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What's the oldest tech you use, and why do you still use it?
Oldest doesn't have to mean absolute age and can be relative to that tech's particular "lane" (e.g. your "old" cell phone might be newer than one of your game consoles, but it still "feels" old when compared to cell phones exclusively).
And "tech" can be, well, anything you think counts as "tech!"
This question reminded me of this essay by Ursula K. Le Guin, particularly this part:
Edit to add: I want to be clear that I'm not trying to bash or diminish the question; I'm all about making computers stay useful longer than they should, for example. I just think Le Guin's perspective is also an interesting way of looking at things.
It's why I said fire on second consideration, even if joking. But Le Guin, as always, is on point. Thanks for the link
I knit which is probably one of the oldest things I actively engage in regularly. (If I cooked over a fire maybe I'd consider that) But there's something really magical about turning string into fabric by wiggling it until it's convinced to stay.
In that vein, the oldest tech I use daily is the spoken word, followed by writing.
What, no grunting or body language?
It really is fascinating how we still are so enamored with computers that we fail to notice that technology elsewhere is doing far more interesting things than so-called “tech companies” are doing, and have been for well over a decade at this point. The last decade has seen revolutions in medicine with mRNA vaccines and GLP agonists potentially marking the beginning of the end of obesity in rich countries, but isn’t it exciting how we can have Google give us the wrong answers to our questions in a different format? It only burns one tree to do it, too!
I’m being a bit facetious with that example, but I think it illustrates the point.
It's reasons like this why I malign the loss of broadcast shows like How It's Made, Modern Marvels, and Dirty Jobs. They showed a lot of the complexity behind the things we take for granted nowadays.
Too bad Mike Rowe was the dirtiest job of all, I always appreciated the look at less glamorous jobs and the elevation of the amount of skill and effort required.
My first thought was along these lines. I was thinking of objects like my bed, as foam and springs may be modern, not a 21st century innovation.
Perhaps the plates and cutlery are older again since their last major innovative change (eg, die stamped).
I've got an electric razor from the 1930s that belonged to my grandfather. According to my grandmother, they found it in an abandoned building that had apparently once been a barbershop. That was sometime in the 1970s. My grandfather used it occasionally, but mostly they kept it around because it was old and cool (even to them haha). After my grandfather passed away, it sat in a box until my grandmother was throwing some things out and found it. She asked if I wanted it, and of course I said yes. It still worked!
It's by far the least-pleasant and most rumbly electric razor I've ever used. I'm honestly a little scared of it, but it is pretty freaking cool. I plan on taking it apart and restoring it one day, but I've never worked on something so old, small, and electrical before. I'm not even sure you could call it an "electronic" device. The inside of the thing is straight up alien to me. There's a giant sort-of-symmetric weight in the center that rotates to do the actual cutting thing, and then just a bunch of coils and wires that all look like they have been tarred rather than soldered. It also smells like a pure barbershop in there.
Oh, and its power cable (that actually plugs into the razor by the way, it isn't built-in) has cloth insulation and isn't sketchy at all. Nope.
I really should do something about the cable first, because if it ever fries and melts the connector that plugs into the razor, I'll have to fabricate my own replacement if I want to ever get it working again.
The whole thing is just an intimidating job to tackle. I don't know what half the things inside it are, how they work, or why it's built the way it is. It feels like I'm a Ford mechanic who just had a Model T roll into his shop.
I expect this thing to outlast me, if it doesn't burn my house down first.
As an electrician who has worked with old wire, be careful when you replace the old cloth wire. They used a lot of nasty stuff to insulate back then, so I would recommend doing it in a well ventilated, easily cleanable space.
I gotta replace a similar cloth wire pigtail for my aunt's classic Sunbeam toaster. Really need to get off my ass and make time for that.
Thanks for the heads-up, I hadn't even considered that.
I also got a razor from my grandfather but it's just a simple safety razor. I went from spending like $40 every month on commercial disposable razors to buying a 100-pack of safety razor blades for $10. That was 7 years ago and I'm still on the same pack. Best switch I ever made and definitely the oldest tech I still use.
My Ti-84 is still my go to for when I'm working out a cutlist for a piece of furniture. It was released in 2004, so that's 21 years.
If we want to be clever about it. I suspect we all use SMTP on most days (email is the bane of many people's existence). It was designed in the 80s. I suspect, though I don't know for sure, that the protocol is backwards compatible to the beginning. If not, HTTP1 was fully specc'd out by 96, and that is still used today (even if it shouldn't be).
TI-people unite!!
I too use my TI-85 almost daily for work. Just for simple sums, multiplications and divisions, nothing fancy. I just like it more than starting a calculator program on the computer or using my phone. Or, heavens, actually trying to do calculations in my head.
I never really thought about it but yes, it must be one of the oldest pieces of tech that I use constantly. Maybe the oldest. My TI-85 is from the mid-90s, I bought it for high school. Texas Instruments had a confusing numbering system.
Man my TI-83 got stolen in HS. I'm still salty about it lol
Despite being over 20 years old, the TI-84 is still the calculator that my kids' schools require us to buy for them. And it still costs over $100. I dunno what kind of dirt Texas Instruments has over the school boards to have maintained a monopoly for this long, but it's gotta be something juicy.
Nothing crazy, but I prefer playing Pokémon games on my old DSi. I’ve got a 3DS (and access to emulators on all kinds of devices), but something about the profile and hardware of my original DSi just makes it feel like the best way to play the Gen 4/5 games, which happen to be my favorites as well.
