Underrated: old information technology

Old technology doesn't get as much hype as the new ones. People are suspicious of the new, so it needs to be discussed, whereas the old is understood and taken for granted, but the lack of discussion of old technology makes it sound redundant compared to the twitters.

Here are my 3 favourite old information technologies.

1. Radio. I have a digital radio at work, and a bedside clock. I would like 2 bedside clocks, so I can fall asleep with one station and wake up with another. I would like a digital radio at home, too, but they are too expensive. But I listen to a lot more radio than TV, it's how I structure my whole day actually, and it's where I get my news. The only reason I watch the ABC news is for Alan Kohler and his charts. Nothing has replaced radio.

2. Library. I'm not sure why they aren't redundant since the internet, but I go at least once a week, for fiction books, Miss Marple dvds and non-fiction books (recently crochet and european history). I guess on the internet I could browse and hire from a bigger range more conveniently at a reasonably low price, but the library still works for me.

3. The movies. I happily outsource the home theatre system. I like the formality of the session times, the red seating, the automatic lighting. It's the only place to eat pop-corn, although I don't like pop-corn I still think it's a valuable ritual.

I don't have the web at home, and I could live without TV (if I could still watch DVDs of my favourite two shows), and I could be happy without social media, but I would be rudderless without radio...