iGrandpa? 'Ancient' roots of modern tech

Apple Lisa vs. Mac For long-time Apple users, here is a blast from the past! The Apple LISA – rumored to have been named after Steve Jobs’ eldest daughter – was the first personal computer to utilize graphical user interface (GUI). Launched in 1983, the company released Lisa II a year later before devoting itself to the Macintosh line of computers. (alker33/Youtube/Apple)

CB Radio vs. Cell Phones The CB, or the citizens’ band, radio allowed for people to communicate on the road. Used in the 1970s by truckers to avoid speed traps, the CB became a national obsession in the mid-to-late 1970s – thanks to the popularity of television shows and movies. When the 1980s rolled around, the craze died down as people began to get portable car phones. (Uniden/Reuters)

Floppy Disks (8” and 3.5”) vs. USB Drives Floppy disks, both the 8” and its 3.5” counterpart, were seen as a godsend for computer users as you were able to transport and then open the file on multiple computers. However, these fragile disks would only have a few megabytes of storage. When compact disks and later, USB drives, came into play, disks were rendered obsolete. (Reuters/Sandisk)

PDA vs. Smarthphones Personal Digital Assistants, or PDAs for short, were used by many business people. The Palm Pilot wowed the world with its 16MHz Motorola processor, 160x160 resolution LCD touchscreen, and 512kB of built-in memory. 15 years – and many more PDAs and Palm-based smartphones – later, smartphones like Blackberry and iPhone replaced the need for a separate device. (Reuters)

Polaroid vs. Digital Cameras Remember doing the shake? The Polaroid Land Camera, as it was officially known, developed photographs instantaneously. When instant cameras were later replaced by digital cameras, the company produced its last digital camera in 2007 and stopped making film in 2009. (Polaroid/Reuters)

Apple Newton vs. iPad Did you know that Apple had a PDA? Known as the Apple Newton, it was one of the first personal digital assistants, or PDAs. It included similar applications to what you see in today’s iOS devices, such as "Notes," "Names," and "Dates." Not a popular item, in 1998, the company discontinued the device. (Reuters/Apple)