What other "old" technology do you use on a regular basis.

[paul*robertson]

Hi,
I'm guessing a lot of people on this forum are into older technology, ie not always having to have the latest thing. Judging by the threads in the legacy forum i'd say this is true. Apart from thinkpads what else do you use, or are interested in.

Myself, i have three of these.
http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/Remotes/ ... lease.html

Marantz touchscreen remote controls, bought for peanuts from ebay. Like thinkpads they are simple, well made and do the job. I use my 600x to program it.

[A31]

In the loft we have old 1980s era computers such as ZX Spectrum, Dragon32, Commodore 64, BBC Micro, Oric 1 etc... quite old . They all plug into the telly!

...though we don't use them on regualr basis as they are in the loft as I said!! But they are (along with my ThinkPad which is fairly old, though not "ancient", 2002) the only bits of old technology in the house. Unless you count our 1996 Rover Mini?? Used on a fairly regular basis...(but is it technology?)

[Unknown_K]

I have a desktop computer collection that goes back to the 1980's (C64/128, Amigas, Atari, XT Tandy x86 PCs, Macs, etc). Part of that collection is for apps/gaming and I also have a thing for old analog video capture gear (avid, media 100, radius videovision, supermac, optibase, rasterops, targa, etc).

I also still use (as a second system) my old early 90's Technics stereo system. And I still have my 80's Atari 2600 that I use once in a while (also have a PSX1, XBOX, Dreamcast).

Am I the only one in the world who still actualy uses paper to write? I have a stack of boxed Pentel mechanical pencils I got a decade ago from a store closeout.

[paul*robertson]

I also still use daily a 10yr old 3-series BMW, a Nokia 6100 phone (pre camera) a 2 mega pixel camera. I say i like retro-technology. My friends say i'm a tight git

[underclocker]

Palm M500 from 2001. It even has the original battery.

[beGi]

http://www.treehugger.com/toilet-llqq-001.jpg

I use it daily...

It does not crash...

I'm running Aqua OS on it...

I reboot it once a day minimum, but most of the time it's on stand-by...

[bill bolton]

I'm guessing a lot of people on this forum are into older technology.....

POTS - Plain Old Telephone Service.

Though most phone calls I make now a days use GSM or VOIP technologies, at least once I a day I still get a phone call that comes over over a last mile using a copper-pair telephone line.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[jronald]

1979 Realistic Belt Drive Turntable.

Ron

[killer]

Anyone else completely bamboozled by what a Marantz Remote thingie can do? I see no need, no advantage, and who are Marantz? Is it me, or is anyone else lost by this technology ... even if it is years old?

I can't see the buttons on most things unless I am wearing my glasses so please bear with me.

[dsvochak]

I'm running Aqua OS on it...

I hope the OS is in the cloud rather than hosted locally.

[qviri]

I've a communist era (1986) audio amp passed on from the family that I never felt the need to replace. Other than that, though, I've had little opportunity or indeed space to accumulate old tech. My 701c is likely the oldest piece of "technology" I own, though I don't use it regularly.

[ajkula66]

Most of my hi-fi is from the mid 80s, including a Technics turntable and Yamaha floor-standing studio monitors...

@killer:

Although I'm at loss myself with the Marantz remote pictured, I'm quite surprised that you don't know about the brand, since it was sold all over UK in the 1970s and 1980s...a lot of good stuff there, as well as some interesting designs...

http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/mindex.html

And the oldest computing-related piece in this household is 701C in my signature...

I'm also amongst the ones who can't live without pen and paper, utilizes POTS along with a very old (but still extremely usable) "special circuit" known as "private line" or "ringdown"...

[paul*robertson]

Palm M500 from 2001. It even has the original battery.

For the uneducated, like myself, what do you use it for.

[Neil]

Am I the only one in the world who still actualy uses paper to write?

