Most remarkable technology that we used today has been eclipsed by the technologies we have used in the past. Advances in their design have occurred in tandem with the advances technology in this digital era. While some may find this technology to be cutting-edge, we can’t disregard its place as a history. Let’s have a countdown as we review some of the vintage technologies that we no longer use.
photo credits: buzzfeed.com
Ever heard the word “Kodak”? In 1965, Kodak invented the Super 8/8mm film format. Soon after, handheld film cameras flooded the market. People buy more than one album per month to put the pictures they have been developed from the camera. But for today’s modern living, it’s changing fast though: your children won’t collect albums, and they’ll have every album at their fingertips all the time. It was scrapbook then, now it’s Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. Sales of standalone cameras have reduced replaced by integrated cameras in smart devices.
photo credits: tophdimgs.com
Thomas Edison was made known for being a great inventor, a legend indeed! Remember one of his great works is the Phonograph or Gramophone in 1877. It was on the mass market by the turn of the century. The gramophone was replaced by the considerably less big record player in the latter half of the twentieth century. This is popular for listening to music; then we have the phonograph, and now we have iTunes.
photo credits: ScrapHacker
Have you ever seen this kind of tape? Possible that it’s familiar to you? This is the compact cassette was originally developed for transcription purposes, but add on to what it can do. It is also used to record music and make “mixed tapes.” Then: Cassette Tapes; Now: Spotify
photo credits: buzzfeed.com
This invention requires skills! The telegraph was the precursor to telex and fax machines. This is used by shipping operators and for military purposes. The Telegraph required a skilled operator to transmit and receive messages. Imagine how hard for them to send messages in extra miles. Every now and again a piece of paper can’t be emailed to someone. But now everything is so easy and quick. Just one click away. Email has replaced letters and telegraph, these days all things are in favour of instant messenger for direct communication and social networks.
photo credits: Your Business
Before touchscreens, there were buttons! It was the Old-fashioned phone! The first patent who invented the phone was awarded to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. They have evolved from rotary dial models to smart phones that we can use today to surf the internet. You will enjoy how it works, arranged on a circular dial, each number corresponding to a finger hole. In the old times, the phone used to be attached to the wall by a cable forcing you to sit on the stairs while you chatted. Then came the cordless phone and smartphones!
photo credits: emmadrew.info
This was popular in 1979, the first release of the Sony Walkman which signaled a revolution in personal audio. The Walkman was invented for the co-chairman of Sony, Akio Morita, who wanted to be able to listen to his favourite operas on plane trips. It is small enough to carry and fashionable enough in public.
photo credits: Complex
Sony released its portable player two years after the mass production of the Compact Disc. While they were popular with audiophiles, who appreciated the quality of the recording, earlier Discmans would skip and don’t allow for the popular “mix tapes” until it became possible for computers to “burn” CDs.Physical media are continually being replaced. From cassettes to CDs to mini discs to MP3 players!
