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Best of Brakfast Episode 174 Yana Bolder
Every generation has its “next big thing.”
A gadget that promises to transform life forever.
Sometimes it does.
The internet certainly did.
Smartphones definitely did.
But Gen X also lived through plenty of technologies that were supposed to revolutionise the world…
…and quietly disappeared instead.
Looking back, it’s hard not to smile at some of the things we were convinced would be the future.
MiniDiscs
For a while, MiniDiscs looked unstoppable.
They were smaller than CDs.
Didn’t skip as easily.
Could be recorded over.
And looked wonderfully futuristic.
Surely this was the next step in music.
Except…
MP3 players turned up.
Then smartphones.
Poor MiniDisc never really stood a chance.
3D Television
Remember when every electronics shop had a room full of people wearing strange glasses?
Manufacturers told us we’d all be watching television in 3D within a few years.
Instead, most of us watched one film, said:
“That’s clever.”
…and never used the feature again.
Satellite Navigation CDs
Before maps lived inside our phones, sat nav systems often relied on CDs or DVDs.
It felt incredible.
A computer in your car telling you where to go.
Although it occasionally believed you were driving through a field.
Or a lake.
Still, at the time it felt like science fiction.
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)
Before smartphones combined everything into one device, many people carried a PDA.
Calendar.
Contacts.
Notes.
Very impressive.
Until you realised you also needed:
a mobile phone
an MP3 player
a camera
and sometimes a paper diary anyway.
The smartphone quietly merged them all together.
Video Rental Membership Cards
Not really technology itself, but certainly part of the experience.
Membership cards.
Plastic video cases.
Late fees.
The whole process felt completely normal.
Now thousands of films appear instantly on a television without leaving the sofa.
Back then, that would have sounded impossible.
Fax Machines
There was a time when fax machines represented cutting-edge communication.
Documents travelling through telephone lines in minutes.
Amazing.
Today most people under 30 have never sent one.
Some have never even seen one.
Yet businesses couldn’t function without them for years.
Portable CD Players With Anti-Skip Protection
This felt like genuine innovation.
Because without anti-skip…
Every step sounded like the drummer had fallen downstairs.
The technology improved enormously.
Just in time for MP3 players to replace it.
Digital Cameras
For a while, these were the gadget everyone wanted.
No more paying for film.
Hundreds of photos on one memory card.
The future had arrived.
Then camera phones improved.
Now millions of digital cameras spend retirement in drawers while smartphones do the job instead.
Bluetooth Earpieces
There was a period when people walked through supermarkets apparently talking to themselves.
It took a moment before everyone realised they were using Bluetooth headsets.
For a few years they looked incredibly futuristic.
Then wireless earbuds arrived and quietly took over.
DVD Extras
Remember spending ages exploring DVD menus?
Deleted scenes.
Commentaries.
Behind-the-scenes documentaries.
Interactive games.
It felt like owning a tiny entertainment package rather than just a film.
Streaming made everything quicker.
But somehow less fun.
Some Technology Was Ahead Of Its Time
Not every “failed” technology was actually a bad idea.
Some simply arrived too early.
Others were overtaken by something even better.
That’s the nature of innovation.
Some ideas become household essentials.
Others become brilliant pub quiz answers.
The Excitement Was Half The Fun
Perhaps what Gen X remembers most isn’t the gadgets themselves.
It’s the excitement.
Walking into an electronics shop.
Reading magazine reviews.
Saving up for months.
Bringing home something that genuinely felt futuristic.
Technology wasn’t just something you upgraded every year.
It felt like an event.
And even if some of those world-changing inventions quietly disappeared, they all played a part in getting us to where we are today.
Although somewhere in a loft, there’s probably still a MiniDisc player waiting patiently for its comeback.
Brendon McCullum will leave his role as England's Test head coach but continue to lead the white-ball teams. The forty-four-year-old took over the red-ball side in spring of 2022, bringing an immediate uplift in form with his 'Bazball' style and winning eleven of his first thirteen Tests in charge. This came after England had secured only one victory in seventeen games prior to his appointment. However, England have lost eight […]
