Time and technology are always hurtling forward, leaving behind a trail of everyday items that quickly become obsolete. Once essential, now they are just junk.
Click start to play today’s Spell It where CDs we used to “burn” no longer have a place in our lives today.
Here are three things you probably couldn’t do without at one point, but now, don’t miss at all:
1. One-hour photo labs
For decades, taking a picture meant choosing photographic locations and poses carefully, because rolls of film held a finite number of shots. They also cost money to be processed and printed. At their peak in the 1990s, one-hour photography studios or labs were everywhere, taking in your rolls of film and producing little envelopes of processed pictures for you to enjoy. Now, our smartphone cameras are arguably just as powerful and far more convenient to use than professional digital cameras – and they don’t require any printing, since we are all so used to digital picture viewing and sharing. It’s no wonder then, that many photo labs fell out of use. Today, they function usually for governmental services or official portraits.
2. Floppy discs
Show a millennial a floppy disc and they’ll probably be terribly confused about what it does. The first floppy discs held about 360KB of data – about a third of a megabyte – which seems impossibly small to our minds today. The data disc was enclosed in a flexible sheath, hence the reason why it was called a “floppy” drive. Until the rise of CDs, floppy discs were the standard medium for how software was packaged, sold, and installed. Soon, however, newer technology (with a lot more storage space) began to replace floppy discs. Apple unveiled the iMac G3 in 1998 – it was the first personal computer without a floppy. And that was the beginning of its end.
3. Video cassette recorders or VCRs
Older millennials may still remember watching home videos or movies on their VCRs. The video home system (VHS) tape was a staple of home entertainment during the 1980s, and well into the 1990s. For the first time, it allowed people to record shows to watch later, and it also birthed a host of video rental stores, from where people could rent the latest movies. VCRs didn’t become obsolete overnight – they had a slow death. In 1997, DVD players entered the market, followed by both HD DVD and Blu-ray – they signalled the end of an era that’s still fondly remembered by many.
Which now-obsolete device makes you feel nostalgic? Play today’s Spell It and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
