I loved my Zune HD, it had one of the best interfaces for dealing with podcasts that was available at the time. Tons of capacity, great on device playlist and queue management too. I love having access to tons of music via Spotify, but I also miss the days of having room for just 5-10 albums, and having to really curate my music collection. I got embarrassingly familiar with Green Day as an 8th grader with only a 512MB Sandisk to work with. And though the Zune had plenty more capacity, that didn't stop me from listening to BTBAM's Colors on repeat as I walked around campus a few years later. Good times.
My 2nd gen Zune got stolen in 2011 :( I loved that thing. Of course by that point I was using my iPhone for a lot of stuff, but it was just such a lovely piece of hardware I'd probably still be using it occasionally if I had it.
* My HP LaserJet 1200 will turn 21 in a few months. Might have another 30 years in it.
* My NES is 33 years old this month. I've replaced the 72-pin connector, but that's it. Everything on it could be replaced, so it'll last as long as I want.
* I've a Panasonic flip clock from the very early 1980s. Still works great after carefully refurbishing it. Radio quality is still quite good.
* My father's trains I think he bought in West Germany in the late 1960s. The locomotive is still on its original motor, and may still be when I pass in 50 years.
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I'm sure my father's old HP calculators are still working. He bought them in the 70s, but sold them to collectors in tight times in the mid 2000s.
I'm impressed with even the new HP printers given the substantial engineering that's gone into reducing cost. It seems both low cost and longevity are achievable with the printers-and-ink business model (which incentivizes both of those for the manufacturer).
My dad collected LGB trains and gave a lot of them to my youngest son. My kid is only 5 years old but understands the value and scarcity and takes really good care of them. They're his most prized possessions. I told him that he can give them to his son or grandson someday.
In also have a LaserJet 1200. On a recent video call, people were surprised to see the relic in my office. I made the joke that it's old enough to vote and then go out drinking after.
They tend to go 400,000 pages before needing a new fuser, and at least 200,000 pages before new rollers.
It's 600dpi and networkable. It supports JetDirect, PCL5 and PCL6. I don't see a "need" to replace them (for home use) in my lifetime.
I just keep it on a switched surge protector because it does draw around 5W of phantom power I think, so it's only on (and on the wireless network) when it needs to be.
My HP Scanjet IIcx scanner is about 30 years old and still works fine. SCSI interface.
I did have to replace the scanner top with a white piece of solid plastic. The original top was very thin plastic veneer bonded onto a foam rubber base which of course by now has self-destructed.
How did HPE and HP fall from the top of the industry in respect to the bottom over those 30 years?
iPhone 7 used by my daughter since she broke her P30.
2014 vintage Latitude E6440 work laptop that simply refuses to die and since I am a SAP developer on ECC 6 there is no justification for giving me anything more modern.
I like old gadgets and collect them to have and to use.
- Nikon LS-IV 35mm film scanner.
- 2007 MacBook running OSX 10.4 because 10.4 is the last version to support Classic Environment which I need to use Nikon Scan for mac. Works great but I can't access the internet securely so I don't connect it to a network.
- Gameboy Pocket with Pokemon Red along with the Prima strategy guide.
- Sony Play Station. The first one.
- Xbox. The first one. No controllers though.
- A few cameras made between 1950 and 1990 that I use regularly. All work well. Before smart phones, digital cameras and PCs were the original obsolete the day you bought it items. I've never cared for the churn and prefer film for this reason.
- An adding machine from the 1920s. Probably my oldest gadget at the moment.
Frequently, Amazon. I also buy from a local shop but Amazon usually has better prices as much as it pains me. The film I shoot is usually 400TX or HP5 for B&W. For color I usually shoot Ektar 100 or Porta. I shoot both 35mm and 120 format film.
> and are you developing on your own in a darkroom or sending it out to a lab
Lately I use a local lab.
I also have all of the equipment to develop and print B&W film. My plan is to build complete darkroom in my basement. The pandemic has put my plans on hold for the time being though.
I buy film from Film Photography Project, B&H, Adorama, and FreeStyle Photo. Most of the brick and mortar camera stores that still exist sell some film. For development I do black and white at home and send color out to thedarkroom.com because I don't shoot enough color to make the chemistry cost effective. I print black and white in my bathroom darkroom.
I'm still able to find 35mm, 120 and 4x5 film easily. I have a 127 camera that is a bit harder to find film for.
Glad to see there are others on HN that are keeping film alive. The great thing about film cameras is they aren't obsolete until the film is impossible to find. Even then there are work arounds and modifications that can be made. A local shop used to sand 120 roles to fit 620 cameras for example. They also cut film to fit Minox cartridges.
