Recently (and by recently I mean yesterday at work) I stumbled upon an article entitled "Technology: What's next on the extinction list?" and it really got me nostalgic about some of the things I missed, will miss, and look forward to missing. So in this article, the number one peice of tech that will become extinct within the next year or so is - THE LANDLINE TELEPHONE. I completely agree. I mean lets face it - unless you're working somewhere that involves calling home phone numbers, or at a corporation where the phones are connected via extensions like me, its probably been a long time since you've heard a dial tone. And most likely in the next two generations, that sound will cease to exist as we know it. Just like the Dial-up noise. OH MAN, I really hit you hard with that one didn't I? (I'm hearing it in my head now... dee dooo dee dooo PSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH) but I digress.
Futurist and writer Mark Pesce said this:
"The landline is going away. The mobile is good enough for most people, most of the time. A lot of people have a landline in their house if they have Foxtel or DSL, but then you're not using it for phone calls you're only using it for those things. "
He's right. Sadly, with the death of the dial tone, so too will come the death of the number button sounds. Surely playing Ode to Joy and other classics during mid phone call to impress the other end will be nothing more than a distant memory. Slowly but surely the rest will come: recording funny answering machine messages with your family, the uncustomizable two tone shrill or ring, finding and charging that darn cordless phone, and the like. Rest In Peace Landline telephone.
That wasn't the only peice of tech on that list either. The next one mentioned was - THE CHEAP POINT AND SHOOT CAMERA. I'm on the border on this one. It's all because of that one word, cheap. Now I'm all about point and shoot cameras, I personally think they'll be around for another decade or so. The article states that since mobile phones are becoming better equipped with cameras, the higher end lines (with the fancy lenses and such) will be placed more on the focus (see what I did there?). I just think that cameras on phones these days just are focused too much on the phone, since you know... it's a phone. But even with the cheap point and shoot cameras, you still get the cheesy color isolation effects, color replacement effects, better zoom, and that surprisingly pleasing "beep beep" right before the camera takes the picture and momentarily blinds you. I just hink for now, phones just aren't focused enough on the picture aspect. But how 'bout those new Nikons, AMIRITE?
That kind of reminds me, I never really had the pleasure of ever taking a picture with a polaroid. You know, the whole picture prints out immediately and you have to shake it like an idiot? Maybe once, but the ones my parents had broke by the time I was old enough to use one. The days of having a roll of film are definately dead. I'll miss heading over to store X, popping the back of my camera, and giving someone a roll of film. I'll also miss stretching out a little bit of the new film and setting the camera back up, closing the camera door and hearing those gears wind up for the next roll. Gives me chills. So let's move on.
Next up - RADIOS. Now, I was never into AM radio. I always thought it was a dimension better suited for old people. Honestly, the only AM station I ever knew of was AM 1560. That's right - RADIO DISNEY. But for 99.9% of my life, I've been on the FM. Now with the XM bouncing up and odwn in the markets, I don't totally agree with this one either. Radio is great as long as there are still interesting enough morning shows, and it's also a good way for news to spread, traffic and weather conditions during a commute... the list goes one. The only aspect of radio that will die is the music. Mainstream radio is terrible. We'll save that idea for another entry. Nowadays I find myself plugging my mp3 in whenever music plays between talk shows. The article states that the future is pdcasting. Let's be serious. It's not.
As for nostalgia, since the radio isn't quite dead, nor do I think it will be anytime soon... there isn't that much to reminsce about except the "scan button." During long road trips where all the local radio stations would change, the scan button did wonders when tying to find music. I'll miss hearing static for 5 seconds and then talking, then random spanish music, then classical music, then good music, then not realizing it was good music so I have to scan all the way around again. I miss watching the numbers go from 108 or so back down to 87... and that's pretty much it. Moving on.
I'll only blurb about this one real quick because I disagree with it entirely. SCANNERS AND PROJECTORS. The article states that Projectors will soon be built into phones and aren't really useful unless one wants a certain effect. For one, I've only seen like 1 or 2 phones with projectors inside them, and most business still use them for presentations. Scanners? Sure I haven't used one in awhile... but I would if I could. I feel the only other alternative is taking a picture of something and uploading to a computer. That's just stilly.
Finally, the last peice of tech on this list is- THE DVD PLAYER. This is a 50/50 for me. I get that the evolution of the Blu-ray player and the conveniece of Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and the like, are big players in the death of the DVD player. But unless Blu-ray discs drop down to like $5, I'm sticking with my DVD player. I'm not a big yearner of HD. I think its pretty good when other people have it, but I only think it's a necessity for video games and newer TVs. I had a heavy box TV for the longest time before I bought my own HDTV, and I was completely content with the quality of my DVDs. Also, why buy a bluray player when you can get a PS3 - I mean I still use a PS2 for DVDs...?
As for a nostalgia factor, talking about DVD players takes my back to the VHS days. I can confidently say I was well aware of the death of VHS tapes... I was there. But the new generation will never know what it's like to put a tape into a VCR... that moment when you've pushed it in just far enough the VHS player just takes it all on and loads it up. Then you hear th motors working and the film turning inside the machine as the movie starts. I miss the fuzzy lines as my tv "tracks" and noticing how funny movies can be when you play them backwards in real time. I'll miss getting charged $2.50 for not rewinding a rented tape. Or the satisfying click when the tape rewinder was done. If that article is correct though, all the things about DVD players will be gone too, the machine sound of the disc drive opening and closing, the spinning sound of the discs as it loads... and again I digress. DVD players aren't dead just yet.
In conclusion: there are a lot of things i'm going to miss. I'm sure hearing the scratch on a rcord, or turning the handle on a record player was it's own kind of thrill. For now we need to look onto the future too see what nostalgia waits for us there. Reminiscing about the past isn't so bad either.
ta ta kids.
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