It’s right there in the name of this website. We here at Futurelooks are constantly looking to the future, bringing you the latest and greatest that the digital lifestyle has to offer and looking forward to what’s yet to come on the horizon. At the same time, we recognize technology’s past. Unfortunately, some of that old stuff just won’t go away.
We like to think that we live on the bleeding edge of technology, playing with a tablet PC netbook and a cutting edge computer mouse. However, there are some people out there who refuse to innovate, sticking with what’s known and comfortable. And here are five pieces of outdated technology that they continue to use. Why can’t you just let it die?!
Calculators and Adding Machines
Arithmetic is a necessary part of our lives. I understand that it is absolutely necessary to tally up those figures for income tax season, calculate the total cost of buying a batch of cool t-shirts, and convert some money from one currency to another. That’s all well and good, but we don’t need standalone calculators anymore.
With the noted exception of specialized calculators (like graphing calculators for math class), the regular pocket calculator is no longer necessary. Your laptop has a calculator. Your cell phone has a calculator. Why on Earth would you still need a regular standalone calculator? Adding machines are even worse! Look at all that wasted paper when a simple spreadsheet program can do so much more.
The Ubiquitous Installation CD
Most netbooks don’t have optical drives these days, because they’re not really all that necessary. The only time that you’d ever really use a CD or a DVD or a netbook is when you get stuck with a stupid installation CD. Some accessories and hardware require software and drivers, but it’s such a pain that so many of them still come with installation CDs.
There are two very simple ways that companies can easily overcome this clearly outdated technology that refuses to die. First, they could simply direct you to an appropriate webpage where all supporting software can be easily downloaded. We’re all connected to the Internet.
Second, they could use a small USB flash drive (or a BIG one like the 32GB Corsair Voyager if you’re so inclined). This way, the flash drive can still be reused. With the installation CD, it serves its single purpose and then is rendered quite useless.
Flipping through the Yellow Pages
My local telephone company still delivers a new copy of the Yellow Pages and White Pages each and every year. I don’t think I’ve thumbed through that dated and cluttered directory in ages. The Yellow Pages were positively useful ten years ago, but times have changed.
Have you heard about this thing called the Internet? You don’t have to get your fingers all dirty flipping through the Yellow Pages when you can much more easily search for contact information through Google or your favorite online directory. Better still, you save a whole bunch of trees in the process.