Christmas wish lists and birthday requests are replete with desires for gadgets by small children and teenagers alike. Tablets, laptops, mp3 players, I phones and other android smartphones will more often than not, always make these shortlists. However, unlike, their children, most parents grew up at a time when the things they are now gifting their children seemed a mere fantasy. Who knew that a mobile phone would be able to scroll the internet, send voice messages, make video calls and take pictures?
In the late 1990s and early 2000s when persons like myself were growing up, cellphones were merely used to send and receive calls and text messages while others added an incentive as they came equipped with a game of snake. But now, it is a task and a half to keep up with the rapidly evolving gadgets that flood the marketplace daily. I am convinced that modern-day youngsters would be baffled by some of the now obsolete technology that in their heyday were in high demand. Let’s take a walk down memory lane.
Audio Cassette
Not too long ago, I would hurry home from school eager to arrive to record my favourite songs from the radio on to cassessetes that I would later playback at my own leisure. Well maybe it was long ago, I’m just in denial. Kids nowadays are of course more familiar with compact discs (CDs) to record their music and other forms of data by using a CD burner to burn the information on to the CD or downloading songs from the internet on to flash drives.
Video Home System (VHS) Cassette
I did the same with VHS Cassettes to record my favourite movies when they were aired on television so that I could watch again and again by inserting it into my dad’s VHS player. During my childhood, VHS cassettes were the most popular mediums for home entertainment. However, the introduction of the DVD stole the shine from VHS and arguably led to its demise.
Nintendo
If you had one of these, you were a cool kid. This was the last of the cartridge based console to be released by Nintendo. Oh I remember those days as cartridges were often removed and required blowing to remove dust before it was returned to the console so the game could continue.
Walkman
I remember my sister had a red one that I borrowed every now and then. The Walkman was originally used for portable audio cassette players from the late 1970s onwards. The Sony Walkman was blue and silver which contained bulky buttons. It also included an extra audio jack so two people could listen at a time.
The Phonebooth
Surely youngsters must be thinking to themselves, why would anyone need to go to a booth to make a call when persons have cellphones walking about in their pockets? They wouldn’t know that mobile phones back then weren’t as widespread as they are now and phone booths were the go-to for calling with the use of phone cards or coins that were inserted into the telephone prior to dialing.
To Read More: Purchase your copy of Volume 9 #7 March-April 2018
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Christmas wish lists and birthday requests are replete with desires for gadgets by small children and teenagers alike. Tablets, laptops, mp3 players, I phones and other android smartphones will more often than not, always make these shortlists. However, unlike, their children, most parents grew up at a time when the things they are now gifting their children seemed a mere fantasy. Who knew that a mobile phone would be able to scroll the internet, send voice messages, make video calls and take pictures?
In the late 1990s and early 2000s when persons like myself were growing up, cellphones were merely used to send and receive calls and text messages while others added an incentive as they came equipped with a game of snake. But now, it is a task and a half to keep up with the rapidly evolving gadgets that flood the marketplace daily. I am convinced that modern-day youngsters would be baffled by some of the now obsolete technology that in their heyday were in high demand. Let’s take a walk down memory lane.
Audio Cassette
Not too long ago, I would hurry home from school eager to arrive to record my favourite songs from the radio on to cassessetes that I would later playback at my own leisure. Well maybe it was long ago, I’m just in denial. Kids nowadays are of course more familiar with compact discs (CDs) to record their music and other forms of data by using a CD burner to burn the information on to the CD or downloading songs from the internet on to flash drives.
I did the same with VHS Cassettes to record my favourite movies when they were aired on television so that I could watch again and again by inserting it into my dad’s VHS player. During my childhood, VHS cassettes were the most popular mediums for home entertainment. However, the introduction of the DVD stole the shine from VHS and arguably led to its demise.
If you had one of these, you were a cool kid. This was the last of the cartridge based console to be released by Nintendo. Oh I remember those days as cartridges were often removed and required blowing to remove dust before it was returned to the console so the game could continue.
I remember my sister had a red one that I borrowed every now and then. The Walkman was originally used for portable audio cassette players from the late 1970s onwards. The Sony Walkman was blue and silver which contained bulky buttons. It also included an extra audio jack so two people could listen at a time.
Surely youngsters must be thinking to themselves, why would anyone need to go to a booth to make a call when persons have cellphones walking about in their pockets? They wouldn’t know that mobile phones back then weren’t as widespread as they are now and phone booths were the go-to for calling with the use of phone cards or coins that were inserted into the telephone prior to dialing.
To Read More: Purchase your copy of Volume 9 #7 March-April 2018
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