares that came around in 1971 could store up to 1.4MB of data. The only place they’re seen today is on the “save” icon.
Bouche, Audi, and Shyla, oh my! 2 years ago
Who else remembers 5.25" floppies? If you cut a hole in just the right spot, you could make it a double-sided disk.
Sky Render 2 years ago
Hell, I'm old enough to remember 8-inch floppies...
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Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Without floppy disks and audio cassettes, computing would NOT have developed the way it did. Other than lousy 300baud modems, this was the only way to transfer data or programs between machines. We didn't get where we are now in one step.
Steven 2 years ago
Not these. Only the Amiga 4000 came with a high-density drive so most were limited to 880kB.
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Compact Cassette Tape
Cassette tapes had a unique charm. Music lovers could create mixtapes and meticulously curate their favorite songs to share with friends and loved ones. Their mechanical whirr and warble added a texture to the music. Sadly, they slowly faded away as digital music became more popular.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Remember having your headphones on, turning up the volume, and listening to the sounds and voices on the little bit of blank tape after the music was over?
Yes, I'm serious 2 years ago
Or needing a pencil to wind it up when it got tangled in the cassette player. The struggle was real 😁
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Dustin Miller 2 years ago
I found a coca cola crate filled with my dad's old cassettes I was gonna take them to work because the kitchen I worked in only had a tape deck stereo radio
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Digital music sucks because it has ZERO involvement. Sure, you can create hundred hour long playlists, but then it becomes background music. When you have to take music out of its case (LP, cassette, CD) and have to physically start it, it involves you the same way a printed book does. When I look through my record, tape and CD collection, I can remember where and when I bought it, how I felt when I first listened to music. How many MP3/FLAC files can you say that about?
David MacLuna 1 year ago
The retcons in this list are fascinating - the "whirr and warble" weren't an issue, for instance,. If you had warble or noise from cassette issues, it was a sign of a mechanical issue, likely the tape wearing out (hopefully not a deck problem). But they're all old now, so finding one that plays well, without noise or pitch flutter and so forth is rare. So somebody that's not heard them before will likely assume tthey always did that hat - it added "texture".
#5
Public Telephone Booths
Phone booths went from iconic landmarks to extinction pretty quickly. Maybe they simply got tired of hearing our endless babble!
Pedantic Panda 2 years ago
Now being reinvented for various reasons, have saw them used as small museums and libraries.
Bouche, Audi, and Shyla, oh my! 2 years ago
So Superman has a place to change clothes.
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LizzieBoredom 2 years ago (edited)
"The first coin-operated booth or payphone was introduced in 1889, design by a Mr. George A. Long." Superman would know this.
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Public phone booths are a necessity. You can't guarantee your phone will always work, and in an emergency (e.g. after a violent assault) you may not have your phone. I'm glad I live in a country where they are still readily available on the street, subway stations, and other places.
#6
Typewriters
A long time ago, typewriters would create a symphony of clacking keys — notifying that someone was hard at work. Sadly, they were outpaced by personal computers and laptops. Still, their clickety-clack charm remains far superior to keyboard typing.
Stefanie Herda 2 years ago
I learned typing on one of those in the picture and today everybodx asks me, why I don't use my pinkies to type. No one today knows what force you had to use to type an a and to make it visible on the paper.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
I do! And you’re right. Later typewriters were lighter touch, so easier on the pinkies, and people started using 10 fingers to type instead of 8. But those old clackers, man! They were tough on all your fingers, and you really had to push those keys down hard to get the type bars to hit the paper hard enough to be able to read them. Fun to hunt and peck as a kid, but impossible to write papers on when you got older. Thank goodness for Microsoft Word, especially for those of us who never took a typing course (I always said I was going to HAVE a secretary, not BE a secretary, and I never was one—-leaned more toward accounting, so I memorized the keypad on the 10 key touch calculator).
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Виталий Конкин 2 years ago
Some of them sounded really more like machine guns than "click-clack"
sofacushionfort 2 years ago
The IBM Selectric: I was always worried the “golf ball” would fly off into my face. Such an angry little homunculus
PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
But man, it spit out letters like a bat out of hell...
