Technology has made it so things we have come to know and love can quickly become irrelevant. As the world goes digital and everything becomes portable more and more things that we relied on for so long will become obsolete. Below are some of the biggest things that have become obsolete in recent years due to easier to use or cheaper replacements.
Movie Stores
When the topic of obsolete technology comes up VHS and BlockBuster are often in the forefront of people’s minds. At one time heading to BlockBuster to pick up a movie or video game to enjoy for the next few days was a near weekly activity for many people. This remained the case even after VHS tapes gave way to DVD’s and eventually Blu Rays, but the spread of streaming technology has finally done in brick and mortar video stores. Now that every movie, game, and TV show can be found instantly in a few clicks there is no longer a need for the traditional video store. While some may still prefer to hold the film in their hand and compare to others or ask a cashier for a recommendation, the vast majority of people have given up on video stores all together. Video stores are the classic example of something becoming available online and everyone forgetting the old way they used to be done.
Long Distance/ Roaming Charges
There was time when you had to consider where the person you were calling was located and take into account additional charges when talking to them. Those days are long gone. It is now standard to be able to call anyone in the United States with no additional charges, anytime, anywhere. It is even becoming easier and easier to call people internationally and can be done with no changes to your phone or phone plan. If a voice call isn’t good enough for you, any time internet is available you can easily video chat anyone in any corner of the world. Long distance and roaming charges are one portion of our list we are sure no one misses.
411
411 used to be the number you would call to get ahold of the operator. The operator could give you all kinds of information, like businesses phone numbers or addresses. 411 has been around for decades and has helped millions and millions of people get in contact with who they need to. This service is clearly something that has countless alternatives today. A person can simply Google it themselves on their cell phone and find out just about anything they would ever want to know. Even if they aren’t in a position to type it into their phone or computer, they can speak directly to their phone to get the help they need. 411 served its purpose for a long time and is actually still active today, although it probably doesn’t get much use.
Getting Film Developed
For years and years, if you wanted a memory to be immortalized in print you would have had to head down to the local grocery or convenience store to get your camera film developed. This was the only way for decades, until the invention of the digital camera. Digital cameras had been around for years, but began gaining popularity in the early 2000’s as they became more high tech and cheaper. Digital cameras allowed users to easily view and upload pictures to their computer so they could print whenever they wanted. Of course, even the digital camera has largely fallen by the wayside as everyone now has a super powerful camera on their cell phone. Even the idea of printing a picture is pretty crazy in the day of social media and texting. Getting film developed is an inconvenience that was replaced by something that is much less of a hassle for people.
The things listed above used to be huge parts of society. Kids who are born now won’t even know what it means to get film developed and they will think the idea of roaming and long distances charges is ludicrous. With the speed that technology moves at today who knows how long it is until we see things like the iPhone on lists like these!
