About

The tech support team.

The family were helped by their very own Technical Support Team – three experts who worked to make the family’s experience as authentic as possible. They sourced retro-tech from the time, delivering it to the family’s doorstep in the year that it would have been available to them. Gia Milinovich is a technology writer with a lifelong passion for computing, comedian and gadget geek Tom Wrigglesworth was in charge of all audio-visual and communications devices and Dr Ben Highmore is a sociologist who specialises in the history of domestic technology. Together they were on hand to answer any queries the family had and to fix things when they go wrong – which they frequently did.

The family experienced the technological wilderness that was the 1970s when domestic technology such as the Teasmade and cumbersome black and white television sets were luxury items and still made in Britain. But it was a trying time for British industry; industrial unrest impacted on the home; power cuts were a regular feature of everyday life. By modern standards the home was virtually free of high-tech distractions.

This was the decade when computers came into the average home – early in the decade Britain led the way in the production of home computers. Microwave ovens, video recorders and compact discs were all supposed to make our lives easier. Technology began to shrink in size and was geared more toward leisure and entertainment. But prices were still high and gadgets weren’t as user-friendly as they are today.

A whirlwind of technological progress and the communication revolution hit the British Home big time, Britain was introduced to a virtual world with the arrival of the World Wide Web and mobile telephones meant we stopped phoning buildings and started calling people. Electronic goods were mainly made outside the UK and ever-decreasing prices meant that gadgets and constant upgrades infiltrated every area of the home.

Now, here's your chance to explore the gadgets and gizmos of the Electric Dreams era.

Take a trip through our Time Tunnel and reminisce about the 70s, 80s and 90s. Delve deep into our catalogue of nostalgia and remember the hissing Teasmades, beeping Tamagotchis and fizzing Soda Streams. Were these inventions simply flashy gimmicks or revolutions in technology? And could you imagine a world without mobile phones, home stereos or space hoppers? See what other people have to say and tell us what you think! You can rate them too; did they change your world or were they just a bit pointless? Then you can test your knowledge of nostalgic trivia and watch rare clips from the archives.

Start your journey through the time tunnel