Retaining older technology?

[razz]

I have a fax machine that uses heat sensitive paper that I needed for my business before retiring. Keep or donate? Where to store if I keep it?

What old technology are you retaining?

[CathyA]

Does your fax machine do other things too?
Seems like anymore, you could just send anything through an attachment to an email.
I know we're going to get rid of our landline and replace it with a cell phone.......which means we can't use our fax. But DH reminded me about sending things through email. Is that a possibility for you, and then you could get rid of your fax machine. If you think it's too old for anyone else to use, send it to electronics recycling, when it comes around.

We have an older Epson picture mate that we don't use........I probably should get rid of it too.
All our TVs are those old big heavy ones. If we ever get rid of them, we'll have to figure out to donate or recycle. But for now.......we're pretty happy with the old TVs.....although we can't stream any movies on them. (And I don't suppose anyone would want to steal them...hahaha)
Geez.......technology changes too fast!
Let us know what you decided.

[Miss Cellane]

When was the last time you needed to fax anything, or receive a fax? What are your alternatives for doing so if you get rid of this fax machine?

My public library will send a fax, for a slight fee, but not receive them. You can fax from most FedEx locations, and UPS locations, which will also let you receive a fax.

There are internet fax addresses, so someone can send you a fax, and you receive it on-line. You can also send faxes on-line. Some of these services have a monthly charge.

A lot of home printers these days print, copy, scan and fax. You may already have a more modern fax in your house, if you have an all-in-one printer.

Check out your options, considered how often you send and receive faxes these days. I suspect you can get rid of this fax machine without worry. Especially if you have a printer that is also a scanner. You can scan documents and email them pretty easily.

As for the fax machine that you have, how easy is it to get the heat sensitive paper these days? That thermal paper indicates that this is probably a pretty old fax machine. While donating it might be a nice thought, will there be difficulties in getting more paper? You don't want to donate something that is going to cause more problems than it solves.

Frankly, I'd find a place that recycles old fax machines and take it there.

As for old tech that I still have, well, there's a 35 year old Denon stereo system sitting in my living room. It still works and the sound is just as good as it was 35 years ago, so I see no reason to get something new. I did update the speakers about 10 years ago, and I bought a new turntable last year. (Yes, I still have vinyl.) There's a flat screen tv hooked up to it, and I play my iPod through it (hooked up to the Tape Deck 2 input--it's so old there isn't even a CD input). It isn't completely outdated, yet.

And it did startle the cable guy when he came to hook up the tv. He was a fan of old vinyl records, and he spent most of the time wanting to play around with it. He had a great time, and fortunately did set up the cable correctly.

[SteveinMN]

Donate the fax machine. Faxes are so rarely used these days that unless you have an active use for it, I wouldn't keep it in hopes of encountering such a use.

As for old tech, we're rife with it here. I still have my first piece of audio gear from back in 1978; still in occasional use. I still have a turntable and a bunch of LPs. I did transcribe all my cassettes to digital, however, so the cassette deck is outta here. I have one film camera left (which I do not use; shame on me).

And I have a small museum of computers I've collected over the years -- early "luggable"/laptop computers, a big collection of TI 99/4a gear, one of the very earliest IBM PCs, some early handhelds (like a Qualcomm/Palm hybrid smartphone and a Newton). When I was working, I'd rotate out the display and lots of my colleagues would come by to reminisce and play with them. Now there's no one to show the collection to, but it's too valuable to give away and a bit too daunting to catalog just yet.

[rodeosweetheart]

We bought a VCR to replace ours that broke--this one was 5.99 at the Goodwill. Liked it so much b ought another one for upstairs. The new flat tv died after a year, so resurrected the old huge tv that looks better to us, anyway (picture, that is). Movies are 3 for a dollar at the Goodwill; when we are done we just donate them back, sort of like a lending library! Oh, and we keep the ones we want to watch when the kids are here at Christmas--White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas story. Am building a great Hitchcock collection.

I had been intending to take the old VHS tapes and digitalize them--things like my son in Brigadoon from high school--and realized it was much, much cheaper just to keep an old VCR, and this has opened up a world of cheap movies.

[iris lilies]

I have a fax machine that uses heat sensitive paper that I needed for my business before retiring. Keep or donate? Where to store if I keep it?

What old technology are you retaining?

razz, why would you keep this? For certain, don't "store," it whatever for?

[creaker]

Donate the fax machine. Faxes are so rarely used these days that unless you have an active use for it, I wouldn't keep it in hopes of encountering such a use.

As for old tech, we're rife with it here. I still have my first piece of audio gear from back in 1978; still in occasional use. I still have a turntable and a bunch of LPs. I did transcribe all my cassettes to digital, however, so the cassette deck is outta here. I have one film camera left (which I do not use; shame on me).

