Have you ever reminisced about the technology you used as a child or teenager? It’s amazing how excited we were back then when using electronics like the Nintendo game console or a mobile phone the size of a toolbox. While we may make a fuss over receiving a delayed email or having a dropped call, the technologies we enjoy today would not come to be without these pioneers and the breakthroughs they delivered.

Today we will take a trip back to your childhood days and have a look at the technologies that used to fascinate us (and still do today, for different reasons).

Each of the technology has since been substituted with better gadgets or systems, but the significance they contributed to their field of use may never be replaced.

1. Portable Music – Walkman, Discman

The Walkman and Discman were essentially the predecessor to modern day iPods. The Walkman lasted less than 35 years.

Walkman

The Walkman TPS-L2 was the first portable audio cassette player that the world had ever seen. Sony had sold 220 million units worldwide since it’s introduction in the 1979. Back then, Sony had predicted a sales rate of 5000 units per month, but instead, a whooping 50,000 units were sold within the first two months.

That was perhaps not surprising given that it was the first time people could listen to music on-the-go. We were no longer confined to listening to music on the radio at home or in the car, the walkman allowed us to bring our favorite music on the bus or train, or when out for a jog. It was such a popular device in the 1980s that the term ‘Walkman‘ was officially included in the dictionary in 1986.

Discman

It got some competition from the Discman, as CDs became more popular in the early 80s. In 1984, the D-50 portable Compact Disc (CD) player of the Sony Discman was introduced. It had superior sound quality and the ability to skip tracks, giving users the choice to opt for higher quality audio formats. By 1999, Sony had shipped more than 10 million units worldwide.

The shift from physical audio storage to mp3 players began in 1997 with MPMan by SaeHan Information Systems, giving music lovers ease of access to music and larger storage space. The Walkman
was recently discontinued in January 2013 and it’s only a matter of time before CD players find their current decline a permanent destination.

2. Video Home System (VHS) technology

VHS was a household item for about 35 years and. People back then knew how horrible it was to ‘programme a VCR’.

Have you heard of the videotape format war? What initially began as a joint collaboration between JVC, Sony Corporation and Matsushita Electric (aka Panasonic) to create a home video standard for the Japanese consumer eventually fell apart – JVC eventually developed VHS (1973) and Sony developed Betamax (1975).

In 1980, the total number of videocassette recorder (VCR) units sold for VHS and Betamax formats were level at 10 million units each. But a mere 8 years later, VHS had the lead with over 200 million units; Betamax remained stagnant at 25 million units since 1984. VHS became the agent that brought movies from the theatres to the living room.

The decline of VHS technology came about when it gave way to optical disc formats such as the VCDs (1993) and DVDs (1996). While many manufacturers still produce combination (DVD+VHS) units, the VHS standalone unit was discontinued in Oct 2008.

Nevertheless, even though the last major Hollywood motion picture released in VHS was in 2005 (A History of Violence), blank tapes are still sold in many places as VHS VCRs are still owned by many households today.

3. LaserDisc (LD) Technology

LD technology was the basis for the development of CD and DVD. The laser disc lasted only 23 years.

First marketed in 1978 and produced by MCA, it was first known as DiscoVision; the first LD player was produced by Phillips. LD technology produced higher-quality video and audio compared to VHS but was significantly costlier as well. Each laser disc was 30 cm in diameter. In comparison, today’s DVD are a 12 cm across; the MiniDVD a mere 8 cm across

Back when the popularity of laser discs reached a slight peak in the 1990s, laser discs titles were often rented instead of purchased as it cost around USD100 to own a piece. It’s no surprise that laser discs only lasted until 2001, ending with the last title ‘The Cell’. Pioneer ceased production of the LD players in 2009, leaving behind a public craving for more refined audio and video quality for movie titles releases.

4. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

Although released in Japan in 1983, the U.S. would only see the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. Considered the best-selling console of its time, a total of over 60 million NES units were sold globally at the end of its run in 1995.

Famicom

The 8-bit video game console was an immediate hit when first released. In the Asian market, the console was marketed under the name ‘Family Computer’ or ‘Famicom’, except in South Korea, where it was known as ‘Hyundai Comboy’. By the end of 1984, Nintendo had sold over 2.5 million units of Famicom in the Japanese market.

NES had developed video game hits such as Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), which had grossed over US$500 million after selling more than 7 million copies in America and 4 million copies in Japan, earning itself the most successful standalone home video game in history.

More Games

In the 1990s, the next generation 16-bit video game consoles such as the Sega Genesis and Nintendo’s very own Super Nintendo Entertainment System were at its wake. They inevitably took over NES’s position, but not without being influenced by the new standards it had set for video game consoles – their then new 4-way directional control pad are still on most video game consoles today.

