# Which current technlogies will go obsolete last? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2009, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081 "2009-12-05T07:28:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/21 "2009-12-06T00:34:39Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Certainly not new, but I predict the rapid demise of: > > 1. Movie Theaters. Do you think they’ll still be around ten years from now?.. Yes, but there will be _alot_ fewer of them. They’ll also be much nicer and serve better food (& drink) and cater to a niche maket. ---
**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:** [December 6, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/22 "2009-12-06T00:42:42Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > 1. Movie Theaters. Do you think they’ll still be around ten years from now? I can’t imagine the movie theater is going anywhere. There’s just something about a big screen that TV can’t replicate. And that experience adds a lot to a wide variety of movies. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/23 "2009-12-06T01:30:21Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > Travelling in rough weather conditions makes electrical devices such as the gps just that bit unreliable… Depends on what you’re doing. Ever tried tried air navigation in rough weather conditions? As a pilot, I’ll take the GPS every time! But I agree, the magnetic compass is a perfect tool for many applications and will always be in use. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/24 "2009-12-06T01:36:19Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I can’t imagine the movie theater is going anywhere. There’s just something about a big screen that TV can’t replicate. And that experience adds a lot to a wide variety of movies. If nothing else, making out in the back row of your parent’s home theater just isn’t the same. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/25 "2009-12-06T01:45:49Z")
Spellcheckers probably aren’t going anywhere. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/26 "2009-12-06T02:21:06Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Aluminum beverage cans. I think that these will disappear as soon as a suitable plastic alternative is devised. Why? Because aluminum is a high-value metal. (Good username/post synergy, by the way) > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [http://www.alphagrips.com](http://www.alphagrips.com) Wow! Maybe I can make my dream a reality!! My dream, as lame as it might sound, is to lie flat on my back in bed, and be able to look at stuff online. I assume that projecting the image on the ceiling wouldn’t be too difficult. It was the keyboard/mouse thing that was the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/27 "2009-12-06T02:48:42Z")
I just installed Flint Knapp 3.0, also known as Sharp Rock 2.0. I think it will be applicable for another millennia so. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/28 "2009-12-06T03:41:54Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I think that these will disappear as soon as a suitable plastic alternative is devised. Why? Because aluminum is a high-value metal. (Good username/post synergy, by the way) Heh. I get this every time I post about drinking or something beverage related. Drastic quench is actually a metal working term. To quench a piece of red hot metal is to dunk it into a liquid in order to rapidly cool it. It hardens the metal and is a large part of the basic concept of making steel. Carbon gets trapped in rapidly cooling, and thus constricting, iron. No worries, though. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/29 "2009-12-06T03:50:51Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Actually, it only took about 2 days to learn to touch type. Since you don’t have to move your hands about searching on a homogeneous surface, it’s quite easy to memorize. Index finger in = T. Easy. > > It took another month for muscle memory to come in and start typing without thinking about it, but that’s going to be true of any alternative. Yeah, but you wanted to learn. You use a computer more than once in a blue moon when you want to apply for a job and then find out that the damned school district has an online application to be a janitor. Trust me, people is dumb. Really dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/30 "2009-12-06T04:23:22Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Heh. I get this every time I post about drinking or something beverage related. Drastic quench is actually a metal working term. To quench a piece of red hot metal is to dunk it into a liquid in order to rapidly cool it. It hardens the metal and is a large part of the basic concept of making steel. Carbon gets trapped in rapidly cooling, and thus constricting, iron. No worries, though. We were talking about metal working–just aluminum, not steel. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/31 "2009-12-06T04:33:07Z")
Hmm, yeah try to limit it to electronics, I’m sure stuff like fire or shoes will be around forever. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/32 "2009-12-06T13:20:59Z")
The OP seems to use “current” and “new” interchangeably, but they aren’t interchangeable. Fire and shoes are current technology but are not new. Maybe packet data is a good example of something still new enough that some people alive today can remember when it was not around, but that will probably still be in use - even in a post-electronic age - for a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081/33 "2009-12-06T21:35:45Z")
Nuts, bolts and screws etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-technlogies-will-go-obsolete-last/520081.md?page=1)