It's Pokemon yellow on a gameboy color for me. It was already a bit outdated when my brother and I used it as kids, but it was the only console our mom allowed us to have at the time, and that was only because a relative of ours who didn't need it anymore gave it to us. Good memories. :)
Actually I bought a Gameboy Advance SP and some pokemon games on ebay one or two years ago, because it was the shit when I was little and I always wanted to have it back then. Just a little wish of mine I fulfilled a few years to late. Have a much better time with those games than with most of my modern PC Games on Steam. Also I enjoy that once the game had been released, nothing could be patched or deprived of necessary support. It's super fun to exploit those little glitches that have always been there and will remain in the games forever. :D
In terms of devices that would be widely seen as 'tech', I use a few phones that were made between the 1910s and 1930s.
Two of these (magneto phones with no dialer) have a configuration that would not have been unheard of when they were produced, wired together between two houses as a direct line, with each magneto ringing the other phone when turned; the only modern aspect is that the wire, as it was cheap and readily available, is some cheap Cat5e. The others, slightly later phones with rotary dialers, are attached via a rotary→tone translator and voip box to a voip system; amusingly, this means that they actually have significantly better and cheaper international calling than many modern phones, in addition to being able to have multiple numbers at an almost trivial cost.
Moving away from what might be traditionally seen as 'tech', but would have been considered technological advancements, I use some Kosmos burner lamps from the mid-to-late 19th century; these are paraffin lamps that use a wick that the lamp pushes into a hollow cylinder, and a burner that allows air to flow through the center. I've been looking for an earlier Argand lamp that is still functional (many were destroyed by electrification), but it has been taking some time; these used a similar cylindrical wick, but, as paraffin had not been developed, used gravity to force oil into the wick.
Even further away, I use two pianos from the late 18th century, an era of rapid development in piano technology. Parts of the action of one piano were likely patent-encumbered at the time, and licensed by makers in Great Britain from makers in Ireland: one of the more unusual victims of the Act of Union was Dublin's piano industry.
I'm surprised that you have old phones, but can you elaborate on your statement that you use these phones? I don't understand how they're used with....VoIP??
This is pretty common in enterprise environments. They use what's known as a voice gateway. The gateway translates DTMF dial tones into SIP signals for call initiation and setup, and translates analog voice from a POTS line into a digital codec. Before that though, you need a pulse to tone converter that will convert the clicks that a rotary phone produces into DTMF tones that touchtone phones use, and that most voice gateway understand.
Once you have that in place, you can connect any rotary phone into basically any voice network you'd like. You could rig up a rotary phone that calls people on an internal Microsoft Teams network if you wanted.
My imagination is running wild.
Could you share some pictures of you're home or wherever you keep these artifacts?
I recently came across this site and it's what I read in my down time at work. I have a few DMS 10 switches in my footprint that I need to check every now and then
Pencil and paper. I mean sure, I have a 3D printer. I have CAD software and the ability to use it. But I still do most my design work - even for software, not just meatspace objects - using a pencil and a piece of paper.
More in the spirit of the question, we still have two Chromecast Audio dongles which get daily use. They were recently temporarily broken due to an issue with Google's certificates expiring and I really noticed. Nothing else really does what the CC audio devices do. We have a few nice sound quality, albeit fairly old, radios with aux inputs (DAB Radio is pretty old tech but I love radio and listen every day) and they're old enough to not have Bluetooth, let alone streaming capabilities - so the Chromecasts let us stream all sorts of things to those speakers.
Oh you haven't tried fire yet? I recommend it
I’m told the kids these day think it’s very cool.
Fire is fire. 🔥
I think most would actually call it hot
Kids say "lit" I believe
I've heard from a pretty reliable source that fire bad, so I'm holding out for another release down the road.
Good news! There actually was a new version called "Induction Heating". You can't install it to literally anything like you can with Fire, and it does require some special tools to use, but I find it works far better and is much safer than Fire. Definitely recommend checking it out if you ever get the chance.
Fire 2: Electric Boogaloo is pretty great but it doesn't work with all the sorts of shiny rock, and it can be expensive to run if you have to make lots of shiny rocks very hot or even, like I sometimes do, runny.
I have my Chromecast Audio hooked to an old 90's stereo ghetto-blaster, so that I can sync music in the basement with upstairs. It's a flawless wireless solution.
I've been looking for a good garage boom box but keep getting bogged down with finding a 'good' one since finding any one in my area isn't the easiest.
I'm also using my chromecast audio daily. I've got it hooked up to a dumb receiver/amp.
I have a Dell Poweredge R420 (blaze it) server in my server rack which was released some time in 2012.
I had one of those for a while but let my full-depth rack servers go a couple years ago. They're just heavy and loud and take up a lot of space.
My main homelab server was a R510 until just a few months ago. Now it's a glorified NAS waiting to be replaced, but still in use!
An R510 was my first real server, I didn't know that its fans would run full bore so when I plugged it in it got real loud in my room. Thankfully no one was home, I had hearing protectors and I found the fix fairly quickly.
I have a Dell Poweredge T620 that's my primary Homelab server. I got it used, for free, in 2020. It was shipped to the original owner in 2012. Aside from RAM and HDD upgrades/additions, nothing else has been replaced. Still chugging along just fine.
Got a 620 and 720. Still working their asses off. Love that series. Uncomplicated and cheap storage.
I still use the first computer I ever put together, circa 2006, as my TV computer. It has a pentium 5 processor and can only do up to 1080p but its all I need haha.
It was my daily driver until about 2019, I built a new pc only because I couldn’t watch youtube and play RuneScape at the same time any more.
its always so much more interesting to hear upgrade paths and their reasons from regular users like you than people that go through every part in their system in 3 years. thanks for sharing :)
when you were daily-ing it, was that old pentium trying to push multiple monitors as well, or were you an alt-tab gamer?
Multiple monitors! Ive got these old Dell S2440lb monitors that I picked up at a garage sale. Worked totally fine for many years
My first and so far only PC build from 2011 is still my daily driver... although it's quite Ship of Theseus at this point. Practically everything else has changed, but the motherboard and CPU are still the same, so I'm claiming it. I don't see why I can't get another 3 or 4 years without issue.
Right thats what did mine in lol literally runescape and youtube were finally too much for the cpu. Had a tank of a graphics card and maxed out the ram ages ago.
My refrigerator was made in 1996 and is still going strong.
I occasionally watch DVD's that I burned a couple of decades ago. Earliest of those dates from 2004, I think, though it is becoming far less common for me to use them. And I still play CD's in my truck.
There are at least three storage drives in my backup computers that date to the 2011-2012 era. They haven't shown any signs of deterioration.
And I have a set of headphones that were first on the market in 1983. My set isn't nearly that old, but Koss has never stopped producing them, and they are using the same tech.
There is a reasonable chance that your refrigerator is not going strong at that age. It might be working in that it's still cold inside, but it's likely drawing way more power then it needs to. Try getting a power meter (not expensive, very useful for all sorts of things!) and seeing how much it's drawing compared to a modern fridge's power requirements.
I had a fridge which was a mere 15 years old that, while perfectly cold inside, turned out to be sucking so much electricity that replacing it paid for the replacement unit just in power savings in less than two years.
I recently saw a Youtube video on that subject, comparing the power draw of several refrigerators from different eras. One dated back to 1950, a couple more were from the 90's and one was much more recent. The modern refrigerator was much more efficient, but it was also much larger, so they had to do a little math and figure out energy usage by cubic feet. One of the 90's models was by far the worst, which was surprising. I thought the 1950 model would lose handily. The other 90's model was not too bad. So, it seems that it is difficult to generalize about them.
Also durability comes into play. An efficient refrigerator that only lasts 7-8 years (on average) is still going to cost more overall than the older ones that keep going. Replacement costs and repair costs of the modern models with their terrible build quality makes the whole scenario difficult to predict.
Definitely my microwave. I'm not sure exactly how old it is, but the manual was published in 1993.
I bought it secondhand for $10 a few years ago because I planned to use it for dyeing wool and yarn (which is not a food-safe process), but I liked the two simple analog dials — one for power level and one for cooking time — and the singular cheery "ding!" of its physical bell, so I ended up swapping it with our other microwave (which has a complicated array of buttons and an unpleasant beep that plays incessantly).
Someday, microwave manufacturers will learn that it’s possible to have their devices make more pleasant sounds than screeches.
They haven’t yet, despite decades of development, but I think they’ll eventually get there one day. Maybe I’ll even still be alive to
seehear it.They found that people walk away from the microwave and, with their air pods in, it's hard to hear a pleasant chirp across the house. Hence, we all live with the radiation machine screaming into the void that the contents have been vibrated.
I hate the sounds of a microwave and try to open the door before time counts down to zero. But there are times I would forget that I had food in there, so unfortunately need that annoying sound
I bought a toaster that doesn’t pop up, it just raises and lowers the bread using a motor. When it’s done it makes that annoying chirp.
I suppose I could dismantle it and try to disable the speaker.
You can dye things in a microwave? I've only seen it done in a big pot on a stove.
Yes, microwave dyeing is great for dyeing small batches of wool, especially if you want to give it a multi-colored pattern (which looks fantastic after the wool is spun).
In an absolute sense, it's the tube I have plugged into my headphone amplifier, no question about that. It's an old RCA tube manufactured in the mid 1940s. It looks fairly unassuming plugged into my stack, but I appreciate knowing I have a little bit of history sitting on my desk nonetheless. I just like the way tubes look, and this one was fairly inexpensive, and seemed like it would work well with the way my system sounds, so I snagged it on a sale.
In a relative sense, it's probably my keyboard. I'm typing this on my 1986 IBM Silverbadge Model M! People always seem surprised to learn that this keyboard still works without any issues, nor any special tricks to connect to a modern computer. People assume that because the world of computers in general is always moving so fast that modern keyboards would be better in some way, or at the very least that a relic like my keyboard would have compatibility issues. But what people don't realize is that, somehow PS/2 ports are still being put on modern computers...so it just plugs right in like it would have 40 years ago. Also, after adjusting for inflation, this is technically a $750 keyboard, so no surprises it's held up over the years.
Fellow 86 silverbadge user checking in! I tried to find one older than me but alas I couldn’t quite get there. Work from home really gave a new lease of life to that thing - I was never antisocial enough to take it in to the office.
As a side benefit, it will come in handy as a melee weapon should the zombie hordes rise up against us
Lol, I have a couple model M’s, and I took one of them into the office at my last job. I’m pretty sure my boss hated it but was too nice to say anything…in my defense the company had a startup vibe and half the people there had brought in their own mechanical keyboards, plus our workstations had PS/2 ports on them…so it was just too tempting.
Anyways, I only have the one silverbadge but despite being the oldest and most used keyboard of the bunch, it’s also undoubtedly in the best condition.
It wasn't until I was in my late teens that I learnt PS/2 ports are not hot swappable. I did that constantly when I was younger. It's a miracle nothing broke because of it.
Those Model M's are beasts. I should have a look around my parents' place to see if there isn't an older one like that lying around. It likely won't be a silver badge, but I do remember there's some older mechanical PS/2 keyboard there somewhere.
I think very few people bought them as standalone keyboards, so unfortunately it’s likely a look-a-like if your parents didn’t have an IBM computer back in the day. IBM actually bundled them together with their computers at a loss, but if you bought it separately you paid full price (and they weren’t cheap either…). I was also surprised to learn that back in the 80s Model F and M keyboards did not have anywhere near the reverence they do now. I remember going through an old PC magazine for fun and finding a whole section dedicated to keyboards with a column explaining why this or that keyboard was better than the ‘standard’ IBM equivalent.
I think today they’ve become mythologized because they have a unique feel and have held up well over the years. Still though, good luck! Anything is possible!
