DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Dead technology you miss...sometimes.

I miss the VCR. Yes, I'm just old enough to remember those.

Although what use to suck was having to rewind the tape when you rented it from Blockbuster.

What's some tech you used all the time that is no longer relevant?

Non touchscreen phones. I'd rather use buttons/joystick wheel and keep greasy fingerprints off the screen.

I'd like to see a lot of automotive technology just go away. A car shouldn't be dependent on a computer to operate. I used to be able to look under the hood and know what everything was, and those cars were just as reliable....and if something went wrong you could usually tell what the problem was.

Manual transmission, vent windows, and crank windows in my truck.

Vent windows for sure.

what are vent windows, Peen and Dave? y'all talking about the small windows in the basement that tilted open?

The were triangular windows on you car. You had the main window, and the triangular , small window you pushed open.

No, they were on cars. A lot of people called them wing windows. They were located on the driver and front passenger windows. They adjusted to place the wind on the driver and front passenger.

As A/C became more and more popular, they were done away with.

If you goggle the 1965 Chevy Impala they're a prime example.

I think they mean the little side windows in cars that you just pushed open rather than having to roll down the main window. Came in handy when it was raining or you were smoking and just through the butt out the side window.

damn i didn't know that. thanks guys. that actually sounds like it could still be very useful right now

Old VW Bugs had them. A lot of old cars had them.

I don't miss VHS or cassette tapes. I thought they were terrible the first time around. DVD's are definitely a step up.

Can't say the same about CDs but, I still regularly buy records and stand by the fact that a good, clean record (even if 50 years old) played on a nice turntable sounds better than a CD and significantly better than a digital mp3 or even flac file. That technology isn't dead though. In fact, vinyl is having a renaissance. There are probably 30 record stores just in Portland.

I miss the basic car technology. My first car was a 72 Monte Carlo, I then had a 1980 Honda Prelude. In England, I drove an old 70's Mini (a proper British Mini) and when I first moved to Portland I had a '72 bug. All of them were simple and easy to fix. The Honda maybe the most complex of all.

Now we have Subarus. I love them and they are easier and more comfortable to drive, especially here in the mountainous west coast. But, all the computer technology is a pain. When something small goes wrong you have to spend so much money just to get to something or replace a computer chip.

I totally agree on manual transmission. I would have a manual over automatic anyday.

i miss an old fashion map inside the glove compartment.

but that gps.

I miss the front hand crank starter on cars.

Me too, kinda.

You don't need a map in the glove compartment, but it's sure nice to have a mental visual of where you are in comparison to where you're going. That way, if your gps goes down, you still have a clue where you're headed.

your forearms must be like rock.

the art of map reading is dead, in general.

Yeah I really miss those windows now. But I still (When I'm buying a car) try and buy one without power anything. You know how much cheaper it is? Crank windows, no motor to replace at 2-3 hundred apiece. less chance for electric problems if you don't have windows or locks and sunroof to worry about. Sometimes basic is best.

Yes, my forearms too.

Sadly.

And as a personal example I need only reference me, staying at my son's house in Columbus the night before getting my equipment worked on. Heck, just getting to his house.

Map study before hand allowed me to know where I was going. And when my gps couldn't get a signal for 2 hours on the way down, no problem, I knew the lay out, the routes I needed to get on.

Same the next morning. Place I was headed was right by the airport. GPS still wasn't working. No problem - I just jumped on the interstate knowing I was needing to go east, just following signs for the airport.


Contrast that with my daughter going to Findlay for a soccer game. GPS told her where to exit, except the exit was closed, southbound. Oops, gps told her to go northbound, and that exit was also closed. Round and round she drove til her friend got ahold of her mom on the phone.

Or, just 6-8 weeks ago. Had a job just off central ave. in Toledo. With where I live, no problem. Hop on SR 24, take it to 475 in Toledo (maumee), and go north to central, then west on central.

Except the central ave. exit was closed. No problem, just had to stay on 475 til the next exit, get off, find my way to central, and head west.

