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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: 3, Interesting) by Hartree on Wednesday June 10 2020, @04:40AM
In the computer area, I have a leg up for old. I sorta collect old computers. I've got a Win 98 box that's an AMD K6/2 sitting right next to the I7 laptop I'm typing this on (though it's a fairly old I7. A 2670QM and it's newer than my other I7 laptop which is first generation).
Admittedly, I brought the Win 98 box up recently for a couple specific purposes (One of them getting an old Palm phone with a really great night time screen for star gazing with a planetarium program going again.). I also have several working 486 machines. One of them still running a 60 MB hard drive that I bought in 1992 (that was originally in a 386).
The furnaces in the house are a pair of Century gas ones from 1967. My Kenmore electric drier is one from 1969 that is still running fine. I've got an old black beauty wall phone from the mid 60s in the kitchen that still works, though I haven't tested since early last year that the switching system in my town still understands pulse dialing.
I do nearly all my own repairs and at work I specialize in legacy laboratory equipment, so it's not surprising I have old stuff as the cost to keep it going is low when you don't have to call in a technician.