Gadget Graveyard: 10 Technologies About to Go Extinct

[Prrkitty]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,515647,00.html

When you look at all 10 of them... you realize just HOW much we've advanced in the last 10... 20... to 50 years.

Heck when I was a teenager I remember having a "tape deck"... both 8-track and eventually a cassette tape... player in the cars I drove.

Now it's multi-disc CD player/s (like what's in our Toyota Sienna Minivan).

Wow... what a technological wild ride we've had over the years. So many advances and really a lot more to see in the future.

[AtmaWeapon]

Printer friendly so you don't have to click through every page. (http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,515647,00.html)

I really don't agree with them on a lot of things. I use a wristwatch every day because it's easier than digging my cell phone out of my pocket, and a good one looks sexy. Beepers actually still have a home in the medical industry and a few other places; "turn off your cell phone in the hospital" isn't cool if you're a surgeon without a pager. My BlackBerry's ringer is like a calm ocean breeze compared to the earth-shattering volume of a pager. The vibrate function of your average cell phone couldn't get Paris Hilton aroused but a beeper can topple buildings. Saying dial-up is dead sounds great until you consider the rural customers that don't even have cable yet; satellite internet's pricey and cruddy.

[Shazza Dani]

It's funny that they listed VHS tapes and DVDs. DVDs replaced VHS a long time ago.


I really don't agree with them on a lot of things. I use a wristwatch every day because it's easier than digging my cell phone out of my pocket, and a good one looks sexy.

I don't own a wristwatch or a cellphone, but sometimes I carry a pocket watch. (Yeah, I'm awesome.)

[Aegix Drakan]

I'd Rather just move my arm and glance at the time on my wrist instead of fishing out (insert device here) and trying to locate the clock on it.

[Shazza Dani]

I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. ~Mitch Hedberg =]

[biggiy05]

I use a wristwatch every day because it's easier than digging my cell phone out of my pocket, and a good one looks sexy.

I used a wristwatch every day I was on the squad and I'll be wearing one again as soon as I start my new job. Whether it's on the squad or in the ER a wristwatch is my best friend for taking vitals.



Beepers actually still have a home in the medical industry and a few other places; "turn off your cell phone in the hospital" isn't cool if you're a surgeon without a pager.

Beepers are starting to fall by the wayside in hospitals. It still has a home in the smaller hospitals but in the "big three" where I'm at beepers are starting to be phased out for Vocera communication badges. All the nurses carry one and the majority of the doctors have one them when they are in the hospital along with their cell phones.

[Russ]

I'd Rather just move my arm and glance at the time on my wrist instead of fishing out (insert device here) and trying to locate the clock on it.
Same here. That's why I still wear one.

Kind of sad that they put DVDs on the list. Unless we get in the habit of bringing thumb drives with us, DVDs are still better than downloads.

[Lilith]

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[rock_nog]

$35 a month for broadband? Crap, I'm paying $45 for crappy DSL, which I recently downgraded to from cable because that's even more expensive.

Also, what's this with Vocera communication badges? I just googled them, and hot damn, it's like something out of Star Trek. Crazy.

[Beldaran]

I have free high speed internet, but I compensate by living in a shitty apartment in one of the shittiest cities in America.

[AtmaWeapon]

I don't own a wristwatch or a cellphone, but sometimes I carry a pocket watch. (Yeah, I'm awesome.)I want a pimp pocketwatch one day, but alas I'm not there yet.

[Shazza Dani]

What city would that be, Bel?

[Xyvol]

Saying dial-up is dead sounds great until you consider the rural customers that don't even have cable yet; satellite internet's pricey and cruddy.

There is a solution for rural customers. My parents use a company that provides "wireless radio frequencies (RF) to deliver synchronous broadband speed to your home." I don't use it much when I'm over there, but I know it's faster than Dial-up. I don't think it's quite as good as mine, but still far better than thier old dial-up service. Of course, if you don't have a landline, you can't Dial anything up!

Some of these I agree are becoming extinct, but some are just not as widely used. For example, floppy disks have been dead for a while. You'd be hard pressed to find a new computer nowadays that has a floppy drive no matter where you live, so I agree that's dead. Even though cell phones are all the rage, and some people (such as myself) use one as their only phone, there are those people living in remote areas where a landline is your only option. Also, I can't imagine a business that wouldn't have a landline in thier brick-and-motar store/office. I consider a wristwatch to be less a peice of tecnology and more a peice of jewelry.

They happily added DVDs to the list, due to "lack of sales" and downloadable content, I am surrprised that they didn't add CDs too. When you can just download songs and albums straight to your MP3 player, who would buy a CD? People like me who want a hard copy for when their hard drive goes kaput.

[biggiy05]

Also, what's this with Vocera communication badges? I just googled them, and hot damn, it's like something out of Star Trek. Crazy.

The Vocera "genie" is what makes it awesome but creepy at the same time. You press the call button, the genie comes up and you say "Call <name>" then it replies with "calling <name>". The person being called receives a message asking if they can talk to <name>. We got in trouble on more than one occasion by "abusing" the Vocera lines.

[Nicholas Steel]

4. VHS tape and VCRs: The Vertical Helical Scan — or Video Home System, depending on whom you ask — met a sad death in 2006 when retailers decided there was no room left on their shelves for the big, bulky cassettes. Digital video recorders gave you perfect-looking "time-shifted" TV shows, and DVDs let you skip the previews on rented movies.No "original" video DVD I have used has allowed me to skip any advertisements at the start (if any are present). I have to copy them with DVDFab to remove the restrictions and allow me to skip the advertisements.


