# What archaic technologies do you find yourself wistful for? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 13, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851 "2013-11-13T20:03:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851/121 "2013-11-27T21:21:03Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Cursive. I miss cursive. Some old letters were a work of art. I hear you; I love old fashioned (e.g. 19th-century Spencerian style) handwriting and I’m old enough to have been taught cursive in school. But however inspired I might have been, my own handwriting always sucked. I’m happy to be able to type everything now on a computer. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851/122 "2013-11-27T21:34:25Z")
I miss things that aren’t made out of plastic. Some time ago I bought a water bottle that came with one of those shiny metal key links that you press open to insert other rings or keys. At least I thought it was metal, but it turned out to be plastic painted with a bright silvery color. Plastic. Everything is plastic. Truer words were never spoken than in _The Graduate_ where Mr McGuire says “Plastics”. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851/123 "2013-11-28T08:06:16Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Analog TV. Sure, you sometimes got a worse picture if you were getting a less than ideal analog signal, but it beats not getting a picture at all like you do with a less than ideal digital signal. Yes! I have Direct TV, and every time it rains hard, I lose ALL signal. I’d much rather have a new snowflakes on my TV than have the damn pixelation, which always seems to hit the faces the hardest. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851/124 "2013-11-28T16:04:09Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Yes! I have Direct TV, and every time it rains hard, I lose ALL signal. I’d much rather have a new snowflakes on my TV than have the damn pixelation, which always seems to hit the faces the hardest. That shouldn’t happen. I had DTV for a year and the only time I had any real problems with it was during fairly serious storms. I’m in the NYC metro area so fairly far north for geosynchronous satellites but maybe you’re even farther north, IDK. Regardless, I would get someone to check the alignment on your dish and make sure it is very well secured. The guy who installed mine seemed to do a really thorough job but I’d imagine not all do, so it’s worth looking into. edit: also you can get oversized dishes as well which will help with your problem. ---
**Author:** ![Labor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Labor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labor)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851/125 "2013-11-29T16:22:05Z")
Card catalogues. I learned how to find stuff in the library during my university years of the late 1980’s. I was very adept at finding what I needed. I still hold that there’s no better way to browse for what I need than in a card catalogue. Mrs. Labor states that a database is better. I am required to agree with her. Also, paper based filing systems. I remember my Jr. High School Band Director (Hi Mr. Tennehill!) had the neatest system for filing information on his students. He can 5x7 cards with blocks to complete: name, address, parents names, instrument, etc. Then there were a series of holes along the edge of the cards to allow him simple sorting. He would clip the relevant hole for the blocks completed (Name starts with L, clip the L whole, play the tuba, clip the tuba hole). So then when he needed to find all the students that played the tuba he could just run his spindle through the tuba hole and the cards remaining in the box were tuba players. It was awesome. I know that same thing is easily completed with a database or excel spreadsheet. But those cards were the most amazing thing ever. Finally, it is my opinion that the old paper forms used by government were much better for compiling information. In the move for Y2K my branch of teh government moved to a database. All the forms got longer and the information seems less usefull. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851/126 "2013-11-29T17:57:33Z")
Sort of like those cards is the system for filing medical records in the base hospital - there are colored squares along the edges of the folders - top block is the last 4 of the social security number, next block down is active, retired and dependent and the bottom block is Ghu knows what. I loved library card catalogs, and making databases, and I introduced dropbox and excel spreadsheets to my industrial corp in EVE Online, we made capital ships and keeping all the materials, blueprints and the logistics train in order was a hard core pain in the ass pre-organization. With shared spreadsheets and dropbox, we were able to keep the logistics in order, it made a hell of a difference. Why yes, I am weird to go from being an accountant in real life job to playing a game where I was effectively the corp accountant… I guess I am a born bean counter :smack: I even make out a weekly menu complete with doing the shopping list in an excel worksheet and printing it out for mrAru to do the weekly shopping.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851/127 "2013-11-29T18:30:52Z")
Card catalog cabinets are in some demand, as decorator furniture. ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851/128 "2013-11-29T18:56:42Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > I really miss…knobs. > > Remember when things had knobs? > You could change the volume on the TV, or rotate the dial on a transistor radio, or turn up the bass on your stereo, etc. > > A knob is the best user interface ever invented. > > Intuitive, simple to use. You don’t have to read the manual to do the simplest tasks. You can SEE what the volume is at BEFORE you turn it on, and you can adjust the volume before you turn it on. AND… you can see if anyone messed up your settings!! I also miss bench seats in cars. Driving and parking is sooo not the same w/o them. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851/129 "2013-11-29T19:39:18Z")
I like ol fashioned seltzer water bottles-they are great. And blenders with one switch (off and on). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-archaic-technologies-do-you-find-yourself-wistful-for/673851.md?page=6)