NES had also revived interest in video games for both adults and children after the video game crash of the early 1980s and even turned video games into a multi-billion dollar industry in only five years.

5. IBM PC & Compatibles

The IBM Personal Computer came into the world in 1981, and in many ways was the first true ‘PC’ setting the standard for many future PCs that follow. The line of true IBM PCs were discontinued in 1987.

Its influence back then was so widespread that its release resulted in the development of IBM Compatibles by other computer companies. These clones duplicated the key features of the original IBM PC and incorporated MS-DOS (a separate version of the PC-DOS which was the OS for IBM computers).

Many of these clones suffered from software and hardware compatibility issues. One notably successful clone was the Compaq Portable, which was not only 100% IBM PC compatible, but also the affords the portability (the size of a sewing machine) which IBM did not provide.

6. Dial-up Internet Access / Modem

While we may joke about how long ago dial-up feels like, it was only first introduced to the public in 1989 by The World. Want to know how dial-up sounded like? Click here.

It was the best of times (yay, we’re connected); it was the worst of times (for the love of bacon, load!). Who could’ve forgotten how we mischievously termed World Wide Web (WWW) as the World Wide Wait because of its slow and insufferable loading times!

Need for Speed

Over the past decade, we watched as dial-up internet access, made possible by 28.8k or 56k modems, get replaced by broadband access. Today, South Korea boasts the highest average peak connection at 48.8 Mbps, while the average peak speed in Hong Kong is 54.1 Mbps. And Google Fiber plans to push the limit some more, to up to 1000 Mbps.

While they bring faster and more stable connections to our homes and office, dial-up is slowly on the way out. Dial-up usage in the U.S. has dropped from about 40% in 2001 to only 6% in 2010.

7. Floppy Disk Drive & Diskettes

Frustrated because your 4GB pen drive is full? Well, back when floppy diskettes were a thing, we made due with less than 3MB per diskette (with an M, not a G). Nowadays, you rarely see a floppy disk drive in a new PC anymore.

Before USB flash drives, memory cards, portable hard disk drives and CD/DVD storage, we used to store computer documents in portable floppy diskettes. The first floppy diskettes were commercially available in 1971 and were 8 inches in diameter. It became smaller over the years, decreasing from 5.25 inches (Shugart Associates, 1976) to 3.5 inches (IBM, 1982).

Before It Became the Save Icon

As the floppy diskettes became more compact, storage capacity increased from 80Kb to 2.88MB. Even with such limited capacity, it did not stop the floppy diskettes from being the main means to transfer data into a computer – in fact, in 1997, there were 5 billion 3.5" floppy diskettes in use. As a result, many personal computers eventually came packaged with floppy disk drives.

Increasing software sizes demanded for larger storage capacity, giving rise toIomega zip drives (1994), recordable CDs (CD-R) (1988) and rewritable CDs (CD-RW) (1997), all of which can carry hundreds of MB in storage. They have yet gone into extinction in some places (like Japan and India), the floppy diskette is still heavily used in the millions, but Sony has officially stopped production of floppy diskettes in 2009.

8. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Screens & Monitors

If you’ve seen actors on TV smashing a large box-sized thing with a screen, that’s the CRT monitor. Used both as a computer screen and a TV screen, CRT monitors were big for a good century before giving way to LCD monitors in the year 2000.

CRT technology goes as far back as 1897, when the first cathode-ray tube was built. After the technology was used for television sets in the 1930s, we came to use it as part of the personal computer in the 80′s. Previously known as video display terminals, CRT monitors displayed only between 4 to 16 colors in the early 80′s.

The Better Alternative

LCD monitors only came in hard in the late 90′s, bringing rise to laptops, and later on, standalone LCD monitors which showed displays with higher (and multiple) resolutions, minus the bulkiness, flicker and energy consumption. LCD flat panel technology has also produced much larger screens that remain thin and mountable on walls, pushing display sizes to 40 inches and beyond.

Sticking around

India has only slightly more LCD TV shipments (10 million) than that of CRT TV shipments (9.3 million) last year. Worldwide, the numbers stand at 84.2% LCD TV versus 9.9% of CRT TV. Also expect yourself to see CRT monitors sticking around in scientific settings where response speed is crucial, such as for the study of the brain’s visual processing (e.g. psychophysics).

