"Who can say where the road goes, where the day flows, only time..."
―Enya 'Only Time'
In this fast changing pace of life, things that make a huge impact on everyday life moves on to become a mere museum entity. With hi-tech gadgets and gizmo's seeing the light of the day every minute, it is but obvious that things that we are so used to seeing around us may someday vanish from the face of the earth.
But come to think of it, there are many amongst us who like to treasure our favorite goods and store them even if it is just for pleasure. Let's then take a look at what might not be around in a few years to come. This is one of the quotes that I found interesting enough to mention here, so says Cher,
"In this business, it takes time to be really good―and by that time, you're obsolete."
This Too Shall Pass
Remote Controls
While you enjoy the fun of cat fights over the remote control, the future generation might not be able to do so. Remote controls will be replaced with the smartphones, capable of performing just about any task. Besides, with smart television you wouldn't even feel the need of a remote, as most of its operations will depend on your hand movements. Then there is the option of speech control. Let's just say, enjoy the fun till it lasts.
Car Keys
Darling, where are the car keys? I don't seem to find them in the usual place.
Car keys are already on the decline and it is only a matter of years before the key takes a humble bow. It's time to say hello to the new auto technology, which does not require keys to gain an entry into your car nor to start it. All you got to do is unlock it with the key fob and hit the start button to rev up your engine and you are ready to go. Something tells me the same fate awaits for my current bunch of keys.
Cash Transactions
Internet banking, and the use of plastic money (credit cards and debit cards) is already the cause behind the decline of money transactions. With this evident decline, the need to actually mint money is also dwindling. There might come a day when the only cash we will have left are the ones in the museums. Besides, it would be an eco-friendly idea to do away with the green notes made from paper.
Paper and Pen
Where has the art of calligraphy disappeared? There was a time when a script reflected the essence of oneself through their handwriting. These days, all you find is people busy on their pads, tabs and touch phones scribbling away on the screen rather than using actual note pads and pens. A better way to put it is, people now enjoy mere 'copy pasting'. Coming to the point, if calligraphy is going to be reserved for
writing I mean typing, then where is the need to have an assortment of pens?
Piggy Banks
Don't you love the jingle of the dimes and any available change in your dear little piggy bank? Someday when all money will be plastic money and transactions will take place sans those green notes and coins, piggy banks are sure to rest quietly in the darkest corner of our cabinets. My humble sympathies with kids who will not get to shake the piggy bank, asking their parents for dimes for every errand they run.
Flip Phones
One of the best ways to swallow your anger is to furiously flip open and close your phone. But then, this easy means of anger management is slowly on the decline. The flip phone which was once a rage is slowly catching up with some of the heyday gadgets on their way out. Say hello to the new smartphones equipped with touch facilities rather than the keypad enabled phones. Then you have tabs and the iPad. So, where does that leave the simple flip phone? 10 feet under! R.I.P. Flip.
Landlines
Tring tring tring! Whatever happened to the faithful landlines that got disrupted every time there was a hurricane or an earthquake. Jokes apart, the use of this phone is currently restricted to intra-office communication and is steadily seeing a decline as net calling facilities and chat options replace the cord phones. You can no more get entangled in the cords of the wall mounted phone while talking to your loved one. What a pity! By the way, you can still keep landlines as antique pieces to decorate your house/office.
Passwords and Logins
Passwords and logins are on the fast track to extinction as
biometrics will soon come in place. You would soon say goodbye to the constant need to change your password. With this technology, you can go ahead and protect your identity and remain safe. After all, biometrics can identify the individual by his/her voice and it will hold a record of the features of the person, thus enabling safe login for every account that he/she possess. So to say, the gen next wouldn't know the hassles of password theft and hacking.
Hard Drives
I bet you've heard of the
Cloud! There won't be the need for you to carry along your own personal hard drive as nothing will be personal any more. All your activities will be stored on to the cloud for future reference. You can access all the information you want without having to sift through all your stored data on the hard drive. The flip side - you won't be able to forget, delete or misplace data ever again.
Desktops
There were days when we had bulky desktops but then, they got replaced with the LED screens. As the trend goes, All-in-One computers are a rave; these too are being replaced with tabs, laptops and notebooks. There will come a day when they might stop manufacturing desktops all together. The fate of the existing desktops seems to be bleak or you never know they might simply end up in the remotest areas of the world.
Optical Mouse and Keyboards
Move over from traditional desktops that came equipped with the reliable mouse and keyboard. Latest technology allows the user to access a virtual keyboard which eliminates the need for an actual keyboard. Then, we have the touch screens and user interface which detects the movement of the user to go to the specific folder. Then why would you use the mouse? So, it's time we said
sayonara to our faithful assistants - the mouse and keyboard.
Optical Disks
When you have the option of using a USB to store your music and other important data, what use is the optical disk? Moreover, when you can instantly download and listen to your favorite music online; why do you even need to store anything on the disk? Well, all you can do is string them up and use it as a decoration around the house.
Video Game Consoles
Do you remember those good old days, when you played
Mario and
Shooting Ducks on those old video game consoles? Do you still find them? I guess not. And the future of gaming consoles too seems the same. Someday everything will be run on motion sensor and the old gaming consoles will be forgotten. But again, will they?
