#90s stuff

[glimmerkey]

2002 Claires - Happy New Year Trinket Box

[lauraine90s]

I'm confused.

How did people spend their leisure time in the 90s?

Sure, there was some access to technology, but a lot of what I've seen in movies and what I can remember seems to make very little sense to me today, despite the fact that I have done some of these activities on occasion.

Suppose that when you don't have constant access to the internet, there might be more smalltalk with strangers. Not that I necessarily appreciate talking to strangers, but at places like my ballet studios it might've been nicer if I was naturally the least sociable person there – I don't often speak to people unless spoken to.

I've long since thought about putting a book in my workbag, so that I can read a bit during our breaks. Funny that my first instinct is to stay withdrawn, but also the recognition that tiredness means this is an impossible task.

But pool tables, cards, and boardgames were apparently all the rage in the 90s, and I suddenly remember that Magic: The Gathering was first released in 1993, so there's that to consider as well. I guess my main thing to say is that I do nothing and I'm upset about it.

[lauraine90s]

Let's look at some 90s pcs~

Macintosh 1984 vs iMac 1998

Apple has always aimed for the most compact formats imaginable (possibly going too far with the iPod Nano, considering what a fire hazard it is to keep one lying about in your house nowadays). And as usual, Steve Jobs showed himself to be more a marketing genius and a sort of artist rather than a tech guy, which is certainly also how he liked to portray himself.

I'm thinking of the fact that he had himself photographed in his home, nearly empty of all furniture, in a way reminiscent of artists in their studios.

Marketing towards the "cool" crowd rather than the nerds who were just about the only people using computers at the time, Apple was dragged out of a death spiral by the return of Jobs and the subsequent releases of the iMac (1998), iPod (2001), and of course the iPhone (2007).

My dad might be to blame for me turning into a bit of an Apple nerd (of the Steve Jobs era, that is), but it is impossible to explore the history of 90s and y2k tech without them, considering how many things they've pioneered, primarily because Jobs wanted to design things that were hitherto thought impossible.

The first iPhone had internet capabilities too advanced for what network providers were willing and able to deliver upon release, for example, and the demands of smartphone owners forced them to adapt and overcome and invest more in their towers. Same goes for the music that was supposed to be on the iPod – music companies and musicians were terrified of piracy in a fully digital marketplace and not all were as willing as Arctic Monkeys (2005 onwards) to make use of the digital space to get fans.

Packard Bell Corner Computer 1995-97

I actually love this design. The convenience of having everything in the same space like this, the consideration for a sort of symmetrical design, built-in speakers that you can't easily replace – you know, after giving it some thought, I imagine having all this tech stacked together like this probably drove up the price and made upgrading more difficult. Is that why these things were discontinued after only 2 years?

The only thing Wikipedia really explains about them is the following:

However, despite the distinctive design of its casing, some critics focused on the fact that the cables and slots were located at the rear, preventing it from being placed perfectly in a corner, as it was necessary to leave a space or the position of the floppy drive and CD reader on the sides, preventing front use.

I wasn't focussing that much on the background, but now that they mention it, it does appear to be designed for the corner of a desk. Funny how I wouldn't even want to put a computer right in a corner now, and didn't even consider the inconveniences the 90s critics complained about as a result.

My battle station must needs be as wide as possible!

Now, I don't at all remember what brands of computers my dad owned back in the day, but I distinctly recall how noisy they were and the weird popping sound speakers made when you switched them on. Everything required its own power source, and I always imagined these machines drained our home's sockets even harder than whatever stuff I use today.

The electricity hubs weren't exactly safe for young children or pets, let's put it that way. Though similar constructions are still used today (if you happen to be like me and still prefer to own and use some type of desktop computer, but since mine is also an iMac this is kind of a moot point in a way), it's nothing like the tangled mess I remember from just using a machine that wasn't attached to its monitor, speakers, and microphone. (Or is it the other way around?)

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PCUser486 has these absolutely beautiful videos on Instagram where he shows off 80s and 90s tech that absolutely still works, complete with all the noises and waiting times associated.

What a time to be alive. Too bad I was too young back then (or even alive, depending on how bar back you're thinking) to mess about with computers.

[glimmerkey]

90s Mickey Mouse - Rad Rollers Action Marbles

[lauraine90s]

Need to get me one of these so I can experience the joys of rewinding VHS tapes again~

We never got rid of any so there's plenty of movies to choose from, including my favourite out of the bunch specifically because my mum never threw away the 1997 receipt that's still inside (it's Titanic).

[glimmerkey]

1998 Koosh Ball Mickey Mouse

[lauraine90s]

A slow living-day

My whole day today consists of:

1) Taking care of my pony ( @faeriethepony )

2) Reading books in public

3) Ballet class ( @latetothepointe )

I always try to imagine what life would have been like had I not been born in the 90s, but properly grown up in it like an older millennial. I see movies like Clueless and spot a character (Christian) reading a book for leisure and pleasure while he sits in class like it's the most normal thing in the world. (He is in fact identified as gay by another character because he, among other things, reads Oscar Wilde, which only means something to people who have at least a passing knowledge of literature. All of these characters are still in high school.)

While I can do blogging on the go now, it's almost like a lost art form in a way. I think of the popularity of personal websites in the 90s, and of the LiveJournal fandom wars and forgotten gems like Pottersues during the early Y2K era, and realise how far removed we are from those days.

Tumblr picked up where the others left off in the 2010s, but with so many people huffing AI slop and thinking short form content amounts to actual reading these days, I sort of miss the days my uncle was a micro-celebrity in his specific blogging niche (it was ofc travel-related).

It made no money; that wasn't the point. Some people, like my uncle, got quite a lot of readers, but the dopamine hits weren't instantaneous and marketed to users with red notifications to draw their attention. It was sort of more personal and authentic that way, though I suppose the privacy issue was a thing back then too.

There's just a lot more nastiness on the internet now, which is why it's good to sit back and relax with some offline things every now and again. In fact, I've made a habit of doing this for the majority of the day (barring the fact that I listen to music through my phone).

Life is just a little more peaceful when you pretend your access to the internet is limited the way it was when I was a child, and not just because computers were too expensive to really have more than one, and you certainly wouldn't let your kids play with those all day when you could just send them outside to play with other kids in the neighbourhood.

[lauraine90s]

My little collection of Game Boy Pokémon games (so far) 🔴