Load More Replies... Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Try mailing someone a letter written on a typewriter and see how they react. People respond to that now the same way they used to respond to handwritten letters, i.e. "this was done just for ME!". Typewriters are great for quick and dirty AND legible notes or printed items. You can print something faster than it would take to turn on a computer and use a printer.
#7
Game Boy
The Game Boy was the bestselling gaming device in the early 90s. Its monochrome screen and pixelated sprites captured the hearts of many youngsters.
Noname 2 years ago
Still have mine (yellow) sitting by my Switch, and both Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Yellow games.
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Saint Tim the Godless 2 years ago
No native English speaker under the age of 80 uses the word "youngsters".
detective miller's hat 2 years ago
I liked the Sega Game Gear better (light up screen and full colour way before Gameboy did), but it needed 6 batteries.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
I'd still buy this...it's awesome. I paid like 7$ for one back in the day.
#8
Walkman, Discman And MP3 Players
These portable music players once were the only way for people to enjoy their personal list of songs. They were dethroned by YouTube and Spotify.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
I had one of the first Walkmans. Man, did they drain batteries in record time!
Captain McSmoot 2 years ago
I had nearly forgotten about the illustrious MEGA BASS! Oh sweet, sweet MEGA BASS.
James016 2 years ago
My last Walkman had MEGA BASS. An accurate description.
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Rob Chapman 2 years ago
All of these are from a time when we actually OWNED the music we purchased. Yes, even the mp3 player, as it was loaded with music you ripped from your own cd's or perhaps purchased as a download from iTunes or Amazon. With Spotify etc, you own nothing, and your favorite artist can be removed without warning for countless reasons (including something as mundane as upsetting a small group of people on Twitter)
Judith Remkes 2 years ago
Then came the Walkman phone, the first mobile phone with an mp3 player in it
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
I now repurpose my old candybar phones as MP3 players for use in the garden
#9
Vinyl Records
Vinyl records were the timeless treasures of music enthusiasts. These elegant pieces of technology are a reminder of a time when music was savored, and collected with reverence. They haven’t faded out completely like other obsolete gadgets. A lot of music aficionados still have a turntable and vinyl records.
Amy Taylor 2 years ago
They are back in a huge way! They had a huge year last year. People go nuts for vinyl.
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Records require effort and involvement, require thought and decisionmaking.
Starwhisper Nighthush 2 years ago
I still have my vinyls from the 1960s and 70s. I bought them new ( I'm from the tail end of the boomer generation).
#10
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
The NES had several pixelated games. It was discontinued as high-definition gaming emerged.
Laughing Orc 2 years ago
This caption is waaaay off. The NES had way more than several games, iirc. 8-bit storage doesn't make any sense either... 8-bit refers to the processor. Game cartridges could store a whopping 40kb. And it was discontinued with the advent of the 16-bit consoles, the SNES and Mega Drive / Genesis in the early 90s. High definition gaming wouldn't emerge on home consoles until the PS3 & Xbox 360.
Leah Norris 2 years ago
You wake up on a Saturday morning. You go out, get a bowl of cereal, and since the house is still quiet, you switch on the TV, turn the volume down, turn on the NES, and play Mario Bros. until your mom comes out and tells you it's time to get dressed, put your bowl in the sink, and go outside to play.
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Maybe, but "save codes" existed. You type it in on startup, and all your saved data is there. With the cameras of today, it would be even easier to use save codes.
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Celia McReynolds Tinsley 2 years ago
The Original Nintendo had game cartridges for each game, other than the games it came with, Duck Hunt and Mario Brothers were both on one cartridge.
TheGoodBoi 2 years ago
The only thing I liked about my childhood dentist was the duck hunting game where you had to use the pistol controller thingy..
#11
Tamagotchi
These virtual pets captured the hearts of every ’90s kid. You could feed, play, and care for these adorable pixelated creatures, and watch them grow and evolve. It was a relaxing and compulsive way to enjoy pet ownership without all the fuss.
Johnny Storm 2 years ago
Relaxing and compulsive way to enjoy pet ownership without all the fuss?!! You must be joking or you never play it...
