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You can’t always guess what the future will hold. But you can bet your bottom dollar on one thing—there’s bound to be a whole bunch of tech breakthroughs that seemed incredibly important at the time only to have been left by the wayside.

Our team here at Bored Panda has spelunked into the darkest corners of the net to find you some of these tech innovations that seemed so amazing just a handful of years ago but which sound bizarre, hilarious, or even useless now. Check them out below and, as you scroll down, upvote the pics that you liked the most. Got a strong sense of nostalgia? We’d love to hear all about the tech you remember the most fondly, so be sure to write us a comment or two with your thoughts.

Bored Panda chatted about the future of technology and work with Aaron Genest, an expert on labor in the tech and innovation industry. Aaron, who is an Applications Engineering Manager for Siemens Software and the President of SaskTech, said that making accurate predictions about what tech and devices will be long-lived and stand the test of time is a very difficult thing to do. Difficult... but not impossible.

"I'd argue that most people underestimate the timelines necessary to produce the technological goods on which we rely and the investment made to allow them to exist. By looking 'upstream' in that investment space, we can have a pretty good idea of what whole industries are betting on," he said. "For instance, it takes almost two years to develop and produce a computer chip and get it to market for a phone, and five years to get something into a new kind of car. So if we want to have a sense for what, for instance, the gadgets in our cars will look like in 2026, we just need to look at what the car manufacturers are asking their suppliers to design today."

#1

The Motorola Razr. Still The Coolest Cell Phone To Be Produced

The Motorola Razr. Still The Coolest Cell Phone To Be Produced

Boojibs Report

#2

See-Through Electronics

See-Through Electronics

rysterf Report

#3

Batteries That Let You Check How Much Energy Was Left

Batteries That Let You Check How Much Energy Was Left

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Aaron, a manager with Siemens Software, noted that if the industry is investing billions and billions of dollars into certain kinds of chips of technologies, like 5G, the odds are that they'll be around long enough for the companies to recoup their investments. The tech and innovation expert said that prognosticators and 'futurists' make bets based on these upstream industry trends, rather than "on some crystal ball they hide in their robes."

What's more, Aaron shared with Bored Panda how the Covid-19 pandemic has been shaping the job industry and what the future of work might look like. "Many companies, including mine, started a conversation about the future of work as the result of Covid. Siemens has a new and permanent policy where workers can work from home for a few days a week where their job permits. My entire site will adopt this, allowing us two days a week at home and three in the office. I'm sure we're not alone," he shared how Siemens is approaching the situation in a flexible way.

#4

The GE Alarm Clock That Everyone Seemed To Have

The GE Alarm Clock That Everyone Seemed To Have

2ezyo Report

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hotels used those a lot and as time went on they ended up in thrift stores when the hotels upgraded

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#5

TVs With A VHS Player Built Into Them

TVs With A VHS Player Built Into Them

Wikimedia Commons Report

#6

Phones With Internet On Them In The First Place

Phones With Internet On Them In The First Place

passingpleasantries Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And it was the "internet", so pointless and hard to use, not just like a web browser

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Meanwhile, plenty of companies are open to having 'permanently remote' positions. "This was starting pre-Covid, but is now gaining steam and I'm aware of several people in my 'remote' community of Saskatoon who have accepted permanent positions, working from here, with teams based in other provinces or countries," the expert shared.

Aaron believes that this trend of working remotely full-time is here to stay, even if the pandemic is brought under control. "There are huge advantages in tech to having access to a global workforce without having to provide a global infrastructure. This is very different from offshoring, by the way, but will have (in my opinion) as profound an impact on the way we do business and the way our labor force is constructed."

There's a practical aspect to wanting to work from home (at least part-time) in the future, too. Lots of employees have invested sizable sums of money into creating good working environments for themselves at home. That includes purchasing electronics and furniture to make working remotely as comfortable and efficient as possible. Naturally, those who have made these investments want to continue using those spaces.

#7

Cassette Tape That Let You Connect Your iPod To Your Car Stereo

Cassette Tape That Let You Connect Your iPod To Your Car Stereo

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#8

Digital Mp3 Players With These Songs

Digital Mp3 Players With These Songs

Luminous_Fantasy Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Stripped down to nothing because it made them have less data, this was annoying if the song was like that. Only vocals and basic instruments, lots of the track was pared away. Or if you had the song intact, massive file! Mind you I can remember a mb of data being 'huge'

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#9

Remember When Laptops Used To Have That Little Rubber Cl!t For A Mouse?

Remember When Laptops Used To Have That Little Rubber Cl!t For A Mouse?

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Nobody can deny that the pace at which technology changes is incredibly fast. So much so that some of us (e.g. me) get left behind, clinging to what’s familiar, safe, and doesn’t require us to feel like we’re already pensioners. (No shade on pensioners, though—most of the ones I know are better at adapting to new tech than I am!)

