never obsolete
6 Technologies That Are Destined to Disappear
Maximum PC - April 2011
https://archive.org/details/maximum-pc-2011-06_202501/MaximumPC%202011%2004/page/14/mode/2up
Jan 6 at 6:04pmWeb
Show threadjarekJan 6
@256 scoring generously, 3.5/6 on disappearing, 3.5/6 on sticking around...
Show threadJPJan 6
@jarek @256 how do you figure? physical media and 3D TVs largely went away but the others still very much exist. media players and landlines still exist but have markedly declined.
Show threadJPJan 6
@jarek @256 (didn't see your edits until after i wrote that)
Show threadjarekJan 6

@jplebreton @256 yeah I miscounted and miscategorized a bunch initially!

My personal counting of correct predictions:

Disappearing: consumer-level hard drives (all but), 3D TVs with glasses, pre-recorded physical media (music nerds notwithstanding), and halfway to keys

Sticking around: PC, keyboard, and mouse, and half-credit for ICE because they'll probably stick around in specialist uses

Show threadJPJan 6
@jarek @256 it's unclear whether by "consumer hard drives" they simply meant "magnetic hard drives" (which are very much still around), but either way their assertion that The Cloud would replace most local storage is profoundly off. local storage just got cheap enough it could be everywhere it needed to be.
Show threadpixxJan 6

@jarek @jplebreton @256

I'd disagree on hard drives; less common, still around

i'd give full credit for combustion, too. It's still the dominant means of transport, still in active use and production, and infrastructure for it is still in active development and iteration.

Show threadwyattJan 6
@256 every single item on this list is bad and wrong to be deemed obsolete or antiquated
Show threadClaudioMJan 6
@256 Boy, did they get most of those wrong. ​
Show threadTCD 🎮​Jan 6

@256 That was 4 years after the iPhone was introduced. Bold to think that media players would 'survive'.

The prediction about 3D TVs is just cute :)

Show threadDobiko Jan 6
@256 When it comes to the disappear list, they at least did get the 3D TVs right
Show threadLona TheartlavJan 6
@256 About 50/50 on both sides, hm. About as good as a coin toss.
Show threadFelixJan 6

@256 I work in IT and my doorlock is mechanical. For a reason.

Wrong, very wrong indeed, most of those items.

Isn't there a comeback of vinyl records? They were deemed dead before all other five "dying" items on the list…

Show threadRémi CardonaJan 7

@syn_rst @256 CD sales are also up. Lots of people are fed up with Spotify, how little they pay artists and not actually owning the music they care about.

e.g. https://magneticmag.com/2025/05/cd-sales-show-modest-growth-amidst-streaming-dominance-in-2025/

CD Sales Show Modest Growth Amidst Streaming Dominance In 2025 - Magnetic Magazine

The compact disc never really disappeared—it just stopped being the center of attention. But lately, there’s been a shift. Across both new releases and

Magnetic Magazine
Show threadFelixJan 7
@remi @256 Did I mention that I like to *buy* my movies?
I don't have the time to work through some hard-to-use netflix UI to watch a movie on short notice.
Show threadRémi CardonaJan 8
@syn_rst @256 [turns head left to stare at shelves of DVDs] amen, brother
Show threadJens ZalzalaJan 6
@256 Huh, yea, I haven't used a key in probably a decade.
Show threadNoel  🔜 EH23, EF30Jan 6
@256 Funny how there's probably more people still playing CDs than people using iPods.
Show threadFaraiweJan 7
@256 ooph