Without a general knowledge of the area, and with no gps, I would've been "lost", no clue how to get where I was going.

I sometimes miss watching the old UHF programming on TV.

For whatever reason, my family was a BETA (not VHS)) household in the beginning - some good memories there.

The CB radio in my '77 Cheyenne Blazer......

Etc.

I agree. I also love looking at maps and atlas'. I spent hours and hours as a kid looking at the world via the National Geographic Atlas.

When we travel by car we still use a map. Even when we went back to the UK this past summer, the care we hired had GPS but, we took a map of the UK and a London A-Z to get us around.

I have a 2002 Nissan Frontier 4x4 five speed manual. Hand crank windows. No sealtbelt chime. I've put all but 11 of the 165,000 miles on it. Runs like a tank. The only electronic anything on it is the only thing that's 'broken'. The ABS system doesn't work at times. The breaks function safely and without problem. The dash light comes on when it's acting up do I know when it's not working. I grew up in the 'pump the brakes' days anyway so I get by without it. The stupid computer chip to fix it costs about $1700. I'll continue to pump my breaks. Old school.

Yeah, I had a old '92 Buick that the ABS light would come on and my brakes worked fine, then the light would go out and no ABS brakes, just lock up. It was backward. But I made do until I traded it in on the one I still drive now.

Only highlighting this part because somewhere, earlier today, you gave someone grief for a misspelling.

I miss old style over the air TV.

I had this monster antenna at my old house, and would sometimes pick up French Canada on some nights. There is something really funny about hearing Doctor McCoy saying, in a voice that sounds nothing like DeForest Kelley's, "Dannazione Jim, io sono un medico, io non sono un cemento muratore."

I could watch the Browns, even if they weren't on locally. For free. Sure the reception wasn't always perfect, but it worked.

I tried to post that pic but had it all balled up.

In those days, I smoked cigaretts. In that position it created a suction and would suck the smoke out of the car. Open it full bore, it rushed air on you. Pull open the floorboard vents, and it was pretty comfortable...as long as you were moving.

The were good when it was raining as well.

Considering how little room they take up, you really should. I find maps and jumper cables to be essential to avoiding 90% of car problems.

I am big in to maps. Maps is my standard bathroom reading material.

I always keep one in my trunk. When I rent a car, I request a area map.

Busted. Though I was only giving Peen a ribbing. Hence I gave the " ".
Though technically my spelling was correct. I just used the wrong word. Brakes, not breaks.

How about encyclopedias? Man, I used to read our Britannica and World Book ALL THE TIME.

When I wasn't out playing with friends I was in my room listening to my Kiss or Led Zeppelin records reading about WW1, sharks, different cultures etc.

When our school was throwing theirs set out I grabbed them thinking maybe my own kids would share the same interest. They do. But, they have the internet.

On another note....anyone remember having to do research using the microfiche? So cumbersome! All my college papers were written on a typewriter and it was so long and laborious. All the mistakes, the White Out, then photocopying to get a neat copy.

Thank you Google Docs, Google Classroom, Google Slides and Google Drive. Life is so much easier for all of the above!

Fair enough.

In other words, you spelled the wrong word correctly.

a map is handy to have - and fun sometimes - and I'd probably never bother with a gps because I'm used to 'mapping' out my route before I drive to an unfamiliar place.
If nothing else, google maps works if you have the internet on your phone.

The original DVR.......

I wouldn't call it "dead technology" but I miss many forums of old. It seems like most forums are dying these days and a lot of the discussion has moved over to social media. However, there were a lot of good forums out there with knowledgeable, specialized communities and you miss some of that on reddit or whatever.

I may as well point out the irony now-- this forum seems to be going strong with a committed userbase.

My shower curtain is the map of the world. It is my bathroom reading.

Motorola Razor. Probably the greatest cell phone of all time.

Bro do you realize how many times I dropped that joint?

Never broke. Ever.

That's because it weighed as much as a brick!