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Feeling nostalgic? Join MsMojo as we explore the world of retro technology! Some analog devices deserve a comeback with their satisfying tactile experiences, while others should remain relics of the past. From the satisfying click of cassettes to the frustrating screech of dial-up modems, we're sorting through analog history's greatest hits and misses!
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00:00Listen, we're looking for a laser disc player.
00:02Oh, you mean lamer disc player.
00:05You're out of luck, dude.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:09And today, we're counting down our picks for the retro analog devices we would love to become fashionable again,
00:14alongside the ones that should stay in the past.
00:17Where are you starting?
00:18Yeah.
00:20We have about five minutes.
00:23Number 5. Floppy Discs Stay Gone
00:26We're starting our list with a piece of technology so iconic, it's still used as the default save icon in most applications.
00:33Before the wonders of modern storage devices, the floppy disk was how we stored data.
00:38I printed a copy of the speech from the G folder.
00:41Why does he have access to the G folder? I don't even have access to the G folder.
00:45Yes, you do, Mike. We all do. It's the general file on the iCloud.
00:48Everything was much easier when it was just floppy disks.
00:50They work by using a magnetic storage medium, which contains digital data.
00:54So they're sort of both analog and digital.
00:56Either way, they have no place in modern society, except for their retro aesthetic.
01:01The manufacturing of the diskettes is over.
01:03And so all of the diskettes that will be made have been made.
01:07I'm desperately trying to acquire as many diskettes as I possibly can.
01:12In the 70s and 80s, they were the primary way to store data.
01:15A 3.5-inch floppy would have stored at most roughly 2 megabytes of data,
01:20not enough for most modern pictures.
01:22You're going to need a bigger boat.
01:25Number 5. Handheld video cameras return.
01:28Good evening. I'm Dr. Emmett Brown. I'm standing on the parking lot at Twin Pines Mall.
01:32It's Saturday morning, October 26, 1985.
01:34118 AM. And this is temporal experiment number one.
01:38Almost all modern cameras will be digital.
01:40But in recent years, old-fashioned analog cameras have had a rise in popularity.
01:45For instance, Polaroid cameras have made a comeback as a piece of retro technology.
01:49This makes us wish analog camcorders would return, too.
01:52It's truly amazing. A portable television studio.
01:57No wonder your president has to be an actor. He's got to look good on television.
02:00Sure, you can record some footage on your phone, then edit it to have the camcorder aesthetic.
02:04But it's not the same.
02:06Of course, storing your footage is way more inconvenient,
02:09needing to be kept on things like tapes.
02:10Still, the extra time and effort it takes make it a more satisfying hobby.
02:15So maybe they'll make a comeback soon.
02:16Is that right, Charlie? You got that, right?
02:19No, I did it, I did it, Frank!
02:20I did it, I did it.
02:21You were pointing the camera at him, right?
02:23You got it right, the punch and everything, right?
02:24No, I did point the camera at it, but you know what? I did not put a tape in here.
02:29Number four. Old school projectors. Stay gone.
02:33What is that?
02:35That is an overhead projector.
02:37Do you ever use it anymore?
02:38No, not really.
02:39If you went to school before everyone had a laptop, you'll remember overhead projectors.
02:44It used to be the case that teachers couldn't simply whip up a PowerPoint,
02:47then plug it in and hit play.
02:49Instead, overhead projectors were common,
02:51which literally just projected a piece of plastic with writing on it onto a screen.
02:56Because you had, you know, complete freedom to write, draw, do anything else,
03:02or even use colored pens, the presentation materials could be anything you wanted.
03:08However, they were a little crude.
03:11This meant teachers would instead bring lesson plans made on plastic sheets,
03:15then project them in front of the class.
03:17It often proved to be a painful experience.
03:19There were frequent technical issues,
03:21and if a teacher didn't check that it was centered properly,
03:24you couldn't see half the paper.
03:25Remember, I'm putting it on upside down,
03:28so hopefully they've done it upside down.
03:29Yep.
03:29And it will look the right way up.
03:30Number four. Physical maps. Return.