And I have a small museum of computers I've collected over the years -- early "luggable"/laptop computers, a big collection of TI 99/4a gear, one of the very earliest IBM PCs, some early handhelds (like a Qualcomm/Palm hybrid smartphone and a Newton). When I was working, I'd rotate out the display and lots of my colleagues would come by to reminisce and play with them. Now there's no one to show the collection to, but it's too valuable to give away and a bit too daunting to catalog just yet.

I still have a set of Radio Shack Minimus 7 bookshelf speakers from 1978 - I'm debating on whether to get a replacement crossover kit you can buy for them.

[Tradd]

I have a manual typewriter from the,, 1960s.

[bUU]

We don't keep things that long but even as long as we do keep things is proving problematic. We're about to move, downsizing a little. Where the heck is everything going to go? Much of the old stuff will be ditched. My spouse said yesterday how lucky we are that we're doing this now, when we're still able to manage it physically, rather than ten or twenty years from now when it would be a much more difficult task to sort through and address the unnecessary excess we've accumulated.

[Rogar]

I still have a rotary dial phone. One thing about it is that when the power goes off it still works. Although I guess so does my tracfone. I also have an old stereo receiver that I bought back in the '80's. It's in the basement as a backup since my newer receiver gets internet radio and Pandora. At the time the cost was a significant percent of my income and I haven't been able to part with it. I suppose when it comes down to it there isn't a lot of sense to keeping these things other than nostalgia.

Those FAX machines were sure big old things. I'd probably try to find a place that recycle electronics.

[jp1]

I agree with the others, if you don't have a current use for the fax machine get rid of it. The last fax I received was about 1 1/2 years ago. It was from my boss in NY who was only faxing as opposed to scanning and emailing because he had just started with the company and couldn't figure out how to use the scanner...

I'm still using the Bose speakers that my college roommate bought in 1984. The covers look a little ragged because of cats, but they still sound great so I can't really justify replacing them.

[Simpler at Fifty]

I still have my manual typewriter from the 70s. Will add it to the rummage sale next spring.

[Packy]

Damn, you kids are modern! Just like The Jetsons! Anyway, I've got some obsolete things---actually everything----that I use. How do you like that?

[Float On]

I recently chucked the fax machine. Was so glad to do that. I do have 5 old typewriters but that's just more of a collection. We keep the aqua blue one out on the living room coffee table and write notes to each other on it.

[SteveinMN]

I still have a set of Radio Shack Minimus 7 bookshelf speakers from 1978 - I'm debating on whether to get a replacement crossover kit you can buy for them.
I have a pair of those, too. Bought 'em used a few years ago, though. I got that replacement crossover kit, too. It does improve the sound noticeably.

If you already have the speakers and still can hear the difference between good audio and bad audio, installing the upgrade is IMHO a no-brainer. IMHO you'd be lucky to find better speakers for the price of the upgrade. Especially because those speakers are tough. In fact, I'm thinking of substituting my existing wood-cabinet speakers with the M7s by the time toddlers are pawing around. That way if they knock them off the stands, there's no harm done.

[Alan]

And I have a small museum of computers I've collected over the years -- early "luggable"/laptop computers, a big collection of TI 99/4a gear,...LOL, that was my first home computer. I remember spending hours composing TI Basic programming and saving it to my cassette deck for later use. I eventually replaced it with an ADAM computer, made by Coleco, which used Apple Basic. It had two built in tape decks. I really wish I'd held onto both.

[Gregg]

I got a new iPhone this week. They told me I could get a $200 credit for trading in my old phone. Done. It helps that I only paid $140 for it on ebay, but still, having stuff you don't use laying around is a ball and chain. You can always stop by Kinkos if you really need to send a fax.

[Miss Cellane]

I have my grandmother's 1931 typewriter. I last used it two years ago to fill out a form. What I'm amazed at is that modern-day typewriter ribbons work on it. I'd have thought they'd "improved" them so much that they wouldn't.

[ToomuchStuff]

Are you keeping the phone line it attaches to, or do you have a land line? I last used a fax, when my CC info was stolen from some CC processiong company that services multiple stores. I had to fax into the CC companies fraud dept. as my phone number had changed (and I had forgot to update it).
At some point I may get a color, laser printer (when they improve with photo's). At that point, it can be used as a scanner, or some can be used as a fax over IP. For now, as rarely as I would use one, I'd drive to the local FED/EX place (same thing with color printed pictures, no printer for those, remain digital).

[SteveinMN]

I eventually replaced it with an ADAM computer, made by Coleco, which used Apple Basic. It had two built in tape decks. I really wish I'd held onto both.
I'm not sure I still have an ADAM in my collection; I didn't have enough working pieces so I may have sold it. Interesting computer, though. Actually, they all were; back when everyone had a different idea of what was best.

My museum is one of the very few instances of old tech finally being worth something again. Most of the pieces are worth little more than scrap, but there are a few computers that are worth surprising amounts of money. But I sure wouldn't encourage anyone to collect in the hopes of making a killing.:confused: