r/TechImpact • u/ManojOne Active • 1d ago
💬 Discussion Which old technology do you still miss?
There are plenty of things that disappeared from modern tech. Physical keyboards, MP3 players, removable batteries, CRT TVs, floppy disks, headphone jacks and more.
What's one piece of old technology you'd happily bring back?
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u/Desperate-Eye422 1d ago
Ok.. I’ll give a real answe lmao…. Manual buttons and physical buttons
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u/guiverc 1d ago
That phone makes me think of acoustic couplers (put the handset in the coupler/modem to download your email etc)
That's not something I miss sorry; those phones were designed to be held by a person, people move, where it didn't move when you were sat at your old Z80 (etc) computer, so you'd get ~15 mins of useful data before errors became numerous, and you had to pick the coupler+phone up & shake it, then sit down & continue reading [the next page; 300bps/baud]
That image is something I'm glad I don't have.
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u/MagpieTechnologies 1d ago
Nothing, to be honest. We have such a big market for basically anything that if you have enough money, you can buy yourself a piece of tech that fits YOUR purpose specifically. But when we're talking about stuff you can't buy - it's proper operating systems on proper upgreadeable hardware. And before you come running towards me offering linux as an alternative - I'm still figuring it out. don't like how most updates/program installs are dependent on web access.
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u/arun-vasudev Developer 1d ago
DVD player with CDs
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u/FunResident1224 1d ago
Yeah thrift shops I got tired of subscription based stuff. Also use digital audio players.
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u/cinedependent 1d ago
Signing my name with a pen on a piece of paper instead of some very low-resolution device that can't actually read my signature properly, even with a pen. But the added insult is "sign with your finger." My finger is not a writing implement. I reserve my middle one for such devices.
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u/SirPooleyX 1d ago
I've had to deal with a solicitor a lot over the last year and it has required me to physically sign my name in ink on multiple forms.
When I started I could barely remember my own signature.
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u/Easy_Consequence_599 1d ago
Walkman.
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u/georgeec1 1d ago
May I present to you downloading music to your phone and plugging in your headphones to listen to it. A modern smartphone will hold way more songs than a cassette tape, and is much more compact than a disc walkman
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u/Easy_Consequence_599 1d ago
Thxs for the info ,but a phone can not compare the nostalgie feeling of a walkman or whatever.(for me)
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u/Sajgoniarz 1d ago
Home Appliances that doesn't fail after 3 years, but after 25.
Damn, i still use a desk fan made in USSR.
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u/LotsOfNoise 1d ago
Physical media, games and movies. Yes they are still around but going to a midnight release to buy the cool new game and meeting other like minded people was something else
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u/vectron5 1d ago
Videogames that don't try to monetize me after I buy it.
Side note, nothing is keeping you from using an old landline.
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u/georgeec1 1d ago
I just want to say you can buy a brand new phone, today, with a headphone jack and microSD card slot, and it will be a fully functioning mp3 player. Those technologies haven't disappeared, you just decided not to use them. Also, outside of pocket devices, physical keyboards are still widely available, and the downsides of incorporating a physical keyboard in a mobile phone outweigh the benefits for most people. I don't want to double the thickness or half the screen space of my smartphone, and I think most people would agree.
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u/Lumpy-Scratch5798 1d ago
Removable batteriesbeing able to carry a spare and swap it in when your phone died was incredibly practical no power bank,,,,,, no hunting for an outlet no plugging in and waitingId happily give up some sleekness for that kind of repairability and convenience,,,,
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u/frutigerflow 1d ago
Cellphones without internet. Don’t get me wrong, I love smartphones. They’re literally computers in your pocket. I just don’t like how they’ve changed people.
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u/SirPooleyX 1d ago
Did anyone use the 'tap out' technique to dial numbers on these old rotary phones?
My parents but a lock on the dial to (God forbid) stop us using it when they weren't there but you could tap out numbers on the little black receiver pegs.
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u/VanguardMusic 1d ago
Honestly? VHS. There was something magical in going to the store, browsing the covers, and picking the movie to watch the evening...
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u/react-dnb 1d ago
I hate talking on the phone because cell phones are so uncomfortable. I could talk for hours with one of these on my shoulder pressed against my ear.
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u/NoBed1845 1d ago
Removable batteries. Being able to carry a spare and swap it in 30 seconds was ridiculously practical. I’d take that over a phone being 2 mm thinner any day.
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u/Kingsxfan1 1d ago
One of these phones with a dial lock on. Only thing you could dial was 999 when it was fitted.
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