Ramona Pringle, the Director of the Creative Innovation Studio and Associate Professor at the RTA School of Media at Ryerson University, told me all about the changes in tech during a previous interview with Bored Panda.

“We don’t know what the future holds, and anyone who says that they do is selling snake oil. But, there are certain things we can count on: we love stories, and we love to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Be it oral storytelling, books, blogs, movies, or video games, we’ve never lost our love of narrative,” Pringle told Bored Panda earlier.

#10

Portable DVD Players

Portable DVD Players

ldn_elek Report

#11

Watches That Lit Up Blue

Watches That Lit Up Blue

itslikesoulman Report

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N G
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wasn't this so you could check the time at night without frying your retinas? That luminescent blue still features on some gadgets for that reason

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#12

Netflix's DVD Service

Netflix's DVD Service

suburbanmen Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A great save by netflix: they changed as tech did, which blockbuster refused to do/admit

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“Equally true, even when we can’t go into a concert hall or colosseum, we look for ways to be together, connected, and part of a communal experience. The tech might change, but these will continue to be the drivers of our entertainment experiences,” she said that entertainment and connectivity will most likely continue to drive changes in technology in the future.

According to Pringle, over the next decade, we should see big changes occurring in the entertainment tech industry. “Immersion and interactivity have long been goals for creators and media makers when it comes to how technology can influence entertainment,” she said.

#13

Those Backwards Seats In Station Wagons

Those Backwards Seats In Station Wagons

or_worse__EXPELLED Report

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Bernd Herbert
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What do oyu mean by forgotten. If I'm not mistaken the Tesla Model S still has those

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#14

Movies On An iPod With A 2-Inch Screen

Movies On An iPod With A 2-Inch Screen

nowuzit Report

#15

That Singing Fish

That Singing Fish

StevenBalthaser Report

“For the last decade, we’ve leaned into virtual reality because of how it enables both of these. We can step inside a world and have influence over it, and the story or experience that unfolds. I think one of the things we can expect moving forward is, in a sense, the opposite of virtual reality. Instead, more of an enhanced reality or fictional reality, wherein the entertainment isn’t in a headset, but instead, all around us,” Pringle highlighted what we might see start popping up with more frequency over the next few years.

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#16

Cd Players That Held Multiple Cds At Once

Cd Players That Held Multiple Cds At Once

EXSUPERVILLAIN Report

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Marky Mark
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My buddy had this in his car. But you had to load the CDs in the trunk (boot) of the car.

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Jyri Hakola
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My 25 year old 5 disc Sony carousel changer is still up and running. Yes, bit obsolete but still pure gold when needed to slow down a bit an disconnect from gadgets.

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Martin John
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OMG...I had one of those, too--my first "real" stereo I bought with my own money in 1987 for $300 (plus about another grand for the speakers and tuner). I loved that thing (especially since it played the mini-discs, too--anybody else remember those???!!). It became unreliable as the years went on and I got rid of it. (Hard to believe that now I have so much more music on my phone and bluetooth speakers that blow my old Infinitys out of the water!). Sweet nostalgia!

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Mark Stewart
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I treated myself to a stereo that had a 10 disc changer in when I got my first office job, over 25 years later it's still going.

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Azure Adams
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WE need dvd/bu ray players that do that now. Its the only thing that tech can have on streaming services

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Cory Tollman
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My sister has a 100 disk DVD player and I've seen articles on people who linked multiples together. I think Sony briefly had a blu-ray version but it didn't sell well and reliability wasn't great. Now companies assume people will just have digital versions of things and stream them from the cloud etc... Samsung isn't going to sell DVD/Blu-ray players in the US anymore because of this.

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Jenny Rosbach
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So fancy! What's coming on next, you never know! (Even though they were your fav CDs, so you actually did)

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Johnny
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had one, the last time I used it was to take my CD's out one by one as I ripped them to mp3, then put them into a big CD wallet case that I have hidden away in the back of a closet. I haven't seen the actual CD's in almost 2 decades.

phil-lucas avatar
Lucas
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, but the mp3 quality isn't the same. In the same way CDs were not as good as vinyl.

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I Liquored On
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My car stereo still proudly boasts that it is 'CD changer compatible'

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Simon Murray
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I bought a Japanese import car that had a 6 minidisk changer under the seat, I only owned 3 minidisks though :-(

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Em Johnson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I tried to replace my 50 CD player and the Best Buy sales guy laughed....said there was no such thing!!

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Kelly Hartle
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, I still have one. When CD's come back in fashion, I'm set.

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Evripidou Maria
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

had a 6 cd changed in my car. I bought a new car last year and it comes without a cd player. I am saaaaaaad

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Kris “ADHD_Carrier” Dudoich
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember the really cool kids at my high school had the one that you would keep in your trunk.

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Eric Forster
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My Kenwood CD changer died the other day. I only used it when the internet was down.