Nope. I use a ball point pen and paper every day. And, let's see, I have a CRT monitor on my desktop computer at the office (using my 600X right now though), and a couple of CRT TV sets are all we have in the house. Oh, and a Sony W400Q LCD projector in the theater room. And a couple of CRT projectors on standby waiting for the W400Q to die. Analog cable TV (that qualifies for "old" tech, right?), and an antenna to receive OTA TV (that's kind of 60's don't you think?)

Still use an "old" technology fax most every day. Land line telephone, and voice with my cell. Seldom do I text.

There's probably more, but that's about all I can think of at the moment.

[A31]

...just found another piece of older technology...

Would you count a 2005/06 MiO Digiwalker A701 as older technology, it has Windows Mobile 5.0 and lots of other XP related applications for your mobile (such as Media player 10, Internet Explorer 6.0 etc). It is a touch phone with a TomTom navigator SatNav system and has a fairly early version of Bluetooth (I think Bluetooth 1.0 or 1.1 or something like that ) it's also fairly chunky unlike my Vodafone VF527 which has to be one of the slimmest phones in the wrold surely??
Here's a picture http://www.pdagold.com/img/articles/en/ ... 410118.jpg

EDIT, the phone was released in March 2006 and it has Bluetooth 1.2

[qviri]

my Vodafone VF527 which has to be one of the slimmest phones in the wrold surely??

Off topic, but no, not really. The internet clocks in the VF527 at 11.8 mm. Just among the phones I know of, Nokia has several around the 10 mm mark, including the cheap 2630 (9.9 mm), the 5310 (also 9.9 mm) and the E72 (10.1 mm).

[killer]

Although I'm at loss myself with the Marantz remote pictured, I'm quite surprised that you don't know about the brand, since it was sold all over UK in the 1970s and 1980s...a lot of good stuff there, as well as some interesting designs...

Crikey, George, it must have passed me by. Having looked around, perhaps I had my head stuck in the mud, or maybe the stuff didn't appeal to me so I never noted its existence.
I see Marantz is linked with Denon these days. IIRC, Denon always made quality equipment.

One of the joys of having no adverts on BBC TV is not knowing what is generally available so one's money stays in the wallet ... or in the pub.

[paul*robertson]

http://www.remotecentral.com/ureview/33.htm

Marantz was part of Phillips when it came out. Its the identical model to the Pronto 940. £300 when it came out, its still relevant today. I use it to control my sky box, tv,av amp, cd player, dvd recorder (and soon my ipod dock). You program it through your pc and i think you can have up to 15 operations from the press of one button.
Say for example you want to watch a dvd, on the home page touch the film icon, then automatically it sets the tv to the correct input, sets the av amp to dolby digital and switches to the dvd as input. Fantastically simple to use, there are only five hard buttons. Press mute and it mutes everything.

[RealBlackStuff]

I've had a Marantz 6300 turntable for donkeys years (bought it in 1977)
Indestructible, perfectly working both on 115 and 230V.
It can still run circles (not toooo many) around most anything new on the market today.
This is what it looks like: http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/6300.html
(I have the wooden one as in the first picture)

[Tõnis]

I love my fountain pens! I only have four, but I don't collect them ... I use 'em!

[Harryc]

I've had a Marantz 6300 turntable for donkeys years (bought it in 1977)

Might be interesting to follow this auction to see what it's worth these days -
http://cgi.ebay.com/MARANTZ-6300-TURNTA ... 0449814688

[spuddog]

I still use my Pioneer PL-5 turntable. It wasn't a high dollar unit when I bought in the early seventy's, but I have no doubt it is as good as most turntables produced today.

I am a ex-tool and die maker, so I have many precision measuring tools ( micrometers, indicators, etc.) that I bought through the years, some of which are older than I. They all still function perfectly

Scott

[RealBlackStuff]

That Marantz 6300 auction is likely to end up around the $350-400 mark.
More if the cover had been there.

