Old technology you've grown fond of

[evil^milk]

Post pictures of old pieces of technological equipment you no longer use that you can't throw away because of emotional attachment but still have hanging around somewhere in your home!

The other day I was scavenging in a room of this house nobody tends to use, in which old stuff is just generally thrown into, when I suddenly came upon this:

Spoiler

This is the alarm clock/radio that used to wake me up ever since I was about 15. With the rather late insight that I could use my own cellphone to wake me up (and get rid of that nasty, nasty screech the alarm clock made) the alarm clock went out of commission about... one year ago.

Fun fact: one time I was feeling dangerous so I grabbed the clock by the cord, spun it a few times in mid-air, and flung it across the room and into the wall. Inexplicably, time passed faster on the alarm clock so that after about a month, the time would be ahead by about 10 minutes. This was just another reason for me to send it to retirement, but still, I cannot properly dispose of it :C


Post your stories!

 

[Remus]

I don't have anything, but my dad still has an old magneto-phone and a record player. Doesn't need it either, since he already has the entire music collection from both vinyl and the magnetic bands, in digital format.

I've never actually thought about this before, but if it still works we could sell the magneto-phone to a collector or something for an obscene amount of money.

 

[CyberPitz]

WTF is wrong with your picture? Scrolling it sucks lol...

Box fans are badass.

 

[Mogi67]

Have one quite similar to this. I play old Neil Young tapes on it sometimes for shits and giggles

 

[VirusType2]

I have a couple of boxes of stuff, including a clock that flips the numbers.

It's really cool, my brother loves that thing. I don't remember where I got it. Anyway, the enclosure it's in is so ancient and ugly looking. Like, not old enough to be quaint, because it's black plastic with an out of style look to it.

You just gave me an idea, though. I'm going to take the guts out and custom fit it into a modern enclosure. Perhaps aluminum. Maybe even replace the little light bulb in there with LED.

I just remembered, I don't like the little noise it makes when it flips though, so I'll put it in a room where it won't be bothersome.

 

[evil^milk]

I have a couple of boxes of stuff, including a clock that flips the numbers.

It's really cool, my brother loves that thing. I don't remember where I got it. Anyway, the enclosure it's in is so ancient and ugly looking. Like, not old enough to be quaint, because it's black plastic with an out of style look to it.

You just gave me an idea, though. I'm going to take the guts out and custom fit it into a modern enclosure. Perhaps aluminum. Maybe even replace the little light bulb in there with LED.

I just remembered, I don't like the little noise it makes when it flips though, so I'll put it in a room where it won't be bothersome.

Ooh, I've always wanted one of those.

 

[MJ12]

Source Engine.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

CD player. Badass bass.

 

[VirusType2]

Fossil fuel cars.

 

[Ennui]

I have my old walkman around somewhere.

I also have a few old computers collecting dust... my first PC was an IBM PS/2 model 80 with 4mb of RAM, a 70mb hard drive, and a 16mhz processor. It's in my attic somewhere. Not sure if it runs ok or not, last time I booted it up was probably six or seven years ago.

 

[taviow]

I own a typewriter. That's right. It's been many years since I last touched it though.

 

[Schall]

I don't really have anything old except for a couple crt monitors and other pieces of tech from that time, those are cool.

Record players are the shit too.

 

[VirusType2]

I don't really have anything old except for a couple crt monitors and other pieces of tech from that time

hahah, you young bucks. That was like 4 or 5 years ago.

 

[Schall]

hahah, you young bucks. That was like 4 or 5 years ago.

You're kidding right? That was 10-15 years ago.

 

[VirusType2]

CRTs are still being sold today. They were still selling them with computers in 2007; I know, because I bought one.

In fact, I bought a 30" widescreen CRT HDTV two years ago, brand new. Granted, it was a clearance sale. The only reason I bought it was because it was 2 or 3 times cheaper than an equivalent sized LCD.

Still, I regret this purchase because I watch TV on my computer now. It's so big, I can't carry it by myself, either, which makes it hard to get rid of. Which is kind of funny because I can carry my computer monitor between two fingers.

 

[Naph]

Apparently you can get better CRT's than some LCD screens.

 

[hakojo]

I just got rid of my 10 year old CRT monitor and replaced it with an LCD. I would have gone on using it, too, but it went into energy-saver mode one day and refused to come back on, and I figured that meant it was finally throwing in the towel. It had an excellent run for what it was, although having widescreen now is kinda nice.

