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A recent story on the BBC posed a question to its readers. If it ain't broke: You share your oldest working gadgets. Folks wrote in with their favorite, longest-lasting devices.
Besides being curious about the latest tech devices and advancements, I've noticed our community also seems to have a number of thrifty folk who thrive on getting the most out of their gadgets.
I'll count myself among those in that category. I'll start with a Sharp EL-510S solar-powered, scientific calculator from the early 1980s. I also have a JVC stereo receiver from the mid 1980s that is still going strong. The computer I am currently using is a Dell Latitude Core 2 Duo from about 2009.
So how well has your stuff held up? What was been your best acquisition for long-term durability?
(Score: 2) by Barenflimski on Tuesday June 09 2020, @09:45PM (1 child)
Boom box from 1980, works like a champ. Ipod from 2009, doesn't work.
Rebuilt fluorescent lamp from 1950, works like a champ. "Tower" lamp you see in every college dorm room broken for various reasons in one season.
Shovel from 1942 works like it always did. I tried to sharpen the new shovel I got and the handle broke.
Tree from 1979 is tall and beautiful and can take some frost. Tree planted last year complained it was cold and died.
Matchbox cars I played with as a kid still roll and are barely rusty. New matchbox cars all broke after just 1 m-80.
Record player and records still work. My CD's from the 1990's and 2000's are all scratched beyond recognition.
It feels so good to be nostalgic.
(Score: 1) by crm114 on Tuesday June 09 2020, @10:01PM
Yeah, I started noticing this from the 386/486/Pentium era.
It seemed "it would fail in 30 days, or survive"
Then, "It would fail in 2 years, or survive"
The stuff that survived 2 years still works, 20+ years later.
Stuff after that? 2 years.
Still have a pentium laptop with a dead battery that fires up XP "just fine".... Need it to log into some legacy KVM devices. :(