There is technology that used to be found in every household, but is now completely outdated and no longer used. Some of these devices have become nostalgic collector's items, others are simply junk. This article presents six of these relics from bygone times that Generation Z certainly no longer knows. A nostalgic trip into the past.
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Cassette recorders: The first portable music players
Servus TV is officially discontinued at the end of the year. The next generation will never get to know the station. Neither do cassette recorders. Long before it MP3 player or smartphones, there were cassette recorders. These devices allowed you to record and play music by inserting a cassette tape. The cassettes were magnetic tapes that were written and read with a tape head. The quality was often poor, that Band could tear or tangle, and you had to rewind or fast forward it regularly.
Cassette recorders were very popular in the 1970s and 1980s, especially among teenagers who wanted to create their own music collection. They were also used to record voice messages, interviews or radio broadcasts. Some models therefore also had built-in microphones.
Today, cassette recorders have been almost completely replaced by digital music players, which offer much more storage space, better quality and more features. Cassettes can only be found among a few enthusiasts or retro fans who appreciate the analog sound.
Rotary dial telephone: The slow way to make calls
Another device that hardly anyone knows about today is the rotary dial telephone. This telephone had a round disk with numbers from 0 to 9 that you had to turn to dial a number. Each number corresponded to a specific number of pulses sent to the switchboard. Dialing a number could therefore take a long time, especially if it contained a lot of zeros or nines.
Rotary dial telephones were common from the 1920s to the 1980s until they were replaced by push-button telephones, which were faster and easier to use. Today there are rotary dial telephones only in museums or seen as decoration. They also no longer work with modern telephone networks that use digital signals.
Typewriters: The keyboard noise of the past
Typewriters, once the faithful companions of writers, journalists and office workers, harken back to an era when the written word took shape in the form of letters on paper. The distinctive clatter of keys, the rhythmic sound of carriage return, and the satisfying click at the end of each row are sounds that are rarely heard today. These mechanical marvels, which reflected the progress of the printed word in physical form, were once a huge relief in everyday life.
The process of writing on a typewriter required patience and precision. The keys were firmly connected to each other, and pressing a key incorrectly often meant having to start the entire page over. Changing the ribbons to switch between black and red or other colors was another challenge that typists overcame.
Typewriters have long since become collector's items and nostalgic reminders of a time when writing and printing were inextricably linked. It's fascinating to observe how modern technology has changed the way we write and communicate, and how the distinctive features of the typewriter, once so ubiquitous, are now appreciated by only a few enthusiasts and aficionados. But let's be honest: writing on a PC is actually much more convenient.
Floppy disk: Insecure data storage
The floppy disk is also extinct. This was a thin plastic disk with a magnetic medium on which data could be stored. The floppy disk was inserted into a drive that read or wrote it with a read head. The floppy disk was available in various sizes, from the 8-inch disk with a capacity of about 80 kilobytes to the 3,5-inch disk with a capacity of about 1,44 megabytes.
Floppy disks were the most common medium for data storage and transmission from the 1970s to the 1990s. They were used to store documents, images, programs or games. However, they had many disadvantages: they were susceptible to damage from dust, moisture or magnetism, they had a small storage capacity and a slow transfer rate.
Floppy disks have long been completely outdated and have been replaced by more modern storage media such as CDs, DVDs, USB sticks or cloud services. Most computers don't even have one anymore CD- Or DVDdrive, because this technology is already outdated. Floppy disks only appear on the screen as a symbol for storing files.
Slide film projectors: memories of long family evenings
Before the era of streaming services and Blu-rayPlayers, slide film projectors were the primary source of home theater experiences. These devices allowed families to present slideshows of vacations and family gatherings. Projecting slide films onto a wall or screen was a popular pastime. Today, slide film projectors are completely extinct, as digital cameras and screens have long offered the opportunity to share memories more conveniently, beautifully and cheaply.
Photo film rolls: Annoyance about bad photos
Photo film rolls were the standard way to capture photos before digital photography and selfies on smartphones. They were inserted into analogue cameras. However, these rolls of film, which came in a variety of formats, had a limited number of exposures, often only 24 or 36 frames per roll. Photography was more expensive because you had to buy rolls of film and have it developed. In addition, the images could not be checked immediately, but had to wait for the prints to be developed. People often got annoyed later when the photos didn't turn out well. With the introduction of digital cameras and smartphones, photo film rolls quickly disappeared from the scene.
Conclusion: Technology over time
Technology is constantly evolving and producing new devices and possibilities. Much of what used to be found in every household is now completely outdated and no longer used. However, some of these old devices are still remembered or have nostalgic value. They show us how technology has changed over time and how it has influenced our lives. What will be the cassette recorders, rotary telephones and floppy disks of Generation Z, which they can only tell their children about and are met with incomprehension for their nostalgia?