5 gadgets that will be dead in 5 years

And I've got four of the five. Leaves room for more technology junk to buy. And maybe my stuff will live longer then me...

Everyone is welcome to their opinion, but predicting the future of technology is a sucker's game.

If anyone is concerned that they might make a mistake in buying a GPS they can certainly obtain the "free" Google app - and pay connection and data transfer fees every time they use it on the SmartPhone!

And pundits back in the day said no one would ever have a need for a personal computer...

they keep saying Google Map is free. But, how many people really have smartphone (with paid data plan)? Google map won't be truly free unless it can be downloaded without buying data plan.

..and according to interpretation of the Mayan calendar we'll all be dead in roughly 1 year. So, I guess it's a safe bet our technology will probably follow us.

For a minute I was concerned that my electric (infra-red) freezer-refrigerator defroster might be on that list !

Ron

Forget that - it's May 21 we should be worried about... google it.

I have no doubt the writer is based in New York or some other area in the Northeast. They forget, ignore or are ignorant of the fact that half the country still uses dial-up...

I'm considering a new GPS, but have no need now or for the foreseeable future, for a smartphone. Doesn't matter to me which apps are free. At this point in time for me, they are all worthless. How does that square with most of the article?

Google map is not free on your phone, but if you have a smartphone you have to pay for the extra data and you get it anyway so may as well use it.
At least with Verizon that is the way it is.

Now that my phone takes good pics and movies, are cameras becoming obsolete?

Not looking good down the road for some of us with these items.Not interested in a phone that does every thing but sure do like the tablets.

Apple MacBook Pro, mine lasted two years - totally dead now - useless.

I think the person writing the article is out of touch with the American people. These devices and gadgets haven't even peaked.

Not to mention vibrators...

Will never happen unless 4G (5G? or whatever G it'll be called) data is either unlimited or capped at hundreds of gigabytes (eg: 300GB). At this time using 3G/4G phone as wireless internet access point costs an arm and a leg and limited to a few GB (5GB). Customers would still like to have wireless internet access @ home for their computers. WiFi router will still be in demand unless there's something better.

I have never seen a multi-function device that did anything well.

The smartphone (and I have a Droid X) reminds me of the old saying:

"Jack of all trades, master of none."

I'm with you on that one. I guess I still like my "Old" GPSr and "Older" Palm Not As Smart as They Are Today PDA.

Creature of habit or cheap, I just like my older stuff.

The "jack of all trades" is the master of none.

There are times when "good enough" is, and times when it isn't... a smart phone with a gps app that requires a data connection is mostly good enough - until you don't have a data connection for whatever reason, and your app runs out of cached map data - then, it's no good at all.

Next thing you will tell me is my 8track player and Victrola are going out of style.
Please don't burst my bubble.

I had to laugh at DVD's/ CD's and routers dying!

So, how am I going to back up my files, in the cloud? Not on your life. External drives are great until they fail.

Routers are part of MY security, and I will not relinquish control to an all-in-one box. What if I don't want cable, satellite TV etc.?

As for the GPS, people who have never used a PND might be surprised at the limitations on their phone.

However, the whole article was a damn good laugh at these predictions!

All have heard predictions concerning the future. This proverb says it well. When men speak of the future the Gods laugh.

There will always be a market for stand-alone, self-contained devices. Examples: GPS receiver with maps already loaded and stored. Music/video/reading devices with locally stored content -- that don't require remote authentication to use..

DO these people follow the press, reading about little things such as Sony's network going kathud, and possibly staying dead through the end of May? And Amazon's EC2 cloud storage service having a hiccup -- only a *few* clients lost data -- how many terabytes? Or do they remember the outcries when companies such as Walmart and that little place near Seattle -- Microsoft -- decided to stop supporting old DRM servers, leaving customers with many, many megabytes of pseudorandom numbers? Gamers locked out because they don't have internet access, or someone's authentication servers are acting up?

If I was a cynic I'd bet that the media and communications companies are interested in streaming devices as a great one-two punch: customers no longer have control over things they mistakenly think they bought (Amazon and 1984, anyone?), and the communications companies getting to charge for every byte streamed.

Sounds like a real winner -- I'm not interested; I'll keep my standalone, self-contained devices.

I can still use a magnetic compass, batteries go dead, as do electronics. I have red dot sights and lasers on some of my firearms but still practice iron sights, lifes too short to forget old skills. Have no plans on getting these new do all phones, my TracPhone and Garmin 765T will do just fine.

DVD's may be going but some form of media whatever the name is will remain until we're able to keep concentrated data of mostly everything each person needs to access on a chip embedded within our bodies - scary

Only time will tell if these products will go the way of the dodo bird.

i dont agree with the portal gps units and the ereaders, the other stuff yea.

For now, GPS's by phone application do not cover the entire country because the phone signal is not available in ALL locations. Stand alone GPS's also allow you to load custom POI's (points of interest) which can include the location of speed & redlight cameras, & just about any specific database of the location of various businesses across the country or the world too.

