I still use an HP 11C calculator I bought in 1982. Also the 1987 model Hyundai PC my Mother bought for her first computer; it does a fine job of sequencing MIDI files. It is getting hard to find ribbons for the electric typewriter I bought at the Navy Exchange in 1972, but I still like the old Olympia.
Not to mention the K&E slide rule I inherited from my step-father in 1985–he used it in engineering school at UConn in the late 1940s, and it’s good enough for me. It even came with a case I can wear on my belt (if I don’t mind a long and wide brown thing slapping against my leg when I walk).
If I’d only been smart enough to keep the 1972 Super Beetle I bought new off the lot for $1950. Even better–had I kept the 1962 VW Microbus I was given for high school graduation in 1969. Oh, my.
Not too much, but I’ll still scribble shopping lists on paper, rather than use all of the apps and whatnot. It’s just quicker and handier, and I find once I’ve written them, I remember them. Little reminder notes, too.
Safety razor with disposable blade. Six months ago I found one of my dad’s (and I think, grandad’s) safety razors.
I bought some disposable blades (Shick Super Chromium) and, man, is it so much nicer than double-, triple-, quadruple blades.
It has the extra advantage that my wife (and late teen kids) won’t used them because I can hide them.
It’s cheaper, better, and also feels more interesting that the plastic stick.
I’m never going back.
I was going to say “MP3 player”. I still like having my music in a giant iTunes database I connect to my iPods, rather than some streaming cloud service like Spotify.
Analogue watch, landline, doing math in my head. My wife insists that we have a VCR, as there are old tapes that she likes to watch, even though they are now available on DVD. She also makes endless schedules and lists on paper.
I’m holding on to all movies and music that I “own” because I don’t like where the business model is going. This means I still have CDs and DVDs, and they’ve all been backed up to physical hard drives. The various companies are trying (and largely succeeding) to not have anyone own any entertainment - they want us streaming and only having things temporarily.
Same is happening with software, so I keep using a lot of older programs because I own them. I also use older computers because of all the pointless changes, and the fact that automatic updates have killed a lot of my useful software. I take other measures for security.
I drive cars for a long time. My current was built in 2001. I drive many rental cars in my job and I generally despise everything that’s being made today. I’m going to have a very hard time when I need to replace my car with something newer.
I’m 48 and most of the answers in this thread baffle me. I adopt technology and don’t look back. The old ways are not always better, grannies and grampies.
I will always have a DVD player/burner in my desktop because I will always keep DVD backups. Flash drives are volatile memory and can literally disappear, and the Cloud could always get fried. Every six months I back up all of my files/contacts/etc to DVD discs.
I’m 46, and I kind of straddle the fence; typically if something’s not broke, I won’t fix it, but if it is broken, I’ll upgrade.
I mean I don’t listen to that much music, so I tend to listen to my own MP3 list at work, since they frown on streaming, and my phone plan isn’t large enough to support streaming music very much. At home, my wife and I use Pandora or Spotify when we listen to music, or even the Sirius XM stuff that Dish Network provides.
I have pretty much switched to e-readers though; paper books have started to annoy me- I can’t look up word definitions, I can’t search, etc…
I actually retro-fied myself about 10 years ago- I was tired of spending big $$$ on disposable razor cartridges and having to switch razors periodically as they obsoleted them. So I bought a cheap double-edged razor and tried it- it worked well, so I switched over and haven’t looked back. About my only concessions to modern multi-blade shaving are that I keep some disposables around- they’re better for traveling, and when I’m in a big hurry, I can shave faster with them- double-edged razors require more care and technique than the cartridge razors do.
I like my technology as much as anyone. I go everywhere with an iPad and smartphone, and I work with technology every day. I used to advise on technology solutions in a past career, and I used to say that sometimes a clipboard and pencil are the right tools. Depends on the job.
These days, there are so many tech changes (I hesitate to call them advances) that it becomes very difficult to identify what are actually improvements for the common man, and what are changes intended to further monetize daily life for the benefit of someone else.
