Examples Of Obsolete Technologies – Full List With Pictures

By Philip Yiga | February 9, 2017

There are several technologies that people really loved to use in the past and never thought that such technologies would become useless and extinct at a certain point in the future. However, some of these old-technologies have already become useless today due to the rapid increase in technological-advancements. So, I will provide you with some of obsolete technologies that people liked but no-longer use today.

 

A List of Examples of Obsolete Technologies That People Thought Would Last Forever:

1. Data storage media: In the past, people were very amazed about the introduction of different data-storage media such as floppy-disks, zip-disks and jaz-disks. However, all these data-storage devices are extinct and people no longer use them all over the world. On the other hand, even CDs and DVDs are on their way to extinction because today there are more new ways of storing large-amounts of data than using a CD or DVD. In fact, today people store data on flash-disks, cloud-servers, memory-cards and a lot more advanced storage-devices.

2. Dial-up modems: in the old-days, people used dial-up modems that had to make a sound when connecting to the internet. In fact, these modems connected each-other across a re-purposed telephone-infrastructure inorder to enable information to flow from one-computer to another. However, today dial-up modems are no-longer being used and now wireless-modems and routers are being used. In fact, wireless-modems are very easy to set-up whereby you just need to plug them into your computer and they will automatically connect to the internet faster than dial-up modems.

3. Print media: although paper and printing technology has been in existence for centuries, it’s actually becoming unnecessary in this technological-era of using the internet. In fact, today printed magazines and newspapers are fading away because of the internet which provides people with digital magazines and news in real-time than never before. Additionally, with the advancements in technology today, we no-longer have to use phone-books, encyclopedias, print-catalogs and a lot since these can be easily accessed using different technologies. However, some printing-media companies still exist but they need to adjust to the available technologies before it’s too late for them.

4. Video and graphical media-storage: in the past, there were actually several graphical media-storage devices like VHS, laser-disk and a lot more but all these technologies are no longer being used today. On top of that, there are also video/media storage devices that are extinct today and these include analog-films, analog-slides and disposable film-cameras. In fact, these days’ people are using advanced graphical and video media-storage technologies which include live-streaming services, decoders, cam-coders and a lot more.

5. Printed foldable-maps: long ago, people used printed foldable-maps for reference while travelling but these maps have already been replaced with GPS-systems that use Google-maps. In fact, today GPS-systems are installed on every Smartphone and can even be accessed online inorder to enable know and view different locations in real-time than never before. Additionally, even different industries like the aviation-industry and shipping-industry have greatly improved on the way they do things by simply using advanced GPS-systems coupled with Google-maps.

6. Audio-players and media-tapes: today, some audio-players are already extinct like Walkmans and they are actually being replaced by advanced players like; iPods, ipads and mp3-players. On the other hand, cassette tapes that were being in traditional audio-players are also extinct and today audio-players are equipped with inbuilt-memory. Additionally, even smartphones can act as audio-players thus eliminating the need of stand-alone audio-players in this age.

7. Cathode-ray-tube television sets: today, the big cathode-ray-tube television-sets are getting extinct because they have been replaced with new flatscreen plasma, LCD and LED television-sets which are more slim and eye-appealing. In fact, today most homes have dumped cathode-ray-tube television-sets and are now equipped with new flat-screen TVs which are space-saving and energy-efficient because they use less power than CRT television-sets.

8. Rotary phones and Pulse Telephone Networks: the pulse telephone technology was made irrelevant in 1963 after Bell’s dual-tone-multi-frequency (DTMF) technology. This technology actually lasted for a long period of time but it was later replaced by the introduction of the voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) technology. On the other hand, rotary-phones were replaced by mobile-phones and smartphones whereby it’s very hard to find a rotary-phone today.

9. Various computer-ports: the first computers were actually equipped with several ports that were used for connecting the computer onto external-devices like printers, keyboards and mice. However, all these ports were replaced by the Universal-Serial-Bus port (USB-port) which makes it very easy to connect your keyboard, mice and printer onto the computer. However, some computer-ports are still available like the Ethernet-port, audio-port and a lot more but the Ethernet-port is also losing its meaning due to the introduction of wireless networks and modems.

10. Public-pay phones: in the past, public-pay-phones played a big role when it came to communicating with people who were far-away from home. However, today public-pay-phones are no longer being used due to introduction of mobile-phones and smartphones. In fact, almost anyone owns a mobile-phone today and this means that they can easily communicate with however they want, at anytime of the day and at an affordable cost than never before. However, public-pay-phones are still available in some cities but they are used by only a few people.

11. Landlines: in the past, advanced homes were equipped with fixed-home-phones that used a solid medium telephone-line (Landlines) which included a metal-wire and fiber optic-cable. In fact, this technology is being used up to date but it won’t last for long because of the introduction of wireless networks and satellites.

12. Dedicated Wrist-watches: wrist-watches still exist up-to-date but they are no longer used to tell time only. In fact, today wrist-watches are equipped with several primary functions which include GPS, Biometric and even smart-watches can be used to make phone-calls, receive-messages, set-alarms and a lot more. However, the need for using wrist-watches today has gradually reduced because almost every gadget like; mobile-phone, computers, etc are equipped with a clock-function. So, very few people today wear wrist-watches and even some of those people use wrist-watches for fashion-purposes not for time-functions.