But if you like integrated gagets, chacque en son gout!

Fred

I'm not buying this argument. I just don't see portable GPS units going away for the dedicated anytime soon. I guess I travel in too many places that don't have reliable phone coverage.

Took a quick look at the article. Usual rehashed punditry put out to fill a web page, apparently written by totally clueless journalist who gets their tech savvy from reading other similar pages, and Apple et al. press releases. Still I guess it served its purpose, it got me to visit the page. Pity for them that Adblock Plus means no revenue from it though.

I guess that means the cysrtal radio it out the door as well. Bummer

It wouldn't pick up stereo FM broadcasts any way.

Pssst - you can buy a $5 app on Android market that can download the entire US map so you can navigate without data. GPS on an Android phone is free.

My son and his wife both have a smart phone, has a key board and everything. They are hard to understand, their voices are muffled. Saw my son using his one day and I understood why, the mike is about 1/2 way up his cheek. Jack-of-all-trades; Master-of-none!

I have 4 of the 5 items on the list and intend to continue using them for as long as possible. 5 years is a long time and with the way things are built today, I doubt any of my items will survive long enough to become extinct.

The USA has become a disposable country as this has become the under lying business plans for all company's. Look Apple has to put a new gadget in the market stream every few month.

I believe half of what I see and nothing I read!

look at all the electronics industry, look at pc, cell phones what is the model life expectancy 3 to 6 months maybe.

I don't fully agree with the article, for now anyway. As far as the GPS part of it, I don't have a smart phone, don't need a smart phone, don't want a smart phone. My phone has blue-tooth and makes phone calls, that's all I need. For what AT&T wants for a data plan which I wouldn't use, I can buy a new GPS every year.

I also geocache and use a handheld which is more rugged and from what experenced cachers tell me, more accurate then a cell phone. Try accidentally dropping your phone in a creek or lake and see how it stands up.

Other items I see as going obsolete are:

VHS
Fax Machine
Phone answering Machine
Newspapers (paper version)
Phonebooks (paper version)

Not counting the price of the app... and the data plan providers require to use the phone - even if your GPS app doesn't need it...

I might be cheap but, for the cost of 4 months of data plan (local, no international roaming), I just bought a new Garmin 1370T with North American AND European maps.

Also, I just got myself a Kindle for about 1/4 of the price of an iPad. It's perfect for reading a good novel on the bus.

Simon

I still use a Palm Tungsten T3. It does everything I need a PDA to do and there's no monthly charge. It is on it's third battery. If I need to make a phone call, I wait until I'm home or borrow my wife's cell phone (phone only). My current computer is an e-machine, dual-core running Windows 7. I bought it at WalMart to replace my 10 year old, home-brew Win XP machine that died.

Marketing critters have conditioned folks to want the latest and greatest. When something comes out with more bells and whistles, your old device is no longer serviceable. Doesn't make any difference which one works the best, you have GOT to have the newest. I wonder what these folks will be doing when they reach retirement age?

Five years is a long time in the technology world, and plenty of time for things to be replaced.

Just 5 years ago I was using my PDA, and now I can't even get Windows to recognize it.

Will be interesting to see what we are all playing with in 2016!

I have a netbook, and as of now it sits in its case, simply because for day to day use I have my Dell Streak and an unlimited data plan. The netbook is nice to have when on a trip because I don't particularly relish carrying around my 7-pound laptop and its accessories, but I do believe tablets will render the netbook obsolete.

As to the wireless router, having it built in to a cable modem makes perfect sense. Especially where more and more people are going wireless daily. The one fly in the ointment is that adding the router into a cable modem will inflate the price of cable more than it already does. But eventually it will happen.

Everything else is going to stick around for some time to come.

The problem with modem/router combos is, it allows the ISP to have a backdoor into your computer. In my little world, this is a no-no, and will not happen.

I remember the guru who, back in the 70's, said that mainframe computing was dead. Wonder whatever happened to him?

Now excuse me while I put a tape in the cassette player and enjoy some music.

I recall back in '69 I was seriously thinking about building a Heathkit FM stereo for my car for about $80cdn. We had just purchased a new '68 Volvo for $3200 and an AM/FM radio at $120 was beyond our stretched budget.

Lest I appear to be a Luddite I do drive an '11 Ford Edge with Sync. Sync by Microsoft no less, I should have known better...

Wrong.

I have an unlocked Android phone that I use on my GSM provider, I use data on wifi only, and only use the data plan if I absolutely need it (which is not required).

I can download the map data on wifi, and then go driving which requires no data. Most of the carriers do not require a data plan even if you are using an Android phone. I also use an unlocked iPhone on T-mobile with no data plan. But the iPhone navigation sucks compared to Android.

Please get your facts straight next time.

So, your provider doesn't require you to have a data plan? And, if it does, how much is it per month even if you don't use it? What provider as this may be useful for members to know.

My provider (the Death Star - AT&T) _REQUIRES_ a data plan for smart phones.

I would also like to know about this provider that gives out smart phones without required data plans.