[HereticHermit]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Talking of wired ear buds, I have always preferred them and will usually buy a pair whenever buying a new phone.

Try these. Not all 5g phone support them. Google pixel and One plus need adopter with hard coded chip to work. I got this for wife's pixel phone https://www.amazon.in/gp/aw/d/B091DZ...b_b_asin_title

[Motorhead007]

I still use my Amazon Kindle (2013) - non touch version. I find it very convenient to read and carry lots of books from one place to another.
I also rely on wired earphones for any important meeting. I have a fear that Bluetooth buds can die any time and also the voice quality is not that clear over long distances. In the wired earphones, I have a clear preference for non in-ear earphones. I find the in-ear ones too intrusive and uncomfortable. But this means I have a hard time finding good such earphones on the market.
Another technology I appreciate is non-smart TVs - basically screens. We can always convert non-smart to smart using smart sticks, and the simplicity is always welcome.

[vb-saan]

Great thread, and interesting to read all those so-called obsolete technology still in use.

I probably will be one of the few who actually don’t have much obsolete items/technology in use. Once I embrace something new (at times as a late entrant), I go with that. And also I don’t have much of the nostalgia element, when it comes to gadgets and technology. The only exception will be the good old French press for coffee; those shining Nespresso machines and coffee pods are no way close to the real coffee.

A few examples:

• I absolutely loved my Sennheiser wired earphones, but once shifted to the Airpods Pro (and later to the Beats Fit Pro), never went back to the wired earphones.
• Had a few watches (not the high end exquisite ones), but once moved to Apple Watch a few years ago, those watches were gathering dust. Sold off most of it (included my previous favorite Tissot Chronograph). Only left with a Longines and a Titan, the former a gift from my wife 15 years ago and hence still kept
• Not an audiophile, but I am happy that I don’t need to manage cassettes and CDs for music. Streaming music over Bluetooth/Airplay is so hassle free.

On a side note, I can see someone opening this thread a few years from now and will add his/her experience on obsolete technology – “I am still using my iPhone 14 with an ancient lightening cable”

[mmxylorider]

In an anecdotal perspective, all the formal English grammar and other aspects taught in school, courtesy of Messrs. Wren and Martin which include proper spelling, pronunciation, enunciation, letter writing etc is rendered completely obsolete in the current age of urban slang, emojis and NGL, unfathomable stuff (Gotta have teens to relate to this!!).

I am steadfast when it comes to submitting those applications for the Indian bureaucracy and all the learning comes out in pristine 4 block glory.

Sincerely,
mmxylorider

[pv5]

There is something to manually grinding coffee beans and pulling a espresso shot manually. Takes a bit of time to setup(grind, pre-heat etc.) & pull a shot & to clean afterward.

There is anticipation, work & at the end of it all a nice refreshing shot of espresso. Though this is not new (8+ years old coffee grinder and 3+ years old espresso machine), with everything going electrical and automatic, I guess it can qualify for obsolete technology(entirely mechanical with no electrical parts). As a added bonus, I might add that nobody gets woken up when I do it in the wee hours.

[buzzy_boy]

Originally Posted by Chhanda Das

. Fun fact : Today's generation would likely never know why cotton ear buds and pencils were necessary for these

I'm 35 types, so neither in today's generation nor yesterday's (I'd like to believe); however, I can totally relate to the pencils! brings back fond memories!

[alpha1]

Does Intel Pentium G620 powered desktop count as obsolete technology?
How about a car from 2001, bike from 2003?

[HereticHermit]

Very interesting thread. I look at technology as an assist and not acquisition from ‘latest is greatest’ point of view. Sometimes we became slave of old habits without realizing but as long as ‘old habits and technology’ are not dragging your productivity down in dumps; I see not much merit in changing for new.
Still use wired earphones for online meetings. With COVID19 the only change I made is getting wired over the ear model because in-ear models created uncomfortable vacuum inside ear canal after long spell of meetings. These AZN Pro series does the job just fine.

Never used ball pen or fancy gel pens. Having used Chinese Hero pen which was straight copy of Parker 51 from my school days. It never occurred to me that there is any writing life beyond fountain pens. I still use fountain pen everyday that are moderately expensive. It always used to baffle me how come most Americans write in letters that look like a cartoonish take on British Stonehenge, straight and standing up letters. Now thanks to internet I know, most of the world have forgotten cursive writing because people just use any pen that can lay down a straight line.

Even though with cell phones in hand, we hardly wear watches but for me; wearing any watch is personal grooming and when it is machinal hand wound watch, it is a relationship. I wear a hand wound watch not because it is romantic to wear it but because it brings a sense of discipline when one must remember to wind it up after approx. every 30 hours or so.

