Have you ever noticed that your grandparents' old fridge just keeps on ticking, despite often being multiple decades old? Or the home screen of a new phone has a Christmas tree’s worth of lights and color on it for no good reason? Well, you aren’t alone.
Someone asked “What's a piece of 'obsolete' technology you still use today because it's better than the modern version?” and people gave their favorite examples. From good, old-fashioned knobs in their cars to, thankfully, not-smart home appliances, get comfortable before you read through, upvote your favorites and be sure to comment your own suggestions below.
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Any non-“smart” things. Light bulbs, doorbell, washing machine, fridge, etc. I don’t need any of them to connect to the internet. Just do the basic job and don’t break or quickly become obsolete, please.
Knobs in my car to control radio and heat/ac. So much safer than screens
Not exactly obsolete, but I've been told it's odd in 2023. I buy physical CDs, rip them to my hard drive, put a copy on my phone, and listen to my music without ad interruptions or subscription costs.
Edit: and for all you "bUt ThAt'S mOrE eXpEnSiVeR!" folks, no it ain't. I'm in my 40s. I listen to mostly the same s**t I listened to in the 90s, and I've already had most of my music collection for 25+ years. I'm buying 3 new CDs a year, max.
Paper menu… why you making take a picture of a square, go to a website and squint on my phone to see what you got to eat.
My friends took me out to dinner, I'm waiting for the person to bring our menus, and my friends said it on their app. What the f***k? they had to download that square thing, to then download something else, I don't need all this c**p on my phone, I already disable a lot of the stuff on it, now I gotta add more, and it makes life harder? No Thanks
Books. I take books out the library, read them, return them. Seeing what books are available on my “want to read list” is a fun game in itself.
Opening a damn web browser and going to a store's website instead of using an app, if the option is there.
Paper and pencil.
Way better than trying to write or draw on an ipad
Wired headphones. Wireless airbuds make me irrationally angry, it just seems so frivolous and easy to lose.
100% all kitchen stuff like kitchenaids, mixing bowls, old Pyrex, old wooden spoons, Dutch ovens, ect all were better before the 90's newer items of all these things especially Pyrex are flimsy. The appliances have planned obsolescence and new Pyrex baking dishes I'm scared to even use in the oven because I've had 2 explode on me. My old ones I inherited from my grandmother never given me an issue
I read an article a while ago that said there is a difference in "Pyrex" and "pyrex" The brand Pyrex sold their name to a company that makes cheap knockoffs, which has the lowercase "p" at the front of the name
A few years ago I was really broke and had no car, so I bought a 1997 Buick Park Avenue with 200,000 miles on it. That car lasted all the way up to 350,000 miles. Yeah, stuff broke on it, but it was so easy to fix and parts were so cheap.
I had zero mechanical skills, and I was able to bring that car back from the dead on 3 separate occaisions with incredibly basic tools just by reading a manual.
They literally do not make cars like that anymore.
Can opener. The manual ones work just fine, I don't know why an electric one that takes up space on the counter 24/7 when it gets used for all of 10 seconds is necessary.
i bought the OXO manual and my arthritic fingers thank me every time i use it, i buy it as a gift for people
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My hands aren't strong enough for a manual anymore. Luckily, I seldom need to open cans. The cats eat kibble.
I've been hunting up thrift stores for a Swing-a-way can opener! They work better than anything.
I've got one that originally belonged to my great grandmother, nothing comes close.
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I recently bought an electric can opener because I have arthritis in my hands and it was getting too painful to use the hand one even though I prefer it!
Some people are differently abled. So many people complaining about electric this and that just because they don't need it themselves. There are other people in the world that actually need/appreciate things like electric can openers. We don't complain about lifts because stairs exist. Calm down and stop finding 'modern' things to get angry about, and maybe appreciate that newer inventions actually make some people's lives better/easier.
As someone with Ehlers-danlos syndrome (symptoms identical to arthritis), thank you for saying this!
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Electric is useful when your hands are affected by arthritis and autoimmune disease.
