With our lives so dependant on technology sometimes it’s fun to consider where it all began

Have you got any of our top 5 gadgets laying about your house collecting dust, or maybe still being used? Either way there is no denying the impact these bits and bobs had on our day to day – yesterday! Presented by Top Shelf International

#5 CASSETTE TAPES 

We all remember the humble cassette tape.

These compact cassettes were a stand out for their time. A revolutionary way to listen to your music on the go either in your pocket or in the car. 

Before these came along, reel-to-reel audio tech was generally reserved for professionals who worked in radio stations. 

Who doesn’t remember rewinding these tapes manually using a pencil.  

#4 THE FLOPPY DISC

Floppy Disks continue to play a part in many pieces of software as the save icon! 

These colourful little squares accompanied computer users for decades as the main portable storage method. Playing host too many of the original computer games and other utility programs.

IBM brought us the first floppy discs which became available in 1971 to the market. These read-only 8-inch disks stored 80 kB of data which ain’t much by today’s standards with tiny cards holding terabytes of files. 

Floppy discs also became the mcguffin device for a host of popular cartoons of the 90s. Apparently holding nuclear launch codes or government secrets. 

#3 CRT TELEVISIONS

If you ever dropped one of these on your toe you would certainly know about it. 

Cathode ray tube televisions were the standard for decades and these bulky boxes of glass and technology have come a long way since. Interestingly enough there is a large community of collectors and enthusiasts who celebrate the quality these screens produce. 

Almost all computer monitors and televisions were CRT units, until LCD and plasma screens started being used. The cathode ray tube was originally used as an oscilloscope which is a machine used to show waves and later showed us …shows!

#2 NOKIA’S 3310 MOBILE PHONE

The Nokia 3310 celebrates its 21st birthday this year.  And remains almost impossible to destroy. 

This little communication powerhouse was released in 1 September 2000 and managed to sell 126 million units.

Many were lucky enough to enjoy the convenience of a mobile with this model being their first. The instant messaging of the 3310 allowed for messages much larger than the size of a standard SMS to be sent.

The joy of looking up how to produce your own ringtones was also a lot of fun with the video game SNAKE getting us through many public transport trips. 

#1 THE APPLE IPOD 

A familiar sight for fans of Apple with the first Generation Ipod.

This gadget truly changed the way we download, share and listen to music. 

The iPod 1G is the only iPod ever to have a physically-movable scroll wheel rather than the touch models we later got – which were later removed all together.

With 5GB of usable space users could enjoy up to 1000 CD-quality songs. 

Many brands were quick to produce their own MP3 players and music devices that would replace the beloved music CD, even Microsoft later competed with their Zune breed of music player.