I always ask myself “am I happy with the way I do things now? How much work will it take to make a change? Will the new paradigm require more ongoing learning/investment than the current paradigm? What are other, secondary adjustments I will need to make in order to make the new system successful?”
New technology is rarely as straightforward or obvious a choice (nor is old technology as obviously obsolete) as marketing teams would have you believe.
The new ways are not always better either. It makes no sense to pick what things you use based on whether they’re new or old. Just pick what works the best for you.
That said, I often find old technology has advantages over new technology:
Old technology is established. You know it exists and isn’t going to fold up and disappear.
Old technology is familiar. I’ve already learned how to use it. When some new technology is offered, I have to ask myself if it has enough advantages to offset the amount of time I will have to spend learning how to use it.
Never forget that the main reason why new technology is being offered is because somebody else has an interest in selling it. Nobody’s making money off the things you’ve already bought; they want to sell you new things. And they want to sell you those things regardless of whether or not you need them. Separate their interests from yours. Don’t buy something just because somebody wants to sell it.
During uni I had a ten speed,very popular at the time. I’m small, it was an adult bike and a titch too big, as a result, I could only touch ground on my tip toes. The tires were real skinny and would easy snag in grates and train tracks. I never got the hang of the gears, all attempts were disastrous. And any time I suddenly had to brake, I would always initially pedal backward, THEN remember, oh yeah, hand brakes. I fell off it more than once, and began to feel like an accident waiting to happen. So I traded it away for a youth coaster bike and never looked back.
When it was stolen I replaced it with another coaster bike, and I adore it. Fat tires that can handle curbs, I can sit straight up and see better, I can put my foot on the ground, and I don’t think twice to brake or have chain problems with gears. Plus it’s got fenders, ( I don’t understand why they disappeared, to be honest!) and a basket on the front, trap carrier on the back.
Tube amps for guitar, and internal combustion engines for my enthusiast vehicles.
I can drive an electric mini van, but a hot rod or motorcycle needs to rumble.
I think the main thing to look out for is whether or not it’s half-baked. By half-baked, I mean that there is a technology, but not a single overriding standard; think blu-ray vs. HD-DVD or VHS vs Beta as classic examples. Better to wait until one dominates and go with that is my thinking.
Another pitfall is to try and predict a little, and not buy into a technology that will be rapidly superseded, like Sony’s Minidisc technology. Came out in 1995, and was promptly run over by MP3s and then streaming music.
The final thing is to determine whether it’s worthwhile for you- I don’t watch a lot of movies, so having a blu-ray player wasn’t something I intentionally went out and bought- I got one as part of a deal (they gave away a free small home theater system when I bought my TV that included a DVD/Blu-Ray player).
That said, I tend to think that people who are looking at this stuff with a seriously jaded eye and grumping about having to learn new stuff and determining if they’re happy with what they have ought to be fitting themselves for sansabelt slacks and searching out blue hair dye. That’s how grumpy old folks think.
Old-school machine tools. Some day I may dip my toe in the CNC world, but I don’t see myself getting rid of my traditional engine lathe and milling machine with the hand cranks. There’s something soothing about making a part by hand.
(of course, I will freely admit a bit of hypocrisy in my point of view, as I do have modern DROs on my machines–so much nicer than reading off of the dials and using dial indicators with mag mounts for everything).
Totally.
I love trying out a new bass just like the next guy, but all I really want is a passive bass with a “make it louder” knob and “make it thumpy” knob.
And with 4 strings, as God intended.
I buy a Rand McNally atlas for trips. Google Maps is nice when you want to go from point A to B. But you can’t spread out that tiny map and plan a fun trip. Taking side roads and stopping at interesting attractions.
I have clocks on my walls. I prefer them to digging a phone out of my pocket. I can see the time just by turning my head.
Games are best played with real cards or a board. Don’t ask me to play electronic games.
