Please note that I wrote archaic, not obsolete. By that I mean the technology in question need not be entirely vanished; it can be a device that once was ubiquitous but now is hard (but not impossible) to find.
Answering my own question: I miss typewriters. Oh, I’ll concede that modern word processing programs are more efficient in many ways (though I still contend that Word 2007 was written by evil monkeys). But the tactile and olfactory experience of using my Smith-Corona was simply more satisfying, and the relative difficulty of editing made me more productive, I think, as I had to commit to what I was doing sooner than is necessary when using my laptop.
I also miss encyclopedias – print encyclopedias, that is. It’s not just that I find a lot of things about Wikipedia distasteful; there’s other reference sources on the internet, after all, and I’ll happily concede that the breadth and depth of information available through Google and other search engines is categorically superior to anything possible in print. But I love just picking up a random volume of the Encyclopædia Britannica– or even World Book–and perusing it, learning about World War II or Latin grammar or combinatorics. Again it’s the tactile element of the old tech–the physical feel of the print volume – that I miss.
I like beer bottles that require a bottle opener. Twist-off caps are undeniably more convenient, but somehow they cheapen the beer-drinking experience for me.
I have a really hard time hearing on my cell phone. I have a hard time hearing when people are talking on their cell phones. When we’re both on a cell phone, it’s super hard. And I’m only 34 and not necessarily hard-of-hearing.
I love the convenience of the cell phone but I really miss analog phones.
I still enjoy dipping a phonograph needle into a vinyl LP. I believe that the tiny amount of sound coming directly off of the needle directly into the air somehow enhances the sound over that provided by a purely electronic recording.
When I was a kid, my mom had a plastic, non-electronic calculator that she used to figure out how much she was spending on groceries. It’s probably still lying around somewhere in her house. It was lots of fun to play with. Oh, and it only went up to $20.00, because why on Earth would you need it to go higher?
Before I even opened this thread I knew what I was going to post: “Phones that WORKED.”
I’m so damn sick of dealing with all the vagaries of cell phones. I don’t know if it’s just my area or if it’s everywhere, but the call quality just sucks most of the time in comparison with the old wired phones.
I agree that a high-quallity vinyl recording, played on a high-quality phonograph, sounds better than CD or mp3. More than a decade ago I put quite a bit of effort into transferring a lot of old jazz albums to digital media (for fear that in time they’d ultimately be lost), but I still prefer to listen to the originals.
In an unrelated manner, in 1999 or so I was selling electronics at, I think, Dillard’s. Two teenage kids came in one evening, saw a phonograph player. The girl did not recognize it; the boy said, “Oh, I know what that is–a primitive CD player!” Selfishly, I did not slap him.
This, combined with my smartphone thread, will make me seem a Luddite, but you couldn’t be more correct, great Pallas. Part of my issue with smart-phones is that the designers’ excitement with new and exciting features (and users’ appetite for same) makes them neglect the core technology of ease of hearing. My wife is only in her twenties and has excellent hearing, but she doesn’t like talking on cell phones either. If we have to schedule a phone conversation for a particular reason (as when one of us is out of town), she insists that we both use land lines.
Hand-shaped guitar necks. Most are CNC computer-shaped today. They are far more consistent, but an old neck that was hand-shaped is very cool - you could play a bunch of examples of the same model, within a production run or across years, and find that one that is perfect for you…
Hmm; lemme think about that. If you can articulate more about what you’d like to learn about…e.g., stuff like what has been fashionable about neck shapes over the years, different brands, etc?
instant film cameras
i used a bunch of these as a child and they were so fun to play with
granted polaroid still make one, and the impossible project gives you the film needed for the old polaroid cameras, they just don’t have the feel and are ridiculously expensive respectively
Producing music is undeniably more efficient, with almost every production workflow enhanced (or made possible at all) by computer processing and the advent of non-linear editing and DSP (digital signal processing).
I even run software emulations of classic consoles and tape machines to achieve the most subjectively perfect mix and sound quality. And the tech is definitely there, or at least within arm’s reach. Enough to outweigh the hassles of using analog gear in most every instance.
But nothing sounds as good or is as fun as mixing a song from 2" analog tape with great outboard gear and a topshelf analog console.
And Wordman, please do get into the hand vs CNC necks discussion! You’re preaching to the choir here…I sand and refinish all mine personally, and shape them to fit. (and finish with tung oil, not lacquer.)
I would say that in general, today’s stereo systems *suck *compared to the awesome systems we had back in the seventies and eighties. Sure, they are more portable and hold more music, but the sound is PUNY compared to what we used to get.
Picture Michael J. Fox trying to blow himself through Doc Smith’s wall with an iPod. Ain’t happening.
Definitely “real” phones. I’m thinking about wired phones with a handset that was curved (like the side of your face) so the ear piece was by your ear and the mouth piece was actually by your mouth, instead of these silly straight little boards we use now. Although it doesn’t help with crappy service, I invested in a headset with a boom mic. I hear better (a little bit, anyway) and the people I’m talking to say they can hear me so much better.