I havent used a can opener for years all the tins i use have ring pulls
Can openers are obsolete? God forbid anyone's use of any manual tools anymore - because they are so old-fashioned.
Under the cabinet electric can opener. Saves space and hands! Win! Win!
I have nerve damage in my chest wall, and the action you have to use with a manual tin opener causes me severe pain in my chest.
Since I've gotten old and have a weakened grip strength, I rely on electric.
Because not everyone has the strength in their hands and wrists for manual ones. Others have arthritis.
Because some folks don't have the strengh in their hands and wrists for manual ones
My Gen Z daughter had no idea how to use a manual can opener when I handed her one.
So teach her !!!! If zombie apocalipsis come , kiddos have to know how to open a can!!!!!!
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A lot of cans have pop tops now. Soup cans, tomatoes, pet food, all come to mind.
Welcome to Australia! I'm a Canadian born Aussie (a Canaussie if you will) & I was very surprised to find that electric can openers are mostly unheard of when I moved here. I've seen them advertised but have never actually seen one in the wild. I think it's because 99.9% of tins have a ring pull. Most people have a rotary can opener rattling around in a kitchen drawer but there is rarely a need for it these days.
I have one (an old-fashioned tin opener, not an electric one) but use it about once a year. Tins all have ring pulls. Obviously electric tin openers, like many other "lazy" devices, can be indispensable for those with movement-limiting conditions - there's nothing wrong with them. But as a mere convenience they seem a bit pointless.
Even electric can openers are becoming obsolete, most cans have a pull top these days.
Ehlers-danlos syndrome (symptoms near identical to arthritis, aswell as bones breaking really easy, joints dislocating constantly, fatigue, and bruising easy.)
Well, if you are using that kind of opener, as in the picture, I would disagree. But I use a manual side-cutter type and I would trade that for an electric model any day.
I am left handed so an electric can opener is a godsend to me. I know there are left handed can opener but it is just easier and quicker to use the electric one.
I never touched a left handed can opener. I'm left handed. I learned young that I needed to learn. I use a can opener right handed, I shoot both left and right, I use chainsaws right handed(power tools are a major cause of left handed people's death), and learned to do almost everything right handed because I know I can learn and do.
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My mother uses an electric one because she has trouble with manual ones due to arthritis in her hands. I stick with the manual, though. I find the electric one a bit confusing.
Some people go through a lot of canned food.. plus have dogs or cats... and then there is the whole Arthritis thing..
Ok, there's manual and there's manual. The kind in the pic are nasty and leave sharp rough edges. The older conventional type have a cog that pulls the blade round the tin as you wind the handle, but still leaves an edge. The more modern ones actually separate the lid from the tin by cutting the crimp and leave a smooth edge. I prefer the latter, but they can be fiddly to get in the right place to use.
I have to use an electric one or have someone else open cans for. Had really bad hands since I was 30 and at 37 my future isn't looking great
Mayne it's not the same where you likve, but 99.9% of canned good these days come with pull-off lids. I haven't needed a tin opener for years. (OK, TBF, once or twice after being clumsy and ripping the ring-pull off),
Looking in my cupboard, only "brand name" cans have pull rings, and not on all the products. Pull rings are just as hard to use if you have arthritis, reduced feeling in your hands, etc. I've found that the manual can opener with a huge "turn key" (the part you twist) but set on TOP so you're cutting through the thinner can just below the lid, not cutting the thicker lid, is SO very much easier.
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Either a battery operated, or rechargeable can opener. I think it is more used for people with arthritis, or people who may not have the strength to use a traditional can opener.
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I get it if opening cans is your job, like at a diner or something, but at home, you don’t need an electric one. My grandma has had the same manual one for 10 years and it still works like it’s brand new.