9. Film-based Cartridge Cameras – Kodak Instamatic Series

Before camera phones and digital point-and-shoots, many photographers used film-based cartridge cameras. The last Instamatic model sold was the X-15F in 1988, and the 126 and 110 film formats were discontinued in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

The Instamatic camera series featured the first cameras to afford automatic film loading, advancing and rewinding of the film. The most well-known cartridge film formats used were 126 for the bulkier and older camera (more than 50 million were sold in 1963-1970), and 110 for the lightweight and compact Pocket series (25 million sold in its first 3 years).

One might say that Kodak’s innovation of the cartridge film format and the popularity of its Instamatics brought point-and-shoots cameras to the limelight. And the digital onslaught came in and wipe them clean. Kodak discontinued most of its film production in the mid-90s all the way until the last Kodachrome roll ever to be produced in 2009. Look here to see what was caught in the last roll of Kodachrome film.

10. Dot Matrix Printers

The earliest computer printing was that of dot matrix printing or impact matrix printing which first emerged in 1970. In the mid-1990′s, it gave way to inkjet printers.

The world’s first dot matrix printer that had speeds of 30 characters per second (c/s). Before the 1990s, these dot matrix printers were the most frequently used printers for home computers, despite the availability of laser printing and inkjet printers.

From Type To Print

The printers function similarly to that of typewriters. The printing mechanism involves impact caused by hitting an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper with a print head. However, the dot matrix allow the printer to churn out more than just fixed lettering, it could produce various fonts and graphics as well.

After necessary patents expired, and the printing industry got hold of the inkjet technology, dot matrix printers faced competition from inkjet printers due to its quieter and faster printing operations. The printer was also easier to operate and troubleshoot. Nevertheless, we still see much of dot matrix printers in use as point-of-sales devices, cash registers and ATM machines among others.

The proliferation of dot matrix printers resulted in the marriage of home printers with personal computers, giving users immediate printing facilities from the comforts of home and the office.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you need to write down a thought or an idea just to find that you do not have a pen and paper with you? While it isn’t convenient to bring a pen and paper out, a majority of us now own a smartphone, so there lies the perfect note-taking device that can follow you everywhere you go.

There are many note-taking apps out in the market for smartphones. Most of them have plenty of great features to better organize your notes and a lot of them work on multiple platforms allowing you to sync and take your notes wherever you go.

Here are 10 more note-taking apps for both iOS and Android you can try out for free.

Recommended Reading: 20 Free Tools To Annotate PDF Documents

1. Evernote

Evernote is one of the first (and best) app people will think about when it comes to note-taking. It is available on multiple platforms: Web, desktop, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. You can sync your notes across different platforms, allowing you to have access to all your notes no matter what device you own or work from.

It also allows notes in the form of pictures and you can share your notes with anyone through email or via Facebook. You can learn more about Evernote tips here.

Platform: Android | iOS | BlackBerry | Windows

2. Catch Notes

If you are tired of registering for accounts just to take notes, try Catch Note. You can sign in using your Facebook or Google account then create voice notes, photo notes and text notes. You can also set reminders so that you won’t miss out on something important.

Catch Notes also lets you set a 4-digit passcode for sensitive notes you want to keep private. You can also create shared spaces, and the notes created within will be synched and backed up in everyone’s device.

Platform: Android | iOS

3. Fetchnotes

Love hastags? Then, rejoice because you can use hashtags to organize your notes with Fetchnotes. As a to-do and note-taking app, Fetchnotes lets you put several hashtags to each note you make. You pull the notes up by the tapping on the hashtag you want.

If your smartphone runs out of juice and you have a basic phone with you, you can send notes to your Fetchnotes account by sending a text message; normal rates apply.

Platform: Android | iOS

4. SomNote

SomNote is a user-friendly note-taking web app where you can create multiple notes with the option to attach media files or documents. Store them up in multi-colored folders, and if you are going to store a lot of notes, SomNote offers 100MB of free cloud storage for every account.

Plus, with a registered account you can sync all your notes on any device you run SomNote on. SomNote allows you to access different multiples of saved notes in case you mess up the most recent ones. You can also secure your notes by encrypting it with a 4-digit password.

Platform: Android | iOS

5. Spring Pad

Spring Pad is a note-taking and bookmarking app. Sign up with your Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo or Google account to get started. You can create a few notebooks (folders) to differentiate and organize your notes. Customize your folder with tags, different colors, categories, set it privacy options and more.

There are different types of notes you can add such as product, movies, checklist, recipes and many other kinds of notes. Furthermore, you can search or explore interesting notes within the Spring Pad community, and leave comments to interact with the owner of the notes.

Platform: Android | iOS

6. Any.DO

Any.Do is a reminder (to-do) comes note taking app. It has alarm reminder, and for Android you can pin your notes/to-do on your home screen. You can set the alarm to ring only once or you can set it to recurring. Any.Do allows you to use the speak feature if you do not want to type.

