Featured Image Credit: Liam Thompson/ YouTube
There's nothing like going back to basics to make you appreciate how good you have it now.
That's certainly a lesson you could take from a great YouTube video by creator Liam Thompson.
He spent a week using technology exclusively from the 1980s - right down to the camera he used to film his exploits, and came away appreciating just how impressive some of that older analogue technology really was.
Thompson lived without an iPhone, MacBook, smartwatch or any other gadget from the last few decades - a pretty brave move, if you ask us.
In particular, he said that one device was the most impressive: the Sony Walkman. This is the original portable music player, which played cassette tapes back at the time it launched - but famously went on to produce CD and then mp3 versions.
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The Walkman actually still exists for those audiophiles who still want to carry around their music - rather than streaming it on a service like Spotify. The main problem with these newest versions? They're actually pretty expensive.
Thompson bought a vintage Walkman to use while running, and also a deck of cassettes to play on it - and you can tell he was immediately impressed by how tactile and satisfying the Walkman was to use.
He ended the video by saying he "had nothing bad to say" about the Walkman, and praised its "life-changing buttons", before delivering a 10/10 verdict overall.
Like vinyl records, cassettes have made something of a comeback in recent years - as people search for more of a connection with the music they're choosing to play. In fact, some bands have started releasing their newest albums on cassette, alongside the other more well-known formats.
Who knows - this might spark a boom in Walkmans like the one Thompson used. It's clear that there's a sort of romantic association with these clicky, metallic bits of old tech - especially when they still actually work as advertised.
This is a fitting time to watch Thompson's video, too, since the Apple Mac just turned 40 after its launch in early 1984 - the 1980s are cropping up a lot right now.
