# What currently necessary item will be the soonest to become obsolete? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 9, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817 "2013-08-09T17:08:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![aaelghat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@aaelghat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaelghat)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/121 "2013-08-13T10:41:05Z")
This is an interesting thread. There’s a difference between “obsolete” and not having a market. Heck, even With the ubiquity of cell phones, there’s still a market for pagers [http://www.pager99.com/](http://www.pager99.com/) As of 2010, their were 500,000 people in Canada with rotary (non touch tone) phones [http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2010/02/02/consumer-touch-tone-service-bell.html](http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2010/02/02/consumer-touch-tone-service-bell.html) Those items are both “obsolete” (have been replaced by something else), but there’s still a market for them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/122 "2013-08-13T10:52:59Z")
Where I live rotary phones don’t work anymore, cash is more expensive for shops than plastic and nobody I know has a chequebook. (And I wish faxes would finally go away) ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/123 "2013-08-13T11:04:48Z")
> [@Charley](#): > > Ours has. Well, kind of. Multimillion dollar company, more than 500 employees in the UK, ripped out all landlines this spring. We use mobile phones and Microsoft’s IM programme, Lync. I don’t care to know how it works, so I guess there’s an argument that says we still have landlines, we just access them through mobiles rather than deskphones, but still, it’s a big change. A big hospital I worked in replaced all their phones with Cisco comm devices. Some were wireless and some had cables, but none of them was a telephone, they were computers hooked to a computer network. Outside calls to or from cell phones never touch a physical telephone wire. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/124 "2013-08-13T12:34:22Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Quadrotriticale is _not_ “wheat”! :rolleyes: > [@aNewLeaf](#): > > It’s genetically engineered wheat. Does everybody know about this wheat but me? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/125 "2013-08-13T12:49:17Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > As cars get more efficient, I think the business based around cars getting several oil changes a year is going to unravel. I’ll put slim odds on that. In spite of owners’ manuals already telling them that their oil only needs to be changed every ~7,000 miles, many owners are somehow convinced that their cars will explode if they don’t change the oil every 3,000 miles. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/126 "2013-08-13T12:50:57Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I wish I could say fax machines, but good lord for some reason we just cannot get rid of those things. Yep, that’s my thought. I understand the issue with signatures, but for that matter the idea of a physical signature will tend to diminish in importance over time as well. Similarly, how about desktop computers? I find it increasingly baffling that someone would buy one today except for hardcore gamers. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/127 "2013-08-13T12:52:52Z")
^^^ place I get my oil changed puts a sticker in the window telling me to come back in 3,000 miles. I peel it off and throw it in their parking lot. > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Does everybody know about this wheat [quadrotriticale] but me? Everybody who is a Star Trek fan or has seen _The Trouble with Tribbles_ a few times. So yeah, everybody on this messageboard except you. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/128 "2013-08-13T12:59:27Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > Similarly, how about desktop computers? I find it increasingly baffling that someone would buy one today except for hardcore gamers. Businesses will always buy desktops for workers that stay at their desks because you can get much more bang for your buck from a desktop. There’s no compelling reason to switch to laptops in every situation and some home users even prefer desktops. I know I do. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/129 "2013-08-13T13:07:22Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I’ll put slim odds on that. In spite of owners’ manuals already telling them that their oil only needs to be changed every ~7,000 miles, many owners are somehow convinced that their cars will explode if they don’t change the oil every 3,000 miles. I don’t know. My car tells me when it’s time for an oil change and I just listen to it. Insisting the oil be changed every 3000 miles is my father’s generation. Now I think people will rely more on their car’s electronics. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/130 "2013-08-13T13:14:19Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Everybody who is a Star Trek fan or has seen _The Trouble with Tribbles_ a few times. > So yeah, everybody on this messageboard except you. My whoosh detector may be malfunctioning, but you do know I’m quoting Kirk both there and above, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/131 "2013-08-13T13:16:44Z")
I got whooshed. ☹ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/132 "2013-08-13T13:18:11Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > … Similarly, how about desktop computers? I find it increasingly baffling that someone would buy one today except for hardcore gamers. my ten-year-old desktop still functions better than many modern laptops for games, and i’m not a hardcore gamer. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/133 "2013-08-13T14:00:01Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > Similarly, how about desktop computers? I find it increasingly baffling that someone would buy one today except for hardcore gamers. I just replaced my (home) desktop computer. I’m not sure what I was supposed to switch to. I do game, a lot, although I wouldn’t consider myself “hardcore” by any means. I also use it for schoolwork (going back to school) and for writing stories, surfing the web, and probably a ton of other random things. Was I supposed to switch it for a laptop? I don’t have a smartphone (and probably never will), and I do intend to get a tablet for my birthday later this year…but I still intend to use my desktop lots. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/134 "2013-08-13T14:00:41Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > Similarly, how about desktop computers? I find it increasingly baffling that someone would buy one today except for hardcore gamers. Count me in with preferring a desktop computer simply because it doesn’t rely on a battery. I am so distrustful of batteries and their lifespan when I’m plugging in/plugging out 20 times a day, and even if I leave it plugged in at a station (like I am typing on now at work), then what’s the point of having a laptop when I could just have a desktop? I would much prefer to work on a desktop and put files/folders on a desktop that are uber important, and leave laptop work for stop and go things. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/135 "2013-08-13T14:04:19Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > Similarly, how about desktop computers? I find it increasingly baffling that someone would buy one today except for hardcore gamers. They’re cheaper, easier to upgrade, and can be smaller than a laptop. For me, I currently have no real use for a laptop, given access to my smartphone, tablet, PC, and cloud services. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/136 "2013-08-13T14:15:30Z")
I honestly think that laptops have a shorter life expectancy than desktops. They’re caught in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/137 "2013-08-13T14:21:02Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > Similarly, how about desktop computers? I find it increasingly baffling that someone would buy one today except for hardcore gamers. That’s easy; some of us like the idea of being able to get “under the hood” so to speak. By that, I mean replace individual parts/components when they either no longer work correctly, or when there’s a better alternative within my budget. You can’t do that with a laptop. For example, I may decide I need more hard drive space. With my desktop, I’m not really limited- I suppose there’s probably some absurdly large BIOS restriction on size, and I might not be able to fit anything larger than a full-height(!) drive in my case, but other than that, the sky’s the limit. Same goes for monitors- I can use just about any monitor I so choose, in any size/format. If my keyboard craps out, I go spend $15 and get a new one. Can’t do that with a laptop Of course you can hook a lot of things like keyboards and monitors up to a laptop, but what’s the point of a laptop then, if you’re using it just like a desktop? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/138 "2013-08-13T14:43:19Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I honestly think that laptops have a shorter life expectancy than desktops. They’re caught in the middle. I don’t think there’s any “think” about it. Laptops have significantly shorter lifespans than desktops. My last desktop crapped out after about 10 years (2000-2010). The laptop I bought three years later (in 2003) died about the same time. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/139 "2013-08-13T14:57:16Z")
_touch wood_ ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817/140 "2013-08-13T15:00:47Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Does everybody know about this wheat but me? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say the _Enterprise_ should be hauling away garbage… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-currently-necessary-item-will-be-the-soonest-to-become-obsolete/665817.md?page=8)