What were some of your favorite technology items from years past? Seems like some of the best technology went the way of recycling centers and yard sales. Here’s some of my favorites.
One of my first cars had a Kraco 8-track player wired into the AM radio. Although the tape technology was short lived, the availability of tapes at yard sales and flea markets lived on forever. Friends always hated driving with me because we had a choice of AM radio or paper bags full of obscure 70’s ballroom music.
My family had nothing but Betamax players until the day Beta tapes couldn’t be rented anymore. Throughout high school, friends would bring tapes over my house to watch but couldn’t fit them into my machine. The quality was excellent but we were the only family I knew who refused to make the VHS switch.
Instant Polaroid pictures were the best and really private because they weren’t digital and didn’t have to be developed. Click, snap, “he he” was the typical process to taking Polaroids. Oh wait, I forgot having to shake the Polaroid picture. You know what to do.
Even if you had a Polaroid you may have also owned a Kodak Disc camera. Those Rochester designers were ever so clever by creating a cute little disc that snapped into place. Soon after I shot my first disc I discovered not too many companies actually develop them and the pictures were really bad. If you’re like me you used the camera a couple times and stored it away.
We never had computers in school, but we did have overhead projectors. Before class the teacher would either prepare acetate slides and would write on them throughout the lecture. Luckily for me the lights would always be dimmed so I could catch some z’s.
Who didn’t have a boombox? I remember saving up all summer to be able to afford my heavily stylized, gloriously chrome adorned, very loud boombox. Although it wasn’t very portable, it found its way to most of the parties I attended that year. Twenty five years later and I find myself asking “what?” a whole lot more.
I used to jog in fluorescent green shorts while sporting my bright yellow Sony Sports Walkman. Yellow was such a cool color for handheld electronics that everything made after that was manufactured from yellow plastic. When I pulled mine out a few years ago I was quickly reminded why my right arm is much bigger than my left.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. You can read past articles at www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)