Starwhisper Nighthush 2 years ago
My kid had one. I always ended up 'babysitting' the silly thing when they went to school.
LynnCaster 2 years ago
Am I the only one who notice the pic is a Nano Pet, the primary competition to Tamagotchi?
Dustin Miller 2 years ago
I remember having one, I took it every where. I had one pet that lasted almost a year before finally dieing. I also remember getting one pet that after going through the small creature stage turned into some sort of cloud or ghost creature but it was still alive and needed to be cared for.
Yes, I'm serious 2 years ago
My best friend got one for my son & I ended up "taking care" of it. It died.
#12
Analogue And Dial-Up Modems
You’re truly a ’90s kid if you remember the screeching and beeping as dial-up modems connected to the Internet. This obsolete technology from the ’90s had a snail-paced connection speed. If someone picked up the phone, you’d have to do the frustrating dance with technology once again.
TheGoodBoi 2 years ago (edited)
Oooo when the aunts would call and you'd have to sit there for hours until your mother finally hung up. I'd beg not to pick it up but she would Jedi force pull the damn thing in lightning speed
Load More Replies... Steven 2 years ago
90s? Slow? You would have died in the early 1980s, then, when we were limited to 300 bits per second.
Visitor 2 years ago
Only fancy people had higher than 300 or 400 BAUD. And those people ran the BBS's.
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Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Modems meant I could do my college homework from home, logging into the college's VAX and write programs, written assignments, etc., AND I could do stuff like reading Usenet and Telnet sites. The local public library's Telnet made book searches, renewals and reservations easy, and the local Freenet meant I had internet access for free at a time I was completely broke. I miss those days.
#13
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
These were portable assistants that had a lot of useful features, such as storing contacts, calendar updates, a time management tool, and note-taking software.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
I had a Palm Pilot for a while, until my husband gave me my first iPhone.
Darren A 2 years ago
My first high tech phone was a blackberry. But never really used it
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Guess Undheit 1 year ago
PDAs SUCKED harder than an industrial shopvac. Not because they had very little memory, were volatile and lost data, did not have cameras, did not (early on) have wifi or memory card storage. No, ***EVERY*** PDA sucked from the 1990s until 2010 because they were designed for any by righthanders. Not a single one of them let you switch the interface for left handed use.
#14
Video Home System (VHS)
Back in the ’90s, people would rent VHS tapes to catch up on the latest movies. Now there’s Netflix and many more streaming services.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
Not just rent movies, but record movies and TV shows. Really great if you had cable and at least one good premium channel like HBO or Showtime. You could record relatively new movies for the price of the cable subscription and the tape—-and back in the eighties, cable was comparatively cheap. You also didn’t have countless useless channels no one ever watched that were only added to artificially jack up the price. Like “Hey, we offer you 100 channels (only 95 of them are fillers, basically s**t no one cares about, or wants to watch)”.
HAL 2 years ago
Years ago, my cable TV provider had a channel about... closets! Tell me about fillers >:(
Load More Replies... Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
The author(s) of this list are banging on about streaming services. Sure, that has offered a lot of benefits, but here's why I still like physical media. It will work when you don't have internet connection (and lots of places in Oz don't), it won't pester you with ads at random places (maybe some DVDs might at the start but that's it), and you can play it any time you want without trying to do it before some expiry date
MichelleDonut 2 years ago
I remember in the early 80s, my parents paid $500 for a membership to the first video rental store in our area. This allowed us to come in and rent 4 movies for $5 each, for 48 hours, IIRC. I think renting the VCR was about $25 for 24 hours, so we quickly bought our own. Six months later the membership fee was only $50, LOL!
Celia McReynolds Tinsley 2 years ago
Back in the day people rented the VCR at the same time they rented the movie and we would actually be asked do you want a Beta or VHS because video rental places carried both styles of the VCRs and both types of tapes.
