Obsolete Technology: 40 Big Losers
PC World -- Old tech friends we used for years are now deceased or on life support. We've compiled a list of 40 once-commonplace activities that are rapidly approaching extinction. Some are in danger of disappearing, while others have already vanished. So join us for a spirited send-off.
Originally posted at Carpe Diem.
Examples include: playing video games at an arcade, going on a "blind" first date, running out of hard-drive space, needing to be 18 to have access to porn, paying for long distance, storing data on a floppy disk, sending documents via fax, and getting a new car with a cigarette lighter, and using a public phone booth.
11 Comments:
Wow - I had to have used at least half of those. I still have some mix tapes from 20 years ago but my tape deck died in between then and now. One of these days.....
Don't forget stamps. I kinda wish the post office would stop coming to my house. It all ends up in the trash.
Faxes are still the easiest solution for manually filled in forms or forms where a signature is required.
Scanning and emailing is more and more a replacement, but try scanning a stack of documents and it's annoying. It's just easier slapping the stack onto the fax machine and walking away.
When I was a kid I put many a quarter into Asteroids, Gorf, Pac-Man, Q-Bert, Crystal Castles, Marble Madness and other arcade games. The arcades not only created community, but the breadth of game styles was amazing back then. Modern PC games lack diversity of game design. Arcade games, where they still exist, are almost all martial arts games.
Oddly enough, arcades are still vibrant in Japan. The population density apparently keeps them profitable.
(The costs of arcade machines have skyrocketed. State-of-the-art these days costs thousands of dollars and customers are unwilling to pay $1 a game.)
The costs of arcade machines have skyrocketed
Something is wrong here. Everything else computer-related suffers 50% annual depreciation, but arcade machines are more expensive than they were in 1985? Something like that Ms. Pac-Man pictured above should be dirt cheap.
The article mentions pinball as nearly deceased. I should note that owning a pinball machine is now a big status symbol, even moreso than in pinball's heyday. An XBox might be de rigeur among gamers, but owning a real coin-op machine like Tempest displays true retro cool.
re: '31. Flipping On an Incandescent Light Bulb'
Well I see the socialists at PC World have a tenuous grip on reality...
Compact fluorescent light bulbs suck
CFL’s suck and Incandescent Bulbs are evolving. That’s really good
These games are more expensive now because of the nostalgic demand a relative rarity. They're collectibles.
Asteroids was fun until you learned the secret. I never caught Pac Man Fever.
I loved Crystal Castles. Defender, Galaga, Moon Lander, Joust, and Centipede were cool. Missile Command gets the prize for the most sardonic expression of our worst fears.
Good riddance to the ditto machine. It brings back blue fingered nightmares of school and teaching.
I can't wait until the Post Office, PBS and NPR are gone.
I meant new arcade machines have increased in price. Historically, arcade games were always higher tech than consoles. Making a machine that beats an XBox 360 or PS3 today, especially on low volumes, just costs too much.
As an example, look at the Neo Geo. It was essentially a home version of an arcade machine: it cost $400 at a time when most other consoles tried to stay under $200. The games themselves could cost up to $200 because of the special chips they used.
@randian
Yes Most of those games at the arcades are fighting games, and There still is a niche market for arcades in the states.
@Anonymous
Yup yup, Japan still loves the arcades for a number of reason. They always get so many new and fresh ones so often.
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