# What "obsolete" services and/or products are still available today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307 "2014-09-03T00:05:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/141 "2014-09-05T04:15:57Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. If all you need is the time, you have a cell phone. If you want to have a fashion accessory that happens to tell the time, you have a more normal watch. > > And the old Timex I had which was a digital display of hands is stuck back in the 80s where it probably belongs. Yup good luck finding a high end watch with a digital display. I tried to find a nice digital watch recently (too much bad luck recently with analog watches), and it was impossible to find anything locally with a nice watchband. Every digital watch was the cheapo Armitron style with the watchband connected to the display face. Let’s not forget that the tech press tends to overestimate how common the latest tech is among the masses. Heck [15% to 20% of the population still doesn’t use the internet](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/technology/a-push-to-connect-millions-who-live-offline-to-the-internet.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0). ---
**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:** [September 5, 2014, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/142 "2014-09-05T06:42:25Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Let’s not forget that the tech press tends to overestimate how common the latest tech is among the masses. Heck [15% to 20% of the population still doesn’t use the internet](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/technology/a-push-to-connect-millions-who-live-offline-to-the-internet.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0). Yup, the tech press started writing articles riffing on the fact that “Everyone Has A DVR” back when it was used by only 10% of all cable subscribers. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/143 "2014-09-05T13:01:42Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Admit it - you just do it to freak out the tourists. In fact I already tought of that while passing by a queue at the Louvre museum at this moment. The ideal would be at the beginning of July, when military aircrafts fly over in formation to train for the 14 of July military parade. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/144 "2014-09-05T13:11:54Z")
There are, in fact, “scribes” (at least here, called “public writers”). They can work for illiterate people, but also for regular people who need help to fill a form, to write a nice love letter or whatever. After checking, there are about 1000 in France, and there is university training, professional association, etc… for this job. So not very common, but it still exists in modern western societies. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/145 "2014-09-05T13:37:23Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > It’s not the price of the replacement part that scares people off, it’s the labor. When my parents last old-fashioned TV died a few years ago, they wanted as much as I paid for it new ($150) to fix it for them, so they bought a flat screen TV to replace it instead. I doubt labor costs on flat screens are much cheaper. Agreed that it would be very hard to justify spending $150 on repairing a CRT. Also very hard to justify spending the entire purchase cost of a CRT on a repair. It’s not quite as bad if you have a $700 or $900 flat-screen…would you rather spend $150 to make it work, or toss it and go buy a new one? A lot of people just assume when they’re dead, they’re dead, and do the latter. Unless they can’t afford it – there’s a pretty impressive TV repair shop/refurbished TV store in a low-income area here in Indy, because if you can’t afford to toss it and buy another one, you’ll certainly check into getting it fixed. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/146 "2014-09-05T14:04:13Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > I’m sure many people consider paper road maps obsolete. In fact, when I used one recently, my daughter’s friends said in awe, “You can read a _map?_ I wish I could.” I suspect that depends on where you’re going. Unless you have a dedicated GPS navigation system, there are plenty of parts of the country where cell service is either spotty or non-existent, and paper maps are the way to go. I do agree that the old-style map binders that had 1 square mile to a page (“Key Maps” in Houston & “Mapsco” in Dallas; not sure what they’re called elsewhere) are probably dead as hell in this day and age, because any sort of delivery business is liable to have navigation systems that will take the day’s deliveries and order them for the most efficient delivery route. And anyone who would use it for navigation most likely just uses Google maps on their phone. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/147 "2014-09-05T14:53:56Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Interesting. Are the schools organized as small private schools or are they mostly unregulated? Are there any that grant accredited diplomas, or do kids who attend these have to go for a GED or otherwise earn a recognized diploma elsewhere? > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > They are private schools and as I said, they fill a niche where parents in an area of poor quality public schools and who disagree with religious based private schools AND dont have the time or ability to homeschool. My relatives in Atlanta send their kids to one. > > You take say 10 kids of smart parents, pay $5,000 each, and you get a pretty good teacher (with parents also helping out). With those kind of numbers and parents they still do field trips and the teacher has enough time for alot of one on one. It works out pretty well. They also sinc vacation schedules by everyone say taking off a week in October or March. > > As for graduation - this school only goes to I think about 6th grade at which point they take tests and attend regular schools. So its closer to a kind of home school. I know of at least one public one-room schoolhouse. It’s in Copper Harbor, MI, a small town in the far north with a year-round population of between 80-100 people. They still maintain their [schoolhouse](http://www.copperharborschool.org/). I think it’s Kindergarten through 8th grade. Which brings up a good point - I’m not sure where the kids go for high school if they’re not home schooled. Probably Calumet, which is a good hour away, longer in the winter given the snow they get in the area. Not much fun for the kids, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/148 "2014-09-05T15:29:06Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > The United States tends to prefer [Euclidian zoning](http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/euclidian-zoning.html) which leads to large swathes of single use housing whereas most of the rest of the world defaults to [inclusive zoning](http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html) where mixed use is the default state of things. Not just the US. Euclidean zoning is the norm in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Namiba, Iceland, Ireland (which has a planning system that is more closely based on the US model than the UK model), and many suburban municipalities in Europe. US-style suburban development has become a global phenomenon as the world’s middle class grows. Meanwhile, back in the US, a growing number of communities are adopting form-based zoning, which enables more mixed uses. FWIW, the first zoning codes in the US were based on similar land use laws in Germany. ---