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
I ***loved*** VHS. Just like cassette tapes, a VCR was instantly on, whether playing or recording. VHS was hifi audio, and I spent many weekends in the early 1990s recording CBC radio late at night. [ https://www.tapeheads.net/threads/hi-fi-vhs-for-recording-radio-broadcasts.91454/ ] VHS was also used as computer data storage, competive with CDs in the early 1990s. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUS0Zv2APjU ]
#15
Fax Machines
They were once a ubiquitous presence in offices (along with the pesky dot matrix printer). These machines emitted strange noises and became a symbol of the mundane work environment. Today, we have emails, scanners, and cloud storage, offering faster, paperless solutions.
Cerridwn d'Wyse 2 years ago
One of the biggest uses still for fax machines is Healthcare it's not that it is better it's that it is Grandfather technology so it is permitted in cases where other forms of electronic transfer are not
Jessica Cifelli 2 years ago
A lot of scanners and copiers can now double as fax machines. My home printer can also be a copier/scanner/fax machine all in 1.
Russell Bowman 1 year ago
I remember one if our first fax machines ... you removed a cylinder and wrapped the document on the outside of the drum ... inserted it and it spun up ... scanning s l o w l y down the page ... 5-7 minutes later one page was sent was sent.
#16
Overhead Projectors
They once used to be the centerpiece of dimly lit classroom presentations. Students could place their sheets on the glass of the projector and put on a dazzling presentation. As technology leaped forward, the overhead projector was cast aside.
Laughing Orc 2 years ago
That's a very svelte and sexy looking OHP. The ones in our school were hulking white beasts that needed to be wheeled in on trolleys.
TheGoodBoi 2 years ago
Always made an awful clank noise when turning it on. Always nice to take a snooze when this was brought out
Sami-Jo Ross 2 years ago
You know it was going to be a great day in class when the teacher cut the lights and wheeled that sucker out. Even better when it was free time and the teacher let you play with it!
#17
Rotary Telephones And Wired Landlines
Before mobile phones, rotary phones, with their finger-spinning dials, were used in several homes. Their cords would wind and knot around like a hot mess. Thankfully, smartphones came around and we finally said goodbye to those knotty wires.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
Hated the knotty wires...absolutely adored the rotary dial. I'd still take one of those just as a cool decor.
PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
The cords only got knotty if nobody bothered to untwist them. I never had knotted cords on any phones in my world. I still have rotary phones, and the 25 foot handset cord on my wall phone has no knots. I will never give it up. Dragging my desk phone around on its 50 ft wall cord is better than getting calls dropped ANY DAY
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sofacushionfort 2 years ago (edited)
1. The knotty coil was caused by picking up the receiver with the dominant hand, then rotating it so you could write, then hanging up; repeating this call after call. 2. Whip-dialing the rotary when you were calling someone you were angry with was more theatrical than today when you mash the buttons on your iPhone
PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
Thank you <3 and I love rotary dialing <3
Load More Replies... Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
I always wanted a phone—-not a reproduction, but the real thing—-like the one in the picture. I just love the sleek lines of phones from the thirties and forties. Guess I’m going to have to keep an eye out on eBay.
TheGoodBoi 2 years ago
Miss playing with my grandmother's....*cliiiick durrrr, cliiiick durrrrr*
PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
You can come over and make calls on one of mine...
Load More Replies... Judith Remkes 2 years ago
https://www.sears.com/search=cordless%20retro%20rotary%20phone
Load More Replies... #18
Pagers And Beepers
They once used to be clipped-on status symbols. Pagers would buzz with urgency and display cryptic messages of no more than a few characters.
Brenda 2 years ago
Hubby was required to wear one until just 4-5 years ago. He was on the decontamination team at the hospital he worked for. They worked even when nothing else would
TheGoodBoi 2 years ago (edited)
*Happy tone* *glances at pager* Oh god, my fridge is running again. Got to go!
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
I used to have a Swatch Pager watch, the biggest waste of money ever.
Russell Bowman 1 year ago
Recently pages became popular again ,,, but their popularity ended with a bang
#19
Digital Audio Tapes (DAT)
Sony developed the Digital Audio Tape (DAT) in 1987. They were used for recording music. They lost their relevance in the early 2000s.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
Pen. A BIC pen with the—-was it octagonal?—-shape were the best, because they fit the spokes perfectly. Round pens were useless.
