In the world of technology, the motto appears to be “out with the old and in with the new.” New innovations keep coming, making our world more interesting and complicated to adapt to. The following technology explains its predecessors, and what vintage tech they replaced.
1. Polaroid cameras
That gratifying feeling of developing your images instantly, and anticipating the appearance of the images you’ve captured on a neat little square. We all know how much we loved our Polaroid cameras. Polaroid stopped manufacturing the film in 2008 and digital cameras have been around since 1995.
Then along came Instagram, making snapping instant photos much more convenient, creating an entire network of amateur photographers across the globe. As awesome as Instagram is, I still prefer my vintage Polaroid photos circa 1997 to the digital alternative.
2. Typewriters
The existence of typewriters dates back to 1714, as described by Brit Henry Mill “an artificial machine or method for the impressing or transcribing of letters singly or progressively one after another” when he filed a patent for the description of the device. The typewriter was every writer’s dream.
The concept of having a device to type on was well received by the public, spurring the first electrical and digital programmable computers, the Turing Machine (considered to be the first “modern” computer), and computers that could successfully store data and perform functions. It’s incredible how early computer models could fill up an entire room, and now, smart devices can fit in your pocket.
3. Gameboy Color
I was one of the first people I knew to have a Gameboy Color in 1997. I was completely overjoyed to have a portable gaming device in color that I could throw in my backpack and play anywhere. My grandfather waited on line for me to score one of those first highly coveted gaming system; he insisted, “you must have a Gameboy Color, because portable devices like this one will be the way of the future.” And for sure, his prediction was correct! Gameboys were early gateway portable devices to the digital world of technology for kids who grew up in the 1990s. They allowed kids to become acquainted with technical devices from an early age.
Image via Apple
If you took a look at children’s’ holiday wish lists in our modern era, nearly everyone wouldinclude a portable Apple device like an iPod Touch or an iPad. People can access almost every game they desire by downloading apps, or accessing content on the Internet.
4. Nintendo 64
Does Super Smash Bros. sound familiar, selecting your favorite Nintendo characters for action-packed rounds of battle? Nintendo 64 epitomizes old-school gaming to our modern era.
Devices that have surpassed the capabilities of the Nintendo 64 are the Playstation 4 and Microsoft Kinect. The Xbox One even has vocal commands, and multitasking capabilities that were only dreamed about in 1997 when the N64 dropped. With these newer gaming consoles, users can even surf the web.
5. VHS Cassette
VHS tapes started phasing out in 1996 when DVDs were invented. VCRs were a staple in every household for watching VHS recorded content. When DVDs appeared in the market, they were considered to be the latest technological advancement.
Each DVD sector contains 2,418 bytes of data, where 2,048 bytes of that data is inputted by the user. A disc has a 10.5-nm laser reading mechanism. Recordable DVDs had the writing mechanism of 10.5 Mbits/s, where users could record onto blank discs or overwrite previously recorded material. Now, even DVDs are marginally obsolete because of Internet streaming services like Youtube and Netflix.
Instead of renting from Blockbuster or purchasing the DVD, you can watch or listen to the digital form of practically every movie or TV show ever. The sales in the DVD industry have fallen from $10 billion to $4 billion since the start of Netflix. Some computers don’t even contain CD drives anymore.
6. Portable CD Player/ Walkman
Image via wiretotheear.com
In 1979, Sony’s Walkman reached the market as the first portable music devicewith dualcapabilities of playing the radio andcassettes. Walkman released a CD player version in 2006, to jibe with the technological changes. In 2010, Walkman ceased production of further products. With iPods and phones that stream media, you don’t have to carry cumbersome CDs or cassette tapes wherever you go.
7. Telegrams
Electrical Telegraphs sent electrical signals across conductive wires, as patented in 1750 by Benjamin Franklin. This means of communication was developed to enable the transmission of messages without an actual physical exchange. Telegraphic communication was a predecessor to e-mail.
8. Physical Maps
With GPS systems, maps no more. Perhaps schools don’t even teach mapping skills anymore due to GPS technology. From Mapquest to Google Maps, the concept of typing in your location and receiving directions to your destination is brilliant. Even better is when your phone uses location services to help you find your way.
9. MTV music videos
Why watch a video countdown when you can just search the video you’re looking for with the click of a button on Youtube.
10. Landline phone service
In between landlines and cell phones were pay phones, cordless home phones, and beepers.
