Since I’ve been on a pseudo-historical bent with the posts this week, I thought I’d just go for broke and make a post about some interesting tech from the days of yore. This isn’t about ENIAC or the Analytical Engine, though, this is about the ever-forward march for convenience through consumer tech.

Below we have some attempts at navigation technology. One is in the form of a watch, and one is meant to be mounted in a car. Both have interchangeable maps that are like little scrolls – the auto-mounted one would advance according to the speed of the car, while the watch one had to be advanced by hand. You could buy maps for different locations and change them out as necessary. The car systems were developed in Bulgaria in the 1930s, while the watch, called the ‘RouteFinder,’ is from England and was developed a decade earlier in the 1920s.

Next, we have the original version of Google Glass, an over-the-eyes TV set, complete with dials and antenna. This was back in 1963, when there were only three channels and no color TV. Plus, you would need to sit very still otherwise the antenna would have a tough time doing their job. (On a related note, if you’re a fan of Google+, you may not be one for long).