I have a La Pavoni espresso machine from the late 60's, 68 I think. They still make them pretty much the same and still make parts for the pre-mil models.
The oldest I have but don't really use is a Columbia Grafonola. We usually play it when the power goes out, since it doesnt use electricity.
Some 'newer' things are my Gameboy SP, and my Casio VL-Tone mini keyboard, but they are more keepsakes from my childhood than actually useful. Oh and I also have a Dixon guitar pitch pipe that I have no idea how old it is but I don't imagine they made many after electronic tuners came out
EDIT: I also collect old razors, particularly saftey and injector, but a handful of single edge and straight razors and I have a decent collection of old glasses, my favorites have saddle bridges or the spring things to hold them to your nose, but I also have a few with the chain that attaches to your shirt like for a pocket watch. Both of these I snag at flea markets when I see a good price or something I cant pass up.
Wow a fellow La Pavoni owner! Mine is an early 80s Professional. I've easily pulled over 2000 espressos on that thing and have done plenty of tear downs over the 5+ years I've had it. Could be my favorite object in my life. I don't know if you spend time on r/espresso but I'm so glad to have a machine that I love enough to resist the equipment rabbit hole they go down. Having said that, I do look at Odyssey Espresso and the machine they're refining from time to time because I love spring levers.
Mine is probably my favorite thing I own too, I pulled countless shots, especially since it only has a 12g basket, 2/3 the size of my travel picopresso, but that just means I get to pull more shots. I need to take it apart to do a deep clean and descale, and Im planning on swapping the base since its an ugly brown with the paint worn off at the drip tray:
/r/espresso was my favorite sub, along with /r/distancelongboarding, but I left Reddit with the api change and came here. I feel like Im out of the loop with new toys, but I am also really happy with my setup for both, so no need to chase that dragon. Now its guitar pedals lol
Just curious, what grinder do you use? I got mine when the LIDO E was king, and right before the 1zpresso took over, but I got a Option O REMI, which is amazing and like I said I'm more than happy with, but I'd be lying if I said I wasnt drooling over the Craig Lyn/Webber desktop manual grinder, if only it wasnt twice what I paid for my La Pavoni. Sorry for blabbering, but its been a minute since I got to nerd out over espresso
No need to apologize for blabbing! I think posts generally skew quite long on Tildes and personally I could read about La Pavonis all day. I wrote a ton here partially as a distraction while I potentially miss a flight waiting in traffic in a taxi.
I have a love/hate relationship with the shot size but really only when making milk drinks since they need to be very small to keep a good ratio. My base is a very mid century bright orange that I love but it's chipped in a few places.
I think the espresso sub has dove deeper than ever into equipment obsession. This is perhaps driven by their adoption of Lance Hendrick as an influencer and he seems to pitch gadgets a lot more than James Hoffman. They're also doing that thing where funny/impressive/bad latte art is very trendy to post which just feels like lazy content. I honestly should just stop browsing it. While I'm complaining, something else that bugs me is how they jump from one consensus to the next. A couple years ago you couldn't do better than the Rocket with a Niche Zero and now they are virtually gone from their consciousness.
As for grinders, I use a eureka mignon which is more than enough for me and should last forever. Solidly mid tier in the grand scheme of grinders though. The hottest grinder at this moment is the Zerno which is worth checking out. Has all the necessities like low retention, easily swappable burrs, and the grind size is actually indicated on the grind dial in microns which is cool for sharing recipes online. That Weber grinder you mention is also top tier and definitely the best manual grinder that money can buy. I started my espresso journey with a manual grinder ($20 hario) but that got old for me. It's a lot of work in the morning!
I had a sort of renaissance with my pavoni recently when I realized that the machine and my grinder just don't thrive on the lightest roasts. It was so much work and luck to dial in a good shot on light roast especially because the group head needs heated a bit (but not too much! My lord those second and third shots off this machine are scolding) to get the right temp. I live in a city with amazing roasters and most are focusing towards lighter roasts. Now I'm back to medium or dark roasts which these Italian machines were certainly designed around.
I still break out my PSP from time to time but it's just a little baby compared to some of the stuff here.
I fixed my PSP in the Fall 2023. I used it a decent amount that school year, and it is pretty great. My main complaint is that games are relatively short on it, but overall a quite enjoyable and nostalgic experience
I actually like the fact the most games are short. I'm an old fart and I don't have a lot of time in the day between my wife, kids, or work to game. Short ones are easier to complete before I lose focus or interest and move on. My biggest complaint is not being able to find a replacement battery for it. Everything I do find always looks a bit sketchy or it "new old stock" so it's most assuredly bad by now.
When I fixed my PSP, the two things that needed were a new screen (the failure that lead to it being put away in the first place) and a new battery that went bad when it was in storage. Both of them I got relatively cheap on Amazon, and I believe my battery is one of those slightly sketchy third party batteries. I have not had issues with the battery yet, and it is better than not using the device at all. Odds are those sketchy batteries are all that you will be able to find in 2025, and it will get increasingly harder to find them
You aren't wrong, but I keep telling myself that plugging it in is a much preferred out come over killing it with a sketchy battery.
If you haven't already CFW'd it, I'd recommend it. The ability to get PS1 (and more) games on there... Well, to be honest it just turned the thing into a portable Tony Hawk Machine.
What are your favorite PSP games? :) I still have two in the house but these days ppsspp is just so convenient
Loco Roco has always been a favorite of mine somewhat shamefully followed by Infected. The PSP Midnight Club LA is surprisingly good too.
