For all my love of The Future, I am a bit of an old-fashioned girl. I’ve already mentioned my love of college radio, and looking around my home I’ve noticed several pieces of vintage technology.
I’m not quite sure why I like older technology. Maybe it’s that it seems to have more personality to me – I have an old calculator that runs on a 9-volt battery, but I love it because of the black screen and glowing teal numbers.
Maybe it’s that this stuff still works. In an age of unreliable machines that are meant to be obsolete in a few years, I’m pretty impressed that my original Nintendo just needs a little dust removal and the occasional thump to get it going like new.
Maybe some of it still holds a little magic for me. I have a Polaroid camera, and even though I’ve had a digital camera for years and should be used to instant imagery, I’m a kid when I hold that little cardboard square in my hands, watching it develop.
Still, I think that I might like all this stuff because I love the idea of The Future. At some point, all this technology was cutting edge, and represented The Future to somebody, somewhere. Whether it was the stylized monorails of Walt Disney’s future or the pixellated special effects of MTV’s, it was someone’s dream, realized.
What about you? Do you collect vinyl, or make new Dreamcast games? Or is it all about the bleeding edge for you?
About j
I’m both (does that mean I’m indecisive?) I love new gadgets, cutting edge technology, pushing the possibilities… but I also have a slightly suspicious nature. Sure, I’ll give the whole texting a novel thing a try, but at the end of the day I still set my cellie down next to a good, solid, dependable Olympia C portable and bash out the day’s output onto paper. The Olympia needs no power supply aside from that in my own personal muscles. Its output is tangible and permanent (though still vulnerable to fire or a good stiff breeze). If I change my mind about an edit, it’s not gone forever; I just have to look at the prior draft (and remember to use the white out with a light hand).
Same with digital music. Love my iPod and all it represents, but digital things are ephemeral so I still get what I still think of as “real” media backups, be they CDs, hardbound copies of all the books I love best on my Kindle, and yes, vinyl.
It’s just not that much of an either/or, for me.
Kate Sherrod´s last blog post..The Parent Trek
yeah, I’m a sucker for classic video games. My room is practically a museum of sorts. Currently set up and ready to go, I have an NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Virtual Boy, Game Boy (brick), 4 Game Boy Advance, a Sega Genesis, Game Gear, and PSX.
Playing those early Nintendo games on the original systems with the authentic controllers, it takes me back to being 10 years old, hunting Octoroks and Goombas, and saving princesses. There’s a ton of history behind that stuff too; I just can’t get enough.
Well, I’m holding onto a few old pieces of tech.
1) An old hand held Coleco Football game where the players are just little dashes. This is the original, not one of the more recent reissues.
2) My Nintendo 64. I keep thinking I should get rid of it, but can’t bring myself to do it..of course, since other than my Nintendo DS it’s my newest game system as well.
3) Old Windows 3.1 Laptop. In this case I have upgraded over time, it’s even basically been wiped, but I still keep it around, even moved the thing twice.
And while I’d love to be the guy who gets all the newest toys, the reality is that I try and stretch things and make them last as long as possible because there’s what I’d like to have, and then there’s what I can afford to have.
Safe travels,
Paul
Paul´s last blog post..Arcane Power – Not a Review
I too have a hard time getting rid of older tech. Not because it ‘good stuff’ (my excuse for not throwing away true junk) but because it is still working and serves a purpose. I have a rugged, Windows 3.1 laptop that I use to diagnose car problems, an old MP3 player that I use when I mow the lawn and 3Megapix camera that gets used when I got to the play ground with my son (if case its gets stolen or I forget it).
I guess I could simplify and go to 1 laptop, iPod and camera but what fun would that be? Part of the geek lifestyle is to have a specialized device for every task.
PS. I did get rid of my Game Cube when I got my Wii. I figured I didn’t need two things that did almost the same thing
vinyl….love vinyl. There’s a warmth & depth of sound you just don’t get from CDs, and particularly mp3s. I do have a record->mp3 turntable so I can put it on my iPod though
there’s a Sega Master System kicking around somewhere too
my all-time favourite old tech though? books. gotta love that moveable type
second favourite has got to be a scythe 