> IIRC the Classic Environment was never supported on Intel, even in Tiger on Intel.
Nikon Scan software for MacOS will only work with MacOS that has classic environment support. I don't know all of the specifics but I can tell you that my efforts to run the software on newer versions of the OS (10.6 and up) were met with errors stating the app required classic environment.
> Also, have you tried VueScan?
Yes, I appreciate the work the software developers have done to continue supporting old scanners. I'd rather not pay for closed source software to support my scanner at the moment when I can use the software that was part of the package Nikon originally provided as part of the purchase price of the scanner. I might change my mind if the price was more appealing for the version of VueScan required to unlocked support for dedicated film scanners. I could see myself paying $20-$30 but probably not $100 when I have the option to pay nothing.
For the $100 you do get basically a perpetual license with updates, so it's not really a bad deal if you have an older scanner that it will work with. And it will run on Linux as well.
The oldest camera I have that I still use (there's a few that are 'retired') is my c. 1954 Speed Graphic.
True, probably if I did not have my old macbook handy I would pay the $100. When it dies or becomes unusable I'll pay for VueScan. For now I'm telling myself I'm keeping two pieces of old tech out of the land fill.
The speed graphic is a neat camera. I used to have a busch press camera of a similar vintage but sold it a few years ago. Never used enough to justify keeping it. Plus it was just too heavy for my style.
My oldest camera in regular use is my Leica M2. The serial number dates it to 1958. It was my favorite camera until a Rolleiflex stole my heart. If you haven't tried one yet I really recommend it. With the exception of the film counter resent lever that is too easy to bump on accident the 2.8f is the most well thought out camera I have used. I like to take portraits and people really gravitate to the Rolleiflex. It's a lot of fun.
I had for a while a Mamiya C330, because it was a lot cheaper than a Rollei. And interchangeable lenses! It was a lot of fun, but I ended up trading that and an RB67 for a Hasselblad.
Apple //c from 1984 (with the original receipt!) The composite video output means I can plug it right into my 50" tv without any special hardware and everything looks great.
I removed the disk drive cable from the motherboard and plugged a floppy EMU in, and now my kids play Lemonade Stand, Dig Dug, Oregon Trail, Carmen San Diego, and dozens of other classic games.
https://www.bigmessowires.com/floppy-emu/
I just got a Floppy EMU for my Macintosh SE, and it’s working great! Have been playing many memorable games from my childhood with the next generation of computer users.
This is only a video quality thing, but you might consider getting an upscaler to get better quality video out of your composite output. I use this one for composite sources: https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/retrotink-2x
The TV by itself might do it just fine! They often have good analog to digital converters built in as shown by Technology Connections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC5Zr3NC2PY
The composite video output on the back of a computer at a time when many televisions didn't have composite inputs was pretty advanced. At the time, we had to use a converter (I believe to UHF) that screwed on to two terminals on the back of our tv set.
The fact that, 36 years later, I can plug the //c straight into the composite input on a modern LCD tv and have everything work just fine is impressive to me.
My 1984 IBM Model M is still a joy to type on. Every key still works fine, and I wouldn't trade it for any keyboard made in the last 20 years even if new ones come in colours other than beige or weigh less than 10 pounds.
I have an AT to PS/2 adapter. I don't think motherboards will stop having PS/2 ports in the foreseeable future, and arguments can be made that PS/2 is still the superior connector for keyboards in terms of latency, simultaneous key presses, using hardware interrupts instead of software, and general authenticity of using a connector from the 80s to connect an 80s keyboard.
I got a stack of Model Ms from a school surplus sale in 1996; spent some time cleaning them up, and never worried about having a keyboard until earlier this year, when the last one finally died. I'm sure I could go through the stack again and refurbish most if not all of them for another 20 years service.
Oh man, I used to use my grandfather's Leica M-series camera when I was in high school. That was some seriously good glass that he had. It was really great for doing sports shots since looking through the rangefinder, I could see what was outside the frame of the telephoto lens to catch the full action.
I'm a photographer for my school's newspaper and I do the same with my Fuji X-Pro2. The optical finder lets me monitor when the action is coming into the frame, and there's even a small electronic finder in the corner to show me exactly what the sensor sees.
Sansui G-8700DB 160 watt receiver from the late 70s. Not the oldest, but a major favorite. I got it at a thrift store in the early 00s. Absolute unit, probably 25 kilos. The connectors are all on the side because the heat sink takes up the whole rear panel. Every switch, circuit and light bulb works perfectly.
It's hooked up to my computer via a nothing-fancy DAC and out to a pair of tidy Linn bookshelf speakers, probably 80s vintage. If this office over the garage is rockin', don't bother knockin'.
