Throwback Thursdays: Rare technology

Technology is ever evolving. And with the birth of a new tech device, often, another one must die. In the case of technology, loss is in many instances a welcome thing because as technology becomes dynamic, it improves.

 

Check out a list of tech devices that were once common but are becoming increasingly rare or have become completely obsolete due to the emergence of better technology.

 

 

Arcade Games

 

The video game arcade at the Sarit Centre used to be extremely popular with 90’s kids who would flock to the mall in droves over the weekend to play favourites like Pac Man, Marvel vs Capcom and Street Fighter. When consoles like the PlayStation arrived on the scene, the popularity of arcade games declined. Consequently, the video game arcade at the Sarit Centre was closed down.

 

Phone Booths

 

 

In the past, there were numerous phone booths scattered around Nairobi’s CBD. You remember the red and yellow phone booths, don’t you? However with the advent of the cell phone, phone booths were gradually phased out.

 

Floppy Disks

 

What can 1.44 MB of storage space hold today? Perhaps one or maybe two songs. 1.44 MB was the capacity of floppy disks (also known as diskettes). These disks were the standard devices used to store and transfer data. But newer devices like external hard disks and flash disks that can store much larger capacities of data have made floppy disks pretty much obsolete.

 

Old Cell Phones

 

 

Forget about the number of megapixels, processing speed or internal memory of phones. When mobile phones were relatively new to the market, just owning a phone was a big deal. Heck when phone models like the Nokia 3310, Ericsson, Siemens, Motorola and Sagem arrived on the market, they retailed for over 10,000 shillings! Sounds absurd, doesn’t it? Because today 10,000 shillings can buy you a fairly decent smartphone. Though not totally obsolete, these retro phones are uncommon today.

Audio Cassettes

 

Recall having to rewind with a biro instead of a click of a button? Inconvenient, wasn’t it? However thanks to CD’s, at least today you don’t have to deal with this inconvenience.

 

Walkmans

 

 

If you loved music the Walkman was a must have gadget. Before the emergence of the iPod and MP3 players the walkman was the most popular portable music gadget.

 

CRT Monitors

 

Though not totally obsolete, these monitors with protruding backs are becoming increasingly rare today because they have been replaced with LCD monitors that have better resolution and are eye friendly. Isn’t it a relief that you don’t have to squint at your computer screen and leave work with your eyes sore?

VCR’s

 

Before the VCD and the DVD there was the video cassette recorder. You probably watched classics movies by Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme on VCR.