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MrTornado778
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had a JVC 5 cd changer 25+ years ago and to this day i can not find anything that comes near it for sound quality

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Paul Halicki
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have one that's 23 years old and still works. It's needed two repairs (a worn out gear and a failed solder joint) and I did them both. I like physical media.

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Hayley Rodgers
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had one of these when we were first married 16 years ago and I loved it. I'm so glad my music collection is on my phone now

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Jennifer Norton
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Man I had one of these and I miss it soooooooooo much. They are so expensive on Amazon right now!

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InfectedVoice
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They were great, have mates round to party and you can all pick an album each and just hit shuffle, it was a good thing before we had tech playlists.

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natie marie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My dad had one that held six... I thought he was living in the future..

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Caj Lind
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had one in my car. Loudet it alvays vit bid mix of styles and played random. My children got wide taste for musik and plays several instruments. There might be a conection.

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Caj Lind
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had 12 disc player im my car. Canget music often, always mixet with eweryting from classics to blue gras. It was always set on random setting and then my children got taste for ewery kind of music. Still gratefull when I hear dem sitting with piano or gitar or acordian on lap playind wide variety of music.

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Vintage Insider
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've still got a six disk player in the garage. My brother bought one with a 30 disk player. It spent the entire time broken and he had to take it apart a couple of times to rescue them. :D

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Ivana
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Great for a car. Really saved the day for road trips.

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Rench
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I still have and use my Sony 300 disc changer. It's great!

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Anonymous User
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These were especially helpful when there was a version in your car!

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#17

CD Players With 45-Second Skip Protection

CD Players With 45-Second Skip Protection

Philips Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So you had 45 seconds of song, then skip! Mine could play well if i didnt move or breathe

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#18

Old School PC Microphones

Old School PC Microphones

wanpakujozu Report

“A decade ago, we didn’t talk to robots. Today, many of us do. Siri and Alexa are some of the more common bots, but we already interface with non-human characters regularly. As technology advances, including augmented reality and mixed reality, I think we can expect that entertainment will be something we can engage with off of the screen, but out in the world, with characters and stories we can engage with throughout the day, or throughout our houses,” the researcher said.

#19

Pagers Are Now Collecting Dust

Pagers Are Now Collecting Dust

Wikimedia Commons Report

#20

Thick Big Screen TVs Only Rich Kids Had

Thick Big Screen TVs Only Rich Kids Had

photobucket Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not just coz of price it's coz crt tv screens had giant backs and weighed a ton, so u needed the big house to go with it

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How we engage with one another will also have a large impact on entertainment, according to Pringle. One example of this is the unexpected rise of e-sports. “Whoever would have thought that people would pay money to watch other people play games? Media that engages us and gives us something to gather around, be it together, or virtually, is something that will always appeal to us,” she said.

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#22

Robot Dogs

Robot Dogs

PussyAnalBreath Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My friend had one, I was so envious! I had a furby I saved up for: it glitched out after one day so they replaced it. Happened 3 times in a row then I gave up

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#23

Speakers That Attached To The Monitor

Speakers That Attached To The Monitor

Smeg98 Report

#24

A DVD Or VHS Player In A Car

A DVD Or VHS Player In A Car

photobucket Report

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Autumn
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had little tvs that velcroed to the seat but we never used them much cause my dad thought they distracted him from driving.

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We’re also likely to see “the ebb and flow” of experiences that focus on bringing people together offline, on-screen, and online. “In the last few years, we’ve seen the rise of interactive and immersive venues like the museum of ice cream or the Dr. Seuss experience,” Pringle told Bored Panda about how the divide between what we consider to be tech and not might get blurry. Especially in the field of entertainment.

#25

Digital Cable And Being Able To Watch A Ton Of Useless Channels

Digital Cable And Being Able To Watch A Ton Of Useless Channels

photobucket Report

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Steve Barnett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

UK here. I'm so old that I grew up with just three channels. But in '82, we then got a fourth!

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#26

These iPhone Apps Where You Drank Fake Beer

These iPhone Apps Where You Drank Fake Beer

onmilwaukee Report

#27

Can I Interest You In A Sidekick II With Aol Messenger?

Can I Interest You In A Sidekick II With Aol Messenger?

TheConfusingWords Report

“These are places we can go, with friends and family, and have a shared experience. It feeds back into our online experiences because we can share photos or memories and these environments are designed to foster that. Certainly, as we find ourselves in a time of social distancing, we’re seeing new creative ways of “being together” even when we’re apart. So I think we can expect to see entertainment that helps us connect, be it online or off, and immerses us in an experience, story, or community.”

#31

Fake Lighter Phone Apps

Fake Lighter Phone Apps

play.google.com Report

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troufaki13
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Very useful at rock concerts. You get all the fun without the risk of getting burned! lol

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#32

Having The Option And The Ability To Update Your Facebook From A Text Message

Having The Option And The Ability To Update Your Facebook From A Text Message

SillyActuary Report