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.
I’d love to see cars like this more often, as cars are often the most heavily used machines in your life, unless you take public transport. But alas, it shall not be so
Subaru is pretty well known for being very reliable. I’ve seen ones from like the 90’s run just fine and they’re generally easy to fix
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Agree on this point... That cars manufactured in 1970s/80s were built to last.
My son bought a car that has to go into the dealer to be fixed. The tools and parts aren't available to the public. Very expensive!
Look at how Cubans keep those old '40's and '50's cars running. No frills, so there's little that can't be fixed. When will auto makers give us a choice of simple, safe cars over the frilly, fragile, electronic money munchers?
This is why VW round 2 didnt take off like expected. The originals were easy to fix/ modify.
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There's usually a reason why certain cars are still on the road 20+ years later. We're going to drive our 99 Corolla until it dies, so probably some time around 2099!
Yup, my 2006 Corolla takes me from central Mexico to Montreal, Quebec and back every year.
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Volvo 245 1986. AU$1500 in 2010. Starts every time and is indestructible.
Five years ago, I bought a 2000 Honda Civic with 200,000+ miles on it. The most expensive thing I've purchased for it were new tires the first year I had it. My car insurance is under $800/year, zero car payments and it runs great. My Mom said her youngest sister wanted to know why I wasn't getting a new car. My reply: This is paid for and it still runs, why would I want a new one??
i would totally have an all analog dash for this same reason...i can easily replace all those parts by myself for a few bucks....but one thing goes wrong with the computerized dash, and you have to replace the whole thing for over $1K...i also loooooooove manual transmission for the same reason....though it is almost extinct in the u.s.
Yes, but in deference to newER cars is a safety, reliability, and parts availability component to consider. I say "newER" because technology on NEW cars has gone overkill with distracting, complicated screens and such. I think that maybe 5-10 year old cars are the best compromise now, what do you think ?
The distracting screens are mostly a feature on """high end""" models. I tried out all the EV that were popular/talked about/reviewed in Scandinavia last year, including Skoda Enyac, Hyundai Ionic, Volkswagen ID.3, ID.4 etc. Each and every one of them were pleasant to drive and insufferable to control. One big screen, and not a single physical k**b. So I "settled" for a Kia that were like €10k cheaper than most of those models. Turns out that physical buttons, paddles, knobs etc are still the default in that price range.
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+1 150K on my Corolla and the only work I've done is replace the starter and clean a rusty ABS speed sensor. Probably less thann $200 over 14 years. I have a VW Sportwagon with 116K and the thing is in the garage more than out. Coil springs broke on all four corners. Brakes failed. E brake jammed. Engine mount failed. Particulate filter failed. Intake plenum failed. Nice car inside, and I'm pro diesels, but never again.
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I wish they would make and sell an exact copy of the '72 Dodge Dart. So much simpler, easier to fix, and if you walk or ride your bike when you can, less emissions. Plus it looks cool.
Yes! I had my Pontiac Grand Am for 24 years before it died. But now, I have to say I love my 10 year old Subi Outback that I bought in 2019.
cars are no longer internal combustion engines, they are more like computers on wheels
Cars are much more reliable now, but when they break it's more expensive to fix them, so it all balances out.
My Toyota corolla is coming up to 34years old, and nearly 300000km. Starting to break bits more and more, and some of the parts are getting expensive, but I LIVE that car, sad day when I have to replace it
No they do not. Nowdays you need a computer to just diagnose what's wrong and then some model-specific tools to fix it. Wish I still had my '66 VW Bug...
Yep, I'd be afraid to do anything to my 2014 car, cause all the electronics and computerized stuff would get messed up somehow.
And cars that stop running because a sensor decided to go rogue, even though there's nothing mechanically wrong with it.
One of the saddest moments in my driving experience was the "computer" cars. Give me a mechanical engine that I can work on myself.
Take heart! You can work on the computer cars yourself. I thought I couldn't, but I'm learning. If you have a multimeter, the service manual, YouTube, and a willingness to ignore all your other responsibilities for 3 weeks, you can actually get somewhere :)
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Well, I am glad they don't make cars like that anymore. Why? Oh, things like gas mileage, safety features, rear-wheel drive, etc. I've been saying this for decades. I'm 73 now and grew up in my father's service station. I've see how far cars have come. You got lucky with yours.
The only reason we stopped driving our 1950 Chevy sedan was that the floorboards rotted/rusted out. It would start right up in any temperature even when it was left outside all night in below zero weather.
I have a Ford Focus that is approaching 200,000 miles. I intend to drive Connie until "she" falls apart. I hope that car lasts long enough so I can buy a 100% electric US-made car, or at least a hybrid-electric. (Please no lectures about the effect of electric vehicle batteries on the environment - things may change, and soon.)
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Hired a Buick Park Avenue 23 years ago. Loved it. I'm from the UK and we thought it was luxurious
And I'll bet it got 30 MPG...BEFORE all the tech and wizardry of modern engines
Manufacturers are greedy and if stuff lasts forever, they feel like they aren't making money on new purchases. So new stuff is designed to be replaced sooner rather than later....greed, it's all about greed
Pretty soon we'll all have electric cars. They'll be about as reliable as your vacuum cleaner, and about as attractive.
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 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.
Load More Replies...