5 Pieces Of Vintage Tech That Still Have Potential (And 5 You Should Never Buy Used)

Old technology is everywhere. As time marches on, technology advances further and further, which leaves older pieces of tech sometimes left in the dust. However, none of it just disappears. It's all still out there, be it with collectors, stuffed in an attic, or in the aisles of a thrift store. If you've ever dug through a pile of old tech at a thrift store, you've doubtlessly had a moment where you question whether or not a bit of vintage tech is worth buying.

It's an understandable dilemma. The allure of vintage technology is hard to deny. That allure lies not just in memories and nostalgia, but in defying the march of progress. There are those pieces of vintage tech that are absolutely worth putting a little bit of love into. Yet, amid the treasures of the past, pitfalls abound; not every relic is worth dusting off. Some vintage tech products, while once perhaps groundbreaking, are now just paperweights at best and genuinely dangerous to your safety at worst.

Unfortunately, the divide between what vintage tech still has potential and what vintage tech is better left in the past isn't always easy to see. Sometimes there is something that just seems so interesting that it might otherwise blind you to any of its potential pitfalls. Conversely, you might be overlooking a potential prize of the past. Luckily, there are some retro tech items that, more often than not, fall into one camp over the other.

Computer mice today are better than they have ever been. If you don't believe that statement, go to your nearest thrift store, buy the oldest mouse you can find, and use it for a day. Chances are, you're going to have one issue at best and a slew of issues at worst.

One of the more underappreciated virtues of the wealth of mice available today is ergonomics and layout. In the past, making a computer mouse seems to have been a bit more "anything goes." You can find mice that come in all sorts of horrifying shapes, none of which seem to remotely be meant for the human hand. You could also get a mouse with oddly shaped buttons, no scroll wheel, or one of Apple's many mice that come equipped with just one button. There's also Apple's quadruple whammy that has no scrolling, one oddly shaped button, and horrendous ergonomics: the Apple hockey puck.

Even if you can make it past all of the potential issues of ergonomics and layout that come with an older mouse, you will still have issues with connectivity and type of mouse. You could end up purchasing a mouse old enough that you need to take the rollerball out to clean it, and you'll also need to use it only on particular surfaces. As connectivity goes, a retro mouse is likely to be wired to a USB connection, but it could need to be connected via PS/2. If you do manage to find an older wireless mouse, be prepared for it to not use Bluetooth and instead require you to have a massive receiver hooked up to your computer. When it comes down to it, you'll probably want to stick to modern mice.

There's a certain appeal to typewriters that just isn't met by computers. The charm of punching away at a keyboard while your input is produced in real time right in front of you is hard to deny. However, times have advanced, and so have typewriters. There are still typewriters produced to this day, and they are significantly better than their vintage counterparts.

The largest drawback of vintage typewriters is the maintenance and repair work that comes with them. Though sturdy enough in their heyday, vintage typewriters may show signs of wear and tear that are not easily remedied. Finding replacement parts or a skilled technician well-versed in typewriter restoration can be quite the task. Unlike modern counterparts, vintage typewriters can lack the convenience of readily available spare parts and technical support, potentially turning a charming relic into a very frustrating restoration project.

If you want to do better for your writing output, there are better options than picking up an old typewriter. For starters, you could buy a brand-new typewriter. With something that's still being made today, you'll be able to type into the future with the assurance that you can get support from the manufacturers of the typewriter for a product they're still making.

Another option available, if you're just looking to get something to write on without all of the potential distractions that come with writing on a laptop or a tablet, is a so-called Smart Typewriter. These devices look like typewriters, but rather than outputting sheets of your writing, your words are digitally displayed to you and uploaded to the cloud.

There's certainly an appeal to older smartphones. Slowly but surely, smartphones have come to look mostly the same, with some small tweaks between different brands. When buying a smartphone today, it can sometimes seem like a competition between variations of the same model. Looking back at the early 2010s, there was a huge array of diversity in the smartphone world. Everything was new, and there were plenty of ideas being thrown out there. There was also a huge selection of smaller phones, which are becoming rarer and rarer every year. However, none of those things make an old smartphone worth it. One of the major limitations of older smartphones is their poor performance compared to their contemporary counterparts. If you're used to modern efficiency on a phone, going too far back in time is just going to result in unbearable performance.

Security is also an issue when considering older smartphones. With each passing year, manufacturers release updates and patches to address vulnerabilities and protect devices from emerging threats. Vintage smartphones, having reached the end of their manufacturer-supported lifecycles, often miss out on crucial security updates. This leaves them susceptible to potential exploits, compromising sensitive data and exposing users to security risks that modern devices are better equipped to handle.

One issue that can be hazardous to your health and safety is the battery in these older phones. If you've got one lying around you're considering picking back up, you might find it a little larger than when you last used it. This is a huge signal that the lithium-ion battery in the phone has failed, and this can be a huge risk. Even if you're uninterested in using an old phone, it's worth it to check for a fat battery on any old phone you have around.

The floppy disk stands as an iconic symbol of data storage in a bygone era. Some today might even know it exclusively as the save icon in video games rather than as a physical object. So you might be surprised to learn that the floppy disk is still around and in use to this day. While many of the industries that still use floppy disks are mostly stuck using them, you have the choice of using an outdated storage system, and you may simply choose not to. Unless you're running old software off a floppy disk, you'll be much better off leaving these far behind you.

There are many reasons not to use floppy disks. Their limited storage capacity is one of the biggest reasons. With modern data requirements soaring into the terabytes, the meager capacity of floppy disks — typically up to about 1.5 megabytes — pales in comparison. Transferring and storing sizable files on these antiquated storage devices are neither practical nor possible in most cases.

The issue of data integrity further compounds the challenges associated with floppy disks. Over time, the magnetic medium within these disks degrades, leading to potential data loss and corruption. Unlike more robust and resilient modern storage technologies, floppy disks lack the durability to safeguard data against environmental factors, making them susceptible to deterioration from humidity, temperature variations, and magnetic interference. For the most part, it's okay to yearn for something a little old-fashioned in the tech world. One major exception is in the area of data storage. You'll be far better off sticking to modern tech.

Laptops are great pieces of tech, and they only get better with time. The level of sophistication and power seen in the laptops of today is insane when compared to early laptops, or even models from just ten or fifteen years ago. While saving money on a laptop by buying one that was made quite a while ago may seem like a good way to save money, the reality is that it's just not worth it.

One of the foremost challenges posed by older laptops is their diminishing performance in comparison to their modern counterparts. Technological advancements in processors, memory, and graphics capabilities have propelled newer laptops to levels of speed and efficiency that older computers, both mobile and desktop, simply cannot match. Attempting to tackle contemporary computing tasks on a dated machine often results in immensely sluggish performance, longer load times, and an overall frustrating user experience.

Laptops are already finicky enough; there can be many signs that your laptop needs repaired, and all of them can crop up all at once on an older device. Heating issues, terrible battery life, touchy ports, dead pixels, you name it, and it could be an issue on an older laptop. Going further, there's still the potentially dangerous battery issues that come with old lithium-ion batteries. Any way you slice it, you're better off buying something a little more modern if you're in the market for a new laptop. Some laptops from the not-so-distant past can serve you well. But for the most part, the best uses for an old laptop don't involve running it as a daily driver.