03:33Sir, we're at 1034, north mount, first floor rear.
03:37Good.
03:38Now, which way's north?
03:41Point.
03:45That's east.
03:47Before our phones all came loaded with live GPS and map apps,
03:51we had to read physical maps to figure out where we were.
03:54Using them to go from point A to point B could be a real challenge if you weren't skilled enough.
03:58Sat-navs have been around for decades, in fairness, but not everyone had one.
04:02And getting them to work could be a different kind of challenge.
04:05Is this a joke?
04:06Aye, aye, aye.
04:07I hope so, because I don't think I like it here at all.
04:11Where the hell are we?
04:13Traditional paper maps are harder to use than digital ones,
04:16but they're so much nicer to hold, feel, and look at.
04:19Plus, you feel amazing when reading one gets you to your destination.
04:23You're folding it wrong.
04:25Is it smaller?
04:26Yes.
04:27Then it's not wrong.
04:28Let's go.
04:32I will get you a new one when we get there.
04:35Where are we going?
04:36Number 3.
04:37CRT Televisions.
04:39Stay Gone.
04:39Jason, I didn't think you'd make it.
04:42Yeah.
04:42Yeah, a photo shoot ran late, plus I, you know, wanted to miss all the heavy stuff.
04:47Before the flat-screen TV revolution, cathode ray tube TVs were the way to go.
04:51They were ridiculously clunky compared to modern standards.
04:55CRTs aren't made for the general consumer like they once were, but you can still find them.
05:00This has made them something of a collector's item.
05:02About five years ago, you could go to almost any thrift store in the world with your oyster,
05:06as far as CRTs were concerned.
05:07You could walk out with a very high-quality Sony for, like, 10 bucks.
05:12Seriously, it was bananas.
05:14But then, most thrift stores stopped accepting CRTs as donations, and the salad days for collecting
05:20were over.
05:21In the 2020s, they have made a minor comeback, making their prices the highest they've been
05:26in years.
05:26This is mainly because retro media was all made for CRTs, so things like old video games
05:32look far superior on them.
05:33Still, we don't think they should make a major comeback anytime soon.
05:36due to their size, and the fact that they can, although rarely, implode.
05:41So sorry, man.
05:42What happened?
05:43It slipped, man.
05:44It's right through.
05:46Number 3.
05:47VCR Tapes Return
05:48No, I don't do double VHS.
05:50But it's about doomed love.
05:52Oh, that's relatable.
05:53Precisely.
05:54VHS was the standard form of storing video for decades.
05:57This has made many who grew up with it nostalgic for its return, just like vinyl.
06:02Unfortunately, VCR tapes are far less durable than vinyl.
06:05Despite this, nothing can compare to the charm of sliding a tape into the VHS player.
06:10I'll make popcorn.
06:12Don't watch that tape!
06:13Watch that tape!
06:15Well, sorry, I just really want to win the bet.
06:17And here we go.
06:18A surprising number of places still use them, like schools, libraries, and nursing homes.
06:23You can also get a lot of decorations made out of old tapes, giving your home a retro aesthetic.
06:28They were also great because you could record live television shows on them, which is one
06:33of the most old-fashioned methods of video piracy.
06:3521 Jump Street, Season 1. You do not need this.
06:38I need my Jump Street.
06:39So buy the DVDs. It'll save you a ton of space.
06:41No, the DVDs won't have the commercials on them.
06:43The original commercials. Just half the fun.
06:46Number 2. Dial-up Modems. Stay Gone.
06:56Welcome.
06:59You've got mail.
07:01Your computer losing its Wi-Fi connection entirely because your parent picked up the phone
07:05must sound crazy to the kids of today.
07:07Well, for years, dial-up internet was the fastest option available.
07:11We had enough time to make a sandwich before Google loaded.
07:14As the name implies, it worked via telephone networks.
07:17Its popularity peaked around the turn of the century and was replaced by the rise of broadband.
07:22With modern fiber-optic technologies, dial-up feels like a distant nightmare,
07:26one we don't personally want to relive.
07:28Although we have to confess, the sounds it used to make will live rent-free in our brains for eternity.
