When is a good time to get rid of your old tech? The answer: maybe never. I know that’s not something my wife, Lily, wants to hear. 

I still have an old eMac computer that dates back to 2002 taking up space in our basement. Lily would jump at the chance to get rid of it. 

I have older tech than that as well. I have an old one-button Mac mouse that dates back to the late 80’s or early 90’s. That item I keep just in case I ever create an Apple shrine in the house … but we won’t mention that idea to Lily.

I will admit that saving old tech sort of goes against my pattern recently.

Over the last six months, we have purged a lot of stuff from our house. When I retired back in October, I got rid of a lot of books, paper and files. We got rid of a big desk and a slew of other things we didn’t need and were no longer going to use. 

But I have a tendency to keep most of my old technology.  

For instance I have an old floppy drive that hadn’t been used for more than fifteen years. However, it came in handy during my fall purge. I was able to get information off of dozens of floppies before I tossed them in the garbage. 

No one uses VCRs anymore but I still have one. And I used it recently to get the contents off some old VHS tapes and then digitize them into a usable format for the modern world.

This process was a true testimony to the importance of keeping old tech around. 

I used my VCR to play the VHS tapes. Then I hooked up a 23-year-old camcorder to record the tape to digital format. Once I’d done that, I used my old 2009 MacBook Pro to download the digital recording into an old movie editing software. I needed the old Mac because it is the only computer I own that still has a FireWire port on it.

I felt like McGyver … only I wasn’t using sticks, rocks, rubber bands and sulphur to make an explosive device.

But if you really want to know why you shouldn’t throw out old tech, it’s because your spouse still needs it. They don’t think they need it, but they do. 

Yesterday Lily came from visiting her Mom and handed me a 16G iPod Touch from 2007. She simply said, “This was my Mom’s. Can you see what’s on it?”

Well, there is no way I could find out what was on that iPod without charging it. And it hadn’t been charged for five years or more. 

In order to charge the iPod, I needed a 30-pin connection. I haven’t used one of those for years. That connection goes back three iPads ago and to a 2010 iPhone for me.

But I still had the connector.

I charged the iPod and gave the information to my wife. … You’re welcome!

Here’s the thing: Today there are many people who are saying the past is not important, and perhaps even harmful. There are those who say the Old Testament of the Bible should not be used, that we should bury it. Many people today don’t think we need to pay attention to some passages anymore. But the Bible is God’s word. It’s true, it’s right, and it is old. There may be unpleasant passages in it, but don’t dismiss them or this book. It is God’s word to us. Read it, memorize it, know it and live by it. I’m sure God would say, “You’re welcome.”

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What old tech have you kept around? Leave your comments and questions below.

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