13. Answering-machines: in the past few decades, people used answering-machine in their homes and these machines actually recorded someone’s message after making a beep. However, today every mobile-phone is equipped with this feature and this means that answering-machines had to get extinct. All in all, mobile-phones or smartphones are equipped with several great features that have led to the extinction of several technologies that were being used in the past.

14. Type-writers: in the past, people used type-writers to create written documents and even most news-publications used type-writers. However, with the several advancements in technology today like the introduction of computers and printers, type-writers have been entirely erased from daily writing-activities. In fact, computers can do several tasks that were being done by traditional-machines and this has really changed the way people do things today.

15. Pagers: pagers are also referred to as beepers and they were actually used by people for reminding-purposes. In fact, pagers used to remind people of either a missed phone-call, message and when it’s time to do something especially while at work. However, today pagers are no-longer used by most people due to the introduction of mobile-phones which actually have a reminder-feature. However, there are a few people in the health-industry like doctors and nurses who are still using pagers because they help them to work on patients in time.

 

16. Dot Matrix Printers: in the past, companies used dot-matrix printers to created written-documents but these printers were actually very slow and used to get jammed a lot. However, today these printers are no longer being used because of the introduction of laser-printers which are faster and more efficient. In fact, some advanced laser-printers can even be connected on a network inorder to facilitate for fast printing of documents by different individuals within a company.

 

17. Analog Broadcasting for Televisions: in the past, television-companies used to broadcast using analog-technology but this technology was not actually very efficient because it produced poor-image and sound and even the user of the television had to select from the available picture-modes which included; NTSC, SECAM, PAL or PAL/SECAM in-order to achieve a desired image-quality while watching TV. However, analog broadcasting technology has been wiped away by digital-broadcasting technology and other broadcasting technologies like; cable-TV, internet-broadcasting (Netflix) and a lot more. In fact, digital-broadcasting provides a clearer picture coupled with great sound-quality and that’s why most countries today have switched to digital-broadcasting technology.

 

18. Analog Radio-Transmissions: in the last few decades, people used analog-radios which required someone to turn a round-knob placed onto the radio inorder to select a desired radio station. However, analog radio-transmissions were not that efficient and at times people would fail to get the radio-stations they needed. Today, analog radio-transmissions have been replaced by digital radio transmissions and streaming-audio over the internet. This actually enables people to access several radio stations more efficiently no-matter their location compared to old analog radio transmissions.

 

19. Dedicated MP3-players: in the last few years, people really loved using stand-alone Mp3-media-players because most mobile-phones never had an mp3-player function. However, with the introduction of smartphones, dedicated mp3-players have been wiped-out because every standard Smartphone features an inbuilt Mp3-player function.

 

20. Dedicated portable-radios: in the past, people used portable radios inorder to listen to several radio-stations. However, today mobile-phone (smartphones) feature an inbuilt radio-function and this has actually replaced the use of portable radios. On top of that, even internet streaming of radio-stations has greatly replaced portable-radios thus leaving only a few people using portable-radios especially those in remote or rural areas.

 

21. Cigarettes: in the past, people loved smoking traditional-cigarettes but today technology has greatly changed things with the introduction of the e-cigarettes which are even healthier and safer to use than conventional-cigarettes. In fact, conventional-cigarettes caused a lot of lung diseases but e-cigarettes don’t cause such diseases and can even be used for rehabilitation-purposes for serious-smokers.

 

22. Disposable-film cameras: in the past, people used disposable film-cameras to capture images and they would actually get a negative-copy that was used to create real-images. However, today things have greatly changed with the introduction of digital-cameras and cam-coders that record or take pictures in real-time and these digital-cameras are even clearer than those in the past.

 

23. Wired keyboards and mice: after the introduction of computers, people connected wired keyboards and mice onto these computers inorder to use them effectively. However, with the introduction of laptops and ipads people no longer need wired peripheral-devices because laptops and ipads are actually equipped with inbuilt keyboards and mouse touch-pads that facilitate for easy and efficient operations. On top of that, today there are even wireless keyboards and mice that are readily available on the market and this has actually led to extinction of wired computer peripheral-devices.

 

24. Button-operated mobile-phones: with the introduction of mobile-phones that used buttons in the last few-decades, people thought that these mobile-phones where to last for a longer period of time. However, in last 1-decade the introduction of touch-screen smartphones changed everything and now most people no-longer want to use button-operated mobile-phones due to the availability of smartphones that are just swiped using fingers.

 

25. Steam and railway trains: in the past people first used steam-trains for transportation-purposes but later technology advanced to railway-trains and people thought that they were going to last forever. However, today electric or bullet trains have been developed and these trains are actually faster and more efficient than railway-trains. In fact, electric-trains can move as fast as airplanes and this has actually enabled people to travel for longer-distances in a shorter period of time without spending a lot of money on transportation like when taking a flight.

Conclusion: all in all, there are many technologies that have been created by man but the evolution of man and technology has led to the destruction of certain old-technologies. In fact, the world has greatly changed technologically in the past few-decades that if someone from the old-days comes back he/she would hardly recognize the technologies being used today. However, the technological advancements have greatly improved on the way people live and do things today thus leading to economical-development globally.