Trusted Older Technologies that Back up the Latest and Greatest
Written by Brooke Chaplan
Every year, we are surrounded by advertisements for the newest, latest and greatest tech gadgets. In some cases, these gadgets are genuinely superior to their predecessors and yet in some cases, older tech (one might even use the term “ancient”) still outperforms more modern offerings. Here are three older technologies that are still alive and kicking despite modern advancements.
Mainframe Computers
In 1991, Stewart Alsop, a major thought leader in the world of computing and the editor of InfoWorld, predicted that mainframe computers would be obsolete by 1996. In 2008, IBM redesigned its latest mainframe and in fact, mainframes are still used today. While the safety and security of cloud computing has come a long way, it is still not a suitable substitute for the safety and security of keeping massive amounts of critical data stored away in a physical location.
Two-way Radios
One of the first things that people do in an emergency is call for help, generally on their cell phone. This is great when the emergency only involves one or two or a few people, such as an auto accident or fire. When a disaster involves hundreds or thousands of people, however, everyone trying to call at once can clog up cellular channels and make communication impossible. Two-way radios, however, not only provide instant communication among multiple parties, but they also use different frequencies than cell phones. This makes them far superior in any kind of a disaster and even for general use when a team needs to stay in constant communication. Radios may seem somewhat antiquated, but searching something like “NYC Motorola two way radio supplier” on the internet will likely show you more local retailer results than you would expect.
CB Radios
In the 1970’s CB radios took the world by storm and became an almost inexplicable craze. Many believe that CB radios were actually the precursor to social media. Eventually, however, the mass popularity of CB radios died down and the technology went back to the people it was originally intended for—long haul truckers. While truckers these days certainly have the most advanced tech, they often still rely on this much older tech. Much like two-way radios, CB radios are still the fastest ways for truckers to communicate with each other. Unlike cell phones, they don’t have to dial or type in a message, which also makes them a much safer way for people who are driving to communicate. You may not find these in every electronics, but online retailers like altechradio.com can get you what you need relatively quickly.
The newest tech is not always the best tech. In some cases, the latest and greatest tech does not always solve a problem that older tech actually does. In some cases, it provides greater security and in other cases, it simply bypasses the crowd using the latest tech. Whatever the reason, however, sometimes newer is not always better.Article author
About the Author
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information contact Brooke via Twitter @BrookeChaplan.
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