Expired Technologies Continued

My previous blogs about expired technologies have created a continuing conversation around the office. Here are four more to add to the going, going, gone list…

Traditional Design Tools: Thanks to CAD/CAM (Computer aided design and computer aided machining), desktop computer design applications, and robotic manufacturing, we can now say goodbye to ink, brushes, gouache, rule pens, drafting tables, and rub-down letters.

NTSC Broadcasting for Television: And thank goodness for that. Long live high-definition television! Today, most countries have switched to newer digital television standards.

Cathode Ray Tube Televisions: The introduction of plasma and LED screens finally put an end to these ridiculously deep television sets. Remember lifting these things!

Print Media: Though paper and printing technology are over 1,000 years old, the mass production of printed books dates back to the nineteenth century. And the printed newspapers and magazines of that “modern” era are now passé. With the Internet at our fingertips, we no longer have any use for phone books, print catalogs, and encyclopedias, either. The death of print media like newspapers goes beyond affecting how you read about today’s events. Classified ads, long a method for people to connect up or advertise items for sale, have died out with newspapers.

I must admit I miss the newspaper; there was just something about reading the Sunday morning paper with a cup of coffee that was just so relaxing, a simpler time.