As for old technology I can't bring myself to throw away? Say hi to Megumi and Michiko:

(Megumi)

(Michiko)

Megumi is a Dell Dimension-something from 2000; that CRT monitor I just tossed was the one we bought with her. She was the family computer until 2006, when my mom got her Mac and bequeathed her to me. I was 15 then and finally old enough to have internet in my room, and I wasted many happy hours with her in the seclusion of my own quarters. She ran perfectly up until the day she was decommissioned, which was only because I was starting to get into PC gaming and Photoshop and needed something a bit faster than a 737 MHz Pentium III processor and 128 MB of RAM. She is now my speaker stand, because I just can't bring myself to throw out all of the memories.

Michiko, my nightstand, is even older, to the point where I don't even remember where she came from. We got her the year we moved into this house, which was about 15 years ago, and I never thought to check her specs (this was before I got interested in that sort of thing), so I all I can tell you is that she ran Windows 95 from the day she was purchased until I shut her down for good. Michiko was my very first personal computer (I inherited her after the family purchased Megumi), and even though all I could really do with her was use MS Word and play terrifically old games (Operation Neptune, Amazon Trail, and Caesar II, to name a few), I still have many fond memories of being 13 years old and using her to write horrible teenage-wangst fanfiction.

I also kind of like to have those two around because the paint jobs on the cases are so spectacularly humbling. I actually thought that looked good at some point? XD

 

[15357]

My God, woman. What have you done to your computer?


Oh, and I don't have any "old" technology things, likely because we threw them all out.

 

[Dr.Demento]

You're kidding right? That was 10-15 years ago.

Umm, no? 4-5 years is accurate. LCDs have only recently become more mainstream, but I still see them in offices even today. I prefer the contrast and color richness of CRTS over LCDS any day personally, but what do I know? I'm a dinosaur technically speaking. I've never owned an HD monitor or HDTV, so I don't know any better.

 

[Acepilotf14]

Once you go HD/1920x1200 you never go back.

 

[Krynn72]

1993 Buick Regals.

 

[Schall]

Umm, no? 4-5 years is accurate. LCDs have only recently become more mainstream, but I still see them in offices even today. I prefer the contrast and color richness of CRTS over LCDS any day personally, but what do I know? I'm a dinosaur technically speaking. I've never owned an HD monitor or HDTV, so I don't know any better.

So since they still make them, that makes the ones they made 10 years ago not exist. I get it.

 

[hakojo]

My God, woman. What have you done to your computer?

I was still in my teenage expression phase - that's the only excuse I can offer XD

Not that I don't still paint my cases, but they're much more...subdued now.

 

[evil^milk]

Gentlemen this discussion about CRTs vs. LCDs reminded me of the CRT I used to use before I switched to LCD back in '08. This behemoth ruled in the days in which I played CS:S and HL2: DM. I never really bothered making any decorations on it as I was more than content looking at all its glory.

Where is it now? When it was passed down to my mother, one day she happened to turn it on and the image it displayed was convexly warped. Subsequent attempts at turning it on were made to no avail. This resulted in my mother receiving my father's old 5-year old LCD. He, in turn, bought a new LCD for himself.

I now use the LCD which was originally my father's because I exchanged the newer, better one I had with my mother because I was trying to test whether my video card was messed up or not. The video card was indeed faulty, but how could I break my mother's heart by going, "Hey mom gimme my monitor back yes?"

The f*cker must weigh at least 100 pounds

Also, nice story hakojo.

 

[VirusType2]

So since they still make them, that makes the ones they made 10 years ago not exist. I get it.

It's true there were CRTs back in the 70s even. I just thought it was funny that you made it seem like CRT was ancient technology, like vacuum tubes or something, when they still make them.

Although...

However, [vacuum] tubes are still used in specialized applications: for engineering reasons, as in high-power radio frequency transmitters; or for their aesthetic appeal and distinct sound signature, as in audio amplification.

On topic:

Fire, for cooking. Man, some things were just done right the first time, am I right? To hell with gas, charcoal, and electric. When you cook with fire, you will become a real man. That's why: GTFO of the barbecue grill, woman.