I don't remember what I paid for mine, but it wasn't much more than maybe $250 for a whole Marantz system (receiver 2240, speakers HD550 and record player 6300).
Got it tax free, off a US Airforce Base near Frankfort/Germany, where I had a girlfriend at the time, who worked in the commissary.
Receiver, speakers (and girlfriend) have been exchanged since.
I now run a JVC receiver, Kirksaeter speakers and an Irish wife.

[jdhurst]

Let's see:

a. My Parker 75 fountain pen purchased in 1966 still sees daily service (43 years)
b. My Knirps umbrella (same 43 years) remains in service. These were University days.
c. My HP 606B Signal Generator (1960's and purchased used) still runs and remains stable and repeatable.
d. My Tek 455 Scope (new in 1979) still runs and is in good calibration.
e. My Craftsman and Snap-on tools (purchases started in 1962) all remain in service. I have a set of Utica diagonal cutters that predate me and still (despite expensive Klien pliers) are the ONLY pliers I have that will munch piano wire with no damage.
f. I have HP calculators (several) 25 years old and still good. It is hard to buy a good RPN calculator today, and RPN calculators are the ONLY calculators that work like you think. They got a bad rap.
g. My Fluke DMM dates to 1978, so 30 years old. I had to replace the display once.
h. I actually still wear top notch Dack shoes from 20 years ago. Top quality leather and put new soles and heels on them every so often, and they are perfectly sized. Wear one pair no more than once weekly and they will go forever.
i. I have a Zeiss Icon manual 35-mm camera that was not new in 1965 and has no rangefinder. But it has a remarkable clear and sharp lens. I no longer use it (sadly) as silver halide photography has died. Still works, but not in use.
j. I still have all my University text books. Mathematics grows but what is there does not go bad. I dig out books on number theory occasionally.

So lots of old technology and stuff works. My Thinkpad, however, has a shiny new 500Gb 7200-rpm hard drive and now sports Windows 7 Pro and Office 2007 Pro. Right at this date, there is nothing newer than what I have here. (Don't post back about Office 2010 please - it remains an unreleased Beta and won't be in production for another 5 months).
... JDH

[bill bolton]

It is hard to buy a good RPN calculator today...

Oh yeah!

Cheers,

Bill

[paul*robertson]

Let's see:

i. I have a Zeiss Icon manual 35-mm camera that was not new in 1965 and has no rangefinder. But it has a remarkable clear and sharp lens. I no longer use it (sadly) as silver halide photography has died. Still works, but not in use.
JDH

A lot of old technology you can still use like vinyl, but i think digital has killed the old 35mm camera. Sad in a way as there were some really nice models made over the years.

[jdhurst]

It is sad. I took a picture of our Siamese cat when I first got that Zeiss Ikon. The cat was asleep and I was able to gently measure the distance (no rangefinder), I already had the camera on a tripod, and get a very accurate focus. In the end picture, the indivual wiskers on the cat's face were absolutely sharp and clear. I don't think I ever saw again a lens that critically accurate or sharp. Oh well. .... JDH

[TTY]

It is hard to buy a good RPN calculator today,

HP offers the HP 35s. Has an unusual power supply (round cell batteries), but seems to be a reasonable RPN calculator.

[jdhurst]

HP offers the HP 35s. Has an unusual power supply (round cell batteries), but seems to be a reasonable RPN calculator.

Thanks for that. I have an HP-42s in my daily briefcase with those batteries and an HP-15C in my home office desk with the same batteries. These two will go until either they die or I die, whichever comes first. ... JDH

[msb0b]

Some purists will argue HP calculator ended when HP axed the division in 1993 or 2001 depending on whom you ask. I still have a HP48 that I got in 1992, and I don't expect to replace it unless it breaks.

Any magneto optical drive users here? My Fujitsu DynaMO 640SE from 1996 still works, along with the 11 640MB cartridges of data. MO was quite a bit simpler to use than CD-R at that time: Faster read/write, direct disk access without mastering, erasable, more durable cartridge format, etc. However, MO's place in the market was threatened when CD-R media price dropped from $20 to pennies each, and the release of DVD+-R/RW was the nail in the coffin.