I don't want to be a downer, and that in parent's link sure is a beautiful unit, but have you checked what the always-on electricity consumption is for the device?
I had a Technics SA-400 from about the same time period, but I sold it on a couple of years ago. Still working great according to the guy I sold it to.
* Atari Portfolio from 1989, still runs great and has some ok games. Extention cards are flaking out though and i should get myself a serial or parallel adapter. Never any luck with an ATM either ;)
* original Gameboy from around the same time, could use a refurbishment or at least a good scrub. And some more/new games.
* iMac G4, The Lamp, works perfectly but I don't really know what to do with it. Still, even powered off a thing of beauty so thats ok.
Thinkpad T40. I bought it used about 9 years ago,I think it's about at least 15 years old. Still runs as the day it was made.And the keyboard! They don't make them so comfy anymore.
Body thermometer with mercury. It's got to be at least 30 years old.
I daily one ThinkPad X220 (2011), keep another one sterile for travel, and over time have bought a dozen more for family and friends. Simplifies my tech support chores. Fast enough, parts available, sturdy, good battery life, great keyboard, $100.
I was thinking that the oldest stuff I have that I use (aside from furniture I inherited from my grandfather which I have no idea how old it is) are musical instruments. I have a ca 1969 Gibson EB-3 bass which is my oldest instrument. Of the stuff I've bought new it'd be my first guitar, a cheap classical guitar I bought for around $100 in 1986. The oldest electronic item is probably the Roland D-110 module I bought used and likely was made in 1990–91 and the oldest electronic item I bought new would be my Roland A90EX keyboard which I bought in 1999. I don't think I have anything musical less than 19 years old.
I think so! I've got an "Aloha" branded mahogany parlour guitar that dates from somewhere around then, it's tricky to narrow down any further than that though. Still sounds fantastic.
Panasonic 12V battery drill from the days when NiMH batteries were a new exciting upgrade! Form factor the same and I could use the new batteries in my old drill. But when that drill started to fail I cut the handle/battery mount off to use in my bike lights (I still have that part... does that count?)
On that note: remember when rechargeable bike lights took 10-12 hours to charge? Using drill batteries with a 1 hour charge was revolutionary, especially for overnight bike races.
I've got a radiometer which I bought 50 years ago in second grade. It's my single longest-term possession. The bulb is encased in a cube of clear resin, which is probably the only reason it's survived this long.
I have a 1914 Victrola phonograph that I occasionally amuse the kids with. What amuses me is that the windup clockwork record player is a century older than my iPhone but arguably a technological ancestor. Also, no DRM, I can play century old audio tracks from any manufacturer with the turn of a crank.
Works ok. Was still using it a few months ago, but the wheel has started to stick a little in one direction, so I replaced it and now use it as a floater.
195 comments
[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 222 ms ] thread* My NES is 33 years old this month. I've replaced the 72-pin connector, but that's it. Everything on it could be replaced, so it'll last as long as I want.
* I've a Panasonic flip clock from the very early 1980s. Still works great after carefully refurbishing it. Radio quality is still quite good.
* My father's trains I think he bought in West Germany in the late 1960s. The locomotive is still on its original motor, and may still be when I pass in 50 years.
-----
I'm sure my father's old HP calculators are still working. He bought them in the 70s, but sold them to collectors in tight times in the mid 2000s.
I think I might have had that same Panasonic flip clock/radio as a teenager. Got rid of it long ago after a significant number of digits broke off.
It's 600dpi and networkable. It supports JetDirect, PCL5 and PCL6. I don't see a "need" to replace them (for home use) in my lifetime.
I just keep it on a switched surge protector because it does draw around 5W of phantom power I think, so it's only on (and on the wireless network) when it needs to be.
I did have to replace the scanner top with a white piece of solid plastic. The original top was very thin plastic veneer bonded onto a foam rubber base which of course by now has self-destructed.
How did HPE and HP fall from the top of the industry in respect to the bottom over those 30 years?
2014 vintage Latitude E6440 work laptop that simply refuses to die and since I am a SAP developer on ECC 6 there is no justification for giving me anything more modern.
- Nikon LS-IV 35mm film scanner.
- 2007 MacBook running OSX 10.4 because 10.4 is the last version to support Classic Environment which I need to use Nikon Scan for mac. Works great but I can't access the internet securely so I don't connect it to a network.
- Gameboy Pocket with Pokemon Red along with the Prima strategy guide.
- Sony Play Station. The first one.
- Xbox. The first one. No controllers though.
- A few cameras made between 1950 and 1990 that I use regularly. All work well. Before smart phones, digital cameras and PCs were the original obsolete the day you bought it items. I've never cared for the churn and prefer film for this reason.
