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Name a better time capsule than ads for technology. Go on, I'll wait.

Looking back at a gadget from decades ago really shows how far humanity has come. A landline answering machine, a 10-megabyte hard drive... It's crazy to think that at one point, now-obsolete technology was not only top-of-the-line but also a bargain. Now, paying a couple of months worth of salary for memory that fits no more than a few songs makes little sense when you consider that 4 terabytes of external storage cost less than $100.

These vintage ads no longer serve any other purpose than to point out the major shifts in technology and how much better things are now. But then again, that's quite something.

#1

Tandy Ct-300 Cellular Phone: $1,499.00 [$3,116.43 Today]

Tandy Ct-300 Cellular Phone: $1,499.00 [$3,116.43 Today]

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Haunting Spirit
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In twenty years the ad will be replaced by an iPhone or Samsung phone as they are way too expensive for what you get nowadays.

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As this list clearly illustrates, there seems to be a significant innovation that changes how we live our lives each decade. With these advancements, some technology always becomes obsolete. With this in mind, one might wonder: which today's devices can become useless in the future?

Isaiah Nwukor, web developer and designer at Storemods, a service for e-commerce-using individuals, said that the cloud might eventually become all that people use for data storage, pushing the flash drive out into oblivion.

In the early 2000s, USB drives replaced floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs due to their larger storage capacity, but now cloud storage has become the top competitor when it comes to storing and sharing. Mostly because of its limitless capacity and increased security.

#2

Imsai PC With 10mb Hard Disk, 64k Ram: $5,995.00 [$18,700 Today]

Imsai PC With 10mb Hard Disk, 64k Ram: $5,995.00 [$18,700 Today]

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chi-wei shen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the early 1980s hard disks were not that common. Many computers had 1 or sometimes 2 floppy disk drives.

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Some experts are also saying their goodbyes to laptops. "Laptops are quickly being replaced by tablets. Modern tablets have more computing power than the traditional user needs," Bryan Lemon, software development lead at Heliponix told Business Insider, adding that most computing needs, even those of many software developers, will likely transition to tablets.

Lemon said it might become common to have a tablet with a docking station that allows peripheral attachments, like a keyboard or a larger screen.

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#3

Panasonic Rx 5500 Stereo: $576.19 [$2,046 Today]

Panasonic Rx 5500 Stereo: $576.19 [$2,046 Today]

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And let's not forget the advancements made in developing autonomous cars. "The driver's seat will become just another passenger seat as self-driving cars become more powerful and a new generation doesn't even learn how to drive," Lemon said.

Of course, all of this play out to be completely differently. Because as you might not, even though there have been accurate prophecies about the future, there were horribly bad ones, too.

#4

The 1978 Ibm 5110: $18,000

The 1978 Ibm 5110: $18,000

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#5

Sears 8-Digit Electronic Calculator: $98.95

Sears 8-Digit Electronic Calculator: $98.95

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#6

Xcomp 10mb Hard Disk: $3,398.00

Xcomp 10mb Hard Disk: $3,398.00

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MrTree1779
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just bought two 12TB Hard drives for $280. $23/TB. -- This 10MB HD is priced at $340 per MB. At that rate, the 12TB HDs I bought would have cost $23M. -- Today, 1GB (1000MB) is around...23 cents. And 10MB of space is worth less than a penny. -- Amazing how much tech changes in 30-40 years.

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#7

Spartan Apple II+ Emulator: $599.00

Spartan Apple II+ Emulator: $599.00

Mimic Systems Inc Report

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Sawdust
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Emulating an Apple II on a C64 back in the day?! Would love to see someone demonstrating this device.

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#8

Betavision Video Cassette Recorder: $985.00

Betavision Video Cassette Recorder: $985.00

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#10

Intecolor 3621 With 51k Disk Drive: $3,300.00

Intecolor 3621 With 51k Disk Drive: $3,300.00

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#11

Sinclair Zx80 With 4k Basic: $199.95

Sinclair Zx80 With 4k Basic: $199.95

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Scagsy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh wow! I had the Sinclair ZX81 and it was about as effective as 'Worm' on the Nokia in terms of processing power

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#12

Phone-Mate Answering Machine: $129.50

Phone-Mate Answering Machine: $129.50

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#13

Emerson Radio Corporation Television Set - 1949: $599.50

Emerson Radio Corporation Television Set - 1949: $599.50

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Would be cool to get one of these, replace the tv with a touchscreen pc and use it to play my music....

