Period

Before 1800

Technologies from this long period were made largely by hand and driven by muscle, wind, water, or careful mechanical craft. Writing, printing, calculation, timekeeping, and navigation all advanced through skilled workmanship and slow accumulation of practice, and knowledge often traveled at the speed of a horse or a ship.

Placed by when the older technology emerged. Many of these stayed in wide use long afterward.

Photography and Media

Printing Presses vs Digital Publishing Platforms

Printing Presses compared with Digital Publishing Platforms

Publishing once meant casting metal, inking a bed of type and pressing paper against it. Today a text can reach readers without ever touching…

Information Storage

Printed Encyclopedias vs Digital Knowledge Platforms

Printed Encyclopedias compared with Digital Knowledge Platforms

Every encyclopedia promises to gather what is known in one place, and every one falls out of date the day it is finished. This…