I am all in favor of progress. However, some things which are now obsolete (or close to it) are (IMHO) better than what replaced them.
*Real *analog clocks - not those phony, battery-powered, one tick per second pieces of crap. I’m talking about the ones that plugged into the wall. And geez were those things accurate (probably 1 second per month). And those plug in the wall clocks were quiet. That one tick per second makes sleeping rather difficult if not impossible. Also, it makes lulls in conversation very noticeable and awkward.
Manual, wall-mounted can openers. I recently bought one of these because the electric can opener destroyed itself once again. The wall-mounted can opener is better than the electric one because it is faster, quieter and tougher. (Ever try opening something like a 16 ounce can with an electric opener?)
Cathode Ray Tube Monitors - Yes, they are real energy grabbers but I find these much easier to look at than those flat panel displays. And they don’t get “dented”.
My users who want one claim the opposite. I tell the story of my Business Manager who asked me, “Why do people want these LCD monitors?”
“Because they are sexy, take up less room on the desk and look prettier.”
“Then why the hell don’t I have one?”
“You do, Sir.”
Sinjin looks at TV, sees rabbit ear TV antenna, goes-----hmmmmmm. We live in the boonies and the satelite company charged $5 extra a month for local coverage so we got the antenna. But last year they stopped charging for local stations, I think we were the last ones on earth not paying for it. But inertia and all that: the rabbit ears remain.
I couldn’t live without my Palm. But I do not want it integrated with a cell phone. Perhaps I’m paranoid, but I keep important personal and financial data in my Palm, and dont want to even think of the possibility of any of that being broadcast. So as much as I love cool technology, I’ll carry two gizmos keep these functions separate.
How’s about actual modems? They’re heading towards the obsolete pile rather quickly. These days, you can’t buy a new computer without LAN hookup, but you have to get the modem added as an extra option.
Although not very popular at the moment, you can get portable inkless 3x5 photo printers and pre-sized photo paper to make the picture. Battery or wall-adapter-powered, even. Not quite as convenient as the all-in-one Polaroid solutions, but still viable. Polaroid even make them.
Real electric analog clocks last a long, long time too. In our family is a clock with pictures of all the presidents around the border. All the presidents, that is, up until Eisenhower. With the exception of the occasional power outage or move from house to house, it has been running, quite accurately, mind you, for at least 45-46 years.
By the way, though I switched to cable in the last year or two, I still have rabbit ears sitting on top of my telly. Came in handy last winter when a windstorm caused a major power outage in our area. Our place was only out of power for 48 hours but it took four or five days for cable to come back on.
…and CD jukeboxes. I have a 110 disc changer for example (thanks Jonathan Chance!!!)
Edited to clarify: I wasn’t disagreeing with you–single-CD player components are kinda pointless. Just pointing out the other thing that has replaced them.
Dot Matrix printers are still alive and stong and arn’t going anywhere anytime soon. They’re used heavily by book keepers becuase they can print throught carbon(less) paper, think invoices and bills.
Honestly, though - isn’t the 100 disc changer also going away? With MP3 players, and computer CD players, I’m not sure I see the point to the large jukebox style CD players.
Let’s not forget my personal favorite obsolete tech, too: The LaserDisc and LaserDisc players.
There have been a few. Fuji made a model called the PR21 which printed 2.4" x 1.8" prints in 1999.
Olympus and Polaroid teamed up on the C-211Z which printed pictures directly to Polaroid film. It came out in 2000.
Zink is expected to have a camera coming out in the 4th quarter of 2007 called the 7mp with a built in printer in which the ink is embedded in the paper.
Yup. There’s nothing obsolete about the Dewey Decimal System; besides that it’s in general use, as you mention, it’s extensible and so perfectly adaptable to modern life.
The Grande Bibliothèque du Québec, a modern 4-million-work circulating and official deposit library that opened in 2005, uses the Dewey Decimal System.