Defunct technology....

[Holdfast]

I chose one Montblanc rollerball which I thought would be the most frequent pen I'd use, but also made sure to pick a decent fountain pen, a Parker 75 gold/silver cisele. Turns out, that when choosing what pen to wear on any given day, I actually pick out the Parker way more often than the Montblanc rollerball (or indeed, a Montblanc Meisterstuck 149 I got a bit later which always fucking leaks a little).

Just to correct this and not give the 149 a bad review unduly, I should point out that I misremembered the exact model of Meisterstuck I have; it's a 146 (what they called "Le Grand", although it's slightly smaller than the 149... go figure).

Also, the leaking does disappear for a few weeks or so if I flush the pen out fully, so it's probably that some kind of gunk is in the reservoir, rather than the pen itself being at fault. I just flushed it out today, which is how I realised I misremembered the model number!

And now that I think about it--spending the money on a good pen that I will use for years makes sense.

I'll probably wind up saving money in the long run, by not having to replace disposable plastic pens. (I do go through a lot of pens) And I won't be adding those aforementioned disposables to the local landfill.

Hmm, I'm not sure the cost argument is correct; don't forget you have to factor in buying ink bottles occasionally. Not that it's expensive or anything, just that overall, it's likely to more or less cancel out not needing new cheap biros. The environmentally-friendly aspect is certainly true.

 

[FordSVT]

The fountain pen. Until modern pens with a built in ink supply and particularly the cheap disposable pen (popularized by Bic) this was the way to write...unless you used a pencil.

T-square, set squares, french curves, compass, mechanical pencils and pens. Today everything is designed and drawn up or modeled on computer. But before that for the longest time were the tools to draft things by hand on multiple sheets.

Sorry - I disagree on this one - not defunct. You can still find them in many different stores and they are still useful, for those of us stubborn enough (or old enough) to want them... (Drafting and Design Technology - Technical Illustration, graduated in 1985 from TSTI-Waco TX).

And any kid in school that takes geometry still uses the old paper, pencil, compass, etc. to do so, they're not using lap-tops and AutoCAD for that.

 

[Santaman]

The most lovely so called defunct equipment I know are vintage analog synthesisers, they go out of tune when the temperature changes, they're temperamental, a nightmare to maintain but nothing can compare to the depth, power and warmth of one of those..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_E8aGx777Q
^^Jean-Michel Jarre demonstrating and explaining his vintage analogs.

 

[scotpens]

Are face clocks on the decline? I remember reading an essay by Isaac Asimov when I was a kid about how face clocks are fading out, and as a result people will eventually not know what expressions like “quarter past noon” mean.

Fifteen minutes is one-quarter of an hour, regardless of the kind of clock you're using. People will always know what “quarter past” or “half past” the hour means. Unless they're really, REALLY dumb.

The most lovely so called defunct equipment I know are vintage analog synthesisers, they go out of tune when the temperature changes, they're temperamental, a nightmare to maintain but nothing can compare to the depth, power and warmth of one of those..

The creators of those old synths couldn't have imagined that someday people would be nostalgic for the sound of “old-fashioned, vintage” electronic instruments!

 

[MANT!]

I cried real tears when Radio Shack stopped caryying the following..

I have a nice collection of Electron tubes at home..

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The most lovely so called defunct equipment I know are vintage analog synthesisers, they go out of tune when the temperature changes, they're temperamental, a nightmare to maintain but nothing can compare to the depth, power and warmth of one of those..

The creators of those old synths couldn't have imagined that someday people would be nostalgic for the sound of “old-fashioned, vintage” electronic instruments!

Reminds me of the old Fender Rhodes I used to play. It was a worn out piece of crap that weighed a ton, but the sound was UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE. It may have been 'only' an electric piano, but still...

 

[scotpens]

Has anyone under 45 ever seen a tube tester? Every radio and TV store, hardware store, and drugstore used to have one. If your TV or hi-fi was on the fritz and you suspected a bad tube, you'd pull all the tubes from the chassis, schlep down to the store, and test the tubes one by one. Then, after buying a new tube or tubes, you'd put all the tubes back in their right places -- assuming you remembered to label the tubes and sockets before yanking them out.

 

[sojourner]

^Ah yes, the local Walgreens had one. My dad even used it once.

 

[the Dagman]

Has anyone under 45 ever seen a tube tester? Every radio and TV store, hardware store, and drugstore used to have one. If your TV or hi-fi was on the fritz and you suspected a bad tube, you'd pull all the tubes from the chassis, schlep down to the store, and test the tubes one by one. Then, after buying a new tube or tubes, you'd put all the tubes back in their right places -- assuming you remembered to label the tubes and sockets before yanking them out.

I turn 45 next month, so I still qualify barely, but yes. I remember there was one at the local Lucky's grocery store at the old El Cerrito Plaza back in the 70's. I remember going there with my grandfather many times.

 

[Rincewiend]

Iomega Zip disk/drive...
I witnessed the rise and fall of them in Amiga computing magazines...
Talking about Amigas, also pretty much gone...

 

[Santaman]

^^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AmigaOne_X1000
Seems they might make a comeback.

As for old computer tech.. I've got some 8088's 8086's 80286, 80386, 80486, Pentium I, II, III, IV, a CyrixMX 200+ Socket A AMD's and so on and then some MSX-1's, Atari 8-bit and ST machines, Commodore 64's and so on.. and they all work...

 

[RJDiogenes]

I remember those old tube testers very well. I kind of miss the way our old TV threw a nice warm orange glow against the wall-- even though it took about five minutes to warm up.

 

[Santaman]

The most lovely so called defunct equipment I know are vintage analog synthesisers, they go out of tune when the temperature changes, they're temperamental, a nightmare to maintain but nothing can compare to the depth, power and warmth of one of those..

The creators of those old synths couldn't have imagined that someday people would be nostalgic for the sound of “old-fashioned, vintage” electronic instruments![/QUOTE]

Its just that all those emulators and digital synths lack all thats good about the old analogs, they are easier on the budget, won't get out of tune and have a memory so you can just re-load all the settings from previous times to replay something but they simply don't sound as good so thats why people have "rediscovered" the old analogs the last few years and there are new ones made with parts that are just a little less temperamental then the originals.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

To get the kids to read at school, they're dishing out "reading sacks". They're themed and come with the book itself and various other books and toys relating to the book (Like Little Red Riding Hood, which came with the book, a related book on wolves and a toy basket). They also come with an audio book, on cassette. My daughter handed the cassette to me and asked, slightly unsure, "Daddy, is this a video"? Mind blowing concept indeed.

Something that used to be popular in my youth, were those "hand held video games" machines. The one game, monochrome LCD, watch battery gadget seems to be dead now given how ubiquitous Nintendo's DS and mobile games are. The last fuss I remember about them was when Tamagotchi were big.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Has anyone said landlines?