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#20
Daisy Wheel And Dot-Matrix Printers
Imagine waiting for a printout as the daisy wheel and dot matrix printers sprayed tiny dots of ink on the paper. You could take a lunch break, and they’d still be printing. They were a true test of patience.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Remember the roll of rough textured green and white lined paper for them? Then the huge roll of smooth and glossy white paper? Remember having to line up the holes and sprockets exactly even, or it would jam?
Cara 2 years ago
I remember being given the green and white paper to draw on at school, never bothered to work out what the printing was on the other side.
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Tim Fawcett 2 years ago
Apart from it is inkjet printer that spray dots of ink. A daisy wheel uses a wheel with petals - each one has a letter on it. It spins the right letter into place and them a hammer bangs on the petal onto a ribbon and then the paper. Also used in typewriters. Dot matrix printers use lines of pins fired at the ribbon and through it the paper to mark dots which are built up to form letters
Robert Trebor 2 years ago
Dot matrix printers are still in use in some places. Visit someone in a Texas prison, your pass is printed on a dot matrix printer.
HAL 2 years ago
Ah, that's nothing. In Japan, the goverment phased out the use of floppy disks like two months ago, LOL
Load More Replies... HAL 2 years ago (edited)
Yeah, I remember that. The days when not just a sheet was printed, but several, and sometimes with a carbon sheet in between each (sometimes not), and you filled the whole garbage bin in a single work day. Also the days when page formatting AND also paper size were important as f*ck. Now we all use like two sizes of paper and that's it.
Load More Replies... Guess Undheit 1 year ago
I ***WANT*** a dot matrix printer again. If I want laser printing, I'll go to 7-11 and pay a few pennies per sheet. Most of my printing is quick and dirty stuff (lists, source code, B&W maps), for which a dot matrix printer is more than adequate.
#21
Nintendo 64
The Nintendo 64 was very popular when it was launched in the late ’90s. But as the new millennium approached, sleeker consoles emerged, and the console, with its 64-bit processor, fell behind in the race.
TheGoodBoi 2 years ago
Still got it! Currently playing Zelda Ocarina of Time. Damn water temple...
Easwar Arun 2 years ago
Unpopular opinion water temple is the best dungeon in oot
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Space Yeti 2 years ago
This is one of the most playable retro consoles. It’s fun and retro but the gameplay is captivating enough to let you play it for hours.
#22
Portable DVD Players
Portable DVD players were the ultimate travel companions, delivering movies with a few clicks. However, they struggled to keep up after smartphones and tablets were invented.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
And now computers and laptop’s don’t even have disc drives for CDs and DVDs anymore. You know, for the movies you can’t find on iTunes or Amazon—-and that you actually own, not purchase the use of, which can be taken away any time they have an issue with the copyright, or the studio wants to change the contract, or some such b******t.
Judith Remkes 2 years ago
I had a desktop built and I specifically asked for a dvd player. They told me I didn't want a dvd player, because nobody uses that. Well, I do...
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Dustin Miller 2 years ago
My brother played baseball with a family who had 3 1 for each kid, as well as having the minivan option to have DVD players in the 2nd and 3rd row
#23
Film Cameras
Film cameras required patience and craftsmanship. They could only click 36 photos at a time, so every aspiring photographer had to be very selective of what to snap. The film roll then had to be developed meticulously in a dark room to avoid overexposure. A few photography aficionados still own (and use) vintage film cameras.
Stay Off My Lawn 2 years ago
This description is hilarious 😂 It’s a 35mm, not a daguerrotype. Sheesh!
#24
Cathode Ray Tube Televisions
Long before LCD and LED flatscreens, our parents owned cathode-ray tube televisions. They had a bulky frame with an antenna that needed constant adjusting (and a few thumps) to catch the perfect signal.
Laughing Orc 2 years ago
These are now collectors items and are highly sought after by retro video game enthusiasts - many older games were designed around the quirks of CRT televisions and don't look the same when emulated or played on a modern LCD / LED screen
Marcus Lynch 2 years ago
Exactly. Try playing original "Duck Hunt" without one.
