Along with my peers, I conflate a technology’s accomplishments with its potentials. We look at technology differently when we help make it.  And in using and analyzing new technology in this way we are equipping ourselves to help navigate the transition from mechanical to sensory communication. Where an interface’s buttons have been replaced by links. This transition from the analog to the digital is especially relevant to us children of the 80’s. We know what life was like before the internet and we also know how to use the internet. The technologies that bridge this gap therefore hold cultural and personal value to us.

 For me, the pieces of antiquated technologies I have chosen to keep evoke memories of the things I’ve made and documented during this era of transition. I’ve endured the editorial discipline required to type an essay on a typewriter, remember the physicality of the rotary telephone and the chair that sat next to it, experienced the novel freedom of carrying my music on my Walkman, and was enamoured by the creative potentials of the point-and-click interface with the Macintosh. While these antiquated objects greatly influenced my productivity during my formative years, they aren’t simply markers of time, nor are they simply measures of my personal history with technology. These objects reference the freedoms of digital technology and the lost textures of the analog.

 The nostalgia of antiquated technologies can cause us to overlook the ecological footprint of their existence. The cruelty of obsolesce, both natural and strategic, is waste. While many physical technologies, like the paper and pen, are being replaced by the virtual, their modern substitutes are driven to be light, small, fast and temporary. These devices are also supported and dependent on a variety of tethers, power supplies and media. Often these peripherals remain long after their devices have moved on. The ecological impact of today’s technology is evidenced in both its production and its disposal. It impacts the health and environment of those who build the technology as well as those who are left to dispose of it.

 As a media maker I rely on many tools – some new and some old. New tools overcome limitations; old tools are reliable. The tools we use and the way we use them contribute to the character of our craft. Eventually we notice that some of these technologies start to limit our means, so we replace them. I’m reminded how mastery gives way to incompetence when upgrading my digital devices. As creators in the digital industries we should not be forgiven for contributing to the waste of our upgrading simply because we are helping to service the innovation of these products. We should be smarter in our contributions to the development of technology. Limiting the obsolescence of our innovations should be placed on an equal plane with profitability and ingenuity. A conciousness about where technology comes from and where it ends up is as much the responsibility of those who make technology as it is to those who use it.

(submitted by Paul Juricic on March 13, 2014)

Cell phones
For the older phones (2003-2008), I am making a guess on the exact model based on image searches and what I remember my phone looking like…I didn’t keep any records.

2003 – Nokia 3595 – this was my first cell phone – i don’t remember what i did with it (maybe threw it away? no clue)

2006 – Samsung SPH-A640 – don’t remember what happened to it

2008 – LG LX260 – pretty sure i mailed it back (but i don’t know where … maybe sprint?)

2010 – LG remarq – 2010 – mailed back (again, not sure where… it came with a postage-paid envelope and i didn’t really pay attention. i just put the phone in the mailbox and off it went!).

2012 – iPhone 5 – currently using

Computers
2002 – Dell Latitude C510 – still have it – still works

2009 – HP DV2 – this was the biggest piece of crap i’ve ever had. i regretted buying it almost immediately, but i didn’t have a lot of cash (and best buy wouldn’t take it back) so i was stuck with it. it had a total system failure in 2011. i tried to replace the hard drive. nothing. i eventually dumped it into the recycling bin at best buy.

2011 – iMac G4 – bought off of craigslist to use in my painting studio, slow-ish but otherwise worked perfectly – gave to a friend in 2013, i think she still has it

2013 – Macbook air ’13 – bought refurbished from apple.com – currently using

Other
iPod 2005 – still have it

(submitted by Richelle Esther Cripe on Feb 26, 2014)