I have 4 manual can openers in my kitchen drawer. I couldn't manage to open a single can with any of them. So I bought an electric can opener. Problem solved.
we have both a manual and electric can opener. the manual one doesn't open smaller diameter cans (like soup), the electric doesn't open wider ones (like tuna). so weird. i prefer the manual though, less noisy. but i can see how helpful the electric ones are for people with dexterity issues
A good quality can opener is a must in ANY kitchen. when I moved in with my (now) husband he had a old but reasonably decent one that lasted for years. When it started looking like is was ready to beput out to pastur e I started looking for a high quality replacement. I'd rather spend $25 now for a sturdy and comfortable to use model that will last another 15 years then get something that will break in 2 years and be hell on my wrists.
I second that and agree with you 100%! I had a can opener last me 30 years before it finally went to pieces on me. I have bought two manual replacements that also broke. Hopefully, the other two manual replacements will last. I have kept the part of my old can opener that can be used to leave a small opening. Worse case, I will use that to completely open a can if I have to.
All well and fine if you are without disabilities or illness. An electric one might take up more space, but that 10 seconds is a whole lot easier, less painful (and safer) for many! Sometimes new tech gives people back their lives. Maybe don’t judge about people being lazy or hooked on tech until you’ve been in their shoes. You just do you.
Electric can openers are a gift for those of us with arthritic hands.
Some people, like me, have arthritis in their fingers. I find it impossible to use a manual can opener, and have to use an electric one
because sometimes people have arthritis or other chronic conditions that make it painful to use things like manual can openers. also the electric one we have cuts sideways through the can just below the rim, so there are no sharp edges anywhere and you can set the top part back on the can as a lid!
If you are left handed you will know why manual can openers are the pits.
Regular can openers end up getting sticky and gross with all the residue on the blade. I use the kind that cuts horizontally through the seam on the lid top. Much cleaner.
I have a wall-mounted Swing-a-Way crank can opener. It’s served me well for 35 years.
Did they have to use a picture of a can opener from the civil war to make their point? I'm sure the original poster was talking about the manual kind with a handle you turn.
Manuel ones replaced knives right? Never seen anyone in all my yrs have electric one let alone on counter. At first pictured under cabinet like old school chalk board school classrm pencil sharpeners.
Perhaps not as manual as the one in the photo, but I prefer a manual can opener. I really don't like myriad appliances taking up valuable counter space.
The one on this picture is lethal, uknow several people slice fingers and hands uing these
For someone that can't use their left hand very well at all. I hate manual can openers
It has to do with all the micro metal filings that fall into the can from can-top openers. Electric openers usually cut the side bead of the can so nothing goes into the can.
I have a manual can opener but, unlike the picture, mine unseals the glue soo the top comes off WITH NO JAGGED EDGES!
Manual user, namely because people never clean their electric can openers. I can throw my two dollar opener in hot soapy water.
I've had my Swingline for ages -- just don't put it in the dishwasher.
we had an electric can opener back in the 70s and 80s. Everyone did. But we opened a lot more cans and ate more canned food. These days, I just have a regular handheld because I use it so seldomly.
I've tried many modern can operers & they all have moving parts which wear & break. My 30 y.o. manual has only one moving part... my wrist. Which hasn't broken yet.
We used to have an electric one years ago but it left a little spiral of metal from the can in the food, just dumped the thing and went back to a normal non electric one
Nora, do you not eat anything that comes out of a can?
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I still use Adobe CS6 because paying monthly for software is some b******t.
monthly payments and subscriptions on everything is b******t in general
F*****g leaf rake.
Leaf blowers are a scourge. In most cases they save 10% of the time it takes to rake, while annoying 100 people at once.
My job is restoring/conserving obsolete objects (mechanical clocks), does that count?
Cash. I live in one of the most digitalized countries in the world and we are already so cashless that some places don't even accept cash anymore, even though they're still required to by law.
I still insist on paying with cash to everyones annoyance. It doesn't rely on power or internet and it's anonymeous, the latter being important to me.
I do charge when I am eating out, but leave a cash tip for servers. I tell them, they don't have to claim it all on their taxes.(oops, any IRS folks out there?)
Books and traditional media. Harder to navigate than the online ones, but kind of stimulates the brain more with less distractions and more peace.
