# What technologies that were available in 1999 are obsolete (see my criteria) in 2009? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 3, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912 "2009-12-03T23:17:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/161 "2009-12-12T00:21:17Z")
> [@Livardo](#): > > Great catch! I still have two CD changers snuck away in some corner of my apt but I guess they’ll never see the day of light again. I was wondering if I could rig them to do do something useful like convert them to be CD-ROM jukeboxes. For years I wanted one. When I finally got around to looking for them I discovered new car stereos would read mp3’s on CD’s which multiplied a single CD by 10. They also had some stereos with USB ports. I bought one of [these](http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=micro+sdhc+reader&sourceid=Mozilla-search)and use an 8 gb microsd chip which gives me over 6 days of continuous music. Only 1/4 of an inch sticks out so it looks like part of the stereo. I leave it plugged in. ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/162 "2009-12-12T01:00:58Z")
I don’t think film is almost dead. Go into any Walmart or drugstore and there are dozens and dozens of disposable film cameras for sale. And when I just got back from vacation, I dropped off my 10 rolls of film at the local Walgreen’s for development (I also brought along a digital camera on vacation) and there were a couple of hundred packs of developed pictures behind the counter waiting for pickup. (I realize that some of those could be digital to print conversions, but I still think that the report of film’s death is a bit premature). ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/163 "2009-12-12T01:31:48Z")
I still like Books on Tape better than mp3’s, and I don’t care what anybody says. It’s just not the same situation as it is with music; it’s so easy to go back to the exact spot where you were on a tape instead of trolling through weirdly sequenced files that you didn’t name correctly in the first place, or never being able to download anything from the library website because it doesn’t work no matter what you do. So I STILL get my audiobooks on tapes from the library and I’ll keep doing it as long as possible. ---
**Author:** ![WhyWhyWhy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whywhywhy/32/7539_2.png) [@WhyWhyWhy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyWhyWhy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/164 "2009-12-12T06:49:27Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > It’s quite easy to fake a signature on a fax as well. > > Just cut out a signature from another document, paste it into the correct place on the fax, then photocopy it. Use whiteout to cover the outline around the pasted signature and then when you fax it will look real. Which just saved WhiteOut from becoming obsolete!!! ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/165 "2009-12-12T08:59:50Z")
> [@Anise](#): > > I still like Books on Tape better than mp3’s, and I don’t care what anybody says. It’s just not the same situation as it is with music; it’s so easy to go back to the exact spot where you were on a tape instead of trolling through weirdly sequenced files that you didn’t name correctly in the first place, or never being able to download anything from the library website because it doesn’t work no matter what you do. So I STILL get my audiobooks on tapes from the library and I’ll keep doing it as long as possible. Yeah, and you can toss a tape in the passenger seat while the car is moving and it won’t be damaged like a CD would be. Unfortunately, I got a tape stuck in my car stereo and I think the deck is broken. I was mocked when I asked for advice in a local forum. It seems my only option is to look for a stereo on Craigslist and pay to have it installed, but then I have a dilemma because a little more money could by me a new aftermarket stereo. Car stereo is frustrating because when you try to be cheap, you still have installation fees. I wish cars could be taken apart with a screwdriver. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/166 "2009-12-12T11:47:54Z")
> [@Anise](#): > > I still like Books on Tape better than mp3’s, and I don’t care what anybody says. It’s just not the same situation as it is with music; it’s so easy to go back to the exact spot where you were on a tape instead of trolling through weirdly sequenced files that you didn’t name correctly in the first place, or never being able to download anything from the library website because it doesn’t work no matter what you do. So I STILL get my audiobooks on tapes from the library and I’ll keep doing it as long as possible. my car stereo remembers where the CD left off as well as any mp3 files on the “hard drive”(usb memory card). I can also put stuff in folders and just flip through the folders if I rip it to mp3 form. ---
**Author:** ![Livardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Livardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Livardo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/167 "2009-12-14T03:00:47Z")
[New York Magazine](http://nymag.com/arts/all/aughts/62508/) has been reading this thread as well. Some things in their slideshow that weren’t mentioned here: -lickable stamps -foldable maps -paid porn -phone books -polaroid pics -bank deposit slips ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/168 "2009-12-14T05:04:28Z")
> [@Livardo](#): > > -foldable maps > -paid porn > -phone books > > -bank deposit slips I use all 4. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/169 "2009-12-15T19:32:38Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Yeah fax machines are pretty useful for business still. If you need to get signed documents from one place to another you can expect a fax, as they seem to be more available than scanners (which you’d use to scan a signed document for email). > > I have a fax for my business. I use it about 6 times a year for business things. Once or twice a year, every year since I’ve had it, a friend or family member asks to use it too. > > So, they’re definitely sill in use. Heck, faxes might even be on the rise – “all-in-one” printers have gotten so much cheaper in the past couple years that I’d wager a LOT of people have a fax machine even if they never use it. And now that unemployment’s on the rise…I can’t help but wonder if more folks are firing up their all-in-one faxes in order to send resumes. I can personally say I hadn’t used a fax in about ten years until just a couple weeks ago when I finally connected my printer in order to send a resume. I’m probably not the only one. 🙂 Fax has a certain “businesslike” cachet that email lacks. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/170 "2009-12-15T21:42:39Z")
I can’t provide a cite, but a fax has the distinction of being a legally binding document in the U.K. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/171 "2009-12-15T21:59:27Z")
I remember seeing a couple of mentions of [Zip drives](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_drive) in this thread, but does anyone remember [Jaz drives](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iomega_Jaz_drive)? ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/172 "2009-12-16T14:31:30Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I remember seeing a couple of mentions of [Zip drives](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_drive) in this thread, but does anyone remember [Jaz drives](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iomega_Jaz_drive)? I do, but it was too expensive for anything. Then consumer recordable and rewritable CD came along and the rest is history ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/173 "2009-12-16T14:46:53Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > I wish cars could be taken apart with a screwdriver. That technology is definitely obsolete 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/174 "2009-12-16T16:01:52Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > CD changers in cars. Tell that to the people at Honda who put one as standard equipment in my 2009 Accord, _together_ with the AUX input for a portable media player. And yes, I deal with fax documents regularly at home and at work. Like others have mentioned, the mere arrival of some new better tech does not ipso facto make the old one _absolutely_ obsolete – often it merely displaces the old tech in specific applications. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912/175 "2009-12-16T16:21:06Z")
> [@Livardo](#): > > [New York Magazine](http://nymag.com/arts/all/aughts/62508/) has been reading this thread as well. > > Some things in their slideshow that weren’t mentioned here: > > -lickable stamps > -foldable maps > -paid porn > -phone books > -polaroid pics > -bank deposit slips Some of those aren’t dead at all. My hometown phone book has dual listings. One, you just look up people by name. The web is good at that and can mostly replace it. The other section lists names, addresses and phone numbers by street in order of address. That is useful in lots of ways as are the print ads because it is a small and insular town. You could find most of that information out on your own on the web if you tried hard enough but you don’t have to if you have a copy of our fairly small phone book. You don’t have to fire up your computer to get the information either. Folding maps aren’t the best for precise navigation but they do have their place. A computer screen can’t display a big picture as well as a large map and that is useful if you want to know more about an entire area rather than simple directions from going to Point A to Point B. Paid porn is doing just fine. Like anything, there is always a market for premium or niche content and some people are willing to pay to get it. You get much better content without so many ads or hassle. Granted, getting rid of stamps that you need to lick, deposit slips and poor quality Polaroid pictures are welcome changes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-technologies-that-were-available-in-1999-are-obsolete-see-my-criteria-in-2009/519912.md?page=8)