Technology evolves so fast that the phone in your pocket is millions of times more powerful than all of NASA’s combined computing power in 1969 that helped put two astronauts on the moon. Now, we have new websites and platforms like big win at casino to enjoy our favourite games.
As we continue to make breakthroughs, more gadgets become relics of the past. So, we’ll list five gadgets you no longer need. Let’s see what replaced them—and why.
Typewriters
Typewriters are antique keyboards that directly print on paper. Before typewriters, all official documents and letters were written by hand or printed on a printing press, which was quite expensive. Typewriters were invented as an affordable alternative by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1868.
The first typewriters had mechanical keys attached to lever-like metal surfaces with raised letters and characters. When you press a key, an inked ribbon is sandwiched between the paper and the metal surfaces to print on paper.
It was a revolutionary invention that changed how businesses functioned and how people shared information. By the mid-1800s, they became indispensable in offices. They reigned for almost a century and were eventually replaced by computers. But even today, many people love the tactile feel of typewriters, especially poets and novelists, so they’re not completely dead yet. You can also enjoy the games from best casinos in Australia when you feel like you’re old.
Payphones
Before mobile phones took over, communication via payphones was the norm. Users could call through these public landlines and pay via coins, debit cards, or credit cards. Often payphones were set up inside booths or kiosks to give privacy to the user, which modern phones had to trade for mobility and convenience.
The first pay phone was installed in 1881, and by the 1900s, they were commonly seen in busy streets, train stations, and other public places. But they started to decline as the telecom giants AT&T and Verizon sold off their payphones in the mid-2000s.
Photographic Films
We’re in the era of instant photography, where taking and sharing a picture doesn’t take more than a few seconds. Before this, people used still cameras that used photographic films; the latter was invented in 1885.
Before this, photography was only accessible to the rich, but the invention of films commercialized photography. These light-sensitive photographic films were briefly exposed to light to capture images of objects and then chemically developed to produce visible images.
It was a time-consuming and expensive process, which led to the introduction of digital cameras in the 1990s. And by the end of the 20th century, photographic films and film cameras were obsolete.
Answering Machines
An answering machine does the same job as the voice mail system on your phone. The only difference is that an answering machine stores caller messages locally on storage mediums like cassettes, while a voice mail system stores them in a centralized computer server. If you find this useful, here’s how to set up voicemail on your Android phone.
The first answering machine was invented in the 1930s but only gained popularity in the 1980s. And by the early 2000s, voicemail had replaced answering machines, allowing users to access recorded messages anywhere.
Pagers (Beepers)
Before mobile phones were invented, people just had landlines, and there was no way to send an emergency message to someone. To solve this problem, Alfred J. Gross invented pagers in 1949 to use in hospitals. These were radio communication devices with unique numbers similar to telephones.
So here’s how a pager works: anyone who knows your pager number can send a message (a telephone number or a short text) to your pager via telephone. And when you receive the message, your pager displays it on the LCD screen.
While one-way pagers could simply receive messages, two-way pagers and response pagers could also send them. As mobile phones became popular, pagers started to phase out. However, they are still used for emergency services (although rarely) like healthcare and fire safety.
