Any non-“smart” things. Light bulbs, 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.
rustybeancake , Burak The Weekender / pexels Report
Books. I take books out the library, read them, return them. Seeing what books are available on my “want to read list” is a fun game in itself.
rustybeancake , Abby Chung / pexels Report
Not exactly obsolete, but I’ve been told it’s odd in 2023. 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.
Edit: and for all you “bUt ThAt’S mOrE eXpEnSiVeR!” folks, no it ain’t. I’m in my 40s. I listen to mostly the same s**t I listened to in the 90s, and I’ve already had most of my music collection for 25+ years. I’m buying 3 new CDs a year, max.
Dr_Girlfriend_81 , cottonbro studio / pexels Report
100% all kitchen stuff like kitchenaids, mixing bowls, old Pyrex, old wooden spoons, Dutch ovens, ect all were better before the 90’s newer items of all these things especially Pyrex are flimsy. The appliances have planned obsolescence and new Pyrex baking dishes I’m scared to even use in the oven because I’ve had 2 explode on me. My old ones I inherited from my grandmother never given me an issue
iHaveaQuestionTrans , Tina Witherspoon / unsplash Report
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.
lemontreetops , shrk / flickr Report
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.
lilduf95 , cottonbro studio / pexels Report
A normal paper calendar. Idk why i just don’t check the calendar on my phone, and I sometimes use a 50 something year old radio because it sounds nice, especially when my headphones run out of battery.
Kjabus , Leeloo Thefirst / pexels Report
Mechanical wrist watch. 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).
Conundrum1911 , Philip Lindvall / pexels Report
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. I have a French press instead of a coffee maker. I have a hand crank pasta maker instead of a motor operated or a 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. F**k planned obsolescence, honestly.
whataboutsam , Mizuno K / pexels Report
I enjoy talking to a person with instead of doing something purely online. (Some banking, customer service, general questions about product…etc…)
Guppy-Warrior , Mike Jones Report
I still use a washer from the early 2000’s. It’s very analog. Parts are easy to replace and it keeps chugging along. We have a local appliance shop that still stocks parts.
My parents buy a new washer about every 2-3 years because of technology issues.
Mines ugly, but it works.
Now, that being said, if and when I upgrade. I’ll probably upgrade to a speed Queen.
Fuel_junkie , Carlos Lindner Report
My #7 Griswold cast iron skillet. Small logo so it isn’t that old, but it’s from 1938-1957. I use it to scramble eggs, bake cornbread, chocolate cornbread, quiche, and kielbasa, and I love it. It is way better than modern cast iron, the company polished the interior surface to make it super non-stick.
SeddelCougar , Jarek Ceborski Report
I have a really nice binder that holds 3-4 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.
chogram , Karolina Grabowska Report
Old tools. My garage sale planes are as good as anything made today. My panel saw is perfect. Now, there’s a bunch of survivorship bias and sharpening going on here, but I love them.
chiffed , cottonbro studio Report
A double edged razor. Much better and closer shave, it eliminated razor bump and ingrown hairs for me, new blades are $.10 when purchased 100 at a time from many online vendors.
RealMichiganMAGA , Odoyle5150 / wikipedia Report
Wired mouse for my computer, and wired controllers for gaming. Why would you want to bother with having to change things that you always only use in one place any way?
tbone42617 , Ryutaro Tsukata / pexels Report
Old dumb tv. Turn it on and it works. My smart TV takes minutes to turn on and load, download and install mandatory update, freeze up, restart, play ads, then freeze up again when I try to select what I want to actually watch.
SNES_Salesman , Nguyen Huy / pexels Report
I still have a micro cassette player that i have since 1988. I recorded my dad, my mum, who have passed away, myself when I was 18. It’s priceless. It stopped working recently but I just replaced the belt and it works now perfectly.
dougheadline , cottonbro studio / pexels Report
Cash. I live in one of the most digitalized countries in the world and we are already so cashless that some places don’t even accept cash anymore, even though they’re still required to by law.
I still insist on paying with cash to everyones annoyance. It doesn’t rely on power or internet and it’s anonymeous, the latter being important to me.
JanetWuzHere , Ivan Samkov Report
I love analogue photography!
I recognize that a digital camera is better in most respects like resolution (unless you’re using large format cameras or special film), number of images, image rate, immediate results, ability to delete images without recourse, and so on.
But I have yet to handle a camera that feels as nice as a solid all metal mechanical marvel from decades ago, still working fine today. Even if not, these can still be serviced and handed down for generations.