07:35Oh, okay. The internet is just two demons yelling at each other.
07:45That's actually pretty accurate.
07:47Number 2. Rotary Phones. Return.
07:50A gadget from old movies that looks oddly satisfying to use is a rotary phone.
07:55It doesn't work differently from any old landline,
07:57except for the fact that it's got a cool spinning dial.
08:00Operator.
08:01Give me Western Union, please.
08:03They're one of the most essential retro devices.
08:06They've existed since the late 19th century,
08:09but phone technology has come a long way since then, making them especially uncommon.
08:13You know what that is?
08:14It's a rotary phone.
08:15You would have to do a zero, and it would go all the way around, and it took forever.
08:19How much of that?
08:21I'm sorry, I'm just telling her a story.
08:22And you would be able to hear in your house who was making phone calls by how long the dials were.
08:28They're not as appealing as smartphones, as you can't get apps or games on them.
08:33That doesn't stop us from wanting them to come back,
08:35simply for the satisfying noises it makes when you dial in a phone number.
08:38Suppose you want to dial 23650.
08:41Dial each numeral in this manner, pulling the dial around to the finger stop each time.
08:46Be sure to allow the dial to freely return to its normal position.
08:50Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
08:56You have the option to be notified for occasional videos, or all of them.
09:01If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
09:06Number 1.
09:07Laserdisc.
09:08Stay gone.
09:09I checked all of Pierce's wardrobes for Portals to Magical Worlds.
09:12All I found was something called a manual in space on Laserdisc.
09:15I couldn't watch it, but it sounded sexy.
09:18Laserdisc.
09:19Before DVDs, the major alternative to VHS tapes was Laserdisc.
09:23They were incredible for storing an analog video signal.
09:26They were primarily popular in Japan and Southeast Asia, but basically vanished in the 2000s.
09:32During the 80s and 90s, they became a bit of a collector's item for video files, but weren't mainstream like VHS.
09:38For a May video, for people who know and love video.
09:42I see.
09:44The system consists of this MagnaVision optical video disc player.
09:47A laser vision video disc and my TV.
09:52They were clunky, impractical, fragile, and expensive to make.
09:57Also, they were super loud.
09:59Plus, they could only store an hour of footage.
10:02This meant halfway through every film, you'd have to flip the disc, much like a vinyl record.
10:06Hence why we don't expect this format to make a comeback anytime soon.
10:10Ha!
10:11Laserdisc will rise again, for they are the chosen ones.
10:15And they would gladly die for Laserdisc.
10:18Isn't that right, Discmasters?
10:19I don't know about die, per se.
10:22Number 1.
10:23Cassette.
10:24Return.
10:24Our final entry for today's list is one of the most aesthetic ways to store audio.
10:29Cassette tapes.
10:30I think cassettes are the most human music format.
10:32And part of the reason is, you don't skip around from song to song.
10:35You don't fast forward or rewind.
10:38And you're just kind of surrendering to the music as the artist designed it to flow from song to song.
10:43For a while, they were considered out-of-date relics from the last century.
10:47Well, in the 2020s, they're becoming increasingly popular.
10:51And we hope this trend continues.
10:53Well, I can just record my part on tape, I guess.
10:55And Jermaine can play along.
10:56Tape?
10:57A cassette tape?
10:59No, you can't do that for it.
11:00I'm not happy with that.
11:02It's not at all about sound quality.
11:04They sound abysmal.
11:05Instead, it's all about the warmth of the experience.
11:08Nothing compares to the feeling of slotting a tape in, hearing it click as it begins,
11:12than watching it spin along as it plays your music.
11:15Vinyl has been mainstream again for a while now.
11:18And someday soon, cassettes might be just as popular.
11:21A lot of independent labels are selling a lot of cassettes.
11:24There's a cassette manufacturer called National Audio Company in Missouri
11:27that's doing better than it did even in the 90s in terms of how many tape orders they're getting.
11:31Do you agree with our picks?
11:32Or do you think we missed some iconic devices?
11:35Let us know in the comments below.
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