12 Old-School Gadgets That Made Life Harder (But We Loved Them)
These old-school gadgets made everything more complicated, but we still miss them.
- Sophia Zapanta
- 5 min read
Before everything fit into a smartphone, life was a juggling act of clunky gadgets. From rewinding VHS tapes to dealing with dial-up internet, technology used to test our patience daily. Somehow, though, the struggle made everything feel more satisfying—like we actually earned our entertainment.
1. Rotary Phones
Hari mei harso on Wikimedia Commons
Calling someone wasn’t just dialing—it was an event. You had to spin the dial for each number, wait for it to click back, and hope you didn’t mess up. If you had to call a number with lots of 9s or 0s, it felt like an eternity. The worst part? If you messed up the last digit, you had to start over.
2. VHS Tapes & Rewind Machines
Tobias ToMar Maier on Wikimedia Commons
Watching a movie at home meant rewinding the tape unless you wanted to start in the middle of the story. Dedicated rewind machines existed just to make this process faster, but even they weren’t instant. If you were renting from Blockbuster, forgetting to rewind meant a fine. The struggle of waiting for a tape to rewind made “Be Kind, Rewind” a way of life.
3. Floppy Disks
George Chernilevsky on Wikimedia Commons
These plastic squares barely held a handful of files, yet they felt like cutting-edge tech. Saving a school project meant juggling multiple disks, praying none got corrupted. If you lost one, your work was gone forever. The worst? The loud clicking sound when your computer struggled to read one.
4. Dial-Up Internet
Pittigrilli on Wikimedia Commons
Before high-speed internet, logging in was a battle against time and noise. The modem’s screeching, beeping sounds were burned into our brains. If someone picked up the phone while you were online, everything crashed instantly. Loading a single webpage felt like waiting for paint to dry, but somehow, it was worth it.
5. CD Walkmans
Vogler on Wikimedia Commons
Music on the go? Only if you could hold your CD player completely still. Walking too fast meant the disc skipped, and running was out of the question. You had to carry a whole case of CDs just to switch albums. When anti-skip technology finally arrived, it felt like a miracle.
6. Disposable Cameras
Stock Catalog on Wikimedia Commons
Taking pictures used to be a gamble—you had no idea how they’d turn out. You had to take 24 or 36 shots, drop the camera off at a photo lab, and wait days to see if you got a single decent picture. Half of them would be blurry, someone’s eyes would be closed, and at least one would have a giant thumb in the corner. Still, there was something magical about the surprise.
7. TVs Without Remotes
Julo on Wikimedia Commons
Changing the channel meant physically getting up and turning a knob. If you lost interest in a show, you had to make a whole journey across the room. Some TVs had dials that only let you select certain channels, so fine-tuning was an art. Parents often made kids the “official remote,” calling them over just to change the channel.
8. Typewriters
Sammlung der Medien und Wissenschaft on Wikimedia Commons
Typing was a commitment—every mistake meant dealing with white-out or starting over. The keys clacked loudly, making you feel like a serious writer, but they also required real effort to press. If you typed too fast, the keys would jam together, stopping everything. Despite all this, nothing felt more satisfying than the ding of reaching the end of a line.
9. Car Map Books
Виктор Пинчук on Wikimedia Commons
Before GPS, road trips meant flipping through a giant book of maps while trying not to get lost. If you missed an exit, you had to pull over, find the right page, and figure out a new route. One wrong turn could add hours to a trip. Also, if you were the designated map reader, good luck because everyone would blame you when things get wrong.
10. Alarm Clocks
Nefrit Lazurit on Wikimedia Commons
Setting the time on these was a test of patience and precision. If you accidentally held the button too long, you’d speed past the correct time and have to loop around again. Snoozing wasn’t a simple tap—it was a fumbling mess of trying to find the right button in the dark. However, no sound was more effective at jolting you awake than that old-school buzzing alarm.
11. Game Boy Without a Backlight
Raimond Spekking on Wikimedia Commons
Playing a Game Boy was great—until the sun went down. You had to sit under a lamp, tilt the screen just right, or invest in one of those clip-on lights that barely helped. Long car rides at night meant staring at a blank screen between passing streetlights. Still, nothing beats finally finishing a level after hours of struggle.
12. Fax Machines
Pittigrilli on Wikimedia Commons
Sending a document meant dealing with a loud, clunky machine that loved to jam. You had to feed in the paper just right, listen to the endless beeping, and hope the person on the other end actually received it. If the connection failed, you had to start over from scratch. Somehow, even with email and texting, some businesses still use these things today.