c/ancient-tech-leftovers

Watched my ancient iPod Nano's screen slowly turn black while I was cleaning a client's attic last Thursday

I was up there wiping down old boxes and found my 2nd gen Nano in a bin, plugged it into a random speaker dock, and the screen started bleeding from the edges until it went totally dark, battery still worked for about 30 minutes though.

My dad's old Gateway monitor from 2002 is still on my desk and I refuse to get rid of it

Last week my roommate's friend came over and asked why I still have that "giant white plastic brick" sitting here. Said it's an eyesore and takes up half the desk space. But here's the thing - it still works perfectly fine. No dead pixels, the color is still decent, and I paid $30 for it at a garage sale six years ago. Meanwhile my roommate just spent $400 on a curved ultrawide that had a stuck pixel after three months. I don't game or edit photos so why would I drop money on something newer that might break faster? Plus this thing is built like a tank, I could probably drop it down a flight of stairs and it would still display a spreadsheet. Am I wrong for keeping a CRT monitor alive in 2024 or are there other people out there still using old hardware just because it hasn't died yet?

Grabbed a CRT monitor from 1998 at a garage sale for $5. Best computer purchase I've made in a decade.

Unpopular opinion: that old Palm Pilot I dug up still works better than my phone for to-do lists

I found my Palm Pilot Vx in a box last weekend, still with a charge after 20 years. Synced it up with my ancient desktop using a serial cable and some hacked drivers I found on a forum from 2007. Turns out, for just jotting down tasks and notes, it beats my iPhone. No notifications, no app updates, no battery drain from background stuff. I was able to transfer over 50 old contacts in about 15 minutes, which was way faster than I thought. The learning curve was steep though because I forgot how to use the graffiti handwriting system. Has anyone else here tried to bring one of these back for daily use, or am I just wasting my time for the novelty?

I finally figured out why my scanner was making everything look like garbage after 8 years

So I've been scanning old family photos for a client project on my ancient Canon LiDE 110. The colors always came out flat and muddy. I just assumed it was because the scanner was old and cheap. Then last week my buddy who shoots film casually asked if I was scanning emulsion side down. I had never even heard that term before lmao. Turns out I've been scanning everything backwards this whole time. Now the blacks actually look black and the skin tones don't look like rotten apples. Has anyone else had a bonehead moment with an old piece of tech that fixed all your frustrations?

Still using a flip phone in 2024 and I don't care what anyone thinks

Got tired of staring at a screen all day back in 2018 so I grabbed a used LG Exalt from a pawn shop for $40. No apps, no notifications, just calls and texts. People look at me weird when I flip it open at a bar but my battery lasts 5 days. Anyone else ditch their smartphone and go back to something simpler?

Rant: My old Palm Pilot still works but I can't even sync it anymore

Fired up my Palm m515 from 2003 last week and the battery somehow held a charge, but Palm Desktop won't install on Windows 11 and I'm stuck with a glorified address book. Anyone else sitting on a PDA that's basically a paperweight now?

That friend who told me to ditch my CRT monitor finally got me thinking

I was showing my buddy my old Compaq monitor from 1997 and he asked why I still keep it around. Said it takes up half my desk and the colors are probably way off by now. At first I got defensive but then I realized he had a point. I haven't actually turned that thing on in like 3 years. Anyone else have a piece of old tech they're holding onto for no real reason?

Just found out my old Palm Pilot still holds a charge after 18 years

I was cleaning out a closet last weekend and found my old Palm Pilot m500 from back in 2006. Dusted it off, plugged it in just for laughs, and the thing actually turned on after a few hours. I checked the date and time and it was still set correctly somehow. What really got me was the memos I had saved - some grocery lists from a place I used to live in Ohio, a few notes from a job I quit over a decade ago. It felt like opening a time capsule from someone I barely remember being. The weirdest part is that the battery indicator showed 90% full. I know these things used replaceable batteries but still, 18 years is wild. Has anyone else dug up an old PDA that still worked?

Vent: Spent 4 hours chasing a driver issue on a Windows 98 machine for a CNC router

My buddy runs an old CNC router that only works with Windows 98. The thing keeps losing connection to the parallel port after a boot. Everyone online said to reseat the cable or update some obscure driver. I wasted a full Saturday trying every fix I could find. Finally I realized the BIOS setting for the parallel port was set to ECP instead of SPP. That one change solved it in 2 minutes. Has anyone else run into a weird BIOS setting that cost them hours?

Debate: Should we keep old tech running or let it rest?

Had a chat with a guy named Dave at the thrift store last week. He swears his 1998 Palm Pilot is still his daily driver for notes and calls it more reliable than his phone. I argued it's just clutter taking up space, but he said the thing still does 90% of what he needs. So which side are you on, keep these relics alive or donate them to the e-waste bin?