They happily added DVDs to the list, due to "lack of sales" and downloadable content, I am surprised that they didn't add CDs too. When you can just download songs and albums straight to your MP3 player, who would buy a CD? People like me who want a hard copy for when their hard drive goes kaput.
You can download songs and burn them to a CD. CD-R and CD-RW technology is still very popular. no need for CD-ROMs except for small computer games.

[biggiy05]

no need for CD-ROMs except for small computer games.

I'm noticing more and more games going to dvd. At least the bigger games that would require three or more discs compared to a single dvd.

[Banon]

I'd Rather just move my arm and glance at the time on my wrist instead of fishing out (insert device here) and trying to locate the clock on it.

Not to mention cell phones, and I-pods are banned in all sorts of places. (schools, museums, planes taking off)

Oh, and blue-ray had better not take off...EVER.

[Beldaran]

What city would that be, Bel?

Waco, Texas

[jerome]

Love the Hedberg quote, Shazza. Same reason why I don't... well, not really, but it sounds better than that I just keep forgetting to ever wear it.

The VHS tape- yeah, bye-bye quite a while ago. The floppy disks I laughed because I remember being around 10 and getting some the "double density" 512kb 5 1/2" disks for my old Apple IIc computer.

I think the reason MiniDisk players didn't catch on was that they were so expensive compared to the CD Walkmans when their prices went down. That, and if I remember correctly, you couldn't get as much on one as a regular CD.

DVDs though are still very useful. I know that I usually like watching the previews on new DVDs. But after a time or two, I just skip past them. Franpa said you can't skip it, but I'm guessing that maybe that depends on the country coding of the DVDs? Or maybe he's watching the dirty ones. :naughty: Just fast forward those man, hahaha!

Also, where does this artiucle writing person get their information? I'll agree that college is probably cheaper to have a cell phone IF you are on a family plan that's only $9.99 extra a month per phone... and your parents pay for it. But my brother when he was at college out of state, he had the "dead technology of landline" because it was cheaper. Him and his wife just recently switched to cell phones for the each of them because of free long distance and more conveniance. Still, he doesn't call though... the jerk.

I remember beepers, had one for work once. Was glad to be rid of it too. Goodbye beepers, you've had your run of things, now go. Shoo.

[Nicholas Steel]

Oh, and blue-ray had better not take off...EVER.
Why Banon? It looks shit loads better then DVDs on my HD TV >_<", do you just hate Sony being monopolistic?


Franpa said you can't skip it, but I'm guessing that maybe that depends on the country coding of the DVDs?
probably is region specific, like the Australia DVD has advertisements at the start, can't skip 'em.

[Archibaldo]

I'd have to say I haven't seen a beeper in years.

Also, I don't agree with the wristwatches, although I did grow up with one so it's kind of normal to have one.

[ShadowTiger]

I never, ever, ever leave home without my wrist watch. My Cell Phone is from the pre-2002 years of the Cell Phone, and is hardly fit to call someone, much less display the time.

[Banon]

Why Banon? It looks shit loads better then DVDs on my HD TV >_<", do you just hate Sony being monopolistic?

No, I just don't want things that cost like $200 (when DVD players were new) to be replaced by things that cost $1000 dollars so soon.

If blue-ray takes off, it'll pretty much mean that if you want to rent a video, you'll need a blue-ray player. (It happened with VHS, only no one cared, because making DVDs costed less than making VHS.

And yeah... I hate Sony.:cool:

[biggiy05]

No, I just don't want things that cost like $200 (when DVD players were new) to be replaced by things that cost $1000 dollars so soon.

If blue-ray takes off, it'll pretty much mean that if you want to rent a video, you'll need a blue-ray player. (It happened with VHS, only no one cared, because making DVDs costed less than making VHS.

And yeah... I hate Sony.:cool:

Blu Ray player for less than $300.
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882676133)

Blu Ray is taking off whether you want to admit it or not. The quality of the DVD is much better in terms of picture and it's only a matter of time before the price drops to $20. While I don't like the $30 price tag on current blu ray DVDs it is justifiable.

[jerome]

And yeah... I hate Sony.:cool:
I kind of feel the same way, but it's because I was one of the many that followed Toshiba and the HD-DVD format in the HD war with Sony. So I have a $200 HD-DVD player and about 20 HD-DVD movies and can't get any other HD movies.

Although I will admit, from what I've seen of some of those new BluRay players, the picture quality is more like watching real life than a movie. Some friends of mine said they actually don't like it because they feel it's too good.

[biggiy05]

[Beepers actually still have a home in the medical industry and a few other places; "turn off your cell phone in the hospital" isn't cool if you're a surgeon without a pager.

I found out I'm carrying a pager with me 24/7 for work. If I get paged at 2am I have to call the dispatch office to find out what squad I'm going on. What's more annoying is that I have to pay $3.95 every month. Not a big deal but if I have to always wear this pager then they should be paying the fee.

edit: I r dumb and had to edit my post.

[Matteo]

Yeah wristwatches are still somewhat popular. They are still fashionable, especially in the skater/surfer/snowboarder realm. I wear one most days... it looks good and it sure beats getting in trouble at work/school for "checking" your cell phone.

[MasterSwordUltima]

I wear a wristwatch for airsofting, and that's about it.

Seeing this list makes me excited for the future, when we'll have awesomely cool eye and ear implants that let us see our own real time HUDs and stuff. Ghost in the Shell says hi.