When it comes to tech I must admit I am a hoarder.
Technology advances at such a rapid pace these days it is easy to find yourself with lots of old tech. When you look back and see what tech was 5, 10, 15 years ago and beyond it can be quite a shock to see how far we have come.
I have drawers and boxes full of software, cables, hardware and other sundry tech items from past upgrades over the last couple of decades. I am sure many of you who read this site likely have similar boxes full of old tech.
As part of a project I am working on in my garage, the project being to clean it up, I have decided to go through all my old tech boxes and try to be hard core about finally clearing out some old stuff.
As I was clearing out the boxes I was sharing pictures of some of the items on Twitter and decided this post would be a nice stroll down tech memory lane.
Gaming
Prior to making the leap to an Xbox 360 console in 2010 I was a PC gamer. My favorite games in those years were sports games and first person shooters.
 This was the second year of the series. |
 This was John Madden’s last year as the main cover person. |
 This was the first year John Madden was not the featured individually on the cover. |
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 By 2006 it took 3 CD’s of data to install Madden 2006. |
 The original Sims game. |
 Probably the best trivia franchise ever! |
Microsoft Software and various operating system upgrades
Windows XP Service Pack 2. It was standard practice that you could order a CD with the update on it. Internet speeds were a lot slower back then!
 This disc would upgrade your Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. Start Me Up! I stood in a line at midnight to buy this in New Jersey! |
 Windows 98 Second Edition Updates added a few new features to the original Windows 98. In today’s terms it really was a Service Pack. |
 The Microsoft Plus 98 Companion for Windows 98 added several new features to the OS. It also included a large amount of themes and upgraded system tools. |
 I think this upgrade, Windows Millenium, or Windows ME as it came to be known, is the one everyone would like to forget about. |
Microsoft Beta CD’s of Windows Vista Codenamed Longhorn
Another example of how you would get CD’s from Microsoft. If you were in a Beta program, before the expansive broadband we know today, Microsoft would ship you a set of beta discs via one of the big shippers to get them in your hands as a tester. I imagine they saved a lot on shipping once they could just offer these via downloads.
Old Hardware
This is the Palm M100, which still works with AAA batteries, and was popular around the year 2000. I bought it as a means to keep my schedule handy while in a Navy leadership school. I also got quite good at its special shorthand code to write notes as well. This device was eventually replaced with a Dell Axim.
Here is something you just do not see anymore – a 10GB hard drive! I think my first PC in the early 90’s had a 200MB hard drive and just 4MB of RAM.
We sure have come a long way with tech haven’t we? I hope you enjoyed the stroll down the Old Tech Memory Lane as much as I did.
I would love to hear about any old tech you have around the house or office in the comments below – thanks!