Load More Replies... Rob Chapman 2 years ago
Why do all of these sound like they're written by some kid who thinks the 90's was 100 years ago
Glynna Bowood 2 years ago
Still have one of these along with a DVD AND a VHS player on top of it!!
Johnny Storm 2 years ago
I still remember my mother lesson.. "When the TV go bzzt, knock on it with your knife hand, 45 degree."
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
And you caught flack if you fiddled with the vertical hold or horizontal hold knobs
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
We've still got a "big back" television at home, 25 years old now and still looks great.
#25
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 was a pioneer in the gaming world. Its iconic joystick brought the thrill of arcade games right into our living rooms.
Bouche, Audi, and Shyla, oh my! 2 years ago
I was the best Space Jockey in the family. I kicked butt at tennis, and beat the computer on expert Othello. I was okay at Centipede and Space Invaders, but sucked at Pacman.
#26
Calculator Watches
They were the equivalent of geek chic in the ’90s. The tech-savvy trendsetters could solve simple math problems for you.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
Who needs a calculator watch? I had a pacman watch in the early 80's endless hours of fun during boring lessons.
#27
Calculators
This technology is not obsolete but has been around for so long that it deserves a place on our list.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
Calculators are a main stay....whether it's a dedicated calculator or on my phone, it's always in use.
Glynna Bowood 2 years ago
A better entry would have been phone answering machines even digital ones...but of course hardly anyone has land lines so double redundancy.
Starwhisper Nighthush 2 years ago
I still have a landline and an answering machine; they're great for screening calls you don't want to answer.
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#28
PS/2 Ports
The default keyboard and mouse connections to desktops had to be made using PS/2 connectors. They’re not completely obsolete as they are still used by gamers to connect different devices.
Dustin Miller 2 years ago
The best is when you're born just at the right time to have PCs like these while also having a PS2 in the family game room; so then when you hear someone say PS/2 port you think you can play your PS2 games on the computer
Rob Chapman 2 years ago
I can honestly say I do not miss the days when every computer accessory used a different type of connector. USB made things so much simpler.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
The authors clearly have never heard of parallel and serial ports either
#29
Pocket TVs
They first came out in the 1970s and had a 1.5-inch screen to help you avoid boredom.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
The ones from the sixties were way bigger than this Casio. My father had one we used to take camping, because it had a battery compartment and a decent antenna. The thing had a handle, a screen that was maybe 4” x4”, and was just a little smaller than an early 2000s desktop CPU—-when they switched from beige to black and CPUs started getting smaller and smaller.
Will Cable 2 years ago
My partner found their old pocket TV in a drawer, sadly it no longer works since the switch to digital
Dogcat vet (retired) 2 years ago
My mother used to take it on the half day fishing boats off La Jolla kelp beds so she could watch/listen to her soap operas on the trip in and out.
#31
VCR
The VCR is another obsolete technology example that was very popular for its time. These home entertainment systems revolutionized how people consumed movies and TV shows in the ’80s and ’90s. They also came in handy when you had to record a TV show.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
And when they first came out you had to decide between VHS or Beta. And woe betide those people who chose Beta...
Bouche, Audi, and Shyla, oh my! 2 years ago
They didn't listen to Agnes Nutter.
Load More Replies... Amy Taylor 2 years ago
I still have one, there are a lot o obscure movies that have never been released on DVD or streaming
Starwhisper Nighthush 2 years ago
When the first ones came out, people had problems setting the the time on it. I was able to set the time but I could never get the thing to record anything 😋
#32
Gamegear
In 1991, Sega debuted the Game Gear, a portable 8-bit gaming system. It was a bulky device that craved a lot of batteries.
#33
Disposable Cameras
They came preloaded with a film reel that could take up to 36 photos.
Amy Taylor 2 years ago
I still see these at weddings… they put them on the reception tables for the guests to take pics
Brenda 2 years ago
I did this as we couldn't afford a photographer. Worked
Load More Replies... Boris Long-Johnson 2 years ago (edited)
Some companies still issue them in their vehicles as part of an “RTI pack” incase of a crash. Usually a pen, notepad, company insurance forms and a disposable camera. Smartphones are doing away with these but some companies still like to issue them incase of a flat battery etc.
