

It has become commonplace to buy a new phone every year and a half, to throw away once groundbreaking slices of silicon as soon as the next exponentially-faster model is released, to pull out our credit cards the moment Moore's deflationary magic grinds through one more of its astonishingly regular rotations. Once the new lust-inducing features hit the scene, we're practically forced to upgrade. I really have no choice, I sometimes rationalize, credit card pinched between my left index finger and thumb, as I stare at the check-out now button, my right hand hovering an inch above my soon-to-be-replaced laptop's touchpad.

But this wasn't always the case; the gadgets of old had (by today's standards) supernaturally long working lives. Sometimes they were passed down for generations, which is very odd: Imagine your father giving you his Apple II with full confidence that it will serve you faithfully and reliably, perhaps even hoping you, too, will one day pass it on to your kin, who would then take up roughly the same trade, using the Apple II in much the same way. Shrinking transistors, constant updates, new features, and rapidly improving designs make this an absurdity. The wonderful acceleration of progress which has given us so much came with a trifling but noticeable cost: our gadgets are no longer talismans, they no longer have an ancient hard-won character. Towards them we no longer feel the same long-term connection.

There was a time when technology had a certain personality, an incredible tenacity, a bit of permanence. But now that's gone, and it has been replaced with this euphoric transience, this kind of blasé technological promiscuity where new gadgets are adopted with startling speed, and it's wonderful and ultra-exciting. But it also promotes a bit of nostalgia for the technologies we're too young to have had to use.

To honor this nostalgia, I've collated a few ancient gadgets, the coolest of the way obsolete.



BENNETT TYPEWRITER

Before transistors and vacuum tubes, a mechanical-minded man with some tools and spare time had a chance of making something new, of making a product which would carry his name. There was a hope, however small, of inventing something novel without the aid of a team of grad' students and millions of dollars in funding.

Charles Bennett created the world's smallest typewriter single-handedly. It was so small it was practically unusable, but who cares? His typewriter could fit in a coat pocket, for the most part, and not without some major discomfort and weight induced asymmetry of wardrobe. But still, it could--in principle--be crammed into a moderately-sized coat pocket, which is pretty cool considering our current fetish for miniaturization. Also, it's classy as hell.



BUTTERFIELD STYLE COMPASS

These outrageously cool compasses came with analog sundial apps, which allowed mariners to pack light and throw away entire collections of single-function sundials and compasses--or at least bind them together with the sixtieth century equivalent of duct-tape, perhaps twine or human hair.

Solid brass and handmade, these sundials/compasses measured around 7.3cm and were incredibly reliable. No two were the same, a property which our current gadgets can't possess.

CLOCKWORK WRISTWATCH

Although most people no longer wear watches (preferring to use their phone’s on-board web-synced clock instead), they are still worn by some as something of a fashion statement, so they have not been entirely removed from common use. But most modern watches are piezoelectric and don’t need winding, which is an improvement, yes. But there’s something undeniably awesome about clockwork, those ticking mechanical hearts churning out time.

Sure, you had to wind them every few days. Sure, this was an inconvenience which, if ignored, could render the watch useless at the most inopportune moments. But have you ever taken apart a mechanical watch? They're incredible in this odd Rube Goldberg way; the fact of their precision is something of a miracle, and it’s all quite beautiful: all the little parts working together, precisely ticking, cutting the day into measurable bits.

These are some of my favorites. If you can think of any more cool obsolete gadgets, post 'em.