This Tandy 1000 was my first real computer. It came with an Intel 8088 processor, 640K RAM, two 5.25″ floppies, and a color monitor. I later upgraded to a 20 MB hard drive. I spent countless hours writing high school papers, crafting BASIC programs, and playing Gunship and MechWarrior on this machine. It still runs perfectly. — Bill Detwiler
The BBC Micro Model B was the first computer I laid my hands on. It may have been targeted at education but my memories are of duelling guards in Castle Quest, dropping boulders on monsters in Repton and marvelling at the open world of Exile – all rendered using less memory than the average JPEG takes up today. Sadly, unlike other children of the 1980s, the BBC didn’t inspire me to pursue a career in programming but it did spark a lifelong interest in all things digital.
What you see here is Red Hat Linux 5.2, from 1995 — well before Red Hat splintered into Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora. This was the disk I used to finally sever the tie from Windows and never look back. I purchased this disk from Circuit City (RIP) after I realized that Caldera Open Linux 1.0 just wasn’t what I was looking for.
The jewel case folds out into threes to reveal the installation disks (there were two) and a bonus disk that included “Over 100 Linux utilities plus a complete electronic resource library.” Score! — Jack Wallen
I hang on to the original iPhone because it was such a watershed product. At the time, it wasn’t all that useful, though. I still used my BlackBerry to do 80% of things. But one day when my two-year old-picked up the iPhone, swiped to unlock it, tapped the Photos app, and started swiping through photos, I realized they were on to something. — Jason Hiner
By the time I inherited my teal iMac, it was already a few years old. Nevertheless, that workhorse got me through high school — poetry responses, Hamlet midterm papers, and the many side projects of a hopeful future writer. It hasn’t been used in years, but, much to the chagrin of my mother, still lives in my childhood bedroom at my folks’ house. — Erin Carson
This Micron Millenia PC dates back to my time at a now-dead startup that I worked at in 2000. It ran Windows 2000 for years when I used the PC as a test box for technical writing projects. It now runs Ubuntu Linux and still serves as a test box (but not lately). — Will Kelly
This is my turquoise Smith Corona typewriter from the late 1960s, my most beloved piece of tech. A friend gave it to me last year after I mentioned I had been searching for the perfect typewriter for my apartment — every writer needs one. Most people assume it’s just a decoration, but I actually use it to send letters to a pen pal quite often. — Lyndsey Gilpin
My mother shocked us all when she took the bold step of BUYING this Bell System phone in the 70s. No more leasing for Mom! It rang too loud, so my friend Charlie took the bottom off of it and stuffed cotton into the bell to muffle it. Yep. It has a bell inside. And it still works. — Jody Gilbert
My oldest tech product is a 2010 Blackberry Bold 9650. Not exactly ancient, but I trash or recycle anything that I don’t use on a regular basis. — Scott Matteson
The oldest piece of tech we could find at home is a SyQuest EZ 135 MB removable hard disk cartridge. This 3.5″ cartridge has not been e-cycled because of its nostalgia value. My boyfriend and one of his friends started a record label in the ’90s, and they put artwork for record covers and inlays on the disk and would hand it off to a printer. The disk selling for $20 back in the day now holds priceless memories. — Mary Weilage
When I tell people that I’m a gamer, they really have no idea how committed I am. Take, for example, this steering wheel and pedals accessories, which worked on several of my driving games for PlayStation 2. Yes, I upgraded to the PS3 — and more recently to the PS4 — but I held onto my old consoles and several of my favorite games. Granted, these accessories have been collecting dust in a box for a couple years now, but I love them too much to say goodbye. — Sonja Thompson
As someone who subscribes to a minimalist lifestyle, I don’t have much in the way of old computers or smartphones to show off, as I tend to recycle them or give them away. However, this digital alarm clock, which was made in 1995, is still around for some reason. I received it as a birthday gift from my parents sometime in primary school. — Conner Forrest
One peek at this baby blue Nokia 5160 and I’m instantly transported back to 1998, driving to work on PCH along the shoreline in southern California. I’d call my mom while driving my white VW beetle to work in Santa Monica. It was my first cell phone and laws hadn’t been passed against driving while talking on a cell phone, so I took full advantage. That phone took quite a beating, getting scuffed and dinged in my purse and being dropped on the pavement on occasion. Fast forward to 2004, and the debut of the iPod mini. My toughest decision was lime green or pastel pink. I chose pink. And felt quite stylish and high tech at the gym with my own stash of music. To me, tech and style have always gone together. I don’t want one without the other. — Teena Hammond
My first-ever cell phone, a baby blue Nokia 5160, ended up costing me an extra $270. I was so busy chatting with my mom as I drove to work in the summer of 2000 that I sped through an intersection, unaware that the light had changed to red. A week later, this ticket, ahem, I mean, personalized photo, arrived in the mail, courtesy of the City of Los Angeles. — Teena Hammond
Conner is a former Senior Editor for TechRepublic. He is now a Senior Research Analyst at 451 Research.
