Trying to Keep Up with Technology
It’s gone too fast for decades
If you ask your kids and grandkids, they would say you hang on to outdated technology for far too long.
You might respond by saying it’s always been too hard to keep up, and who wants to have to learn something new constantly?
What’s interesting to me is how home computers in the 80s now appear remarkably simple, yet I remember how overwhelming it felt to learn to use even those. The large floppy discs were a pain, and learning DOS commands was a nightmare.
It feels like we have always had to be dragged to the next level of technology, kicking and screaming.
For example, I remember my wife used a BlackBerry for several years and often said we would have to pry it from her cold, dead fingers. She fought hard to keep it when her company switched to iPhones. They let her use her BlackBerry for another year, then stopped supporting it.
I once asked her why she wanted to hold on to it so tightly, and her answer was the same as why I miss my old Palm Pilot — the physical keyboard.
Then, when she finally switched her work phone to an iPhone, she became overly attached to the home button. When Apple removed it, she once again stated we would have to pry the previous model from her hands.
There are likely a few other pieces of technology you grew fond of over the years that can now be found in antique stores. Who didn’t spend hours talking to their friends on a princess phone? Maybe you didn’t think of it as technology, but it was.
Some manufacturers are trying to keep the old design styles we are used to but with more current tech.
I own a beautiful, tall wooden speaker, reminiscent of the old stand-up radios, yet it connects with Bluetooth.
A restaurant nearby has an old-fashioned jukebox with the arch shape and the lights and colors, but if you look closely, it has a screen with a digital interface.
Technology is even changing crafts and hobbies we used to do by hand. Scrapbooks and quilts are now helped by cutting machines like a Cricut. Laser and CNC machines are replacing old scroll saws and other woodworking tools.
Can any of our old technology be useful today?
I suppose it depends on how you define useful. Upcycling is popular today. This is where you take old things and make new things out of them. I’ve seen pictures of the 1990s fruity-colored iMacs turned into lamps, tables, and even aquariums!
I’ve seen a Brownie camera turned into a picture holder. Lunchboxes are made into guitars.
My ex-wife told me someone had given her an old Super 8 film camera, and she thought it would be fun to try to use it. The problem is, the film is expensive and difficult to find, and so are the projectors to show them.
I came across one piece of technology from the late ’60s that is still widely used today.
The dot matrix printer.
Its draw is that it can print on multiple layers. Car dealers use them to fill in those long forms they ask you to sign. Because these printers have been around so long, they are cheap.
I will admit the smartphone has replaced so many things we no longer have to make room for — calculators, paper maps, typewriters, cameras, and more all fit into those little computers.
The only thing that hasn’t changed is the elimination of bugs and glitches. Take iPhones, for example. Even the latest models still crash occasionally, just like my trusty Intel 8088 computer from 1987.
So yes, I hang on to old tech. It’s because I want to, because it’s cool, because it brings back great memories, and because I know that if you refer to it as retro, the kids are okay with it.