Time waits for no man, and in this case, technology. People find new ways to improve their lives through the application of science in their daily lives; it's why we no longer see pay phones, phonebooks, and the Walkman in public.

However, some technologies are still in use despite their age and are newer and (sometimes) better in performance for various reasons. 

Here are some technologies people still use today and their reason for their continued use.

Pagers and Beepers

People who may have watched medical-drama TV shows like "House MD" would be familiar with what pagers/beepers look like and work. Originally built in the 1950s, pagers are wireless one-way communication devices that became popular in the 1980s for their capability to receive messages almost anywhere at any time, even when away from a landline phone. 

While smartphones have already ousted these little beepers from their throne, emergency services, doctors, and safety personnel still use them worldwide due to their battery life and their durability.

Floppy Disks

Many younger generations may not be aware of this fact, but the save button commonly found in many Microsoft Office Suite and other programs is based on the floppy disk, one of the best ways to save data in the 1970s up until the early 2000s in some countries.

While software size increasingly grew past the capacity of floppy disks (1.44 MB), Vice mentioned that tech controlling America's nuclear arsenal dates back to the 1960s and that the US government relies on giant floppy disks to launch the nukes that could destroy the world many times over.

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Fax Machines

Fax machines or facsimile machines are devices that let a user send a picture of a single piece of paper anywhere in the world so long as the recipient has their own fax machine. Popular in the 1960s, the tech eventually became obsolete through the combination of emails receiving content and printers printing said content.

However, many hospitals and companies worldwide still use fax machines for a variety of reasons. 

According to Make Use Of, they provide a much more viable paper trail than an email chain can and the security old tech provides against hacking and security concerns. If nobody is familiar with such tech, then you're as safe as someone with the latest in cybersecurity. 

Windows XP

The most popular operating system when Millenials were still young, Windows XP took the spotlight when it was released in 2001 because of the improvements it made to its predecessor, Windows 2000/Windows Me. It was easy to use and had fast performance, and stability, per Bleeping Computer. 

Apparently, the US and UK navies and military agree with Bleeping Computer's report - they paid Microsoft millions of dollars to stay on Windows XP when the OS is now generations obsolete, per Popular Mechanics and Fortune.

While both navies tried to wean themselves off Windows XP, they found mixed success in doing so due to the specializations in the OS installed in many marine and underwater vessels.

Cigarette Lighter Plus Adaptor

People may be familiar with a car's 12-volt auxiliary power socket, which could now be used to plug in any car accessory, such as USB converter outlets, heated coffee mugs, portable grills, and even portable tire inflators. However, once upon a time, they had a more concrete use than they have now.

Back in the late 1950s, these outlets used to house cigarette lighters used as a heat source to light cigarettes when a lighter or a book of matches were unavailable or unusable. While the lighter was rendered obsolete, its power socket remains for people to use for other purposes. 

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