
21 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade - ciscoriordan
http://www.businessinsider.com/21-things-that-became-obsolete-this-decade-2009-12#pdas-1
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InclinedPlane
#6 Maps

Sorry, no. There may be alternatives to maps now, but maps will still be
around for quite some time. There isn't cell service everywhere, and a GPS is
not the end-all-be-all of navigation. I can take a map and a compass out into
the boondocks through rivers and rain and ice and mud and brush and still find
my way (which in some circumstances can be a life or death thing). Electronics
are a good complement to maps, but they are not a 100% replacement yet.

Also, I'm surprised they missed CRTs. That's a pretty big change that's
affected huge numbers of people.

~~~
gamble
"Also, I'm surprised they missed CRTs. That's a pretty big change that's
affected huge numbers of people."

Amen. It always amazed me how many people ran their CRT at 60 Hz. Even today's
cheapest LCD is an ergonomic achievement compared to what most people used ten
years ago.

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Arubis
#21 on the list: Paper.

"Probably the biggest casualty of the decade. With most communication now
conducted online, magazines and newspapers crumbling, and e-readers increasing
in popularity, paper is now on serious life support.

It's likely we'll look back and say that, after a 2,000 year reign, paper was
killed by the noughties."

I absolutely disagree.

The way we use paper is shifting, yes: Paper's domain over long-term data
storage is, obviously, shaken and falling, and that's a good thing — it's
bulky, wasteful, and slow to search. So, too, are the news and the paper
further in sunder, as scaled communication moves further into the digital
domain.

But as a means and medium for thinking and creation, pen and paper are still
orders of magnitude more effective than computerized tools except in very
specific instances.

It's possible that I'm being a luddite here, and that the generation being
born now will find using a computer for the initial stages in the creative
process to be more natural than pen and paper. My suspicion, though, is that
this simple medium persists because we've had a lot more time to refine it —
far longer than the modern computer has existed.

\--

As an aside, does anyone have a better term for this decade than "noughties?"
I've heard it a few times and can't shake the feeling that it's awful.

~~~
aaronblohowiak
Have you ever used a Cintiq?

~~~
xtho
Build auch a device in A3 format powered by solar energy and come back again
when you're done.

~~~
aaronblohowiak
I prefer the larger format, in paper and with interactive media. As for solar
energy, power constraints simply aren't an issue for me. I don't want to work
when I am in places without readily available power (i like to keep work,
work.)

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tjr
Email accounts you have to pay for? I don't remember ever paying for an email
account, per se. They show a picture of an American Online graphic; I never
used American Online, but weren't you paying for the whole service, not just
email? I've had multiple email accounts that were tied to ISPs, but felt I was
more paying for the overall internet service.

CDs? Maybe to a large degree, but one high-end jazz group I know of just
released a new album strictly on CD, because they don't feel that digital
distribution options offer enough sound quality.

Getting film developed? Definitely fading, but as I look at photographs that
I've taken over the past few years, I like the overall appearance of the
photos taken on Fuji NPH-400 film over those taken with a $3000 digital SLR
camera.

~~~
dlsspy
> CDs? Maybe to a large degree, but one high-end jazz group I know of just
> released a new album strictly on CD, because they don't feel that digital
> distribution options offer enough sound quality.

CD _is_ digital distribution. I grab the CD, copy the bits onto my computer,
and place my drink on it and listen to the music.

(idea stolen entirely from the NOFX Coaster album (Music included!):
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhOY7z2FY3U> )

    
    
        Coasters and Frisbees
        Fish lures for deep seas
        Mobiles for infants
        They make great Christmas tree ornaments
    
        Bring the whole family,
        parking is free
        You're going to love
        our selection
        of 8-track tapes,
        Blank floppy discs,
        mobile car phones,
        Atari 2600 consoles
    
        Guard rail reflectors
        Hold 'em hand protectors
        Halloween handouts
        We got a ten-thousand foot warehouse
        Full of cassette tapes,
        Persimmon woods,
        Ink jet printers,
        telephone booths,
        Sony Walkman's,
        Kodak 110's,
        Analog TV's,
        Betamax's
    

And 10 million CD's

~~~
billybob
I still buy CDs, even though I rip them immediately. Why?

1) I like getting booklets with lyrics 2) I can re-rip anytime with higher
quality or a different format 3) The CD gets stored safely as a backup

If all digital music were sold in a lossless, DRM-free format, and included
excellent digital booklets, and I had an easy and good backup strategy, I
guess I'd stop buying CDs. But that day hasn't quite arrived for me.

------
liquidben
I think they should also credit RedBox for the decrease in rental stores.
There are a lot of people out there who use it, either because they aren't
internet-savvy or for other reasons.

As for faxing, I sadly encounter way too many occasions where it is still
used.

Here's hoping that in the next decade, we'll see a drastic improvement of
local governments posting things online. I just received a letter stating that
unspecified changes were being made to a the zoning codes of a district only
referred to as a number, specifically in regards to areas zoned as one of two
different two-letter abbreviations. For full text, I have to go to city hall.
They might as well have printed it on Vogon letterhead

