Sometimes newer isn't always better. Between paying for subscriptions for everything and having appliances fall apart after a couple of years, modern inventions can be pretty frustrating. Recently, redditor u/Caroline6386 asked the r/AskReddit community to share the piece of "obsolete" technology they use because they find it better than the modern version. Here are some of the seemingly outdated gadgets people shared.
1. "Opening a damn web browser and going to a store's website instead of using an app, if the option is there."
2. "Knobs in my car to control radio and heat/AC. So much safer than screens."
"Yup, you can navigate knobs/buttons without taking your eyes off the road. How anyone got the OK to take those away is beyond me."
3. "Books. I take books out of the library, read them, and return them. Seeing what books are available on my 'want to read list' is a fun game in itself."
4. "Any 'non-smart' things: lightbulbs, doorbell, washing machine, fridge, etc. I don’t need any of them to connect to the internet. Just do the basic job and don’t break or quickly become obsolete, please."
"Our new washing machine can apparently tell your phone when it’s done. Except that is only free for six months, then YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO PAY FOR THAT SERVICE. Seriously? Fuck that."
5. "A normal paper calendar. IDK why, I just don't check the calendar on my phone. Sometimes I also use a 50-something-year-old radio because it sounds nice, especially when my headphones run out of battery."
6. "Original Nintendo DS. Never once has that video game device given me an ounce of trouble or forced me to buy some subscription service to be able to play my games. Maybe not the most advanced, but definitely the best-lasting tech gadget I’ve ever been gifted."
7. "iPod classic."
8. "Paper menu. Why are you making me take a picture of a QR code, go to a website, and squint on my phone to see what you've got to eat?"
9. "I buy physical CDs, rip them to my hard drive, put a copy on my phone, and listen to my music without ad interruptions or subscription costs."
10. "Can opener. The manual ones work just fine. I don't know why an electric one that takes up space on the counter 24/7 when it gets used for all of 10 seconds is necessary."
11. "100% all kitchen stuff like KitchenAids, mixing bowls, old Pyrex, old wooden spoons, Dutch ovens, etc. all were better before the '90s. Newer items of all these things are flimsy."
12. "Hardwired network connections."
"I still have my desktop on a LAN cable (because why the hell would I use Wi-Fi on something that never moves), and someone was giving me shit about it once, saying there's no reason to use physical cables anymore and they're obsolete. I don't have to worry about authentication, and no one from next door/outside can try to compromise my connection because it's physical. There's a lot of reasons to still use a cable."
13. "If I can find something that’s not reliant on electricity to operate, I’ll opt for it. I have a hand coffee grinder instead of an electric one, a French press instead of a coffee maker, and a hand crank pasta maker instead of a motor-operated or KitchenAid pasta attachment. I’ve gotten to a point where I’m trying to find items that can end up being heirlooms, that’s how well-built they are. Fuck planned obsolescence, honestly."
14. "I have a really nice binder that holds three to four small notebooks in it that I use for work. I transfer the major projects and such to Microsoft ToDo or OneNote, but for day-to-day note-taking, absolutely nothing beats pen and paper."
15. "The old 'unsafe' gas cans that don't leak gas all over the place."
16. "Actual address book. I have many contacts on my phone, but when I’m doing Christmas cards, invitations, or announcements, I go to the book every time."
17. "Old, dumb TV — I turn it on, and it works. My smart TV takes minutes to turn on and load: It downloads and installs mandatory updates, freezes up, restarts, plays ads, then freezes up again when I try to select what I want to watch."
18. "DVD and Blu-ray. Streaming is almost never at anything approaching full resolution."
"And streaming is getting increasingly more expensive. I work in a charity shop, and we have a fairly good DVD section. Every time Netflix increases its fees or pisses off people by removing movies/series, our sales numbers go up. Plus, we charge, like, 50 cents per DVD (buy two, get one free), so a number of customers use us like a sort of rental service."
19. "Mechanical wristwatch. Technically keeps worse time than a $12 quartz Casio, but they are amazing little machines/engines you can wear on your wrist (and are still only off by a few seconds a day)."
20. "I still have a micro-cassette player that I've had since 1988. I recorded my dad and mom (who have passed away) and myself when I was 18. It’s priceless. It stopped working recently, but I just replaced the belt, and it works perfectly now."
21. "Wired mouse for my computer and wired controllers for gaming. Why would you want to bother with having to charge things that you only use in one place anyway?"
22. "A few years ago, I was really broke and had no car, so I bought a 1997 Buick Park Avenue with 200,000 miles on it. That car lasted all the way up to 350,000 miles. Yeah, stuff broke on it, but it was so easy to fix, and parts were so cheap. I had zero mechanical skills, and I was able to bring that car back from the dead on three separate occasions with incredibly basic tools just by reading a manual. They literally do not make cars like that anymore."
23. "Wired headphones. Wireless earbuds make me irrationally angry; it just seems so frivolous and easy to lose."
24. "My #7 Griswold cast iron skillet. Small logo, so it isn’t that old, but it’s from 1938–1957. I use it for scrambled eggs, cornbread, quiche, and kielbasa — I love it. It is way better than modern cast iron; the company polished the interior surface to make it super nonstick."
Is there any piece of obsolete technology you still use because you can't stand the modern version? Tell us about it in the comments or fill out this anonymous form!
Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.