11. Casio’s Infraceptor watch
Casio’s Infraceptor watch was smart watch of sorts. It served as a phone book, infrared message sender, gaming device, and stopwatch. The IR beams the watch emitted also allowed users to verse other players in games on the watch. The phone book could storeup to ten people’s information. It retailed for $100 in the 1980s.
Smart Watches from Pebble, Samsung, and Google are the new editions to the market of smart watches that can sync with your smartphone.
12. Rounded TV screens
Older TVs operated from photons being fired from a photon gun in the back of the TV, hitting the screen in such a way to produce color pictures. The screens were rounded to provide ample distance from the electron gun (cathode) and the screen. Newer flatscreen models do not use this technology. Philips developed a flatscreen TV model, which sparked further developments like HDTVs, Ultra HDTVs, and 3D TVs.
13. Dial-up internet connection
AOL dial-up connection for Internet service took a painfully long time when connecting. Modems with wired connections (such as Ethernet) developed, enabling users to not connect via phone lines. In the 2000s, Wi-Fi started gaining popularity, revolutionizing how people use the web forever.
14. Regular vacuuming
Why manually vacuum when you can have a robot (like the iRobot) do all the dirty work for you?
15. Paper printing
Computer printing was first meant to print on-screen images into a paper form. With 3D printing technology now allowing food and body prosthetics to be made, it is becoming possible to print virtually anything.
16. Board Games
You can virtually play any board game through app versions. Classics like Scrabble, Monopoly, and The Game of Life are downloadable in virtual editions from online app stores.
17. Compression in music
Digital range compression is a feature used by producers and sound engineers to alter howa song sounds. For example, when music is compressed, the softer parts of the song are altered to sound louder, and the louder parts are programmed to sound softer. The song will have an overall louder sound, forfeiting the sound quality for loudness. The main benefit of compressing music is that makes the sound become more uniform across all types of equipment, ranging from little earphones to concert-sized speakers.
18. Cars run by gas
Car technology has made an effort to be environmentally conscious by developing vehicles that use electricity as their power source. To be environmentally efficient, many manufacturers have enabled hybrid technology in their vehicles, allowing cars to run as fully electric or semi-electric. Cars like the 2014 Volt: Hybrid Car from Chevrolet uses both gas and electric sources of power. Cars have become more like computers than automobiles in recent years. Perhaps in the future, oil burning cars will no longer exist.
19. Physical buttons on electronics
Buttons are getting transitioned out of our everyday technological usage.Each newer device relies on graphical user interfaces through touch screen features. Keyboards, control panels, and more are now going the virtual route.
20. Furby
Vintage Furby from the 90s
In theory, the Furby is supposed to be kid-friendly and fun. My Furby used to sing along to the radio, it was absolutely the most terrifying thing ever. It was so bizarre how the Furby knew the lyrics to the songs being played.
Just in case you want to resurrect your ~favorite~ toy, you can purchase the new Furby Boom. With the corresponding Furby app, you can play games, raise virtual Furblings (Furby babies), and win virtual prizes.
Related Articles:
5 ways you can turn your old gadgets into technology of the future
New technology that could equip older vehicles to be self-driving
Here’s how to properly recycle, reuse, and reduce your old tech
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FAQs
What is the difference between new technology and old technology? ›
Ten difference between old technology and modern technology:
Wired telephones replaced with smartphones. Handwritten letters sent via postal service replaced by emails that are delivered in seconds. Film cameras have made way for digital. Mapbook to figure out how to reach a destination changed to Google's Map.
- Television. Television sets transmit signals over which we can listen to and view audio and visual content. ...
- Internet. ...
- Cell phones. ...
- Computers. ...
- Circuitry. ...
- Artificial intelligence. ...
- Software. ...
- Audio and visual technology.
- 10,000 BCE. Paleolithic Age. The Paleolithic age was when everything was made out of stone, wood or bone.
- 4000 BCE. Mesolithic Age. ...
- 2300 BCE. Neolithic Age. ...
- 2000 BCE. Chalcolithic Age. ...
- 700 BCE. Bronze Age. ...
- 450 BCE. Iron Age. ...
- Jan 1, 1400. Middle Ages.
Perhaps one of the oldest technologies still very much in use today is the mighty abacus. One of the most basic, and ancient mathematical machines, many people around the world still dote on it.
What are the 10 technologies that could be found during information age? ›- Transistors.