- An adding machine from the 1920s. Probably my oldest gadget at the moment.
Frequently, Amazon. I also buy from a local shop but Amazon usually has better prices as much as it pains me. The film I shoot is usually 400TX or HP5 for B&W. For color I usually shoot Ektar 100 or Porta. I shoot both 35mm and 120 format film.
> and are you developing on your own in a darkroom or sending it out to a lab
Lately I use a local lab.
I also have all of the equipment to develop and print B&W film. My plan is to build complete darkroom in my basement. The pandemic has put my plans on hold for the time being though.
I'm still able to find 35mm, 120 and 4x5 film easily. I have a 127 camera that is a bit harder to find film for.
Also, have you tried VueScan? It supports my similarly-ancient Microtek film scanner on modern Win/Mac/Linux computers: https://www.hamrick.com/
I have this intel based macbook: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-cor...
> IIRC the Classic Environment was never supported on Intel, even in Tiger on Intel.
Nikon Scan software for MacOS will only work with MacOS that has classic environment support. I don't know all of the specifics but I can tell you that my efforts to run the software on newer versions of the OS (10.6 and up) were met with errors stating the app required classic environment.
> Also, have you tried VueScan?
Yes, I appreciate the work the software developers have done to continue supporting old scanners. I'd rather not pay for closed source software to support my scanner at the moment when I can use the software that was part of the package Nikon originally provided as part of the purchase price of the scanner. I might change my mind if the price was more appealing for the version of VueScan required to unlocked support for dedicated film scanners. I could see myself paying $20-$30 but probably not $100 when I have the option to pay nothing.
The oldest camera I have that I still use (there's a few that are 'retired') is my c. 1954 Speed Graphic.
The speed graphic is a neat camera. I used to have a busch press camera of a similar vintage but sold it a few years ago. Never used enough to justify keeping it. Plus it was just too heavy for my style.
My oldest camera in regular use is my Leica M2. The serial number dates it to 1958. It was my favorite camera until a Rolleiflex stole my heart. If you haven't tried one yet I really recommend it. With the exception of the film counter resent lever that is too easy to bump on accident the 2.8f is the most well thought out camera I have used. I like to take portraits and people really gravitate to the Rolleiflex. It's a lot of fun.
http://web.eecs.umich.edu/~srs/Antiques/templ.php?pid=981&co...
8 transistors! It's a family heirloom (grandpa built these at the Admiral factory in Chicago). I wouldn't let it sit silent, ever.
I removed the disk drive cable from the motherboard and plugged a floppy EMU in, and now my kids play Lemonade Stand, Dig Dug, Oregon Trail, Carmen San Diego, and dozens of other classic games. https://www.bigmessowires.com/floppy-emu/
My sister and I played hours of Lemonade Stand, Summer Games, GATO, and Carmen Sandiego.
I wish I had the //E with color, though.
Is this uncommon?
The fact that, 36 years later, I can plug the //c straight into the composite input on a modern LCD tv and have everything work just fine is impressive to me.
Do you have a USB adaptor for yours?
It's hooked up to my computer via a nothing-fancy DAC and out to a pair of tidy Linn bookshelf speakers, probably 80s vintage. If this office over the garage is rockin', don't bother knockin'.
Here's a photo (not my one, but the same) - https://external-preview.redd.it/LjSphe7ctrkecpkmC_r97bMzzgg...
* original Gameboy from around the same time, could use a refurbishment or at least a good scrub. And some more/new games.
* iMac G4, The Lamp, works perfectly but I don't really know what to do with it. Still, even powered off a thing of beauty so thats ok.
* Handspring Treo PDA
* Nintendo NES
* iPod Nano 1st Gen
On that note: remember when rechargeable bike lights took 10-12 hours to charge? Using drill batteries with a 1 hour charge was revolutionary, especially for overnight bike races.
Not that Edison wouldn't have included DRM if he could have done.
Mostly though I don't keep old stuff kicking around, if I get a new computer for instance then the old one goes on eBay straight away.
Amazingly, it's still on the original battery!!!!
I've got a Kenwood TS-520 ham radio from the 70s which I use occasionally.
Also a first-gen IBM Selectric typewriter, which would place it somewhere between 1961 and 1971.
The AT&T desk phone sitting next to me has a "Warranty expires 12/87" sticker on the bottom.
All this old stuff is seriously built to last, and most of the radios either came with schematics or have a schematic glued to the inside of the case.
One of these:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c1/c6/d6/c1c6d6c43a9bfd3dd452...
Works ok. Was still using it a few months ago, but the wheel has started to stick a little in one direction, so I replaced it and now use it as a floater.