# Technology that died in your generation **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888 "2010-04-04T04:27:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Doody\_Pants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@Doody\_Pants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doody_Pants)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/62 "2010-04-04T18:11:45Z")
Remember pagers? Or as we called them “beepers”… You see, back in the stone age of the early 90s, before everyone had a cell phone (they were as big as bricks back then) you could ‘beep’ someone and they would see your phone number on a little screen and then they would find a pay phone and call the number back. Heh… pay phone are pretty rare these days too. I know doctors still use pagers, but I imagine they are more evolved than the ones we used way back when. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/63 "2010-04-04T18:18:08Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > Heh, that reminds me of the “cd player” I had in my car in late high school. It was the discman with the cassete tape attachment that you stuck into your car stereo so the discman would play through your car speakers. Of course, anything your car went over anything larger than pea gravel would make the damn thing skip endlessly. I used to use that for 8 hour drive between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay and I would just dread construction. Winter was better for cds, the snow filled in the potholes. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/64 "2010-04-04T18:22:17Z")
> [@Doody\_Pants](#): > > Remember pagers? Or as we called them “beepers”… Which is why the old joke doesn’t work anymore: What is the definition of an optimist? An accordion player with a beeper. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/65 "2010-04-04T18:26:46Z")
It didn’t origniate in my lifetime but… Party Lines for telephones. We never had one, but when we lived up north (yes more north and isolated than Thunder Bay) in the late 70’s it was a big deal that because my dad worked for the provinicial government, we had to have a private line, not a party line like most of my friends. Also you couldn’t spend a lot of time on the phone, because someone else on the same partyline would yell at you. Usually in French, since that was the linguistic majority in that town. (Everything I know about swearing in French I learned via Party Lines\*) \*Would that made a warm and fuzzy poster/book/meme? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/66 "2010-04-04T20:01:13Z")
> [@RJKUgly](#): > > Slide Rules. > > I still have one, and I guess there are probably a few special purpose ones in use here and there, but as general purpose items for anyone in math or science they’ve gone the way of the wind. Or more generally, any form of analog computing- adding machines, old-fashioned cash registers, etc.. > [@Raguleader](#): > > You know what might be fun? A spinoff thread of technology that you are a bit surprised has STILL not become obsolete. Such as prop-driven aircraft (hell, the Air Force is currently shopping around for a new prop-driven attack plane, a spiritual descendant of the old Douglas A-1 Spad of Vietnam fame). Props still have a place. Cargo planes that need both long range and short runways still use them. > [@DMark](#): > > **Church keys** (aka can openers). > You used to need a can opener to open that beer. Those large cans of stuff like fruit juice still need a church key to open. Does anyone still use chalk boards, or have dry-erase boards completely supplanted them? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/67 "2010-04-04T23:11:11Z")
FM converters for cars. Anyone remember these? Back in the day, when many cars came only with AM radios, us hipsters who desired FM would buy a little under-the-dash mount FM converter. Then we could listen to Zeppelin in glorious mono FM through a single, tiny speaker. _Been a long time since I rock & rolled…_ ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/68 "2010-04-04T23:13:00Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Does anyone still use chalk boards, or have dry-erase boards completely supplanted them? My kid’s elementary school still uses chalk boards, although most of the classrooms I’ve seen have both chalkboards and dry-erase boards. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/69 "2010-04-04T23:59:28Z")
ftp sites and archie to search for them. Gopher and Veronica are pretty much gone too. It has to be at least 12 years since I used ftp. Most ftp sites can be brought up with a browser like IE. It’s not the same experience as a real ftp client. I used WAR to host a ftp site for a couple years in the late 1990’s. > **[War FTP Daemon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_FTP_Daemon)** > > War FTP Daemon (often called warftp or warftpd) is a free FTP server for Windows, written by Jarle ("jgaa") Aase. When it was first released in 1996, it was the first free FTP server on this software platform. Warftpd has received many awards over the years, and is still popular, even though core features have remained unchanged since the release of the 1.8 beta in 2000. Warftpd has been packed with features since the start, and it has been considered very secure. As of at least 2013, security Th... ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/70 "2010-04-05T00:14:12Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > You know what might be fun? A spinoff thread of technology that you are a bit surprised has STILL not become obsolete. Such as prop-driven aircraft (hell, the Air Force is currently shopping around for a new prop-driven attack plane, a spiritual descendant of the old Douglas A-1 Spad of Vietnam fame). The B-52 is scheduled to be retired in about 2040, almost 100 years after it was designed. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/71 "2010-04-05T00:26:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > ftp sites and archie to search for them. Gopher and Veronica are pretty much gone too. Public FTP sites, that is, before the Web. I remember downloading some fantastic homebrewing recipe guides, in Postscript format, on public FTP sites. There’s still some public FTP servers around for things such as software for vintage computers and operating systems. I still use FTP (or SFTP) to upload files to my Web server. I’d like to have a Gopher server, just because. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/72 "2010-04-05T00:39:51Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Paper maps. Can’t remember the last time I tried to fold one of those #&_$^_)!'n things up. I have two in my car right now, as well as an atlas, despite also having a GPS on my smartphone. They’re still very useful. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/73 "2010-04-05T01:10:01Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > Answering machines. They’re still around, they’re just built into the base unit for most modern cordless phones, especially if it’s a multi-handset package. > [@Raguleader](#): > > Interestingly enough, a factory opened up recently to start producing Polaroid film again, with Polaroid releasing a line of cameras to use it. It looks like they’re re-aligning it for the niche market. But yeah, for the most part, Polaroid now primarily sells digital cameras. Apparently Polaroid film cameras are popular with the nightclub/hipster crowd, I’m told. