# Obsolete in my lifetime **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055 "2015-09-13T13:32:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/1 "2015-09-13T13:32:20Z")
As a senior citizen, a lot of stuff has become obsolete in my lifetime. Does anyone still make any of the following? If not, when did they stop making them? What other major items have reduced consumption/production by at least 95% in our lifetime? Typewriters which I assume are all replaced by computer printers. Slide Rulers Mechanical watches (with balance wheels or tuning forks) Automobile features: \>Cars without heaters. IIRC, heaters were an option for cars shipped to warmer climates when I was a kid. I assume it’s simply cheaper not make it an option. Does any car manufacturer offer A/C as standard equipment? \>Car dimmer switches on the floor. \>Radios without FM \>Standard shift with only three gears (My VW has six). How about four gears? \>Gear shift on the column \>Free wheeling and/or two-cycle engines as with old Saab. \>Manual crank windows. \>Bench seats in the front. \>Cars without power steering. If I happen to park my VW on a hill, I sometimes jump start it just for kicks. Before the motor starts, the steering, even while moving, seems a lot harder than pre-power, fifty years ago. Analog cell phones. Three watt cell phones. IIRC, the first cell phones in which the handset was on a cord from the cell phone had a power output of three watts. Cell phones that you placed next to your head were restricted to 0.6 watts for safety reasons. Did three watts dissappear with the analog cell phone? Copper wire for long distance communications. Do they still use microwave towers or satellites. I know satellites are used for things like ships-at-sea or aircraft in flight or cable tv, but (considering the time lag) are satellites used for everyday two-way communications between two populated places on earth? I know there are still film cameras around. Do they have more than 5% of the market? Plasma televisions. How about black-and-white television. Computers with \> rows of flashing lights, manual dials for input, and push buttons. \> a “stop” instruction. I haven’t seen a computer with a stop instruciton since the 1960’s. \> Magnetic core memory \> Parity (or error-correction) memory bits. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/2 "2015-09-13T13:40:48Z")
Mechanical watches are still made, and are ironically, the most expensive (and inaccurate) watches on sale. There are mechanical watches selling for 6 figures. Most of the car stuff is dead and gone. Plasma TVs are if not extinct, very close to it. There are no commercial computers using core memory. Maybe some hobbyist is running one. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/3 "2015-09-13T14:21:34Z")
Mimeograph machines. Mechanical adding machines. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/4 "2015-09-13T14:22:43Z")
My car is from 2000 and it has manuyal crank windows. It’s a ford Escort. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/5 "2015-09-13T15:36:31Z")
We have a 2009 Silverado pickup with manual windows, manual mirrors, and manual locks, but it has a CD player and it’s satellite capable. Best of both worlds. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/6 "2015-09-13T15:38:36Z")
(Audio) cassette tapes VHS CRT TVs and computer monitors (thankfully. Those sons-of-bitches were **heavy** ) Vaccum tube radio & TVs that took forever to come on. (Automotive) vinyl interiors in the same color as the exterior. And in the almost-gone-but-not-quite-yet automotive category: Leaf springs Hub caps Carburetors ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/7 "2015-09-13T20:20:45Z")
> [@zwede](#): > > Carburetors In vehicles, at least. I dunno if it’s cost effective to make fuel-injected strimmers and lawnmowers. And if they stopped putting carburetors on small outboard motors, I might be able to start the engine reliably all summer, and I just don’t see that ever happening. I know we do this thread a lot, but I can think of a lot of technologies that have been born and died in my lifetime. The cassette Walkman, various kinds of floppy drive formats, modems (handset modems certainly, and plug in modems, mostly). SCSI drives. Traveller’s checks. Phonebooks and Yellow pages are looking pretty anemic – the category of “obsolete, but not yet gone” is a large one. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/8 "2015-09-13T20:33:04Z")
[We just did this.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=762147) ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/9 "2015-09-13T21:46:36Z")
Make this the first of these threads with this nitpick (does anyone know what ‘picking a nit’ means?): “Hub caps” have not been widely seen since about 1937. “Wheel covers” are still in existence. It is a large distinction. [This is a ‘hub cap’](https://www.google.com/search?q=ford+model+a+wheel&hl=en&gl=us&authuser=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAmoVChMI7YLZ0f30xwIVT6yACh35JAbv&biw=1920&bih=1008#imgrc=1zqvH4voU3mhtM%3A) ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/10 "2015-09-13T21:49:25Z")
Calculators HA! They’ll have to pry my comptometer from my cold dead hands before I buy one of them fancy calculators. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/11 "2015-09-13T21:56:57Z")
I have a timing light in my basement, not many cars left that need one though. I used to use it a lot but these days almost no one uses them. My daughters car has crank windows for the record. 2005 Honda. I’ve noticed some older folks still swear by adding machines with tapes but it seems so archaic now. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/12 "2015-09-13T22:00:29Z")
And: They’re ‘Slide _ **Rules** _’, not ‘Slide Rulers’. Yeesh. I still have one, BTW. I also still have a drawing board, T-Square, triangles, scale, french curve, templates and lettering guide. And my 1967 pro-grade compass and divider with pen attachment in original pouch. You never know when you’re going to need them again… And about the 800 pounds of Photo Darkroom gear… anybody in the CA Central Vally want free gear? There are 3 enlargers, 2 roller-transport print processors… ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/13 "2015-09-13T22:51:18Z")
My 2011 Jeep Wrangler has manual windows ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/14 "2015-09-13T22:53:54Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > [We just did this.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=762147) So what you’re saying is that this thread is… Obsolete? ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/15 "2015-09-13T23:18:35Z")
> [@Carryon](#): > > Calculators HA! They’ll have to pry my comptometer from my cold dead hands before I buy one of them fancy calculators. For giggles: Do an image search for ‘10-key’. I don’t dare search for ‘Wang’ (both of these terms were once common on résumés). ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/16 "2015-09-13T23:33:53Z")
Typewriters are still being manufactured and used today. A friend has an office supply store and repairs and sells quite a few each year. ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/17 "2015-09-13T23:41:55Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > (does anyone know what ‘picking a nit’ means?): Nits are headlice (usually used to referring to the eggs and larvae). Picking them requires meticulous attention to detail and focus, hence the term. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/18 "2015-09-13T23:44:00Z")
Forums. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/19 "2015-09-14T00:05:41Z")
> [@zwede](#): > > CRT TVs and computer monitors (thankfully. Those sons-of-bitches were **heavy** ) Not thankfully if you appreciate the best picture quality. LCD doesn’t give anywhere neat as good of the same picture quality at the same resolution. And if you’re watching something not at the screen’s native resolution, well… CRT just blows the pants off of other stuff for multiple resolutions. Too bad they stopped making them right before 1080p became a thing. Analog broadcast TV is another good one. Digital over the antenna is way too sensitive and drops out for little to no reason, whereas analog would just get a little snowy and keep going. ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/20 "2015-09-14T01:03:21Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Not thankfully if you appreciate the best picture quality. LCD doesn’t give anywhere neat as good of the same picture quality at the same resolution. And if you’re watching something not at the screen’s native resolution, well… CRT just blows the pants off of other stuff for multiple resolutions. Too bad they stopped making them right before 1080p became a thing. Early LCDs did not have a good picture compared to CRT. The big issue was black levels that were more medium-grey than black. Today with micro-dimming LEDs or better yet, OLED, the picture quality blows away any CRT. Same with upscaling. Clunky early on, and today even a cheap TV upscales fine. Btw, I had a 1080p CRT TV (only a 28" tube, but weighed a ton), so they did exist for a short time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055.md?page=2)