Marcus Lynch 2 years ago
Absolute huge waste. If they had a flash, they also had a circuit board, capacitor and battery inside. I worked in a photo lab when these were at their peak and salvaged enough AA batteries to probably power a house. Glad these things are history.
Boris Long-Johnson 2 years ago
They were really good at making “people zappers” - the output from the flash capacitor had a hell of a kick on bare skin.
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#34
8-Track Players
The 8-track tape car stereos were the ultimate travel companions in the ’60s.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
And through the seventies too. By the early eighties, cassettes were king, and they were selling 8 Track converters so you could play cassettes in your 8 Track player. It was the size of an 8 Track, but had a place to put the cassette so it would play.
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
The sound quality sucked, breaking up songs "across programs" sucked, but give credit to 8-track for making musical choice portable. Before this, the only portable music was transistor radios (no choice) or portable turntables (if you were stationary).
#35
Original 128k Macintosh
The original 128K Macintosh made Apple the industry leader in personal computers.
#36
Portable Dictation Devices
They were reliable companions for busy professionals who wanted to take notes. Now we have voice-recording apps.
#37
Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)
DVDs have a much larger storage capacity compared to CDs. A conventional DVD has a maximum storage capacity of 4.7GB, whereas upgraded versions have a maximum storage capacity of 17.08GB and an extended lifespan.
Russell Bowman 1 year ago
I have a few cases of "LaserDiscs" in the basement. If you can imagine a 12 inch DVD-like medium. Plus it, like a vinyl record, had to be turned over in the middle of the movie,
Dustin Miller 2 years ago
The V in DVD is versatile? I always thought DVD meant digital video disk
Steven 2 years ago
Very much so, as witnessed by its continued use as physical media for console games and computer software. The consortium behind it wanted people to use it for more than just video.
Load More Replies... #38
The Clapper
Clappers were light switches that responded to claps to turn the lights on and off. They were convenient for anyone feeling lazy. They aren’t completely redundant, and you may still be able to buy a clapper online.
#39
Nintendo Power Glove
This was an innovative accessory of the ’90s, far ahead of its time. It promised an immersive gaming experience; however, its functionality was limited.
#40
Apple iPods
iPods gave us 1,000 songs in our pocket. Now, with music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, iPods have become a thing of the past.
Laughing Orc 2 years ago
I think it's less to do with streaming services and more to do with phones being able to store much more music than they could when iPods were introduced.
Dustin Miller 2 years ago
It originated with phones being able to hold more and play music, but more recently with the popularity of Spotify, apple music, and the other various music streaming apps basically rendered the need for a separate music device as unnecessary.
Load More Replies... #41
ColecoVision
The ColecoVision had over 145 games and gave us gems like Donkey Kong, and Frogger. It was discontinued in the ’80s.
#42
Blackberry Phone
The BlackBerry is another obsolete technology that was very popular in the late 2000s. It was quite a status symbol in the business world with its sleek design and signature keyboard. You would often hear people asking, “What’s your BlackBerry PIN?” as a subtle snark that they owned a BlackBerry.
Boris Long-Johnson 2 years ago
God blackberries were awful - the nokia E series was far better but it was a mercy when touch screen phones killed them.
#43
LaserDisc
Our list of old gadgets from the ’80s wouldn’t be complete without LaserDiscs. They were popular among cinephiles as they offered better video quality than VHS tapes. However, they were fragile and susceptible to damage. They gave way to DVDs.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
In the eighties we called them Videodiscs. They required a special player you could rent with the discs. It was similar to a CD player, only the discs were as big around as an LP, but many times thicker. They were only out for a short time in the early eighties, then disappeared when VCRs took over the market. You could only play whatever movies were out on Videodisc, but not record anything at all, which was a huge drawback, plus VCRs were way way cheaper than the original video player/recorder, the Betamax. VCR tapes were also smaller and cheaper than Betamax tapes.
