# What must-have gadgets do you not have/not want? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2008, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266 "2008-05-14T11:34:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/21 "2008-05-14T14:10:03Z")
Let’s see… I don’t have a microwave or a dishwasher…didn’t have a toaster, but I bought one a few months ago and I’ve actually used it to toast sandwich buns a few times…cool. Electric can opener? No, I’m still using the manual Swing-Away I bought 35 years ago. No ipod, pda, portable music player of any kind, cell phone or game console (well, actually I _do_ have a game console, but it’s a Colecovision and hasn’t been used for over 20 years, except once about 12 years ago, to confirm it still worked). No satellite or cable TV. I don’t have a stereo, but I want one; I guess I just don’t want one badly enough to actually go buy one. I didn’t have a digital camera, but I bought one (my very firstest!) over the intarwebs last week - it came yesterday and I’m figuring out how to use it. Wow, **Colophon** and **GuanoLad** don’t have cars - yikes! I know I could do without, but it would be tougher, as my grocery store is about six miles up the road on a 2-lane state highway. And I love cars. I only drive about 3K miles annually, but I’ve got three cars and a truck and I live alone. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/22 "2008-05-14T14:38:53Z")
A Tivo. As long as I have to pay for a service to use it I’ll never buy one. I don’t need all the bullshit AI built in; things like finding shows I might like, or recording every single instance of a show I like. Unlike the apparent majority, I knew how to program a VCR. Now all I ask for is the digital equivalent, a DVR where I call all the recording time shots, and do not have to be connected to the web. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/23 "2008-05-14T15:27:05Z")
We don’t have a DVD player - we still record stuff on videotape and we don’t rent movies. We don’t have an iPOD or any gizmo like that. The only reason I have a cellphone is because work makes me. One thing we DO have that I could totally live without is the damn microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/24 "2008-05-14T15:49:35Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] I’ll see your can opener and raise you an electric carving knife.\* \*brand new, still in the box [/QUOTE] 🙂 I would say that’s a _must-not-have_. Why would you want to eat something that requires an electrical appliance to be carved? Right now I don’t have: a car (or a driver’s license, but i’m in the process of getting that) a tv a dvd/cd player or vcr microwave toaster one of those machines that allow you to drink draught beer while at home. ETA: no toaster or dish washer either. Or a dryer. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/25 "2008-05-14T16:17:27Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] …one of those machines that allow you to drink draught beer while at home. … [/QUOTE] We call those hands. I have two. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/26 "2008-05-14T16:19:59Z")
I don’t have a toaster either. I can’t remember the last time I had toasted sliced bread. If I want to toast a hamburger bun, I pop it into the oven for a minute or so. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/27 "2008-05-14T16:48:11Z")
I don’t have a car an MP3 player a computer a DVD player a dishwasher a washing machine\* a dryer\* a microwave an oven a toaster Basically, virtually everything that’s been mentioned in this thread. I do have a TV and a cell phone and a digital camera. I have one space heater, but in the winter I usually heat my house (and sometimes cook on) the woodburning stove in my bedroom. I read a lot. \*And note that the concept of the “laundromat” has yet to arrive in Bulgaria. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/28 "2008-05-14T16:56:56Z")
Cable. I have a TV that I can watch a few channels on. A mp3 player. I’ve considered getting one but I’m usually in front of a computer and can play my online station. I almost never use my toaster, but I have one. I rarely have sliced bread in the house. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/29 "2008-05-14T17:13:17Z")
Odd, I was just saying at lunch that I so rarely use my microwave I would not replace it if it broke. I have a pay-as-you-go phone for the car in case I break down, but have no use for cel phones. Maybe this is why I’m alone in the world, but I just don’t have anyone in my life who I feel \*must \*have the ability to get in touch with me 24/7. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/30 "2008-05-14T17:22:53Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] 🙂 I would say that’s a _must-not-have_. Why would you want to eat something that requires an electrical appliance to be carved? [/QUOTE] It saves time and elbow grease if you have a large chunk of food to be sliced. That’s kind of like a “power” anything. Hubby recently got a power grease gun. That would have been silly of him if he didn’t have a lot of equipment to use it on. Folks who don’t use a microwave oven - do you not heat leftovers? Or just use the conventional oven/cooktop when you do? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/31 "2008-05-14T17:36:40Z")
Dishwasher (I have children; they do a good job) Stereo~ why? The computer has great speakers and I can listen to whatever I want without all those CD’s taking up space. Home phone is about to go bye bye. I can’t justify an expense for something we never use. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/32 "2008-05-14T17:47:47Z")
Cable and DVR Landline ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/33 "2008-05-14T18:23:56Z")
It probably doesn’t count, but I’m pretty sure I can do without a Roomba. Sure, they’re cool, but I think the cats will perceive it as The Enemy and begin plotting its downfall through a well-planned series of guerrilla attacks… which I suspect would mostly involve shedding massive quantities of fur in order to choke the poor Roomba to death. Instead, I have the alternative must-have gadget… a Dyson Animal upright. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/34 "2008-05-14T18:55:38Z")
Again, not sure it’s a must-have, but definitely many people with a house have it: a grill. We don’t have a grill because we rarely think to cook on it unless we make burgers which is once in a blue moon. It drives my mom nuts because she loves grilling but visits about four times a year. Every single time she visits, she insists we need one and has even offered to buy one. I’ve dug in my heels out of sheer stubbornness by now. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/35 "2008-05-14T19:22:01Z")
I don’t have a toaster oven. I grew up without one, and have never seen the need, but when my apartment-mates and I were setting up our first apartment in college, they looked at me like I’d fallen from the moon when I asked why one might need it. I don’t have a TV, either. I don’t want one enough to justify paying for the cable I’d need to get reception here. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/36 "2008-05-14T20:14:00Z")
I don’t have cable and after getting a digital tuner I may never get it. With a tuner I now get 5 PBS channels which is a big improvement. I don’t have any gaming computers. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/37 "2008-05-14T21:18:22Z")
**GilaB** I’m the same way about toaster ovens. Hell, I’m not even sure how to use one! ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/38 "2008-05-14T22:30:15Z")
Dishwasher. I really couldn’t care about not having a dishwasher. The only time I really wish I had one is when we host Thanksgiving (or the like). We’ve taken to saying “screw that!” and get the nicer super super heavyweight paper plates for those. 😃 Air conditioning. Meh. I’ll agree that it’s more comfortable with air conditioning, but it’s not awful without it where I am. Part of that is because I get used to the super humidity, but I prefer to keep myself physically prepared in case of disaster, right? No a/c then, and where will you air conditioned people BE? All over sweating up a storm, that’s where! ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/39 "2008-05-14T23:44:23Z")
I think I’ve used my dishwasher all of three times since I moved here eighteen months ago. And I don’t think I’ve ever used the disposal. The house I’m buying also has both, and I’ve been giving serious consideration to seeing if I can have the disposal removed. What is the point of a disposal, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266/40 "2008-05-14T23:53:11Z")
I don’t have a cell phone. I have a computer, but I don’t have a printer. I also don’t have pierced ears. I know it’s not a gadget, but most women find that really weird. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-must-have-gadgets-do-you-not-have-not-want/449266.md?page=3)