Items That People Still Use Today

Author Mike O'Brian

November 7th, 2023 1:10 PM

a woman using a hand held can opener

As much as we make advances in technology, there are more and more people going low tech and loving it! So we had to talk about it on The Mike & Carla Morning Show and it came to no surprise that a lot of listeners agree! Using a landline phone, hand cranked can opener and much more.

According to a recent survey put out by Reddit, a lot of people said that they rely on an old fashion pen and paper. Sure, you can put notes in your phone, even speak the notes into your phone. But there are a few of us that just love having the physical pen in hand and writing it out.

What “low tech” items are you still using?

Another one that came up on The M&C Morning Show was a calendar. Again, you have a calendar in your phone. Put the notes, schedule the appointments or just reminders right there in your phone to carry with you. However, even Mike O’Brian said that he loves the old fashion, industrial size calendar to write on and see right in front of his face!

Even Carla Rea has an old fashion phone hooked up to a land line. If you think about it, it never dies and when push comes to shove, the sound quality is so much better. So what is that low tech that you are still staying with?

A few listeners pointed out their stereo system. Well, the fact that we had to say “stereo” system should tell you it’s old right? Dueling cassette decks, an equalizer, turntable even came up. Count Carla in on that as well as she spends a lot of time on the weekends putting together her mix tapes!

Even watches and calculators popped up on the list of low tech items that people still count on! If you missed it this morning….take a couple of minutes and listen to the segment below from this morning and enjoy!

Mike O’Brian is the Program Director and Morning Show host on 96.3 KKLZ in Las Vegas, along with Carla Rea. He has been with the Beasley Media Group for almost 23 years. Mike was named one of the “Best Program Directors In America” by Radio Ink magazine. Over the years, “The Mike & Carla Morning Show” have been presented with a number of proclamations for their work in the community and numerous awards. Having lived in Las Vegas for over 35 years, he writes articles on living in Las Vegas, sports, and odd stories happening within the state of Nevada. Mike is the host of the morning show and program director of 96.3 KKLZ/Las Vegas. He has been doing mornings in Las Vegas for the past 38 years. Over the years, he has hosted a numerous amount of community events and has been the P.A. announcer for a number of sports teams in Las Vegas. He has written on living in Las Vegas, the sports teams here, as well as odd & little-known facts about Las Vegas & Nevada.

Vintage Gadgets: Outdated Tech That Still Sparks Joy

Best Buy has announced that starting in 2024, following this holiday season, they will discontinue the sale of DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K Ultra HD discs, both in their physical stores and online. They have said the reason for this decision is due to the increasing popularity of streaming services. This move aligns with the prevailing trend, as more people turn to streaming for their entertainment needs.

Physical Media

Physical media does come with certain inconveniences, such as taking up space and limited mobile accessibility. But there are still people who appreciate the more traditional way of enjoying movies and music. There are some advantages of owning Blu-rays and DVDs. These include owning what you buy and having bonus content you can’t get anywhere else.

Pagers!

In the ’90s, owning a pager was considered a status symbol and a fashion statement. Today, it’s even possible to purchase a fully functional vintage Motorola pager from online marketplaces like eBay.

Outdated but not obsolete.

With the widespread use of mobile phones and free calling applications that offer unlimited calls via Wi-Fi, traditional landlines may eventually become obsolete. However, the complete phasing out of this technology may take some time. This is because certain regions or countries still contend with unreliable internet or cellular coverage. As of August 2023, Community Phone reports that approximately 40.35 million households in the United States still maintain landline phones, and 38.1 million households have both a landline and a cell phone.

For some people, “new” technology doesn’t always mean “better.” On Reddit, a user started a discussion thread asking, “What outdated or obsolete tech are you still using and are perfectly happy with?” The thread received more than 16,000 responses from people who shared the outdated everyday items they still happily use. Check some of them out below.

A Physical Calculator
You probably haven’t seen a calculator in ages, but a Reddit user chimed in to say that, for them, the old-school scientific calculator beats the one on your phone or any app. They simply put it like this, “Honestly, a standard scientific calculator is just easier to use than your phone’s built-in scientific calculator.” It could be the fun button-tapping sound or the nostalgic thrill of typing in cheeky words with numbers that makes this person prefer calculators.

Kanizphoto/ Getty Images
Watches That Only Tell The Time
Smartwatches may pack in loads of features, but there’s a catch – they need regular charging and maintenance, and their battery life is shorter. On the flip side, traditional watches are a low-maintenance choice with longer battery life. In fact, a Redditor mentioned they still rock a “a lovely, inexpensive, bombproof, analog, big face Casio.” They also pointed out that smartwatches aren’t allowed at their job, so their trusty Casio gets the job done.

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CD Player, MP3 Player, and Vinyl Albums
If you’ve put a ton of effort into collecting CDs and vinyl records, and creating some killer playlists, why ditch them, right? One person told their story about growing up in the ’90s, building a massive CD collection, and stashing them all in one of those Case Logic CD binders. They fondly shared, “I still keep it with me in my car and it’s a wonderful trip down memory lane every time I open it. I laughed and cried a little when my kids friend asked me what it was and I said, ‘CDs’ and they followed up with, ‘What’s that?'” But also: not everything is available on streaming services. That obscure soundtrack or tribute album from the ’80s? Licensing issues may have prevented it from hitting the streamers. Love Joni Mitchell? Well, Spotify doesn’t have her catalog. Sure, you can subscribe to another service, but if you kept your old vinyl and have a turntable, you can listen to it the old school way.

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"I Love Wires"
You have people who can’t stand a tangle of wires in their tech setup, and then there’s that Reddit user who’s all about the wired life. They firmly believe that wired networking is “not obsolete or outdated.” According to them, it’s superior in every aspect, except for the mobility it lacks compared to wireless. They put it simply, “Wired is the ideal, you only go wireless if running cable is unfeasible for the situation.

Diana Sand/ Getty Images
A Regular Doorbell
A regular doorbell does its job well. It lets you know someone’s at the door. On the other hand, a video doorbell does the same but with the perk of letting you see and hear the person at your door, even if you’re not home. Someone mentioned they’d be up for a smart doorbell if it kept the data local. They said, “I don’t want anything being sent online, so I might need to set up my own system… I’ll just stick with the traditional kind.”

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Physical Buttons
A Redditor shared their affection for good old physical buttons, arguing that not everything needs to go the touchscreen route. They stressed the importance of having car radios equipped with buttons rather than screens, believing it’s a safer choice. They explained, “It’s easier for me to push a button to change the music while keeping my eyes on the road/ I can’t do that if my car has a screen. It increases distracted driving incidents.”

Supersmario/ Getty Images