I have the Locoroco soundtracks in my car, and even after decades, sometimes I still like to pretend I'm rolling down a colourful squishy hill dodging blue things that scream WAHHH at me
I am limited to the games I bought when younger but thought I would give my thoughts on the games I have been replaying the past year. Note that all of these games are ones I played when younger, so my perspective is influenced by some nostalgia. The games I have played are:
I still need to play through more of my backlog, but these were some of the ones I was most excited for, so they are the games I started with. Overall the games have been enjoyable to fill my lunchbreaks instead of scrolling on my phone.
It's actually fun to limit oneself to certain games isn't it! They don't have to be crowd pleaser classics but exploring their charms and quirks is its own joy too. Agree 100% on more enjoyable than scrolling
There is also the intentional aspect that also makes it more enjoyable. Playing a game on the PSP is an intentional decision that you are going to have a moment of downtime and play some games, whereas scrolling on your phone is just because what else is there to do? Part of this is also stemming from my perspective of removing the phone as the do it all device and switching to dedicated devices that I should write about more another time.
I bought it for god of war, I love burnout and there are 2 ok-ish gta games that I still play on occasion
I use an IBM Model M keyboard. The date on the sticker on the back is in the mid 1980s. It is hardly as fancy or featureful as a modern keyboard with similar key action, but it's still going strong, with no issues. I feel like this thing could do its job for another couple decades. Why do I still use such an ancient hunk of technology? I got it from my dad, so it reminds me of him. I hope to pass this on one day, too.
IBM Model M has a buckling spring mechanism which some say is the best switch.
It's lovely, has a bit more fight and a very heavy mechanical spring release sound and feel. I ultimately switched to something quieter to be a better housemate, but those things are built like tanks.
I love the feel, but that could just be sentimentality talking. It seems like most people prefer quiet keys, both for themselves, and hearing it from others.
I prefer mechanical (loud) switches over silent laptop style keyboards.
I do work in a bigger office with other people so I tend to stick with the more silent switches as I don't want to be that "obnoxious keyboard guy"
I definitely prefer the feeling of mechanical keyboard switches (and the sound doesn't bother me when I'm the one typing anyway). Luckily there's a range of sound levels available these days, so it's possible to use quieter switches for a setup that's in a place where a lot of people need to focus.
My most prized possession is an inclined plane that's been in my family for 25,000 years or so. I also have a wedge that I have used for several years.
Excuse me?
Bit of a low-tech example, but probably counts: The classic Casio F-91W is a decades old design, quite literally. And while mine is only a couple of years old, the W-59 is a direct descendant/sibling to that model (main difference being a bit more waterproof, and sporting a slightly more sturdy default rubber band, although I’m wearing a non-stock strap with it anyways).
Other than that, I still use CD very occasionally. But digital is just so much more convenient when you have a modern device on you, and no walkman plus assortment of discs.
Edit: so, funny thing, I tried putting in a more international-friendly link from the Casio homepage instead of my localized one…, and it appears the US version of the page doesn’t seem to have any results for a W-59-1VQ model? Nor W-86 (a similar, also slightly more waterproof F-91W variant), either. So this means either 1) their search feature is useless trash 2) the model name differs vastly in other markets (although the F-91W’s (English) Wikipedia entry does mention the W-59…) or 3) the model isn’t offered in all markets?!
I have a vintage microphone, an ElectroVoice Model 664. They started producing them in the 1950s, and my guess is production stopped in the late 60s (although unsure as information is a bit sparse online). My guess is that my mic is from around the early 60s. It still sounds good, and is a fun mic to add to my collection. Recently I have been using it for my mic while gaming, which feels a bit weird but it works great for that purpose. I even made a nice wooden box for storage.
I use a safety razor, although recently manufactured, it retains the charm and same functionality as the old ones.
I use it because blades are cheaper and I have more options to choose from. The cartridge razors without fail would give me the worst irritation on my neck which led me to have a beard for 10 years or so. My theory was the multiple blades probably contributed to it. One blade has proven more than fine for me.
I also still use black and white film in analog cameras, and play music on vinyl.
I'm not 100% sure, but I have a Fitbit Charge 2 which is 9 year old tech but mine is a refurb because they're super cheap.
We own a Whirlpool washer and dryer that are around 23-24 years old, and they work fine. I think they have some minor issues (we never take it off the delicate setting), but they do their job and are apparently better than a lot of newer models. We had to call a repair guy a couple years back for a minor problem, and he made a point to tell my mom to hold onto them as long as we can. He's the one who told mom to use that setting and avoid using dryer sheets to extend their lives as long as possible. They're the only appliances we're taking with us to our new house.
From what I understand, top-load washers are way better because there's less moving parts and they aren't fighting gravity. I had a great one I inherited from my grandma, but had to let it go as our next move was to an apartment and I didn't want to find a storage unit.
We have a front loader now that came with this house. We had to get it repaired once which was stupidly expensive. We're probably replacing it with a top loader once it dies.
I think front-loaders are actually more energy efficient, as well as being better at washing, and use less detergent & water... so it's entirely possible a front-loader would pay for itself in reduced energy/water/detergent bills.
I've only ever used a top-loading washing machine once, when staying with a friend in the US, and I was pretty unimpressed with the cleaning performance (although, sample size of 1)
That said, modern washers & dryers sure do take a long time - my heat pump dryer is wonderfully efficient but takes 4 hours to run.
Maybe. It depends on how frequently it needs repairs or even replacement. It reminds me of the conversation about how buying a new electric vehicle is technically worse for the environment compared to buying a used gas car, because of the energy usage involved in production. Obviously there are many variables in that equation so it isn't true 100% of the time.
Yeah, absolutely - good point. I assume you'd also be paying a lot more for parts/repairs than we would here given that the US market won't have as many front loaders as the rest of the world (and I assume they'll require different innards to cope with the lower voltage and that will be lower volume).
I live within walking distance of an antique store, and every once in a grand while they'll have something useful for me, at a price that isn't horrible.
So far I've gotten...
