The Obsolete Item Watch List

Personally, I love forecasting, predicting, and trend watching.  It is this love and fascination of change that has inspired a secondary list on this blog.  I simply call it the "Obsolete Item Watch List."  

This is a list of things that have NOT become COMPLETELY obsolete, but are teetering on that threshold moribundity.  This watch list includes technological devices like the VCR, Dial-up internet, and non-HD TV (which will receive its official death nail in 2009).  However, there are also financial items like the personal check, which is comatose because the arrival of debit cards, credit cards, and on-line bill paying.  

Social issues can not be ignored either.  Personal Privacy has definitely made the obsolete watch list.  With all of the parking lot and mall cameras, cell phones with camera and video, You Tube exhibitionism, financial transaction records, satellite surveillance technology, Google Street View, and Internet monitoring that has become a constant part of everyday life, one can argue that personal privacy is on the verge of going the way of the Dodo Bird.

What else should be placed on this watch list?

• The SUV?
• Poverty?
• Security?
• Sub-Prime Mortgages?
• Cheap Air-Fare?
• Paris Hilton Political Ads?

The list is virtually endless.  Please feel free to post your submissions for this list and I will update accordingly.  

Is $2.00 per gallon gas really obsolete?

Ah, it seems like only yesterday, that I was complaining about the outrageous cost of $2.00 a gallon gas.  Grumbling, belly-aching, and glowering, I could feel my wallet get lighter as each precious drop of petroleum saturated my desolate gas tank.  

Wait a second!  The reason it seemed like yesterday was because gas was in that $2.00 per gallon range in 2007. Only about a year ago, I was seething about the exorbitant cost of $2.00 a gallon gas.

Oh, how I pine for $2.00 a gallon gas.  With gas in the $4.00 a gallon range, I not only wish for $2.00 a gallon gas, but would be happy with $3.00 or even $3.50 per gallon gas.

Unfortunately, it seems that cheap gas has gone the way of the Commodore 64, or even parachute pants... They were good while they lasted, but now have officially moved into the obsolete item list.

I am only hoping that next year I am not adding $4.00 per gallon gas to the obsolete list, because we are paying $6.00 per gallon.  If that is the case, sadly, my financial estate will also be added to the obsolete list.

"Beta Max"'d Out!

Sony's Beta Max videocassette tape recording format is a classic obsolete item.  

In the knock-down, drag out battle between the Beta Max and VHS format's, Beta did not finish in the alpha position. 

VHS was the conquering hero of the format war.  Thus, my basement is cluttered by Video Cassettes, rather than Beta Max tapes of  entertainment essentials such as, "The Princess Bride" movie,  reruns of "Seinfeld," oh, and yes, the video of my wedding.

What would happened if VHS would have went obsolete, instead the Beta Max?  No one can be certain, of course.  However, the Beta Max format only allowed one hour of recording time compared to the 4-6 hours provided by VHS.  So, movies, TV shows, even weddings would have had to be completed in a much faster time frame, if Beta Max was the format of choice.  Not necessarily a bad thing if you could end the misery that was "Look Who's Talking," or "Three Men and a Baby," in as fast as 60 minutes.  I am just saying.

Don't shed too many tears for Sony in this stinging defeat of the late 70's.  They have just won the newest version of this war as their Blu Ray Disc has soundly defeated the HD DVD format. The victory officially occurred when the Warner Brothers studio announced that they were dumping the HD DVD format and sticking with the Blu Ray format only.  Other Hollywood studios followed Warner Brother's lead after their announcement.

Even when its late arriving, victory is always sweet.  "Sayonara Beta Max" (and HD DVD for that matter).

THE LIST OF OBSOLETE ITEMS.

We live in an age teeming with new technology.  With all of these cutting-edge advancements, many beloved items of the recent past have become obsolete.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but merely a starting point for discussion.

I WELCOME FUTURE COMMENTS TO THIS POST TO ADD TO THE OBSOLETE ITEM LIST.

1. The Phone Booth.
2. The 8 Track Tape.
3. The Rabbit Ear TV Antenna.
4. The Polaroid Camera.
5. Rotary Phone.
6. Carbon Paper to make copies.
7. Credit Card Imprinter.
8. Typewriter.
9. Dial-up Internet.
10. Cassette Tape.
11. VCR.
12. Commodore 64.
13. The TV Repair Man.
14. The Y2K Fear.
15. HD DVD.
16. A Roll of Film.
17. Penmanship.
18. Pay Phone.
19. Pull-out Cell Phone Antenna.
20. Spelling.
21. The Hand Grip to roll down a car window.
22. The Sony Walkman.
23. Parachute Pants.
24. Home Telephone with a cord.
25. Floppy Disks.
26. Leather Ties.
27. "Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific" Shampoo.
28. A Handwritten Letter sent through the Post Office.

HOW MANY MORE COME TO YOUR MIND.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST YOUR THOUGHTS.