🎶Taste is Back

The early 00's return with a vengeance

David Nichols

Feb 23, 2026

SPRING is coming.

No - not winter. Though I am intrigued by A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

These flowers came up just a few days ago!

My favorite part of early Spring / late Winter is when new flowers start peeking out of the ground . . .

I successfully moved around a bunch of daffodils in my yard last Fall - and they’re poking their heads up too!

Speaking of flowers - did you see that neat Link Bouquet site? All you have to do is add cool links and send to a friend / loved one. It’s very creative.

Side note: I’m starting to see A LOT MORE creative things on X/Instagram. The taste renaissance is finally here.

Oh! and i wanted to share this - AOL dialup internet was discontinued last year. This reddit thread from last year is full of people trying to figure out if they know anyone who uses it. (WHO are these 250,000+ people).

On a AI side note, I’ve successfully set up OpenClaw on my mac mini and am experimenting with local models. They’re S L O W - so - I’m running MiniMax for all the day to day stuff.

I won’t be an AI shill in any means - but the Taalas Ask Jimmy demo is eyeraisingly fast. We’re about to see some insane stuff with models like that . . .

🎶TECH TASTE IS BACK

Remember the “transition period” where people carried around an MP3 player and a phone?

Some of the phones played music too - but more often than not you saw everyone with their iPod classic / video and a phone.

Those were the days . . . when there were 3 million cool phones like the Samsung X830 or the Nokia N93i

Everyone had something different - and only older people / parents could afford iPhones.

Remember the Nokia 7600? It’s hard to believe this was real phone.

I don’t have to remind you that everything these days is a rectangular slab.

But - the winds are a’changing.

Even Walmart’s Onn brand knows it.

More than just a nostalgic yearning for the old days - many people are tired of the hold modern technology has on us.

Why . . . why should i be like everyone else??

And - slowly - taste is making a comeback. Here’s some examples.

1). EDC (every day carry) videos are getting lots of views - and with it the curation of a personal sense of style

Between Youtube, Instagram, and subreddits like r/dumbphones, people are curating devices to match their aesthetic. Here’s some examples. . .

digital minimalism setup - hipster vibe version
Aestheticc 00’s Setup - complete with charms
Chad King - 40-50’s vibes
Aestheticc gamer - can’t forget a PSP

2). MP3 Players have made a big comeback - with an emphasis on aestheticc

Cassette tape style - with the FiiO Snowsky
iPod style - with the Innioasis Y1
and PSP style - no actually using a PSP
Anime style - with the Hiby android Hatsune Miku

3). The Neocities trend is accelerating - personal websites are getting more and more popular

Neocities now has over a million websites
Host your own web 1.0 website
Nekoweb is pretty popular now - with its own webrings
Status Cafe enjoys a thriving community
and we can’t forget the fun world of Melonland - with a busy forum
and of course - the vaporwave world of Agora Road

It remains to be seen how long this “tech taste phase” lasts. I personally hope it keeps accelerating until we actually see the big companies (Apple / Samsung / Google) take notice and start playing ball.