New technologies come out all the time, and when they do we replace our old tech with bigger and better gadgets. But what happens to the old tech? We have a tendency to let them fade into history. A good example of this is the landline telephone. Some people still have them in their home but they’re being replaced by cell phones. And it’s not difficult to imagine that in the near future they’ll no longer be a household item.
So we thought we would focus on a few technologies that may be phased out soon. Some of these may even vanish in the next 10 years.
Fax Machines: Don’t you hate receiving or sending faxes? You’re not alone. The fax machine, once the height of gee-whiz technology, is now a pain in the posterior. Don’t be surprised if all our “faxing” in the future is done entirely through e-mail.
Newspaper Classified Ads: Recently The Huffington Post stated that classifieds are on the endangered species list. This is mainly as a result of sites like Craigslist. They provide massive forums for people to search classifieds and add their own for free. This opportunity may have put the nail in the coffin for newspaper classified ads.
Film-Based Cameras: People love film, and it has taken some time to phase it out, but there is no doubt that the digital camera changed photography permanently. Kodak has felt this transition more then most, so much so that the company is no longer making cameras. People like digital cameras because they can save their photos easily and make prints without needing to save negatives that decay. We shall see how much longer film-based cameras last, but they are definitely on their way out.
The Calculator Watch: This little gem didn’t last a long time, but while it did it was well loved. It was the perfect solution to always have a calculator on you. However, it wasn’t very alluring and now people have a calculator in their cell phone. That’s the reason it is on PCWorld’s list of 40 obsolete technologies.
The Video Arcade: The video arcade could be dying as well. Older gamers remember hoarding quarters so they could later feed them into Pac-Man and Space Invaders consoles at their hometown malls. Those times are gone, though. Gamers today prefer experiencing their video adventures from the convenience of their own homes.
