Nathan Dreasher / Android Authority
Last week, I started an experiment. I wanted to know how it would be like it was 1993 again. This year, the Internet and Windows 95 and the first dot com, was the last end of the Analog era. I was a baby at the time, so I remembered how matters were. But can I still work in this world today?
For a week, I lived without modern technology unless it was necessary for work and emergency. I picked up a disk man, written in a paper planner, and made phone calls instead of texting. It was first suffering from chaos, but when it was all over, it was strangely calm. That’s how my week was.
Which tech would be the hardest for you?
43 votes
Smartphone
56 %
Streaming music and video
7 %
Smart Home Devices
0 %
Google Maps
16 %
Social media
0 %
I could have gone all this tomorrow
21 %
Monday: Finding the tech of the 90s
Nathan Dreasher / Android Authority
Wake up as usual. Wait, no I didn’t. My phone’s alarm didn’t stop, because I no longer had a smartphone. They had not yet been invented. I was late Woke up, went around, fed his children and dressed and left for school.
I had completely forgotten what I had to do next because I had no reminder or even a calendar. By that time, I was thinking that I might have been ready a little before starting this experience.
Thankfully, I was really already living in 1993, though in childhood, but at least I knew what to find. However, detecting a working disk was not an easy achievement. There was a bunch of efficiency in stores, almost all of them were broken. I finally got a job that did a lot of work with some CDs: Alice In CHINA, Red Hot Pepper, and Bass Ekka.
For those who have never used, a diskman is a portable CD player about the size of a paperback novel. When you walk, AA eats batteries, and looks like a museum sample. I usually stream music from YouTube music, but for this week, I had to rely on physical discs.
In 1992 and 1993, I also caught a Blue Jess Pennet, celebrating his two -back backback world series win.
Nathan Dreasher / Android Authority
Media in the 90s hit different
The disk man was fragile and AA batteries almost almost so quickly when I could change them. I had to recharge them overnight. Yes, I used rechargeables, so I think I cheated a little. Until I was standing at all, the diskman was incredibly quick.
There were no pods cast in the 90s, so I changed these people with MK Talk Radio for a minute, and then turned into a FM. It seemed strange not to make this choice to hear what on the demand, but it was also free. It was a little thing I needed to worry about.
In fact, I used my Xbox to play DVDs I took from the library. No one had a VHS, and I couldn’t even find a VHS player at other -handed stores, so we had to decide for DVD. But going to the library with your children and selecting some movies, the deepest memories were brought back to the blockbuster. My children had the same excitement I remember, so it was a win tomorrow. Similarly, Simpson was watching every day, just as I was teenage.
Tuesday: Railing of Communication
Nathan Dreasher / Android Authority
I had to re -make the feeling of having a landline phone. We do not have a landline in the dresser home, so I turned my trusted Redjit 10 Pro at a table in the hallway and it became our defective home phone. It was strange. Whenever I wanted to contact someone, I had to walk towards the hallway and lift it, just as I used to do with a family phone on the kitchen wall in the 90s.
I forced myself to make a phone call instead of sending messages, an event that surprised a friend of mine when his phone rang and I was at the other end. It may be that despite the years of knowing, I have ever called him.
The diskman began to jump like crazy on a daily jugs, which slowly turned into a walk. For some reason, he began to do this where he once started to jump, he never stopped. I found that I have to take the CD out and keep it back to reset. I will take an iPod on it, but I have to wait ten years.
Wednesday: Task Management by hand
Nathan Dreasher / Android Authority
Without my fast mail calendar or todoast, I was lost. I had the first two days to grind, though until Wednesday, I was already making a habit of not having messages or social media. Honestly, honestly refreshed, to be honest. I also solved the problem of task management by lifting a one -day planner from the dollar store. I thought I would use it for just a week, so there was no use of spilling.
It needed early self -discipline. There were no push information or smart watches here, so I had to check myself several times daily. Everything was manual. By adding events I took about a deliberate health that I had completely forgotten about. It was more work, but I found out that it helped me to focus. Handwritten writing made them real, and I remember them better.
Thursday: Sending the old way to a postcard
I was traveling in my week until Thursday. I was surprisingly, I did not get sick of Alice in chains or bosses. It would have been good for some more CDs to slip, but I decided not to spend much money on it.
I also sent a postcard to a friend who lives in Alberta, here on the other side of the country in Ottawa. I sent her as a joke. A real -life postcard. Even I went and bought a stamp for everything else. Generally, I would have sent it a meme or GIF against the RCS or Messenger, but in 1993 these things were not available. A very bad post in Canada, our national mail career, went on strike. In the 90s, I do not expect an immediate response anyway.
Friday: My old favorite games now suck
Nathan Dreasher / Android Authority
I have been spoiled for sports in the modern age, because when I downloaded a copy of the original seed mayor’s civilizations and fired it, I was terrified. Graphics are practically neutral. Options are as basic as anything. I realized how far we were gaming.
Nowadays I play on a modern PC or an Xbox Series X, or when I encourage my Quest 2 on my head and play golf. I am accustomed to detailed graphics, ray effects, wide stories and high frames. None of it was in sports in 1993! And still I remember playing civilization, wolves, and lemons for hours at a time.
Which I learned from a low -tech week
The day was over and at the same time, my week was living in 1993. I realized how little things had changed. For example, microwave, refrigerator or food, and other devices were the same. But in 1993, life was definitely slow and quiet. This experience reminded me how many times I rely on modern tech to fill every useless moment. At least temporarily, at least temporarily left me for a week.
I heard the entire albums instead of playlists. I remember the plans. I talked to people over the phone and laughed with my children. Such things make a difference.
Shall I do again? Of course will I recommend it? Maybe, especially if you are overwhelmed by life. Just unplug a little and drain some of the boss.