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#14

Jvc Hr-7300 Vidstar Vhs: $1,280.00

Jvc Hr-7300 Vidstar Vhs: $1,280.00

JVC Report

#16

Motorola Stereo Hi-Fi Coffee Table: $169.95

Motorola Stereo Hi-Fi Coffee Table: $169.95

motorola Report

#17

Trs-80 Computer Sold In 1977: $3,450

Trs-80 Computer Sold In 1977: $3,450

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#18

Mid-80's Seagate St4096 Memory Hard Disk: $12,000

Mid-80's Seagate St4096 Memory Hard Disk: $12,000

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Matthew Smith
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can tell you from personal experience that de-fragging one of those drives takes hours.

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#19

10 Megabyte Hard Drive: $3,500

10 Megabyte Hard Drive: $3,500

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ISAAC HARVEY
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And today, one can get an iPad Pro with 1 terabyte(1024 Gb) of storage from Apple for around $1500.

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#20

Sinclair Microvision TV: $395.00

Sinclair Microvision TV: $395.00

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#21

Cellphone From UK: $895

Cellphone From UK: $895

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Matthew Smith
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why I didn't bother with a mobile phone till they became affordable around the late 90's.

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#22

Ampex Fr200 Tape Transport: $2,675.00

Ampex Fr200 Tape Transport: $2,675.00

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MrTree1779
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

C'mon, right? I mean, who *doesn't* want a tape player build right into the wall and exposed to the elements? If that thing un-spools, they can just use one of those giant *gag* pens to re-spool it.

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#23

Bell & Howell 8mm Camera: $207.70

Bell & Howell 8mm Camera: $207.70

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M O'Connell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

since the zoom mechanism was driven by the same clockwork that advanced the film, I wonder if the frame-rate briefly dipped while using that feature.

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#24

Osborne Computer: $1795

Osborne Computer: $1795

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#25

1977 The Apple Ll: $1195

1977 The Apple Ll: $1195

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#26

1984 PC Computer Unit: $5,000

1984 PC Computer Unit: $5,000

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Scagsy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Imagine how grim it must've been to be tied to one of these all day every day

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#27

The Commodore 64: $600

The Commodore 64: $600

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Norma
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My first computer. Spent hundreds of hours typing in code in C64 magazines to run free games. What a hoot!

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#28

The Trs-80 Model 4 (1983): $1,300

The Trs-80 Model 4 (1983): $1,300

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Madzdad the bard
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually had this. My dad added an extra 64k memory to the base 64k, but since it was an 8-bit OS, it could only access 64k of memory and the rest (that he paid several hundred $ for) could only be used as a RAM drive.

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#29

Westinghouse 'Big Picture Television': $269 (Today Would Be Around $2,700)

Westinghouse 'Big Picture Television': $269 (Today Would Be Around $2,700)

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MrTree1779
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Another 1949 ad which promises the ridiculous: "Giant Electronic close-up". Definitely a feature we've all used on our TVs. Right...

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#30

Atari 400 PC: $549.00

Atari 400 PC: $549.00

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MrTree1779
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly 2-3 games being advertised. The rest are "educational" or "business". Console computer companies often had no clue who their real audiences were...

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#31

Realistic Trc-471 Transceiver: $259.95

Realistic Trc-471 Transceiver: $259.95

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#32

15mb Hdd: $2,500

15mb Hdd: $2,500

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#33

The Trs-80 Micro: $3,875

The Trs-80 Micro: $3,875

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#34

1976 Apple 1: $666.66

1976 Apple 1: $666.66

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#35

Sears Video Arcade: $178.95

Sears Video Arcade: $178.95

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#36

10 Megabyte Hard Disk System: $3,695

10 Megabyte Hard Disk System: $3,695

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#37

Low-Cost Hard Disk Computer: $10k

Low-Cost Hard Disk Computer: $10k

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Terri Rimmer
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My dad was a computer tech in the 70s, working on giant computers for The Omni.

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#38

2 Cents A Byte! Sink Your Teeth Into A Helping Of Ram Without Burning A Hole In Your Wallet. From 16-32k Ram Memory: Starting From $299

2 Cents A Byte! Sink Your Teeth Into A Helping Of Ram Without Burning A Hole In Your Wallet. From 16-32k Ram Memory: Starting From $299

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Baali Venomax
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure, so you burn a hole in your parents' wallet instead? like a kid can afford that.

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#39

The Apf Imagination Machine A Video Game Console: $599

The Apf Imagination Machine A Video Game Console: $599

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M O'Connell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Including the tape interface, that seems like a pretty good deal for an entry-level machine.

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#40

A Basic Cassette Tape Recorder From Philips: $166

A Basic Cassette Tape Recorder From Philips: $166

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MrTree1779
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Matt "Techmoan" Taylor has a great episode explaining Grundig and DC international, and how they relate to Philips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT3_cS1KNYc

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