I have stuff that’s older, but as far as things I actually use go…
Up until recently, one of them would’ve been the Wacom USB drawing tablet I’ve had since high school. It’s about exactly 20 years old now and still technically works, but replaced it with a refurb current model tablet because it’d started making a pretty irritating squeak noise when pressure was put on it (so every time you made a stroke with its stylus).
Currently, it’s a Sony NetMD portable minidisc player/recorder I bought a few months ago. Not sure when it was manufactured exactly, but its particular model was made only in 2003 and 2004, so it’s also about a couple decades old. Playback still works great, but recording is a bit flaky (decent chance that can be fixed, but I have yet to open it up). It works well for music but is also great as a dead simple podcast player. Using the LP4 audio codec about 15 20-minute podcasts can fit on each minidisc.
I have several other newer and more convenient devices (like my phone) that can fill that basic need to play back audio, but the MD player is very simple and has zero distractions which is helpful for keeping me on task and aids concentration for learning podcasts.
I think I have the same Wacom Intuos3! I don't use it much but it comes in handy occasionally when I need a stylus input for signatures or drawing games.
They’re seriously tanky and still plenty capable even by modern standards. If only everything held together and retained its utility over time as well…
The experience of wired headphones if cable managed well is an experience that is hard to beat. IEMs that run down your back so they stay out of the way is just a frictionless experience since the cable is tucked away and you don't have to worry about batteries or connection issues.
Mechanical watches, anyone else?
I recieved a bunch of never sold new old automatics last year, sort of wearing them carefully.
I own a few, while I appreciate they don’t need batteries, it’s very annoying you either need to keep wearing them or buy a device that vibrates them to keep going if you don’t wear them for long periods of time.
I would love a mechanical watch, I had my eye out for some old ones in Japan but I kept finding expensive stuff. But I was pretty limited in my ability to explore as a gaijin.
Try little run down malls where there are mom and pop stores doing battery changes. That's how I found / still find brand new pre-inflation price tag models that have sat in the store for decades. When I show a bit of appreciation sometimes they might take a lower offer esp if i pay in cash. I'm not talking high end hand made Swiss models though, just older Seiko Citizen Casio G Shock (not mechanical) workhorses type. I don't think I could ever feel safe walking around with a timepiece that cost more than a car.
An older Seiko is what I was looking for. Exploring those shops was a bit intimidating with how little Japanese I knew. We did end up finding a mecha-quartz Seiko in a small mall in Shinsekai Osaka.
Really hope to go back as soon as I can though after I learn some more of the language :).
Oh, no I meant even in north america you'd find little moms and pops :) and...they.... probably speak some English lol. Try China towns. Congrats on your find!
All the tech I've bought has either broken down or become obsolete so I've gotten rid of it. I don't like hoarding old stuff "just in case", I never end up actually needing it and it just takes space.
The oldest is probably my fridge or my oven, both about a decade old. Maybe one of my old hard disks?
I still have my HP-48G calculator from (I think) 1993. I even still have the manual for it.
That thing is built like a tank. I've joked before that I'll probably be able to pass it on to a descendant some day.
I also like it well enough that I use the Droid48 emulator as the primary calculator app on my phone.
I would say the video game consoles I have collected, some of which are roughly as old as I am, but really I don’t use them these days because they have been essentially replaced by the MiSTer.
Also owned but never used is a sharp pocket computer, PC-1500, I think? I’ve got the printer attachment that also allows it to interface to a cassette recorder to save and load programs with, alongside a recorder that technically doesn’t go with it but works a charm.
I used to collect retro computers but I have grown to hate physical belongings cluttering everything so they are for the most part gone these days. I gave my Amiga A3000 away to a friend in Canada a short while back, which was previously the jewel of my collection.
I have a Yamaha Hifi Amplifier (very similar to this one) and a pair of T+A speakers (PP 140) that I have been using for over 35 years.
It was part of a combo that I bought as a young lad when I inherited a bit of money. Initially I also had a tape deck, a CD player and a record player, but those all died relatively early in the first ten years or so.
The amplifier however has been connected to my PC via USB audio interfaces for decades now. Probably the best purchase I ever made. Still sounds great.
I have seen a fair bit of pedantry above (which I'm not condemning or anything, it is both humorous and educational) but I'm going to try to answer what I think the spirit of the question is, which is more about information technology or modern mechanical technology, because otherwise "heat" and "sharp" are going to win.
The amp for my guitar is a Super Twin Reverb Fender, with a bunch of custom work done to it, including being recovered in a soft brown. It's a beautiful piece of tech from the 70s. I have not found a commercially available amplifier from the last 40 years that is similar in quality; everything this good is custom. Lots of tubes and custom electronics inside; it's a complicated machine!
I have a rice maker that I bought 25+ years ago that I still use every week. The lid has had multiple repairs, but other than that it's about the same. Put in washed rice, add water, hit button, wait -> rice. I've looked at alternate rice makers and they all seem more complicated.
Zojirushi still makes $50 classic "push button, receive hot rice" cookers, as well as the kind that 90s asian kids probably remember, or not exactly
Pedantry: I was going to mention chemical signaling as an actively used technology as opposed to heat being simply ambient, but I'm not confident in that.
That $50 is pretty in line with what mine looks like, except mine is white. Thanks! I'll keep it mind if I ever need to update.
Regular use technology really ends around 1985 for me. I have older stuff sitting around but it's generally displayed.
I have two vehicles manufactured in 1991, but are models designed and put into production in the late 80's: Porsche 944S2 and BMW K1 motorcycle. I actually need to move them approximately 60 miles this weekend under their own power.
Then I have an NES from around 1986-1987 which I still play games on. Joust and Excitebike are the oldest games I can run off cartridges.