**Author:** ![James\_in\_Toronto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@James\_in\_Toronto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_in_Toronto)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/149 "2014-09-05T16:42:48Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Do professional scribes exist in Cameroon or anywhere else in the 3rd world? In other words, are there any areas where just knowing how to read and write at a high school level is in and of itself an in-demand skill that people will hire you just to read and write for them (not do administrative work, not write technical documentation, not compose speeches, just read and write at a basic level)? The profession is dying out in India: _Jagdish Chandra Sharma is perhaps the Indian capital’s last surviving professional letter writer_ For centuries, professional letter writers have helped millions of illiterate Indians but many have long disappeared from the cities - but not in Delhi, where one man claims to be the last letter writer left in the country’s capital. [The disappearing tribe of India’s letter writers](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26379747) By Geeta Pandey BBC News, Delhi, 20 March 2014 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/150 "2014-09-05T20:02:22Z")
There are at least two tack stores here in Springfield, Illinois. How the hell they stay in business I’ll never know-- I can count on one hand the number of horses I’ve seen in person in central Illinois in the past year. There is also at least one shoe-repair store still in business here; probably more. I baffled that shoe repair is still a thing. Just buy a new pair! ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/151 "2014-09-05T20:45:42Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > There is also at least one shoe-repair store still in business here; probably more. I baffled that shoe repair is still a thing. Just buy a new pair! If you’re talking about $50 running shoes or $80 dress shoes, sure, toss 'em. But if you buy a pair of $2000 dress shoes with leather soles and throw them away when the soles wear out instead of having them resoled for $50, you’re not being too wise with your money. Same with women’s designer high heels, or very expensive cowboy boots, or any other footwear that expensive…throwing them away because of a problem you can fix for less than $100 is like throwing away a BMW because it needs new brake pads. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/152 "2014-09-05T21:36:51Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Do professional scribes exist in Cameroon or anywhere else in the 3rd world? In other words, are there any areas where just knowing how to read and write at a high school level is in and of itself an in-demand skill that people will hire you just to read and write for them (not do administrative work, not write technical documentation, not compose speeches, just read and write at a basic level)? I never I saw one, but they must surely exist. I would guess they are bundled with translation services, as many illiterate people do not speak the official language. In a village setting, the service would be informal and payment would likely be in-kind. These days cell phones have taken over for most letters (and the people at the cell phone booths can write your text message for you if needed), but some people surely need help with official paperwork. One thing I did see was a book of form letters that could be copied by the user, which is very useful given the formal structure of local bureaucratic communication. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/153 "2014-09-06T01:27:27Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Yup good luck finding a high end watch with a digital display. I tried to find a nice digital watch recently (too much bad luck recently with analog watches), and it was impossible to find anything locally with a nice watchband. Every digital watch was the cheapo Armitron style with the watchband connected to the display face. > Let’s not forget that the tech press tends to overestimate how common the latest tech is among the masses. Heck [15% to 20% of the population still doesn’t use the internet](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/technology/a-push-to-connect-millions-who-live-offline-to-the-internet.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0). Yep, I don’t think my 82-year-old father-in-law has touched a computer (or any connected device) in his life, and he’s not gonna start now. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Shift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Time\_Shift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Shift)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/154 "2014-09-06T06:15:16Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Looking around the office I cannot find one person wearing a digital watch. So no, the traditional circle watch with arms is in no way obsolete. This. If anything, it’s the opposite (and I wear a digital watch). ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/155 "2014-09-06T06:31:22Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > but some people surely need help with official paperwork. One thing I did see was a book of form letters that could be copied by the user, which is very useful given the formal structure of local bureaucratic communication. They probably just ask someone else in the office where they are filing it to help them, when we had to get a birth certificate an older woman asked my wife for help with the form and my wife realized she couldn’t read so she was just having her transcribe down her verbal info. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Shift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Time\_Shift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Shift)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/156 "2014-09-06T06:43:53Z")
BTW, I’m surprised there has not been more mentions for the dedicated MP3 player. Granted, there’s still a niche market for now, but I get concerned where that market will be in a few years, and if only options that will remain for new product will be the cheap generics. Personally, I’m still big fan of the dedicated MP3 player, especially something like the SanDisk Clip, which offers kind of small form factor that just cannot be done with a smartphone. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Shift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Time\_Shift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Shift)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/157 "2014-09-06T07:13:59Z")
_Double Post_ ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/158 "2014-09-06T08:57:12Z")
Do Talking Clock services deserve a mention here? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/159 "2014-09-06T14:00:47Z")
Can’t recall if this has been mentioned above, but Fountain Pens have made a comeback, and there is even some ongoing research in improvements for the Ink that they use… ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307/160 "2014-09-06T23:48:18Z")
> [@Time\_Shift](#): > > BTW, I’m surprised there has not been more mentions for the dedicated MP3 player. Granted, there’s still a niche market for now, but I get concerned where that market will be in a few years, and if only options that will remain for new product will be the cheap generics. Personally, I’m still big fan of the dedicated MP3 player, especially something like the SanDisk Clip, which offers kind of small form factor that just cannot be done with a smartphone. If you count iPod classics, there’s no iPhone with anywhere near the same amount of memory; I have too much music for even the largest phone. And no Apple, I’m not going to pay you money to store it on your iCould and then pay Verizon data rates to stream it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-obsolete-services-and-or-products-are-still-available-today/697307.md?page=9)