INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Cassette tapes have made a comeback
Thankfully, the boombox-on-shoulder look has not.
The roughly one thousand people who still used pagers in Japan might have
shed a tear this week when they were finally discontinued
Wait, you may say pagers are still a thing? Even though you won't find them in Japan any more, pagers are still used elsewhere
And they're not the only "outdated" item still being employed around the world.1) PagersMedia playback is unsupported on your deviceMedia
captionRetro tech: When the pager was kingHow do they work?They're like small radio receivers (we're not explaining what a "radio" is) that
Each user has a personal code that people can quote if they want to send a message to you
Each message flashes up on the side of the pager.Why are they still around?More than 10% of the world's remaining pagers are used by
130,000 people who work for the UK's National Health Service (NHS)
One study from 2017 said 80% of British hospitals still used them.Why? For one thing, reception is always good: some hospital rooms are
designed to contain X-rays, but this also ends up blocking telephone signals
Pagers' radio signals are fine
They're also fast, and useful in emergencies.But pagers might not be long for this world: they are to be phased out of the NHS by 2021 and
replaced by another messaging system.2) ChequesImage copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Cheques are so rare these days,
it's normal to take photos of them when you see them
How do they work?Imagine a book made of slips of paper that your bank
You can tear out a slip (or "cheque"), write down a number (one that is equal to or less than the amount of money you have in your account)
and give it to someone, who can then give it to their own bank for money
Simple!Why are they still around?They're used more than you might think, even if they are less popular than ever.In the US, where small
stores may not accept cards and landlords often demand to be paid by cheque, an average of 7.1 cheques were written per household per month
in 2015.Chequebooks were due to be phased out in the UK by 2018, but those plans were scrapped, because no viable alternatives for the
elderly and vulnerable were in place (most British cheque users are aged over 65).According to UK Finance, the trade association for the
billion) in transactions.Having said this, the number of cheques cashed here has fallen 75% in only 10 years
That figure is unlikely to increase again, but the UK finance industry still expects 135 million cheque payments to be made in 2028.A number
of other countries, including the Netherlands, Namibia and Denmark, have already phased out cheques.3) Cassettes Image copyrightGetty
ImagesImage caption
Pictured: A time before music streaming sites
How do they work?Well, for those of a
certain age, the idea of a cassette tape working at all might seem like a pipedream
This retro music format largely conjures dark memories of badly tangled tape and cracked cases.But for the uninitiated: imagine a small,
rectangular, plastic box filled with a roll of magnetic tape
On that tape you'll find, as if by magic, the work of musical icons such as Madonna, Prince and Rick Astley
You could even record your own!Pop that plastic box satisfyingly into a cassette player - perhaps a classic Sony Walkman or your granddad's
car stereo - press play, and away you go
high-profile artists have released - or re-released - music on cassette in recent years
They're more than just hanging
around - cassette tapes are actually becoming more popular
It's something of a mini-renaissance.In the UK, sales are at their highest level for more than a decade
More than 35,000 of them were sold in the first seven months of this year, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)
That might not sound like much (because, well, it isn't) but it marks the seventh year in a row that sales of the format have increased.It's
a similar story in the US, where, according to Nielsen music, sales of cassette tapes grew by 23% in 2018 compared with the previous year
So what's behind this rise?"I think it's nostalgia," says Ken Brissenden, who owns an online cassette retailer called - naturally - Mr
"It slows down the process of enjoying music
People of my generation like the process of choosing a cassette and looking at the band notes on the sleeve."Plus, it's easier and more
portable than vinyl."But it's not just those looking to re-live their youth who are buying cassettes
"It's on trend," Mr Brissenden explains
"It seemed to take off when Eminem and other big artist started releasing them."Indeed, a slew of modern artists have chosen to release
their music on cassette in recent years
This year's best-selling artists in the format include Billie Eilish, Kylie Minogue and Lewis Capaldi
So there's life in the little tapes yet.Farewell to the items that did not make it4) TamagotchisMedia playback is unsupported on your
deviceMedia captionTamagotchis were launched in Japan in 1996, sparking a cyber-pet crazeHow do they work?They are electronic pets in the
shape of an egg that you have to keep alive
Presumably it's all about learning how to process death and guilt.Why are they still around?Ironically, Tamagotchis refused to die
Instead, they have evolved.They were released in Japan in 1996, and grew in popularity around the world in the year afterwards
Within its first few years, more than 40 million had been sold
And while sales have definitely slowed since, about six million were sold between 2010 and 2017
Last year, a whole new generation of Tamagotchi was released
The basic pixelated grey screen of the 1990s has now been replaced by one in colour
New Tamagochi can, when bumped, exchange data, marry each other and breed, which is nice.There's also a new era of Tamagotchi fans who
Among the subjects being discussed: who should my Tama marry, tributes to dead Tamas and "mature and focused discussion" on Tamagotchi.5)
Fax machinesImage copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
People queue to use a fax machine at a US airport in 2000
Hopefully this isn't an emergency.
How do they work?If you're young enough to have never used - or even seen - a fax
machine, then imagine a bulky printer that sounds like a steam engine
Some older models might even have a telephone attached
They're far from sleek.They work by scanning a document and transferring it into a signal which is then sent down a telephone line, to the
sound of a piercing hell-scream, to another fax machine
This machine then reproduces the document and prints it out.Why are they still around?Largely because businesses, the health industry and
government departments have failed to update their technology.Again, let's look at NHS here in the UK
It's thought to be the world's largest purchaser of fax machines
It is so reliant on the outdated tech that last year it was banned from buying them altogether
It was then told by the government - presumably by email - to phase them out by March 2020.Elsewhere in the world, the fax machine is still
widely used in a number of countries including the US, Germany, Israel and Japan
Millions of faxed pages are still sent every day."For many older people who may feel uncomfortable with computers, faxing is easier, less
expensive, and more familiar," says Professor Jonathan Coopersmith, who has written a history of the device
"Expect them to remain around even as they take a smaller share of daily communicating
"Indeed, in Japan, the machine persists to some extent because handwriting and hard copies are still so highly valued
In fact, just last year, the country's new cyber-security minister admitted he had never used a computer
Talk about learning on the job.