I can read online books fine, but there's just something about holding a real book that can't be compared with digital.
A normal paper calendar. Idk why i just don't check the calendar on my phone, and I sometimes use a 50 something year old radio because it sounds nice, especially when my headphones run out of battery.
Pen and paper works so much better than Android notes.
As someone with doctor handwriting, the notes app has been a godsend for me tbh
If I can find something that’s not reliant on electricity to operate, I’ll opt for it. I have a hand coffee grinder instead of an electric one. I have a French press instead of a coffee maker. I have a hand crank pasta maker instead of a motor operated or a kitchenaid pasta attachment. I’ve gotten to a point where I’m trying to find items that can end up being heirlooms, that’s how well built they are. F**k planned obsolescence, honestly.
These people have never heard of the joint problems of old age...
A manual transmission, for a given definition of "better"
Every car I've ever bought was manual transmission. Easier and cheaper to drive and repair
DVD and Blu-ray. Streaming is almost never at anything approaching full resolution.
I like that I can actually own media and never have to worry that a service will lose their license to carry it. I have bought some digital copies of films out of desperation (like being stuck in a hotel room during a storm) and I never feel like I really own the movie. Plus, the complex ins and outs of negotiating music rights for movie soundtracks means some films might never make it to streaming.
My fountain pen.
I have a Parker 51 from '69. It's just so smooth
And classy. There's something so sophisticated about using a fountain pen.
Cursive
The person that wrote this note failed penmanship class or is high af. 😵💫
Actual address book. I have many in my phone. But when I’m doing Christmas cards/invitations/announcements, I go to the book every time.
The old "unsafe" gas cans that don't leak gas all over the place.
My old ones always leaked. But the new ones have a spout that sticks out well past the edge of the can, so you can bump into it and knock the spout right off. And that's supposedly safer.
My #7 Griswold cast iron skillet. Small logo so it isn’t that old, but it’s from 1938-1957. I use it to scramble eggs, bake cornbread, chocolate cornbread, quiche, and kielbasa, and I love it. It is way better than modern cast iron, the company polished the interior surface to make it super non-stick.
Chocolate cornbread??? I have never heard of such gloriousness before. Now I NEED some!!
Mechanical wrist watch. Technically keeps worse time than a $12 quartz Casio but they are amazing little machines/engines you can wear on your wrist (and are still only off by a few seconds a day).
I still use a washer from the early 2000’s. It’s very analog. Parts are easy to replace and it keeps chugging along. We have a local appliance shop that still stocks parts.
My parents buy a new washer about every 2-3 years because of technology issues.
Mines ugly, but it works.
Now, that being said, if and when I upgrade. I’ll probably upgrade to a speed Queen.
Planned obselescence is a great example of just how terrible humans can be. Make deliberately inferior products so the rich get more money whilst the rest have spend money unnecessarily. All while stripping the planet of resources it doesn't have and animals of their habitats. F**k planned obselescence and f**k the people getting rich from it.
My wife recently cancelled Disney+ and brought out this massive collection of old VHS tapes to make the kids go through. I had forgotten how awesome it is actually owning a copy of a piece of media, instead of having to search online to see what platforms it might be streaming on.
I enjoy talking to a person with instead of doing something purely online. (Some banking, customer service, general questions about product...etc...)
Older vehicles, easily repaired, fraction of the cost of new
At 17 I learned to drive in a 1971 Mercedes Benz belonging to friends of the family— and old Betsy Benz is still up and running today!
I still have a micro cassette player that i have since 1988. I recorded my dad, my mum, who have passed away, myself when I was 18. It’s priceless. It stopped working recently but I just replaced the belt and it works now perfectly.
Awwwww. I miss my walkman Sony .........my best years at highschool
Old tools. My garage sale planes are as good as anything made today. My panel saw is perfect. Now, there's a bunch of survivorship bias and sharpening going on here, but I love them.