Portable Music Players
With smartphones and smart television making an entry in the market, customized players have taken a beating. The Mp3 and Mp4, the iPod, and stereos have actually been replaced with phones that are used for everything under the sun. Whoever said multitasking is not difficult, should take a look at the phone and its various features. On a serious note, what would you prefer - a portable stereo or your own mini player that fits into your pocket?
Scanners, Copiers and Fax
You do not need to have a separate scanner these days, all you got to do is, scan whatever it is that needs scanning with your hi-tech phone and immediately forward it to the recipient. Fax machines which were used to send scanned material are being replaced with the more friendly Internet options. In the near future, there won't be a need for those bulky Xerox machines to copy pages and pages of data. Besides, one wouldn't find the need to use and waste paper.
Staplers, Files and Pins
You can't do without these, right? Neither can I. But there will come a day when we would become absolute tech freaks and we wouldn't have to carry along bulky files oozing with documents, all we will have is a stylish tab or pad with all our documents in place. That day, my friend, is not very far away. I can already hear the young ones shouting in triumph. Oh yes, there wouldn't be any more books, textbooks and the like. Undoubtedly, that's a reason for you to celebrate, ain't it?
Checkbooks
I bet you are aware of this already. With all possible transactions taking place directly with the swipe of a card, money transfers haven't been any easier. Then why do we need a checkbook to write off a check in the name of some organization? Simply swipe away to glory. I assume by now, you must be well versed with mobile banking and online transactions?
Whiteboards, Blackboards and Chalks
Let's make it loud and clear. Teaching is no more constrained to classrooms and it certainly does not rely on blackboards. Teaching material, in short, is getting digitized and the traditional classrooms have definitely taken a beating. It is now dependent on transmitting virtual information. It's time you bid adieu to teachers of the past and say hello to 24/7 learning where just about everyone is your teacher.
Phone Booths, Postboxes
Snail mail - does it even exist now? Personally, I do not remember going to the post box to send something across. Nor do I remember going to a phone booth and dialing a number. I just need to pick up my smartphone, search the person I wish to talk to and dial. And yes I do not care if the world is listening to my conversations, nothing is private anymore. So, who cares?
Phone Numbers and Yellow Pages
Numbers oh hell, I do not like them and am not interested in torturing myself with remembering them. I have my phone handy I'll just scroll to the name or voice search it and dial. Is there a need to remember 100 numbers on my contact list? I do not think so. Remember those yellow pages that stored information of the street name and the number? It was so very easy to gain access to all those numbers you wanted to prank call on. Well, when you can Google and track, why rely on an outdated yellow page?
Gas Stations
Fossils fuels are on the fast track to extinction. The future generation won't be able to refuel their cars with any fuel. The only option we will have left is that of electricity or even water. With the concept of hybrid cars becoming a rage these days, it won't be long before all cars actually run on electricity. I am thinking of a better option, solar-powered cars; now won't that be fun?
Maps
When was the last time you took a road trip without the GPS to guide you? Don't remember do you? Neither do I. Anyway, the point is that map reading is dwindling, thanks to GPS and virtual maps replacing the Atlas. Gone are those days when the passenger sat with a magnifying glass studying the routes on the map. As new technology is bound to replace the currently existing GPS, maps, atlas are definitely going to be obsolete.
Getting Lost in the Wilderness
There were times before the navigational systems came into place when people got lost in the wilderness and had to struggle to find their way back. With GPS, and the Internet making maps and location finding all the more easy, it is easier to find your way back home. The beauty of the old days when you struggled finding your location on a map is all but gone.
Going Going Gone!
Television Sets
Can it be true? The verdict, yes. Why, you ask? The answer, because your television just got replaced with your tablet which can stream your favorite sitcom and you do not have to worry about missing any particular show. You are actually gonna carry your TV wherever you go. Now, ain't that nice?
Voice Mail
Beep! You have reached so and so, we are not available at the moment, please leave a message after the beep. We will get back to you the moment we are free.
Beep.
You have one unanswered message!
You remember this now, don't you? Those days are on their way out. They have been replaced by the famous text messages, tweets, and whatnot. Why leave a voice mail when you can text?
Desks
Let me exaggerate just this once. "All the World's a classroom, and all the men and women merely students:" The future of education is here, welcome on-the-go education. All you got to do is tune in your antennas to the information all around you. No more notebooks, no more taking notes, no more waiting for admissions and all those hassles. The conclusion - no more desks.
Slow Booting Laptops
Still waiting for your system to boot? Go get a coffee in the mean time, it is the easiest way to pass time while waiting for your system to load all the features. Another ten years down the line, you wouldn't find a system that will take that long to boot. Besides, on-the-go computing will ensure that the laptops never ever sleep, hence cutting down on booting time. And of course, faster processors and operating systems are sure to take over, and you wouldn't have to count minutes for your system to boot.
Privacy
With all the advancement of technology, one thing for sure will take place. People the world over will know what you are up to in your own house. There won't be any sort of privacy left, thanks to latest GPS technologies that will be able to track you down in a jiffy. All that you are and all that you own will be public property. Then say goodbye to those tranquil moments you currently enjoy.
There I will leave you with that. Now you can come up with things you feel will be on the verge of becoming obsolete.