- Computers.
- Data.
- Personal computers.
- Optical networking.
- Digital Cameras. As the name suggests, digital cameras allow images to be captured in digital memory, as opposed to on a physical photographic film. ...
- Cyclonic Vacuum Cleaners. ...
- Recombinant Human Insulin.
Made nearly two million years ago, stone tools such as this are the first known technological invention. This chopping tool and others like it are the oldest objects in the British Museum.
What are the 6 common types of technology? ›Construction • Transportation • Energy/Power • Communication • Manufacturing • Bio-Related • Name some technologies and let's put them in the right category.
What are 5 examples of technology that you use everyday? ›Examples of everyday technology include phones, computers, washing machines, cars, toothbrushes, and coffee makers.
What are the 10 most technologically advanced countries? ›- Russia. ...
- United Kingdom. ...
- Singapore. ...
- Germany. Technological Expertise Rank: 5. ...
- United States. Technological Expertise Rank: 4. ...
- China. Technological Expertise Rank: 3. ...
- South Korea. Technological Expertise Rank: 2. ...
- Japan. Technological Expertise Rank: 1.
What is the new technology in 2022? ›
By 2022, multicore will be everywhere, from wearable systems and smartphones to cameras, games, automobiles, cloud servers, and exa-scale supercomputers. Silicon photonics will be a fundamental technology to address the bandwidth, latency, and energy challenges in the fabric of high-end systems.
What is the best technology for 2022? ›- Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality (AR & VR) ...
- Cybersecurity. ...
- 5G Network. ...
- IoT (Internet of Things) ...
- Machine Learning (ML) ...
- Fintech. ...
- Cloud Computing. ...
- Voice Assistance. Voice assistance platforms and software are highly popular these days.
- Accounting Packages. Accounting functionality such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, general ledger and bookkeeping. ...
- Algorithms. ...
- Analytics. ...
- Architecture Software. ...
- Artificial Intelligence. ...
- Asset Management Software. ...
- Big Data. ...
- Business Relationship Management.
There are six main types of technology. They are: mechanical technology, medical technology, communications technology, electronic technology, and industrial and manufacturing technologies.
What are the 5 most common types of business technology? ›- Productivity Software. Every successful company thrives on a streamlined workflow to meet important timelines. ...
- Inventory Control System. ...
- Financial Accounting System. ...
- Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRMS) ...
- Business Intelligence (BI) Tools.
- The Paleolithic. The Paleolithic period stretches roughly between 3.3 million years ago and 10,000 BC. ...
- The Mesolithic. The Mesolithic period approximately began in 10,000 BC and ended in 4,000 BC. ...
- The Neolithic. ...
- The Chalcolithic. ...
- The Bronze Age. ...
- The Iron Age. ...
- The Classical Age. ...
- The Middle Ages.
- Improved healthcare. ...
- Safer online payments. ...
- Online grocery shopping. ...
- The rise of smart cities. ...
- Reduce wasted resources with used items. ...
- Exercise incentive. ...
- Telecommuting opportunities. ...
- Instant answers to everything.
There are three ages of computer Dark age Middle age Modern age.
What are some technologies that have developed over the past 30 years? ›...
Top Tech Innovations in the Last 30 Years
- Internet, broadband, WWW (browser and html)
- PC/laptop computers.
- Mobile phones.
- E-mail.
Modern technology has paved the way for multi-functional devices like the smartwatch and the smartphone. Computers are increasingly faster, more portable, and higher-powered than ever before. With all of these revolutions, technology has also made our lives easier, faster, better, and more fun.
What is a new technology? ›
Technology that radically alters the way something is produced or performed, especially by labour-saving automation or computerization; an instance of such technology.
What are the 21st technologies? ›Since the beginning of the new millennium, the world has witnessed the emergence of social media, smartphones, self-driving cars, and autonomous flying vehicles. There have also been huge leaps in energy storage, artificial intelligence, and medical science.
What are the new technologies in electronics? ›Emerging technology | Status |
---|---|
Quantum computing | Experiments, commercialization |
Quantum cryptography | Commercialization |
Quantum radar | Prototypes |
Radio-frequency identification | Diffusion of high cost |
- Artificial intelligence: ...
- Insurtech: ...
- RPA(Robotic process automation): ...
- Blockchain: ...
- IoT (Internet of things): ...
- Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR):
iPads, smartwatches, fitness trackers, true wireless earphones, electric cars—the list of innovations from this decade is a long one. Sci-fi tropes like universal translators and virtual reality games became very real. And virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa changed how we interact with technology in our homes.
Is there are 5 types of Information Age? ›they are as follows: Five different information ages in the field of technology Stone age Iron age The middle ages The industrial age Electronic age THESTONE AGE This was the prehistoric period during where stone was widely used to make implements with a sharp edge, a point or a percussion surfaces.
What was the most important technology innovation in the last 20 years? ›Google revolutionized the way that people search for information online. Every hour there are more than 228 million Google searches. Today Google is part of Alphabet Inc., a company that offers dozens of services such as translations, Gmail, Docs, Chrome web browser, and more.
What is the oldest computer technology? ›Antikythera mechanism is believed to be the world's oldest computer. The mechanism has been described as an astronomical calculator as well as the world's first analogue computer. It is made of bronze and includes dozens of gears.
What are 5 technologies from ancient cultures? ›- Central Heating. Thousands of years ago, while ancient Greece was a powerful nation, central heating was invented. ...
- Sewer Systems. ...
- The Steam Turbine. ...
- The Battery. ...
- The Compass. ...
- The Alarm Clock.
Before the world had electronic calculators, smartphones, the Google search bar, or even paper -- there was the abacus. The simple rectangular gadget doesn't require batteries, RAM, or the internet to run.
What are the 8 areas of technology? ›
They include: artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), blockchain, drones, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, 3D printing and virtual reality (VR).
What are the latest technological products? ›- Virtual And Augmented Realities. ...
- 3D Printing. ...
- Apple AirTag. ...
- Advanced Health Wearables. ...
- EKG And Insulin Monitors. ...
- AR Glasses. ...
- Programming 'Toys' ...
- Amazon Astro.
Aggregate Rank | Country | Average Rank |
---|---|---|
1 | Japan | 2.1 |
2 | United States | 3.2 |
3 | South Korea | 3.1 |
4 | Germany | 5.6 |
Chatbots, logistics, self-driving cars, virtual nursing assistants, personalized textbooks and tutors, and even artificial creativity: These are just a few of the applications that narrow AI can improve or bring to light in the coming years.
What are the 10 applications of information technology? ›- Healthcare. With a simple definition, healthcare is a massive and complex industry. ...
- Education. ...
- Communications. ...
- Employment. ...
- Security. ...
- Governance.
Technological products are material objects that have been designed by people and developed through technological practice to serve particular functions. A crucial relationship between the (chemical) composition and structure of the materials used and their performance properties exists in every technological product.
What are 5 examples of products? ›- Magazines.
- Toothpaste.
- Food.
- Candy.
- Laundry detergent.
- Shampoo.
The makers of these 10 tech products -- the iPod, the BlackBerry, Firefox, Twitter, Windows 7, ThinkPad, Android, Wikipedia, Mac OS X and the "big cats," and Red Hat Linux -- all have displayed certain amounts marketing savvy, common sense and fun-loving spirit in settling on their products' names.
What are the 10 products or goods that you use daily? ›- Kitchen utensils.
- Sanitary products.
- Miscellaneous goods.
- Containers & wrapping.
- Dyestuffs.
- Public hygiene products.
- Agents for control of infectious diseases.
- Wood preservatives.
The alternative expression for new-to-the-world products (really new products) already indicates that this is what most people would define as a new product. These products are inventions that create a whole new market. Examples: Polaroid camera, the iPod and iPad, the laser printer and so on.
What are the 6 products? ›
Types of Products – 6 Major Types: Differentiated Product, Customised Product, Potential Product, Core Product, Actual Product and Augmented Product.
What are some types of technology you use at home? ›- Cleaning equipment.
- Electric lighting.
- Cooking appliances.
- Food storage and preservation.
- Home maintenance.
- Air conditioning.
- Computer systems.
- Power generation.
Whether it's practical (like washing machines, tumble dryers, refrigerators, cars, flooring materials, windows, or door handles) or for leisure (like televisions, Blu-ray players, games consoles, reclining chairs, or toys), all these things are examples of technology.
What are 5 new inventions? ›- COVID-19 Breathalyzer Test.
- Humanoid Robot.
- Foldable Tech Devices.
- Color Changing Cars.
- Digital Twins.
- Health Body Scans.
- Smart Bathing.
- Solar Roof Shingles.