# What's the oldest piece of computer technology you engage with? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 26, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232 "2023-04-26T22:08:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/41 "2023-04-28T03:54:26Z")
Steppin’ into thw wayback machine, apparently, people still engage with my free [tripod.com](http://tripod.com) (Lycos) webpage that I used to showcase my Graphic and Website design. OccasionallyxI get the urge to get out my vintage first generation CD Playstation and play the original ‘Tenchu’. Unlike anything I ever played, immersive first generation 3-D Fighting Game . Whole Maps and worlds in 3-D stealth Ninja immersion against AI. Such Beautiful 15 century Japanese Castle Towns. L ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/42 "2023-04-28T04:20:48Z")
I also had a Sony Mavica in the early transitional years of Digital Photograpy, late 90’s early 2000’s. So, the camera was built around a floppy disc, as “Film”. I subsequently have a collection of dozens of obsolete Floppy’s filled with Jpgs. Not quite as straightforward as converting my VHS tapes to digital. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/43 "2023-04-28T07:53:48Z")
I would use much older computer technology, if only my hardware lasted longer. Sadly, I need to replace most any piece within 3 - 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/44 "2023-04-28T09:21:16Z")
I still sometimes count on my fingers (“2nd, 4th and last letters of your memorable name”), and they’re ancient. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/45 "2023-04-28T11:25:30Z")
I can’t remember when I bought my printer, but the manual for it was published in 2007, which sounds about right. I also still use Eudora for emails, which hasn’t upgraded since 2005, and my favourite image viewer app is an outdated version of ACDSee from 1999. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/46 "2023-04-28T13:14:45Z")
Not sure if this counts, but my personal email account dates back to 2002. Otherwise, if we’re talking hardware, it’s probably my circa 2010 DVD/CD drive. I think it’s on its 3rd PC by now, and I mostly use it to burn CDs of music for the car. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/47 "2023-04-28T13:40:40Z")
Me… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/48 "2023-04-28T13:48:42Z")
I still have a Blue Ray/CD player that has an input into my UHD Smart TV. I rarely use it but, on occasion, it comes in handy. It’s about 20 years old, and it is virtually new. LOL ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/49 "2023-04-28T13:59:17Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I also still use Eudora for emails, which hasn’t upgraded since 2005 Me too. On a virtual machine, since it’s PowerPC code on the Mac and modern Macs won’t run it. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/50 "2023-04-28T21:35:52Z")
> [@Blindmellowjelly](#): > > the camera was built around a floppy disc, as “Film” I still have the later Sony Mavica that used CDR or CDRW discs for storage. I stopped using it a couple years ago when it stopped connecting over USB to transfer pictures. Now you have to “finalize” the disk and put it in a computer to get the pictures, then “unfinalize” the disk. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/51 "2023-04-28T21:49:35Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > an outdated version of ACDSee from 1999. My copy says version 2.3, copyright 1995-1998. Been a while since I’ve used it, but I definitely miss apps that start instantly and do exactly one thing well. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/52 "2023-04-28T22:16:36Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > My copy says version 2.3, copyright 1995-1998. I used to use 2.3 but then lost it in a crash and the only one I could find online that was the closest match was 2.41. I briefly tried v3, but that sucked so bad I returned to the previous and never looked back. I have no idea what the current version is like, but I imagine it has 16000 features I don’t need. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/53 "2023-04-28T22:22:20Z")
Wikipedia says: > The newest versions of ACDSee incorporate modern Digital Asset Management tools like Face Detection & Facial Recognition (Ultimate 2019). No thanks. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/54 "2023-04-28T22:37:02Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The subsequent pantoplasmic reconfiguration is really an ancillary issue That’s irrelevant considering 12th generation turbo encabulators are being used to train the lastest AI’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/55 "2023-04-28T23:41:16Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I use lots of old stuff. My oldest computer is a Tandy WP-2 from 1989, which is still a very usable tablet-factor word processor. And Lotus 1-2-3 before everyone was forced into Excel? Man! Those were the days. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/56 "2023-04-29T02:17:23Z")
Yeah. That Wp-2 is still isefull. It has an 80 X 20 screen and a full keyboard, which is all a writer really needs. And unlike an iPad, it can’t throw popups and other distractions at you while you work. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/57 "2023-04-29T02:32:11Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Not sure if this counts, but my personal email account dates back to 2002. 1996 here. Signed up for a package called “Total Access” with earthlink. Got Netscape 3 for both email and web browsing and MacPPP for dialup as a subset of Mac’s TCP. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/58 "2023-04-29T02:43:10Z")
I just retired from a tech job, so I pretty much only used company computers that were \<= 3 years old the last 30+ years for my job. I’d repurpose \>3 yo computers into personal machines on the sly because my company was crap at knowing what machines I still had, then remind them and give them back after a few years. Rinse/repeat for decades. I think the oldest tech I have is a Canon T3i SLR that I bought ca 2013. I got tired of hurting my back hauling a bag full of camera + lenses so I’ve never moved up the camera food chain from that one. Now I just use a phone to shoot, esp when traveling. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/59 "2023-04-29T03:18:56Z")
It was a wrench giving back my last two work machines: a Threadripper 32 core/64 thread box and a Mac Studio M1 Max 10 core. Very nice. When I sensed I might be leaving about a year ago I built myself a AMD 5800x 8 core/16 thread box, 128g RAM for probably $1300. Faster single-threaded than the Threadripper and it’ll suit me for a few years. Plus my Mac Air for travel, or one of my iPads for v light travel. I’m trying to think if I have any seriously old tech, but I’m just not a tech hoarder. 🤷 Not owning really any machines while employed was a blessing. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232/60 "2023-04-29T03:26:14Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I think the oldest tech I have is a Canon T3i SLR that I bought ca 2013. I got tired of hurting my back hauling a bag full of camera + lenses so I’ve never moved up the camera food chain from that one. Now I just use a phone to shoot, esp when traveling. Yeah, I’ve got a T2i in fact, but I came to the same conclusion you did; cell phones take plenty good photos, and it’s _always_ there. So why not just use that for photos? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-piece-of-computer-technology-you-engage-with/983232.md?page=4)