Old CRT monitor started smoking, turned out to be a cap I ignored for 2 years

I had this Sony Trinitron from 1999 sitting in my basement. Used it for retro gaming every weekend. Started hearing this faint buzzing last December but I figured it was fine. Then last Tuesday it literally started smoking out the back. Took it to a repair guy and he pointed at a blown capacitor right on the power board. He said I could have fixed it for $3 and 20 minutes if I caught it earlier. Now the whole board is fried and I'm out a perfectly good monitor. Anyone else ignore a weird noise from old gear and regret it later?

My uncle's old CRT monitor made me rethink my whole setup

He told me he still uses a Sony Trinitron from 1998 for retro gaming because modern LCDs just can't handle the light gun games right. I never thought about how display lag messes with old hardware until he showed me his Duck Hunt scores on it. Anyone else keep an old CRT around for specific stuff?

My old iPod classic finally gave up after 14 years of daily use

Last Tuesday I plugged it in to charge and it just showed the sad folder icon. Tried everything - reset, firewire disk mode, even smacked it a few times. Nothing. That thing survived two moves, a coffee spill in 2011, and got me through countless bus rides. Still had 3,000 songs on it I haven't thought about in years. Anyone else got a device that just went silent one day and you weren't ready for it?

Went with a CRT monitor over an LCD back in '08...

I had to choose between a free 19 inch CRT from a garage sale in Portland or saving up for a cheap LCD. I picked the CRT because it was $0 and I was broke. That thing lasted me 6 years for retro gaming before the colors finally went weird. Has anyone else stuck with old displays way longer than they should have?

Old CRT monitor taught me to check my color profiles

A print shop guy in Austin looked at my flyer and said the blues were way off. I had been using an old Sony Trinitron from 2002 that still works perfect for word docs and browsing. He told me to calibrate it with a simple online tool instead of guessing. I spent 20 minutes dialing in the brightness and contrast settings. Has anyone else had a vintage display mess with their design work without realizing it?

Warning: That old iPod you have might actually lose your music faster than you think

I pulled out my 2007 iPod Classic last weekend to show my nephew what a click wheel is (you know, for fun). Plugged it in after like 3 years of sitting in a drawer, and half the songs were just gone. The hard drive started clicking after about 15 minutes. Turns out the bearing grease dries up over time and the platters start scraping. Has anyone else lost a whole library this way or did I just get unlucky with my specific model?

I finally got my old Canon flatbed scanner working again after 6 years

I pulled my Canon CanoScan LiDE 210 out of a box last week because I needed to scan some old family photos. It had been sitting in my garage since 2018 after I spilled tea on the lid. I thought it was totally dead but I just let it dry out and forgot about it. Plugged it in on Tuesday and it actually connected to my Windows 11 laptop after some driver hunting on a sketchy archive site. The scan quality is still really good for 2400 dpi and it did a whole stack of 50 photos in about an hour. Has anyone else had luck resurrecting an old USB scanner that everyone said to throw away?

Found a working VCR at a garage sale for $5 and my whole weekend disappeared

Last Saturday I stopped at this random estate sale in my neighborhood, just looking for maybe some old kitchen stuff. I saw this Mitsubishi VCR buried under some blankets, dusty but looked clean. I plugged it in at the guy's garage and it powered right up. He said $5 and I couldn't say no. So I spent Sunday digging through thrift store bins for VHS tapes. Found an old copy of The Fugitive for 50 cents. But here's the thing, I sat there for like 4 hours just watching it, rewinding it, adjusting the tracking. It felt like I was in 1995 again. Has anyone else had one of those rabbit hole days with old tech where you just lose track of time?

Just found my old iPod Classic from 2007 still holds a charge, but the click wheel is going haywire

I was digging through a storage unit in Austin last weekend and pulled out my 80GB iPod, the thing turned on after 8 years of sitting. The wheel keeps jumping around randomly though, anyone else had this happen or know a fix without sending it to some weird repair dude?

Overheard a guy at the coffee shop say his Palm Pilot still boots up after 15 years

I was waiting for my latte last Saturday and this older guy pulls out a Palm Pilot V from his bag. He was telling his friend he uses it to keep track of his blood pressure readings because the new phone apps confuse him. It got me thinking about all the old PDAs and flip phones sitting in drawers that probably still work fine. I got home and dug out my old iPod Classic from 2007 and it fired right up with a full charge. Has anyone else dug out an old gadget recently just to see if it still runs?

Gave $40 for a vintage Palm Pilot at a flea market. Junk.

Picked up a Palm Pilot Vx last weekend. The guy swore it worked. Got it home and the battery is completely dead. Won't hold a charge for more than 10 minutes. Tried finding a replacement online but they're all third party junk. Anyone have luck fixing these old things or am I out the cash?

Old laptop I revived with Linux is acting weird now

I pulled my 2006 Dell Latitude out of storage last week and threw Ubuntu on it just to see if it could still run. It boots fine but the wifi keeps dropping every 5 minutes, even after I swapped the card for an old Intel 3945ABG I had lying around. Anyone dealt with flaky network issues on a machine this old, or is it just the hardware giving up after 18 years?