Personally, I'm quite ecstatic to have my life at least reached this period when knowledge and technology make it possible for new things to develop at light speed. Things that we thought were nifty and high-tech yesterday have become obsolete and insignificant today.
Times have indeed changed. So as loving tribute to those long gone eras, here is a list of things that, though some are still around, are in the brink of extinction (excerpts from usaToday).
Typewriters
The computer keyboard on your desk used to be a thundering, hulking device. The electric model sank the manual, only to be trumped by a revolution in technology that continues to this day.
Vinyl records
Music used to be big. Literally. Before palm-sized CDs took over, songs were embedded in vinyl platters the size of hubcaps. And then there were 8-tracks and cassettes. But that's another story.
Carbon paper
If you worked with typewriters, you're familiar with the flimsy, filthy filament. To make copies, you'd need a sheet of this purplish-looking stuff. Type "good riddance." In triplicate.
Betamax
Betamax was the most popular video format in the early 1980s. By the end of the decade, VHS was king. What happened? Some say Betamax's limited recording time was the culprit.
Phone booths
Don't tug on Superman's cape — especially when he's been trying to find a place to ditch his Clark Kent duds. The bulky boxes with a phone inside have gone away for the most part. Sorry, Clark.
Rotary dial phones
Imagine your cellphone, only stationary and way bulkier, with a numbered wheel that you had to spin seven to 10 times or more, depending on your call being local or long distance. Oy.
Videos on MTV
Before reality shows and the like filled its airtime, MTV forged its identity with wall-to-wall videos and the veejays who loved them. OK, who misses 1984's 99 Luftballoons by Nena? Anyone?
Hand-crank car windows
Before your car was controlled by electronics, you could get a brisk workout just opening the window for a little air. No fingertip controls here, thank you. Crank, two, three. Repeat.
Hair bands
The music: bad. The hair: worse. In the late '80s and early '90s, the mix was magical for bands such as Poison, Ratt and Cinderella. Some continue to tour, testing the endurance of leather pants.
Transistor radios
Before iPods, the handheld music-delivery system of choice was the transistor radio. The transistor tuned in to whatever your local radio station was dishing out. It's the very definition of "quaint."
Here are yet some other things I remember when I was growing up (at least in this part of the globe) but are now obsolete:1. telex machine
2. computer punch cards
3. annoying party lines/cross lines
4. afternoon disco
5. tupperware parties
6. traditional pinoy street games (piko, tumbang preso, patintero etc).
7. roller skates
8. bikes with step knots
9. cassette player
10. tape recorder
11. walkman
12. tape reel (and the art of tape splicing)
13. video game arcades
14. laser discs
15. short wave radio (VHF,UHF)
16. dot matrix printer
Vinyl records
Music used to be big. Literally. Before palm-sized CDs took over, songs were embedded in vinyl platters the size of hubcaps. And then there were 8-tracks and cassettes. But that's another story.
Carbon paper
If you worked with typewriters, you're familiar with the flimsy, filthy filament. To make copies, you'd need a sheet of this purplish-looking stuff. Type "good riddance." In triplicate.
Betamax
Betamax was the most popular video format in the early 1980s. By the end of the decade, VHS was king. What happened? Some say Betamax's limited recording time was the culprit.
Phone booths
Don't tug on Superman's cape — especially when he's been trying to find a place to ditch his Clark Kent duds. The bulky boxes with a phone inside have gone away for the most part. Sorry, Clark.
Rotary dial phones
Imagine your cellphone, only stationary and way bulkier, with a numbered wheel that you had to spin seven to 10 times or more, depending on your call being local or long distance. Oy.
Videos on MTV
Before reality shows and the like filled its airtime, MTV forged its identity with wall-to-wall videos and the veejays who loved them. OK, who misses 1984's 99 Luftballoons by Nena? Anyone?
Hand-crank car windows
Before your car was controlled by electronics, you could get a brisk workout just opening the window for a little air. No fingertip controls here, thank you. Crank, two, three. Repeat.
Hair bands
The music: bad. The hair: worse. In the late '80s and early '90s, the mix was magical for bands such as Poison, Ratt and Cinderella. Some continue to tour, testing the endurance of leather pants.
Transistor radios
Before iPods, the handheld music-delivery system of choice was the transistor radio. The transistor tuned in to whatever your local radio station was dishing out. It's the very definition of "quaint."
Here are yet some other things I remember when I was growing up (at least in this part of the globe) but are now obsolete:1. telex machine
2. computer punch cards
3. annoying party lines/cross lines
4. afternoon disco
5. tupperware parties
6. traditional pinoy street games (piko, tumbang preso, patintero etc).
7. roller skates
8. bikes with step knots
9. cassette player
10. tape recorder
11. walkman
12. tape reel (and the art of tape splicing)
13. video game arcades
14. laser discs
15. short wave radio (VHF,UHF)
16. dot matrix printer
3 comments:
aaaand, the beeper!
speaking of the typewriter.. they closed the last typewriter factory in the world so it'll be really extinct soon!
betamax! hahaha,..
this post just brought me to a trip down memory lane...
so those apple-users now (not that i am against anyone), few years more and they will just laugh at themselves when they look back how they went loco with those gadgets.
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