Old tools are always good. The guy that fix's my truck have almost 70 years and have old tools and he is awesome fixing trucks and sometimes I help him and learn. Don't underrate old tools or old ppl, they are wise .
I love analogue photography!
I recognize that a digital camera is better in most respects like resolution (unless you're using large format cameras or special film), number of images, image rate, immediate results, ability to delete images without recourse, and so on.
But I have yet to handle a camera that feels as nice as a solid all metal mechanical marvel from decades ago, still working fine today. Even if not, these can still be serviced and handed down for generations.
Plus you can try many different types and formats of cameras for a fairly low price.
A double edged razor. Much better and closer shave, it eliminated razor bump and ingrown hairs for me, new blades are $.10 when purchased 100 at a time from many online vendors.
Heh, even older - I shave with a straight razor! I work in South Boston and drive by Gillette every day. Phooey on your 9-blade, $20/each replacement costs!
I have a really nice binder that holds 3-4 small notebooks in it that I use for work.
I transfer the major projects and such to Microsoft ToDo or OneNote, but for day to day note-taking, absolutely nothing beats pen and paper.
Original Nintendo DS. Never once has that video game device given me an ounce of trouble or forced me to buy some subscription service to be able to play my games. Maybe not the most advanced, but definitely the best-lasting tech gadget I’ve ever been gifted.
Old dumb tv. Turn it on and it works. My smart TV takes minutes to turn on and load, download and install mandatory update, freeze up, restart, play ads, then freeze up again when I try to select what I want to actually watch.
Pretty sure these TVs don't work in our country anymore. NZ has only digital TV since 2013. OK if you're just watching DVDs, but otherwise, no TV.
Analog alarm clock. No electricity no problem. And the alarm is gentle.
I use VLC media player. It's been around since like 2000, and it's much better than the built-in video player which doesn't even support streaming or any advanced features that VLC has.
I just really wish I still had a blackberry. Damn i LOVED that keyboard!
VCR player.
We have three VCRs here and a huge library of tapes. One of the VHS players is a backup still sealed in the box. One is for our regular movie watching, and occasional recording TV. The last one is a dual DVD/VHS burner player thingamabob. We use that to convert one type of obsolete media into another :)
I used to wear a smartwatch. I travel internationally a lot for work now, and it was annoying that I had to connect to the internet to access the app to change time zones. So now I just wear a $20 Casio that lets me cycle time zones at the push of a button. Extra bonus is I don't need to charge it, which is convenient on its own and one less cord I need to bring.
edit: Never knew it was even called this, but after many comments: yes, it is a Casio Royale. Never even knew it was a whole thing, it was just what I grabbed off of Amazon at some point. Love the thing though.
This is peak reddit pretentiousness. Almost nothing listed is "outdated", it's just a bunch of redditors trying to beef up their egos. "oooh, I use a paper calendar not an app" - yeah, so do millions of others buddy. That's why there's calendar stores in every shopping mall before xmas.
For a lot of them, though, they automatically back up the data so if something happens, you're not totally boned. If you lose a physical daytimer, you have no idea what your appointments were. House fire? All your physical photos are gone. Whereas if my phone breaks, all the photos are still in my apple account. If my laptop quits on me, my schedule still exists. I don't lose any info because it's all backed up. That's one of the major conveniences of using technology. I agree there are a lot of downsides, but I think we tend to over-romanticize the past without remembering the downfalls there too.
Load More Replies... Practical effects in movies... and music! This is sort of cool: I always thought of Pink Floyd as a synth band because they were so cutting-edge in sound. But it turns out they use synth a lot less than I thought. Shine On You Crazy Diamond was recorded with 500 crystal glasses. They also used a clavinet, which is an amped clavichord, a Wurlitzer piano, a Rhodes piano, glass harmonicas (spinning crystal glasses), pedal steel guitars, tape effects, a Hammond. Don't get me wrong: they also used a minimoog and two different EMS synthesizers. The difference is that when bands like Styx went Hi-def they suddenly sounded cheesy, because the synths weren't designed for such realism, but higher-fidelity music players just make Pink Floyd sound better and better. (Although a 67 RPM vinyl stil sounds awesome.). Yeah, those crystal glasses so beautiful in Shine On Pt 1!