I still use wet shaving after I tried multiblade system and promptly gave up because 5 O’clock shadow return too soon with multiblade shaving and shaving gels/creams dry out faster on face. There is no old technology with new razors. The old Gillette Fat boy from 60 with number dial are uncomfortable and tolerance levels are off the charts. New age razors are CNC milled and ‘blade chatter’ is thing of past. So, wet shaving with a brush and a keenest blade in razor with firmly clamped edge work for me.

As with many things in life, smarter technology is driving us to be dumber; if one looks at the level of superlative exclamations Gen Z makes about low class and ordinary stuff/content/things. I don’t want to say their sanity is questionable but there is large gap between reality, expectations and ‘content picnic’. Mobile phones are now a days trying to be smart, a party DJ, spaceship launchpad and nanny for weaning kids and what not. I had Nokia communicator from first model and when I found Blackberry, I stuck to it. This phone is nothing fancy even when it was launched in October 2015 but even in 2023 it still works for my emails when signals are patchy and drops down to even 2G. It just gets work done. This phone photo is from internet.

[Ltinsane]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

And I will almost always come out with a proper, real, paper book. I just love to have shelves full of real books all over our house. You can not compare the feel and smell of real books, or magazines, by having them digitally on some sort of device.

I love a good ball or fountain pen and a nice notebook.

Jeroen

I saw this post and first I thought, wow I don't think I use any obsolete technology, then I scrolled through the post and found some interesting things. Then I realized I too have some old tech. Just like you, I love real books. I have around 500 of physical books at my home (One bookshelf photo attached). And just like you, I do love a good fountain pen, I have few of them and some ink pots. I also prefer to buy physical game discs instead of digital purchases.

I still prefer wired mouse/keyboard over wireless, desktop over laptop. I prefer to keep my data in house over hard drives. I have over 10 TB of storage at my place. Yes, I still use printer from time to time.

[kvamshi04]

Originally Posted by josetom89

For me, it is watches. I don't know whether it is right to consider a mechanical watch as obsolete since it is still a sought after item but with what I see around me, it is definitely rare now. I tried a smart watch but it was extremely difficult for me. I absolutely hated it, particularly charging it every day. Went back to my trusted Speed master in no time.

Good to hear Teambhpians are into watches as well, mechanical watches are love. I don't have a single smart watch and continue to add watches to my collection. I have two old school Casio's as well.

[amit_shimla]

My Cyprus Blue Maruti 800 Ex since 1999.

[HereticHermit]

Originally Posted by cogWheel

A few things that come to my mind...

Attachment 2549027
My daily shaver kit. The centre piece being a vintage Gillette double edge safety razor that's probably 50 years old, handed down to me by my Dad.

OT: I have few of those in cabinet. That is Super Adjustable 109 Gillette. As it is very mild shaver for Asian/Indian bristles, the barnyard doors on your specimen are not seating in alignment and almost going slant. Please be careful with wonky razors. If you enjoy wet shaving, I suggest that you invest a little more in quality gear.

[RM Motorsports]

This is how we use to heat water in our native village in Kutch. Since we don't go very often there is no point in installing a geyser. But this thing too does the job perfectly though it takes time.

[NajSaf]

Nostalgia apart, I would strongly recommend my brethren to switch over to the newer (not necessarily the "newest") technologies as much as possible. My bid is as follows:
1) For ex.. I like listening to music -- but do not want to play around with old cassette players or burn CDs -- both consume immense plastic apart from wasting my time.
2) Respect nature and environment -- use a BH-VI car if it is possible. Apart from a lot of hype, there is an iota of truth in it. So also, respect the noise elements. We really generate a lot of noise -- what with our incessant honking and shouting on roads and wherever possible!
3) Do not worry about tiny things like wired mice, earphones, wrist watches etc..

All in all, use them to your heart's content, but prefer new technology when you are buying new items!

I am deeply sorry for my rant here and apologise if I have hurt anyone's sentiment.

[crazy_coyote166]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Talking of wired ear buds, I have always preferred them and will usually buy a pair whenever buying a new phone. I bought a pair last January too while buying a new 5G phone, only to realize after going home it did not have a socket for the buds! I searched all around the phone without success. Then my son said most new phones from any brand don't have a socket for them and we must use bluetooth ear buds only! I was angry at the store fellow (Croma) for not telling me about this during the purchase.

Went straight back to the store and gave that fellow a piece of my mind, then bought a bluetooth bud. I could not return the wired one because I had already opened the pack. Fortunately I could use it with my desktop.

There are 3.5mm to USB-C/Lightning adapters which work very well. Here is one on Amazon. I used to use wired headphones for the longest time(till Iphone 12 or so) but recently gave up and switched to the Airpods.