Rob Chapman 2 years ago (edited)
I bought a high end Laserdisc player in 1996 for about $700, and would rent LD's from Blockbuster. A year later, DVD rendered it obsolete. That did not turn out to be a good investment. Although I did end getting a whole ton of Laserdiscs for about $5 each when they got clearanced out.
Dustin Miller 2 years ago
My dad described them as digital records when I asked what they were. After I asked him to explain more he told me that like a record if a laser disc was ever scratched it was basically unplayable
Laughing Orc 2 years ago
Laserdiscs were awful and ridiculously expensive. Not to mention gigantic.
#44
Nintendo's R.O.B.
The Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) was perhaps the first attempt to introduce AI into the real world. It had a distinctive design and offered interactive gameplay. The R.O.B. added a futuristic twist to our gaming experiences.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
I had never seen this and it looks like the inspiration for Wall-E
#45
GPS Navigation Systems In Cars
After paper maps, people relied on GPS navigation systems — bulky devices that could be fitted on the car dashboard. But as smartphones became smarter, standalone GPS devices gradually lost their shine.
Chase The Lucario 2 years ago
My grandpa still uses a GPS Navigation System that's like 15 years old. Works like a charm
Yes, I'm serious 2 years ago
My late husband used to hold up his Rand McNally & say it was his GPS: Got Paper System.
candace mccoy 2 years ago
Have a question. My daughter is an only child. She had most of these. When people find out I’m told we spoiled her whatever she whines for and wants. We only bought the last eat thing at the time. But when someone has more than one can only buy one or two of something for their kids to share it’s “isn’t that sweet”. What’s the difference. She never whines or threw tantrum. She would give hints, hang picture on fridge, picture on dads wallet or my purse.
Cara 2 years ago
The sadness here is the lack of maps. Much easier to get a sense of an area in relation to other things rather than sat nav that sends you a different route every time, or makes you do an awkward right hand turn across a busy road, just to cut a corner. Still work when there’s no internet connection/power too.
PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
YES. Plus we can't get an overview with all information intact on any digital format!!
Load More Replies... Boris Long-Johnson 2 years ago (edited)
Maybe you could say phones POWERING gps via carplay/AA but I call bull on the actual claim. Most cars either have built in sat nav or have it as a cost option. I still always use my cars satnav over my phones even though I have carplay as the carplay doesn’t project into the HUD.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
At least my paper map won't tell me to drive straight into a river
Boris Long-Johnson 2 years ago
The common factor here is the meat in the seat - I’m not convinced the people to drive into rivers could read a map.
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What do you think ?
Adam Belaire 2 years ago
I feel a lot of these could've been combined into a single entry. IE Pre-Wii video game consoles "NES, SNES, Gameboy, Game Gear, Genesis, etc."
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Slide rules. From their invention in 1622 until portable calculators appeared in 1970, the slide rule WAS the portable computer. Einstein used it to write the Theory of Relativity, and Newton used one to create Calculus. EVERY construction for 350 years (Eiffel Tower, Titanic, Empire State Building, B-52, Saturn V rockets, etc.) was built using the slide rule. slide-rule...737730.jpg 
Haley Futch 2 years ago
Why are so many people complaining in the comments that these are still in use? Yes, some of them are. But they're still old and mostly obsolete. Can you find it in under 5 minutes in the store? No? Then it's mostly obsolete
Adam Belaire 2 years ago
I feel a lot of these could've been combined into a single entry. IE Pre-Wii video game consoles "NES, SNES, Gameboy, Game Gear, Genesis, etc."
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Slide rules. From their invention in 1622 until portable calculators appeared in 1970, the slide rule WAS the portable computer. Einstein used it to write the Theory of Relativity, and Newton used one to create Calculus. EVERY construction for 350 years (Eiffel Tower, Titanic, Empire State Building, B-52, Saturn V rockets, etc.) was built using the slide rule. slide-rule...737730.jpg
Haley Futch 2 years ago
Why are so many people complaining in the comments that these are still in use? Yes, some of them are. But they're still old and mostly obsolete. Can you find it in under 5 minutes in the store? No? Then it's mostly obsolete
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