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/74 "2010-04-05T01:15:59Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > And by Hollywood’s lights, having one was a sure sign that you were a corrupt capitalist fat cat. Heh. I remember when I was a kid and my dad got a big promotion at work. First thing he did was buy a car phone. I thought we were the coolest family on Earth, I’d call my friends from his car just to tell them, “I’m calling you from my dad’s car phone!” Actually, as a joke, I asked him about it last time I talked to him. “Eh, I threw that damn thing away in 1994,” he said. I think he paid nearly a thousand dollars for it back in the early 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/75 "2010-04-05T01:22:05Z")
Supersonic passenger flight AKA the Concorde. In this case it was a backwards move. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/76 "2010-04-05T01:37:14Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Or more generally, any form of analog computing- adding machines, old-fashioned cash registers, etc.. I love pointing out to people that they had computers on Navy ships and Air Force bombers during WWII, although these were mechanical computers, used for calculating bomb trajectories and firing solutions for guns and torpedoes. Combined with targeting radar, some of those battleships during WWII could (and did) ruin a sailor’s day from two miles away in the dark. I imagine if HAL 9000 or GLaDOS met a Mark I Targeting Computer, they’d have to ask Dave what they was looking at. > [@](#): > > Props still have a place. Cargo planes that need both long range and short runways still use them. I think the C-17 Globemaster III is supposed to have a pretty decent short-runway capability, but I imagine it’s a bit more expensive than the trusty old C-130 (They keep coming out with new versions, featuring new materials, flight control systems, even new propeller designs. I swear, if we ever colonize another planet, if it has an atmosphere, they’ll find a way to rig some futuristic C-130 to haul stuff around on it.) > [@](#): > > Those large cans of stuff like fruit juice still need a church key to open. > > Does anyone still use chalk boards, or have dry-erase boards completely supplanted them? Until know, a Church Key was always the name I used for an Allen Wrench, often used for locking the crash bars open on the double-doors that go into places such as libraries, schools, churches, etc. I’ve seen classrooms and offices that have even been going so far as to replace the whiteboards. Sometimes it’s just a whiteboard with a projector pointed at it, using a Smartpodium (it’s a podium with a touchscreen and a stylus) that lets the guy running the show draw on the projection. I’ve also seen classrooms where the whiteboard itself is replaced with a SmartBoard (which is the stupidest most annoying thing I’ve ever tried to use), which notably LOOKS like a dry erase board but is NOT ERASABLE unless you are very fast to react after someone writes on it. And further down the same path, I’ve seen offices and meeting rooms lately that replace white boards entirely with big flat-screen HDTVs hooked up to computers. They can show slide shows or pictures to illustrate whatever information they’re trying to convey (in my career field, most common things you see on those screens are the news or the weather report. Or if it’s a night shift, Air Force One or Transformers.) ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/77 "2010-04-05T01:42:39Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I have two in my car right now, as well as an atlas, despite also having a GPS on my smartphone. They’re still very useful. I’ve got maps of Kansas and Oklahoma in my car. Oddly enough, I don’t have a map of Texas, even though I do drive down there every few months (I mostly only go as far as Dallas though, so there’s not much opportunity to get lost) I never use them, since I rely on Google Maps and my GPS, but I’m a firm believer in having non-tech dependent backups. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/78 "2010-04-05T01:44:14Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > I > > I think the C-17 Globemaster III is supposed to have a pretty decent short-runway capability, but I imagine it’s a bit more expensive than the trusty old C-130 (They keep coming out with new versions, featuring new materials, flight control systems, even new propeller designs. I swear, if we ever colonize another planet, if it has an atmosphere, they’ll find a way to rig some futuristic C-130 to haul stuff around on it.) You havent lived until you’ve seen a C17’s low slung jet engines sucking up massive amounts of dirt, sand, and fist sized rocks like a Dyson vacuum cleaner on steroids. Then having big brass bitching that their massive jet transport can’t operate nearly as well on a dirt strip like the prop driven C-130 can (whoda thunk it? :rolleyes: ) ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/79 "2010-04-05T01:56:10Z")
My first VCR was Beta, not VHS. When I bought it both formats were available and Beta seemed to me to be better than VHS. I have used 8" floppy disks (as well as 5 1/4"). They really were **floppy** disks, i.e. they were flexible. When I was a lowly undergrad we were allowed to allocate a maximum of 256K (yes, K, not M) of memory for our programs on the mainframe computer (and, of course, we used punch cards). I typed up my assignments on a manual typewriter. More recently, I have used several varieties of word processors (dedicated machines, not programs). Micom is the brand that sticks in my memory, but I have used others. I played with a Wang a few times. 😃 I have even used paper tape, but I’ll be honest and say I didn’t get a chance to use it very much. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/80 "2010-04-05T02:43:50Z")
I had a neighbor who got one of the very first answering machines. It had a reel-to-reel tape recorder! ! ! ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888/81 "2010-04-05T02:57:23Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Punch cards for programming. I actually learned Fortran using punch cards in high school, but it was only because the local university had an old punch card reader they allowed us to use because it was old & obsolete. I’m happy they did it though, just so I can say I remember programming with punch cards. This actually made me think of something in my field. When I was studying journalism, I once took an entire course on Headlines, Bylines, and Datelines–how to center them, align them, make them fit the available space, etc. This is all done now with the touch of a button in the design room. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-that-died-in-your-generation/534888.md?page=5)