You can arranged your notes according to dates or you can store it in folders. When you don’t need the notes or you have completed all the tasks, you can delete all the completed note and task by shaking your phone.

Platform: Android | iOS

7. Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is one for Microsoft office fans. With Microsoft OneNote you can view your excel files, powerpoint slides and graphs on your phone. To edit the files, open Office Web Apps on your phone browser and you can change text, create tables, make slides and many other functions that Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint has all in one program.

You can access all your notes on your mobile devices if you sync them to your Skydrive account. The Microsoft OneNote app is free for both iOS and Android but you’re limited to only 500 notes, after 500 notes you need to purchase the unlimited version for $4.99.

Platform: Android | iOS | Windows

8. Google Keep

Google Keep is a note taking app from Google with a very simple interface. You only need to insert the title and the note to create a new note. You can also add an image to the note and a color to differentiate your notes. So far, there is no dedicated Google Keep app for iOS yet, just for Android via a handy widget.

With the widget you can have a faster access to create notes or to look at your notes. There’s also speech-to-text feature where you just need to tap on the microphone and dictate your notes for safekeeping.

Platform: Android

9. AudioNote

AudioNote is handy note-taking app that synchronizes audio recording with your note taking. In other words, the notes you type in by hand match up with the time stamps in the audio recording. For example, if you insert the note at minute 2:21, when you press to view the note it will play the recording at that second.

You can add images too in place of text. You can sync AudioNote to Dropbox or iCloud. The free version of AudioNote offers you a maximum of 5 minutes of recording. To record longer than 5 minutes you can upgrade AudioNote for $4.99.

Platform: Android | iOS

10. Awesome Note

Awesome Note doubles as a task management app. Create folders and change the color, icon and privacy setting for each folder as required. For those who like to personalize their notes, they can choose from 48 different fonts to create their notes in as wel as add images or add map locations in the note.

Attach alarms with your notes to remind you about the tasks you’ve set. The alarm can be set to ring only once or on repeat. Sync your notes via Google or your Evernote account, and if you are a user of Samsung Galaxy Note, the app is already pre-installed in your device. Outside of that, it is supported only on iOS.

Platform: iOS

Sharing photos on social networks like Facebook and Instagram are becoming so easy that you would prefer to share through those channels rather than send photos via text or emails. Via text, the norm is to spend images one at a time which is not only a waste of time but also not really cost-efficient. What about third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat? Nope, still one photo at a time, so far.

Granted you can share photos with follow iOS users via Photo Stream but both sides must have it for it to work. Well, here’s a quicktip on how you can send multiple photos at one go from your iOS device via text or email to a friend.

Recommended Reading: 10 New & Fresh iPhone Photography Apps

Send Multiple Photos via Messages

To start, on your iPhone, tap on the ‘Photos’ icon and choose from which album you want to select your photos from.

Then, tap on ‘Edit’ on the upper right corner. Select all the photos that you want to send by tapping on the photos. Selected photos will have a red check near the bottom right corner.

At the bottom left corner of your screen, tap on Share. Then press Copy. By pressing copy, you have copied all of the photos you selected to the clipboard.

Now, go back to your home screen and tap on Messages. Compose your message. On the space where you compose your message, press on it for 2 seconds and you will see a Paste bubble pop up. Press Paste to paste all your photos.

Once your message is complete, press Send. It might take a while for the photos to be sent out.

To check if your message has been delivered, on the bottom part of the photos in your message, you will see ‘Delivered’ . Back in Inbox, you will see the number of images that you’ve sent, under the receiver’s name.

Send Multiple Photos via Email

Sending photos by email normally limits you to only 5 photos. With this tip, you can send as many as you want, limited only by email size.

To send multiple photos via Email, Instead of choosing ‘Messages’ as your medium to send, after you have copied the photos to clipboard, choose ‘Mail’. On the bottom right, tap on the compose email icon.

Fill in the needed details and press on the compose space for 2 seconds and you will see a ‘Paste’ bubble pop up. Press ‘Paste’ and you can see all the selected photos pasted on the compose space.

Finish composing your email, then press Send. You will be asked if you want to reduce your email size or keep it in Actual Size. Make your choice and the email will be sent.

You can use this trick to send multiples of photos not only on your iPhone, but on iPod Touch and iPad too.

Limitations

There are some limitations that you should take note of:

• This tip only works via Messages (MMS & iMessage) and Email.
• If you are sending a multimedia message (MMS) you might be charge on a different rates than normal text message. This might happen if the receiver do not have iMessage feature or did not activate their iMessage feature.