In terms of "old things" on display:
I have an iPod classic (2006?) that is essentially permanently docked next to my record player... Pales in comparison to my N64! I'd go older but my AVS, and Analogue FPGAs have largely replaced the older consoles.
I've also got an Acer EeePC but that's more of a novelty than seeing any actual use.
Other than that, I've also got a Blu-ray player from, like, 2014. Feels real old to still be using physical media of any kind but somehow feels more novel than using my beta cam tapes for archival purposes.
In no particular order, just as I remember them.
A Thinkpad x230 for a backup work computer from 2012. My kid's laptop is our old Acer AMD model from 2012 as well. Still plays Minecraft pretty darn well.
I have the hard drive from my first laptop circa 2002, haven't spun it up in years tho.
A WRT54G from 2003. It bridges the solar inverters to Home Assistant,as well as some other IoShit stuff that only supports barely-secure 2.4 networks. The WPS button also toggles a light. It's the oldest network kit in use. It consumes only 3W, compared to the 15W of my main router.
Some digital cameras from the early 00s my kids use. An old tape camcorder from the early 90s.
Got some assorted audio equipment that dates from the 80s to the 50s. A nice desk tube radio that is next on my fixup list. An old working reel-to-reel tape player from the early 1950s.
A modded PS1 I found at a flea market circa 2013. A Laserdisc player. These typically only get busted out a few times a year for novelty.
An old phone from 1913, which my wife's grandfather had wired to a touch tone hidden inside, which I then connected to a 4G router with a phone jack when we mounted it in our home. This is probably the single coolest thing. The original ringer works with a modded hand crank, but for incoming calls it just uses the touch tone bell.
I set up my Wii U again right before you posted this so probably that!
I instantly felt a tinge of bittersweet happiness when I held the Wii U gamepad in my hands. It's almost like when you smell something that takes you back to childhood, picking it up made me feel like it was the early 2010s again. It makes me remember that awesome, shitty first apartment I had my second year of college. My first dog, my friendships, just so much. It would definitely be a period of my life that I would go back and visit if I could. A tear actually ran down my face when I thought about my dog from then, even though he died seven or so years ago.
Sadly, even the Wii U is withering away slowly. I put in my Pikimin 3 disc and found it had the common disc rot error for Wii U games. Never finished it and I guess I probably won't after all!
You need to mod it. The process is even more pain free these days. I've got every Zelda game on mine... Well, I guess not every since TOTK came out...
I have a CRT hooked up to older video game consoles. The CRT was lying on the curb one day with a giant "FREE" sign taped to it. The label on the back indicates that it was made in 2006, which makes sense given the integrated VCR and DVD player. I still use it because many games genuinely look better on a CRT than a modern display, no matter what filter you use.
Like someone else said, maybe my TI-83. I sto--I mean, forgot to return it to school. I graduated high school in 2005. So it's at least that old.
I also have a Fossil watch, back when those were popular, that I got around the same time as a graduation present of sorts. Haven't worn it in a long, long time, but I still have it.
Lastly, I have a Logitech 5.1 speaker system that I use with my computer. I probably got in the mid/late 00s.
I still daily drive a car that has 4 wheels. I still use wheels because I've never really seen the sense in trying to reinvent them? For something invented roughly 4000 BC, they're decent tech. 😉
I have a VHS recorder which, to be fair, I rarely use. But last year I wanted to convert a tape to MP4 and upload it to YouTube. It was about falconry in China, was made around 2001, but no longer available to purchase in any format. The recorder itself I bought new around 1995. It played the tape adequately and I was able to capture the video and save it.
I take photographs with a 1951 Rolleiflex
It's a very relaxing, quiet experience. It has two lenses (one for prevewing, one for taking - rather than a single lens with a mirror that moves out of the way) so the shutter mechanism is just a soft click. It doesn't take batteries, it's just a clockwork mechanism. The viewfinder is on top and you see the image projected onto a sheet of ground glass, which is just magical.
It also produces 6cm by 6cm negatives, which are really fun (and much more fun to unspool and develop vs 35mm film)
P.S. Technically, the oldest thing I use is a chair from the late 1600s, but I don't think that counts...
Off the top of my head, I regularly shoot film on a Konica T3, which was originally released in 1965? Fun camera; I had to modify the power circuit to get it working with modern silver oxide batteries, upgraded the focusing screen to a split image, replaced the light seals, fixed some minor mechanical issues… not something I would recommend if you are not inclined to do this sort of work. I really enjoy using it though, and managed to snag a copy of the Hexanon 57mm f1.2 that I tend to keep on it. The lens also needed some work, I fixed the filter ring and made a contraption to blast it with UV to de-yellow the glass. It also has a neat adaptor that Konica made for the system to accept Nikon F lenses, because Konica had the shortest flange focal distance of any SLR.
I have an Apple LED Cinema Display, introduced in 2010. I bought it just a couple years ago, used, obviously, when my old Dell that I got for free from the previous owner started acting up.
Why? I don't pay more for tech than I must, for one thing. In my line of creative work, budgets are minuscule and funds must be primarily allocated elsewhere, so I'll get whatever does the job and allows for a visually uncluttered work area (important!). Apple devices tend to excel in that department. This monitor is also an upgrade from my old one in terms of size.
I read reviews that say it's much less bright than modern displays but I don't want my screen to be brighter. I even wonder if the excessive brightness of our screens is one reason for some modern health issues? For reference, I keep the screen of my iPhone 12 Pro at one of the lowest settings and sometimes it's still not dim enough for me. When my M1 MacBook Pro is on 55% brightness, it's about similar to the Cinema Display.
I also had to buy an adapter to connect the monitor via HDMI. The adapter needs its own power source from a USB port, which is really the only annoying part of using this monitor. However, it's not taking up any of my M1's ports because I also have another old piece of tech: a mid-2015 MacBook Pro Retina.