(Wurlitzer and Rhodes pianos LOOK like synthesizers, but they're actually based on amplifying the noise of tuning forks struck by hammers.)
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Grocery list. We've tried different digital approaches, but a good old pad of paper attached to the fridge still works best. Also, passwords on paper. I don't keep any important passwords on anything connected to the internet, ever.
Same on both counts, though it is annoying having to remember to put my list in the recycling rather than have it accumulate in my purse.
Load More Replies... I was born in 1946 and most of the things mentioned here are way beyond my comfort level! I think that I'm still back in the dark ages, although I do appreciate my washer and dryer over the wringer washer and line drying, especially in the winter! I also prefer a refrigerator to an ice box and an electric stove to one I have to feed wood to, especially in the summer. I agree that the more bells and whistles the more there is to break! We've come a long way and I appreciate everything especially the advances in medicine!
I'm currently plunged into the dark ages laundry-wise! Waiting on parts for my washer machine and so did some hand washing and it's drip drying on the line right now!
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I actually think a lot of these are "special millennials" (and gen x and gen z) who think they're better than everyone else
Load More Replies... I love obsolete items. Candle snuffers, lanterns, whetstones, analog clocks. They're beautiful little objects.
I have my great-grandfather's scythe. I use it rarely to cut tall grass, just on general principle. He used it to cut hay for his 2 horses that pulled the plow. He was a farmer. The thing looks like the Grim Reaper's scythe. You can see the hammer marks from when it was made.
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Paper maps. When I move to a new city, I start with a paper map so I can get a good overview of the layout of the city. I try not to use GPS until I've lived there for a month or two. Also, I use a road atlas for long car trips. I've noticed that people who rely on GPS a lot often lack a mental birds-eye-view of their own city or of where they actually are on a road trip.
One thing I do love about google maps though is street view. I can plan ahead for where I'm going by actually looking at where I have to go, where to turn (take a left at the esso!) and best of all, LOOK at where I need to park so I'm not totally overwhelmed when I get there. I do agree that I should be relying on GPS less, though.
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Unix. It's still around as Linux. And programs such as "eyes", now "xeyes", are still on there to help you find the cursor. That was written in about 1981. ImageMagic on Unix was released in 1990. Unix as Linux is still the operating system of choice for supercomputers. Because you can't do any serious number-crunching on Windows, Apple or Android.
I wonder how many banking and insurance programs that were written in COBOL are still in use.
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An answering machine. Mine is from the '90's and still records phone messages just fine. P.S. I still have a land line!
Obsolete means that something has fallen out of general use. People can't keep using obsolete things in a big way.
My wife's 87-year-old posts on Facebook and has a smart phone that she uses. So screw the idea that old people don't use modern stuff.
This topic should be named "old people being afraid of new stuff"
I'm 55. So that pretty old. And I do not agree with a lot of what shown above. Wireless mouse, Wifi printer, blutooth earphones. Bring them on. Film cameras, VCR players, CDs, analog watches.. I used to own those. Not any more. Of course there are some things that I still prefer the old way, Buttons on cars, writing notes on papers etc.
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This is peak reddit pretentiousness. Almost nothing listed is "outdated", it's just a bunch of redditors trying to beef up their egos. "oooh, I use a paper calendar not an app" - yeah, so do millions of others buddy. That's why there's calendar stores in every shopping mall before xmas.
For a lot of them, though, they automatically back up the data so if something happens, you're not totally boned. If you lose a physical daytimer, you have no idea what your appointments were. House fire? All your physical photos are gone. Whereas if my phone breaks, all the photos are still in my apple account. If my laptop quits on me, my schedule still exists. I don't lose any info because it's all backed up. That's one of the major conveniences of using technology. I agree there are a lot of downsides, but I think we tend to over-romanticize the past without remembering the downfalls there too.
