My love for old technology is probably mostly one of aesthetics. I just like the way old stuff looks, like many others. There are some specific things I like, PDAs being a big one. I can't really tell you why, maybe it's the concept of a "smart phone before smart phones" that intrigues me so much.
I also really like old cameras, both video and photo, but that has to do more with a love for tangible, existing creation. I think there is something magical about having a photo that exists , one that belongs to you. If you use film for photos, develop it yourself and print it yourself, it was made by you entirely with love and care. Maybe I'll dedicate a page to it at some point, but it has to do with the over accessibility of modern smart phones and technology.
Off track. I really like old computers, something about that off white plastic case that takes up the entire desk and a gigantic keyboard with a dedicated e-mail button... delicious.
Let me throw a curve ball at you, office supplies. Okay, well, I already sort of said that. I started with PDAs. WHATEVER!!! It's obvious that paper filing is being phased out for digital paperwork, which is better for the environment and accessibility, but I do still really really love office supplies. One of those really stupid obsessions a person has, I think. Stamps, pins, staplers, filing cabinets, folders, etc. That's not technology!! You yell at your screen. I'm unbothered. I do really like calculators, digital dictionaries and spellcheckers, etc. Those really niche, specific devices that have no reason to exist anymore, love love love.
Okay, here's the super obvious one, no surprises here: phones. I LOVE old phones. Pretty much all old phones, all the way back to rotary phones. I love payphones, flip phones, pagers (not a phone), office phones, home phones, those landlines that look like things (cheeseburger phone...). You name it, I want it.
In conclusion, I think it's a hard thing to explain to people. I don't think it has anything to do with the idea that those were "the better days," I think it's something more abstract. I'm sure what older people say, that older tech was so much worse, are true. I have no reason to suspect that I would live a better life with an older phone. Like I said, aesthetic plays a big part in my obsession. I think modern technology, like many others, is boring and flat. It has no personality. The standard was set 15 or so years ago, and since then, we have gotten nothing new. When you look at phones from the 2000s, you see these weird, awful designs. They were less about practicality and more about personality. While you can argue that's stupid, anybody would be stunned to see the Nokia lipstick phone or a flip phone today. As somebody who has used a flip phone for some time in the last few years (but not anymore :c), people are shocked when you use a unique phone.
Everybody wants to be unique, but we all fit the same mold. Doesn't that suck?