When you compare the technology of yesterday with that of today it's amazing how far we've come. Technology gets smaller, faster, cheaper, and generally just better all-around. I guess that's a given, but going back in time you'd never be able to fathom just how far we've come. It makes you wonder - where will be in 10 or 20 years from now? What kind of electronics will be standard fare in homes around the world? Will we be able to look back and have a good laugh at our current standards? I think so...

1. Rooms Sized Computers

Sure, today we have hand held computers that can do what no room sized computer in the 1960s could even dream about, but something was lost in the transition. Fifty years ago, the bulk of these early behemoths had a kind of substance that is now gone, a mystique that said "I'm a computer, and I could easily crush you, you puny human". Those big computers could barely crunch numbers. Today's smaller brethren are able to run intensive enterprise software applications and barely break a sweat. Maybe a trip to the Google Data center would give me a fix, but until then I guess I'll just have to be nostalgic for these monstrous, man dominating machines.

2. Mix Tapes

Mix tapes were and always will be more special than an itunes playlist or even a burned CD. Remember the stack of tapes next to the cassette player and how closely you had to monitor each song while it was being recorded? Or how about when you had finally finished the tape and it got stuck in the machine, unspooled, and got all tangled up? No matter what you couldn't give up on making it because you needed the music for a special occasion. All of this is what makes the mix tape so nostalgic.

3. Pinball Machines

The buzzes and bonuses shots, and high scores and extra balls, all part of the mechanical wizardry that makes traditional pinball machines so much fun to play. Many of us were only lucky enough to play pinball as it was on its way out, but in pinball's glory days, it was a real phenomenon. Considered by a generation to be one of the greatest games of all time, the pinball machine is a national treasure. Pinball machines are difficult to find in most of today's arcades, so here is a nostalgia inspiring video to take you back.

4. Commodore 64 and the first PC's

Released in August, 1982, at a price for $595 (roughly $1,300 today) the C64 featured 64 kilobytes (64×210 bytes) of RAM with sound and graphics performance that were superior to IBM-compatible computers of that time. During the lifetime of the C64(1982-1994) it was the number one selling PC of all time with more than 30 million units sold. At the time, it was the best piece of hardware you could own. Many of today's programmers and internet stars got their starts on the C64, more than qualifying it for our list of nostalgia inspiring technology.

5. Floppy Disks (actually floppy)

Remember when we used floppy disks? Remember when floppy disks were actually floppy? Yeah it was a while ago, but these old style storage disks were once as ubiquitous as flash drives are today. They also played a big part in early personal computing for most of the 1970s and 1980s the floppy drive was the primary storage device for microcomputers. You could forget about doing any database management with these early storage devices. Since these micros had no hard drive, the OS was usually booted from one floppy disk, which was then removed and replaced by another one containing the application. Some machines using two disk drives (or one dual drive) allowed the user to leave the OS disk in place and simply change the application disks as needed.

6. Text Based Adventure Computer Games

Text based adventure games were the precursors to modern gaming, and during their time were extensively popular amongst gamers. These games required much more imagination than today's games. They were decision based non-graphic games that described what was happening and changed as you made new decisions, basically a computerized version of a choose your own adventure books. One of the most popular of these games was Zork. You can play it here:

7. Lemmings

Originally for the Commodore Amiga, this nostalgia inducing classic is an all time puzzle game favorite. The creatures in Lemmings are based on the popular myth of lemmings mindlessly moving into danger en masse. In order to save a minimum number required for each level, the player must determine how to assign eight different skills to a select few lemmings that allow the selected lemming to alter the landscape and in turn affect the behavior of other lemmings and create a safe passage for the rest. Still fun after all these years. Play it online here

8. Printers (with the paper that you have to rip the sides off)

Printers have come a long way, but they have also sacrificed for their increases in speed and clarity. They have sacrificed FUN. Remember how much fun it was to rip off the sides of paper that helped guide it through the printer? Remember that just as you reached the last page of your essay, after perfectly ripping the first 10 pages, you somehow managed to rip you final page in half? Ok maybe we are better off forgetting about this one.

9. 8 Bit Video Game Soundtrack

Approach to game music development in the 8-bit era usually involved using simple tone generation and/or frequency modulation synthesis to simulate instruments for melodies, and use of a 'noise channel' for simulating percussive noises. The simplistic abilities of early gaming systems such as the original Nintendo generated some of the best known 8-bit melodies of all time. Here's an all time favorite: Mario Bros Theme Song

10. Tiger Handheld Games

Before Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable came Game Boy and Sega Game Gear. Before that Tiger Handhelds. If you are lucky enough to come across one of these that still works, take the time to play. You'll be surprised how much fun it is to throw the same balls and fight the same blinking LCD villains you did 20 years ago.