Use cases for the old MacBook:
A third ancient piece of tech I still use is a Wacom Intuos 3 tablet, released in 2004 for digital drawing. I still use it because it still does the job I need it to do. It's likely the only piece of IT hardware that has been completely functional with every computer I've tried to use it with. Back when I bought it I was a PC user, then switched to Macs, and no matter which OS or drawing app I throw at it, it never lets me down.
Outside of IT gadgets, I recently paid a pretty penny for a 1960's buttonhole attachment that turns my sewing machine into a high quality buttonhole maker. Of course, all modern sewing machines come with a setting that makes buttonholes, either automatically or semi-automatically. But I've used many sewing machines and I've never used one that would turn out buttonholes of decent quality. Scratch that, they're not even acceptable quality! A built-in setting looks cleaner and less intimidating to the end user, and the buttonhole quality can't be easily evaluated when purchasing a machine, which is probably why this is now the standard way of making buttonholes domestically.
I use this coffee grinder daily. It functions perfectly well (other than needing a rubber band to keep the hatch closed) so I see no reason to change. An electric grinder would take up a permanent spot on the counter and be noisier. This can go into a cabinet when not in use. I've had to glue and nail it back together, but since I took the time to do that, it's perfectly sturdy and should last the rest of my life. No idea how old it is, but I assume it predates electric grinders.
My main stereo system is Marantz 2225 receiver that I bought used when we got married. Its circa 1975 so 50 years old and still sounds great through the Yamaha three way speakers (with tunable tweeter) that came with it. Quality matters and Marantz 2225 are now vintage collectibles for a reason. I sometimes see them selling for more than I paid for the entire receiver, turntable and speakers: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/296737896578
I still play Homeworld, a game from the late 90s.
I won't be pedantic and identify ancient things we take for granted. Too pedantic and autistic of me (and am autistic).
My Thinkpad x230. It is still a beast that lets me do daily work, coding, light gaming, watching etc. Small, repairable, upgradeable, solid and cheap:)
The oldest piece of tech in routine use in my house is my Tivoli Model 2.
It is the last radio designed by Henry Kloss after he "retired", briefly, in the 90's. AFAIK it was built 25 years ago in 2000. I cannot find an exact listing for my model in the Tivoli wikipedia entry. It lists the Model 1 as made in 2000 and the Model 2, with subwoofer and CD player, as made in 2001.
My Model 2 looks exactly like the one in the link above and has no subwoofer/cd player. It has a knob labeled "Off, FM, AM, AUX" + the volume knob and the tuner. I recall that it was sold as just the radio unit with one speaker. IIRC it was 300$. I had to save to buy the second speaker a few months later. I do not recall how much that one cost... it was a bit less. I believe I bought it in 2000 or 2001, certainly not much later.
Today the AUX channel is hooked up to a rpi3 + DAC that can stream FLAC/MP3/Whatever off my NAS.
I love that... Mostly because Henry Kloss designed mono transistor radios in a time when none of this existed and a pocket radio that tuned in actual radio was the single best way to find new music. Now his last design in this hybrid in my kitchen.
To me that's punk fucking rock.
Probably my OG Chromecast that will turn 12 later this year. It's kind of slow, but it still works for streaming all sorts of things to keep myself and the kids entertained. It's one of those single-purpose devices that I don't see myself replacing until it finally kicks the bucket. At $35 it's also been the best value in terms of price for usage over time.
Besides the "fire" and "pen and paper" that has been mentioned by others, I think it must be a hand cranked flashlight similar to this one dating back to the 40s or so. Got it from my grandfather and have used it with power outages at times. Though, to be fair it has been a while.
It could be coal burning boiler that heats the house in winter and we use it because heat pumps were too expensive at the time and no other reasonable options were available.
It could be turntable, which is actually fairly new, but the technology itself is old. I use it because charm and nostalgia.
It could be toaster as it is just a heated wire, which almost hardly counts as technology in my eyes :-) I use it because it gets the job done and there's not much innovation to be done (except some timer, preset and whatnot stuff that I don't need that much).
If we go more to the modern era than it's definitely our TV - Panasonic Viera plasma TV. And I use this one because it still works fine for me and there isn't any new TV for such cheap price having the qualities of this one (subjective, I agree).
Still using the same image editor I used 20 years ago, Photoimpact, which is intuitive and user friendly and was bought out and killed by Corel almost that long ago. Photoshop's garbage paradigm won out but this program has much faster and intuitive UX, and let's not even talk about the gimp, where nothing ever works the way you'd expect and you have to stop every 20 seconds to look something up.
Unfortunately it uses dated windows APIs, it's missing modern algorithms, it has unfixed glitches, and it's incapable of using most of my RAM or multiple CPU cores, so it can get very slow on large, complicated projects. Still, if there's an image editor that does typesetting as well as this one and doesn't require paying for a subscription, I'd like to know.
Off the top of my head I have a Gillette red tip razor from the late 1950s, a Honda motorcycle that was originally released in the 1970s, and a Casio wristwatch that I wear everyday that was released in the 1980s. A mix of the best older technology and new is certainly the best!
I collect vintage watches. My oldest one is probably a 1984 Seiko UC-2000 . It reminds me of back to the future, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I believe it was one of the first smart watches. You could connect it to a keyboard to write notes, or transfer games into the watch.
My oldest piece of "tech" is a 1951 Zenith Cobra-Matic console record player. (The linked video isn't mine but is the same model.) Mine was fully restored when I purchased it, but recently fell off in use because I need a new needle and can't find one for love or money, and the tuner still works but the tuning arm broke a couple of years ago so you basically have to guess at the channel as you're turning the knob.
Not sure if this counts as "tech" but I bought a WW2 era anvil-style vice from an old dude on Craigslist and gave it a new coat of red spray paint. I use it regularly for many of my projects.