 

[hakojo]

The f*cker must weigh at least 100 pounds

I SO hear you, having just hefted one of those bastards down two flights of stairs and then out to my car >.> The weight isn't even so much the problem (although my job involves running heavy things back and forth, so maybe I'm just used to that) -- it's the fact that there's no way to carry the damn things so they're balanced, since they're so front-heavy.

 

[VirusType2]

I think you guys are off a bit. My 30" widescreen HDTV is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-HT30746-Vizzon-widescreen-1080i/dp/B000FW1Y2G

The shipping weight is listed as 120 pounds. It's huge though. 22" deep (56cm). That might not sound like much, but it is - it's deep. You can't wrap around this behemoth to carry it alone unless your name is Thor.

 

[The Monkey]

What on earth did you do to your fingers?

 

[Warbie]

You can't wrap around this behemoth to carry it alone unless your name is Thor.

I still sport a 1080i 32" HDCRT in the living room - the footprint is HUGE - and a 2,304 x 1,440 24" CRT for the PC!

CRT ftw.

 

[Adabiviak]

Manual typewriter - my grandmother used to type ~50 WPM on that thing, and it would shake the table.

I also have an Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Apple computer with 5.25" drives. These make a little sense because they still work. What doesn't make much sense is a large box of old, used skateboard parts (copers, lappers, nose and tail guards, rails, cell block risers, worn out trucks and wheels, etc.) During the skateboard die off in the late 1980s, people would give me all their old equipment as they 'left the scene'. I'll never use these parts (well, maybe the OJ II wheels if mine ever wear out), but I can't part with them either.

Also, I have a pile of 78RPM shellac records, and a player that can play them.

 

[evil^milk]

What on earth did you do to your fingers?

Haha, that's actually a dummy hand used as a Halloween prank. Was hoping somebody would notice

 

[hakojo]

KiplingsCat, that sewing machine is just gorgeous! I'd keep it around even if it didn't work, just for decoration!

 

[Wanted Bob]

The oldest technology I have that still works is a very old Walkman with a disconnected lid (still snaps shut though so it can still play).

Aside from that, I have an old Dell Dimension computer from 1999. Pentium 4, 256 Mb RAM, nVIDIA Geforce 2, 30 Gb HD...

It used to be the family computer until 2005, then I inherited it. With care and routine maintenance, its still a fully functional computer to this date

 

[Dinnesch]

My laptop from 2001. Pentium 3 1GHz, 512MB RAM, not to mention the graphics card. A few years ago I put a faster HDD in it which gave it a nice speed boost.
Does a good job for web browsing/Steam chat/music/etc., and at the weekends I can't use my good PC I play some good ol' games on it.

 

[Mogi67]

I really do miss the 8 inch floppys. I remember installing Commander Keen and Jill of the jungle on my parents computer, great games. Those were better days

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Old 80's 90's Volvo station wagons, calculators with huge buttons, ugly off-tan colored Rotory Phones, beepers, old video game consoles, AOL Instant Messenger and the bleep bloop sounds, Laser Disk, vinyl, floral wall paper, space heaters, boom boxes, satellite phones, Windows 95, iMac 1st generation, ball mice

I was still in my teenage expression phase - that's the only excuse I can offer XD

Not that I don't still paint my cases, but they're much more...subdued now.

I quite like it, actually. I really hate how sleek and monotone computers and cars have been getting, boring as hell.

 

[VirusType2]

I feel like I should save my game. Need to find an ink ribbon.

 

[JUL3]

My mother still has her record player, at first I hated it ("OMG teh sound quality is F4!L"), but I've actually grown quite fond of it, it makes me wish I had been born 20 years earlier & thus experienced that time period.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

nothing beats vinyl

seriously though

 

[hakojo]

I really hate how sleek and monotone computers and cars have been getting, boring as hell.

I agree! I've been painting my computers since I was 14, and I'm definitely going to paint something cool on my next car (I only plan on having the one I drive now for a few years, so I didn't want to put too much effort into it knowing I'd just be junking it fairly quickly). No more blacklight paint, though

Here are my new(er) girls, BTW: Gabriela and Mary Elizabeth.

That's an old picture of Gabby; her DVD-ROM and floppy drives came late in the mail, so I switched in Megumi's until they showed up. She's got plain black ones now.

And now that I think about it, Mary Elizabeth should probably have been included in this thread from the start; she was a rescue from my old intern job at my city's IT department, and now she's our emulator computer. Gotta love Dells; they're built like tanks and they run for-freaking-ever if properly taken care of.