Plus you can try many different types and formats of cameras for a fairly low price.
mampfer , Alex Andrews Report
I use VLC media player. It’s been around since like 2000, and it’s much better than the built-in video player which doesn’t even support streaming or any advanced features that VLC has.
HotChilliWithButter , Donald Tong Report
I used to wear a smartwatch. I travel internationally a lot for work now, and it was annoying that I had to connect to the internet to access the app to change time zones. So now I just wear a $20 Casio that lets me cycle time zones at the push of a button. Extra bonus is I don’t need to charge it, which is convenient on its own and one less cord I need to bring.
edit: Never knew it was even called this, but after many comments: yes, it is a Casio Royale. Never even knew it was a whole thing, it was just what I grabbed off of Amazon at some point. Love the thing though.
MuzzledScreaming , Luke Chesser Report
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 3 separate occaisions with incredibly basic tools just by reading a manual.
They literally do not make cars like that anymore.
Vict0r117 , Mihis Alex Report
I still collect tons of FLACs and mp3s and I use an old version of iTunes running on an old Mac Mini to curate it all. There’s approx. 6 TB of JUST live music in my library. I HATE Apple Music and I still think iTunes was the best curation and media playing tool for the desktop computer. I hate streaming, i like OWNING my mp3s. Apparently this means I am a dinosaur but this is the way I like to collect and experience the music i own
I liked that I could play music, subscribe to podcasts, and watch video in iTunes. It was the best all-purpose media player/library. When they split it up so you couldn’t play podcasts in iTunes anymore I was so pissed
The destruction of iTunes in order to create separate apps/players necessary to experience one exclusive file type was an incredibly stupid and pointless decision. I could play mp4s and .avi files in iTunes alongside mp3s. AACs, WAV files, and podcasts. I could use my iPod or sync playlists on my phone. Now I can’t, and no one has been able to give me a reason why. iTunes was great the way it was and they killed it for seemingly no reason. I refuse to use Apple Music. For one thing, *I like cover art on my albums.* You can barely see it in Apple Music. It’s just a much, much weaker product than iTunes ever was. I still have no idea why they “fixed” something that wasn’t broken at all
guestpass127 , Lee Campbell Report
My wife recently cancelled Disney+ and brought out this massive collection of old VHS tapes to make the kids go through. I had forgotten how awesome it is actually owning a copy of a piece of media, instead of having to search online to see what platforms it might be streaming on.
ParrotOx-CDXX , Bruno Guerrero Report
Any non-“smart” things. Light bulbs, 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.
rustybeancake , Burak The Weekender / pexels Report
Books. I take books out the library, read them, return them. Seeing what books are available on my “want to read list” is a fun game in itself.
rustybeancake , Abby Chung / pexels Report
Not exactly obsolete, but I've been told it's odd in 2023. 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.
Edit: and for all you "bUt ThAt'S mOrE eXpEnSiVeR!" folks, no it ain't. I'm in my 40s. I listen to mostly the same s**t I listened to in the 90s, and I've already had most of my music collection for 25+ years. I'm buying 3 new CDs a year, max.
Dr_Girlfriend_81 , cottonbro studio / pexels Report
100% all kitchen stuff like kitchenaids, mixing bowls, old Pyrex, old wooden spoons, Dutch ovens, ect all were better before the 90's newer items of all these things especially Pyrex are flimsy. The appliances have planned obsolescence and new Pyrex baking dishes I'm scared to even use in the oven because I've had 2 explode on me. My old ones I inherited from my grandmother never given me an issue
iHaveaQuestionTrans , Tina Witherspoon / unsplash Report
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.
lemontreetops , shrk / flickr Report
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.
lilduf95 , cottonbro studio / pexels Report
A normal paper calendar. Idk why i just don't check the calendar on my phone, and I sometimes use a 50 something year old radio because it sounds nice, especially when my headphones run out of battery.
Kjabus , Leeloo Thefirst / pexels Report
Mechanical wrist watch. 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).
Conundrum1911 , Philip Lindvall / pexels Report
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. I have a French press instead of a coffee maker. I have a hand crank pasta maker instead of a motor operated or a 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. F**k planned obsolescence, honestly.
whataboutsam , Mizuno K / pexels Report
I enjoy talking to a person with instead of doing something purely online. (Some banking, customer service, general questions about product...etc...)
Guppy-Warrior , Mike Jones Report
I still use a washer from the early 2000’s. It’s very analog. Parts are easy to replace and it keeps chugging along. We have a local appliance shop that still stocks parts.
My parents buy a new washer about every 2-3 years because of technology issues.
Mines ugly, but it works.
Now, that being said, if and when I upgrade. I’ll probably upgrade to a speed Queen.
