6 outdated gadgets that we still use.

This post will include mentions of gadgets that today are seen as outdated or obsolete, yet we still use them. For the gadgets on this list: Outdated? Yes Outclassed? No.

Fax Machines: In the 1970s, fax machines became valuable office devices. This device processed the scanned paper as a fixed graphic image which it then converted into a bitmap and them transferred it through the phone system. The receiving machine then reconverted the image before printing out a paper copy. These machines are still in use by offices even with the invention of email already ten years old. Perhaps this is because signed copies of documents are still required, and using a pen is very user friendly.

Windows 98 and 2000: While some of the newest cars on the market are electric, there is always someone who will not part with a 1977 Honda Civic. If it worked good during the Carter Administration, it will work good now. By the same token, 0.05% of people are still browsing the internet on computers running Windows 98 and 2000. And considering that there are over 300 million PCs in use in the USA alone, there are more then 150,000 people using an operating system from the last century.

VHS tapes: Even though we can now stream shows for on demand viewing, VHS tapes are still going strong as a reliable and cheap way to get family memories recorded. I myself am guilty of still having a collection of movies on VHS which I make a selection from when I feel like watching a film that was not released a few years ago.

Pay Phones: Costumed superheros reading this post will want to play close attention to this one. The USA still has 305,000 working pay phones. This is one gadget that is primarily used by low income users who cannot afford a cell phone. It is also used by cell phone users who cannot get service. And of course, spies also use them to avoid tracking or detection.

Pagers: In the early 1990s, there was no better status symbol then the pager. Like an emergency surgeon or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you were important enough to be reachable at all times. With the high popularity of cell phones, you would think that this gadget would die. But many doctors and hospitals still find pagers more reliable, particularly in emergencies when cell phone networks are down.

Dot matrix printers: This is a 20 year old gadget that has not been in my home or office for years. But I can still hear the sound of a printout on a Dot matrix printer. This is because point of sale, warehouse inventory, and other business systems still require carbon copy and multipart forms that work only with the hard impact of a dot matrix printhead.

Thank You for reading. I invite readers to comment with their experiences with outdated gadgets such as these. Moving foreword, perhaps these gadgets will still be used several decades from now as technology that is outdated, but still not outclassed.