Load More Replies... Practical effects in movies... and music! This is sort of cool: I always thought of Pink Floyd as a synth band because they were so cutting-edge in sound. But it turns out they use synth a lot less than I thought. Shine On You Crazy Diamond was recorded with 500 crystal glasses. They also used a clavinet, which is an amped clavichord, a Wurlitzer piano, a Rhodes piano, glass harmonicas (spinning crystal glasses), pedal steel guitars, tape effects, a Hammond. Don't get me wrong: they also used a minimoog and two different EMS synthesizers. The difference is that when bands like Styx went Hi-def they suddenly sounded cheesy, because the synths weren't designed for such realism, but higher-fidelity music players just make Pink Floyd sound better and better. (Although a 67 RPM vinyl stil sounds awesome.). Yeah, those crystal glasses so beautiful in Shine On Pt 1!
(Wurlitzer and Rhodes pianos LOOK like synthesizers, but they're actually based on amplifying the noise of tuning forks struck by hammers.)
Load More Replies... Grocery list. We've tried different digital approaches, but a good old pad of paper attached to the fridge still works best. Also, passwords on paper. I don't keep any important passwords on anything connected to the internet, ever.
Same on both counts, though it is annoying having to remember to put my list in the recycling rather than have it accumulate in my purse.
Load More Replies... I was born in 1946 and most of the things mentioned here are way beyond my comfort level! I think that I'm still back in the dark ages, although I do appreciate my washer and dryer over the wringer washer and line drying, especially in the winter! I also prefer a refrigerator to an ice box and an electric stove to one I have to feed wood to, especially in the summer. I agree that the more bells and whistles the more there is to break! We've come a long way and I appreciate everything especially the advances in medicine!
I'm currently plunged into the dark ages laundry-wise! Waiting on parts for my washer machine and so did some hand washing and it's drip drying on the line right now!
Load More Replies... I actually think a lot of these are "special millennials" (and gen x and gen z) who think they're better than everyone else
Load More Replies... I love obsolete items. Candle snuffers, lanterns, whetstones, analog clocks. They're beautiful little objects.
I have my great-grandfather's scythe. I use it rarely to cut tall grass, just on general principle. He used it to cut hay for his 2 horses that pulled the plow. He was a farmer. The thing looks like the Grim Reaper's scythe. You can see the hammer marks from when it was made.
Load More Replies... Paper maps. When I move to a new city, I start with a paper map so I can get a good overview of the layout of the city. I try not to use GPS until I've lived there for a month or two. Also, I use a road atlas for long car trips. I've noticed that people who rely on GPS a lot often lack a mental birds-eye-view of their own city or of where they actually are on a road trip.
One thing I do love about google maps though is street view. I can plan ahead for where I'm going by actually looking at where I have to go, where to turn (take a left at the esso!) and best of all, LOOK at where I need to park so I'm not totally overwhelmed when I get there. I do agree that I should be relying on GPS less, though.
Load More Replies... Unix. It's still around as Linux. And programs such as "eyes", now "xeyes", are still on there to help you find the cursor. That was written in about 1981. ImageMagic on Unix was released in 1990. Unix as Linux is still the operating system of choice for supercomputers. Because you can't do any serious number-crunching on Windows, Apple or Android.
I wonder how many banking and insurance programs that were written in COBOL are still in use.
Load More Replies... An answering machine. Mine is from the '90's and still records phone messages just fine. P.S. I still have a land line!
Obsolete means that something has fallen out of general use. People can't keep using obsolete things in a big way.
My wife's 87-year-old posts on Facebook and has a smart phone that she uses. So screw the idea that old people don't use modern stuff.
This topic should be named "old people being afraid of new stuff"
I'm 55. So that pretty old. And I do not agree with a lot of what shown above. Wireless mouse, Wifi printer, blutooth earphones. Bring them on. Film cameras, VCR players, CDs, analog watches.. I used to own those. Not any more. Of course there are some things that I still prefer the old way, Buttons on cars, writing notes on papers etc.
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