Fuel_junkie , Carlos Lindner Report
My #7 Griswold cast iron skillet. Small logo so it isn’t that old, but it’s from 1938-1957. I use it to scramble eggs, bake cornbread, chocolate cornbread, quiche, and kielbasa, and I love it. It is way better than modern cast iron, the company polished the interior surface to make it super non-stick.
SeddelCougar , Jarek Ceborski Report
I have a really nice binder that holds 3-4 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.
chogram , Karolina Grabowska Report
Old tools. My garage sale planes are as good as anything made today. My panel saw is perfect. Now, there's a bunch of survivorship bias and sharpening going on here, but I love them.
chiffed , cottonbro studio Report
A double edged razor. Much better and closer shave, it eliminated razor bump and ingrown hairs for me, new blades are $.10 when purchased 100 at a time from many online vendors.
RealMichiganMAGA , Odoyle5150 / wikipedia Report
Wired mouse for my computer, and wired controllers for gaming. Why would you want to bother with having to change things that you always only use in one place any way?
tbone42617 , Ryutaro Tsukata / pexels Report
Old dumb tv. Turn it on and it works. My smart TV takes minutes to turn on and load, download and install mandatory update, freeze up, restart, play ads, then freeze up again when I try to select what I want to actually watch.
SNES_Salesman , Nguyen Huy / pexels Report
I still have a micro cassette player that i have since 1988. I recorded my dad, my mum, who have passed away, myself when I was 18. It’s priceless. It stopped working recently but I just replaced the belt and it works now perfectly.
dougheadline , cottonbro studio / pexels Report
Cash. I live in one of the most digitalized countries in the world and we are already so cashless that some places don't even accept cash anymore, even though they're still required to by law.
I still insist on paying with cash to everyones annoyance. It doesn't rely on power or internet and it's anonymeous, the latter being important to me.
JanetWuzHere , Ivan Samkov Report
I love analogue photography!
I recognize that a digital camera is better in most respects like resolution (unless you're using large format cameras or special film), number of images, image rate, immediate results, ability to delete images without recourse, and so on.
But I have yet to handle a camera that feels as nice as a solid all metal mechanical marvel from decades ago, still working fine today. Even if not, these can still be serviced and handed down for generations.
Plus you can try many different types and formats of cameras for a fairly low price.
mampfer , Alex Andrews Report
I use VLC media player. It's been around since like 2000, and it's much better than the built-in video player which doesn't even support streaming or any advanced features that VLC has.
HotChilliWithButter , Donald Tong Report
I used to wear a smartwatch. I travel internationally a lot for work now, and it was annoying that I had to connect to the internet to access the app to change time zones. So now I just wear a $20 Casio that lets me cycle time zones at the push of a button. Extra bonus is I don't need to charge it, which is convenient on its own and one less cord I need to bring.
edit: Never knew it was even called this, but after many comments: yes, it is a Casio Royale. Never even knew it was a whole thing, it was just what I grabbed off of Amazon at some point. Love the thing though.
MuzzledScreaming , Luke Chesser Report
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 3 separate occaisions with incredibly basic tools just by reading a manual.
They literally do not make cars like that anymore.
Vict0r117 , Mihis Alex Report
I still collect tons of FLACs and mp3s and I use an old version of iTunes running on an old Mac Mini to curate it all. There's approx. 6 TB of JUST live music in my library. I HATE Apple Music and I still think iTunes was the best curation and media playing tool for the desktop computer. I hate streaming, i like OWNING my mp3s. Apparently this means I am a dinosaur but this is the way I like to collect and experience the music i own
I liked that I could play music, subscribe to podcasts, and watch video in iTunes. It was the best all-purpose media player/library. When they split it up so you couldn't play podcasts in iTunes anymore I was so pissed
The destruction of iTunes in order to create separate apps/players necessary to experience one exclusive file type was an incredibly stupid and pointless decision. I could play mp4s and .avi files in iTunes alongside mp3s. AACs, WAV files, and podcasts. I could use my iPod or sync playlists on my phone. Now I can't, and no one has been able to give me a reason why. iTunes was great the way it was and they killed it for seemingly no reason. I refuse to use Apple Music. For one thing, *I like cover art on my albums.* You can barely see it in Apple Music. It's just a much, much weaker product than iTunes ever was. I still have no idea why they "fixed" something that wasn't broken at all
guestpass127 , Lee Campbell Report
My wife recently cancelled Disney+ and brought out this massive collection of old VHS tapes to make the kids go through. I had forgotten how awesome it is actually owning a copy of a piece of media, instead of having to search online to see what platforms it might be streaming on.
ParrotOx-CDXX , Bruno Guerrero Report