What invention do you think will be completely obsolete in the future?
By AmberLynn
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
United States
September 16, 2021 12:24am CST
The first thing that comes to mind might as well be considered obsolete now. That is, the home telephone. Most people use their cellphones now. I often wonder if things like a laptop and computer will become obsolete because people use their cellphones and tablets now.
What's an invention you think is on the path to becoming obsolete?
Oh, and I can imagine grocery stores as we know them will change as more and more people use online means to buy things
14 people like this
13 responses
@MommyOfEli2013 (81983)
• Rupert, Idaho
16 Sep 21
Nothing comes to mind except things you mentioned. Although I hope not about computers because I prefer that over phone/tablets lol - at least when it comes to things where I have to type!
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
It is much easier to type on a laptop / computer, isn't it? Of course, I think eventually the voice to text function will be much better and we will just talk whatever we want to type.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
@MommyOfEli2013 Yeah, my voice to text thing never works. I have not even tried with this new phone.
1 person likes this
@MommyOfEli2013 (81983)
• Rupert, Idaho
16 Sep 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum Yes it is, for sure. I think I would prefer typing still over the voice to text thing...lol
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
I had not considered keys. There are already keyless entries to things like cars and homes. Won't be long, but that scares me. It just means that is one more thing a smart enough person can compromise.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
@CarolDM So true, yet it's good for us to be aware of them.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203454)
• Nashville, Tennessee
16 Sep 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum Many things are scary lately to think about.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (169940)
• United States
16 Sep 21
Phonebooks nobody uses them now anyway.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (169940)
• United States
18 Sep 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum I have gotten them in recent years, I got it out for something once..that I couldn't find online..but mostly it just hangs around.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
18 Sep 21
@snowy22315 Now that I think about it, business cards and flyers don't seem to be going anywhere. I think we've relied on info from them a lot more than the phone book. IE: A tree service place left a business card on our screen door a few years ago, i guess because they were in the neighborhood and saw how many trees we had up front.)
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
18 Sep 21
I'm not sure the last time we even got a phonebook if I'm being honest.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Sep 21
Fax machines. I thought they were already obsolete, but I had to send a fax at work yesterday. I didn’t even know my work had a fax machine! Lol
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
Oh wow! Yeah, I kind of figured the only places that had fax machines were UPS stores and Government agencies.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
@moffittjc Oh right. Those copy machines are usually three in one deals aren't they? Copy, Print and Fax?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118435)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Sep 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum I didn’t even know we had a fax machine until someone told me I could fax from our copy machine.
1 person likes this
@JimBo452020 (42629)
• United Kingdom
16 Sep 21
I think home.telephones are on the.way out already.
Most of our friends no longer have a home phone or landlines as we call them.
I do everything now on my phone that I used to do on my PC and laptop so these are already obsolete to me.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
@JimBo452020 Ah, finally upgraded, huh? Weren't you having trouble with the other one anyhow?
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
I don't like using my phone to do laptop things, but that's just me.
1 person likes this
@JimBo452020 (42629)
• United Kingdom
16 Sep 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum
I got a new phone and enjoy using it even more.than I did with previous phones
1 person likes this
@zhangxueying (2945)
• China
16 Sep 21
Now there are cars that can use both gasoline and electricity,Replacing gasoline with something else requires a process
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
16 Sep 21
I don't think gasoline engines will be obsolete that fast. Scientists estimate there is enough oil in the ground and in reserves around the world to last until around the year 2100, possibly longer.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
I think the only way they will become obsolete is if more electric charging stations are erected and the price of the vehicles are lowered. @Vree0937
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
True, those have all gone online.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
Computer related things seem to get thinner and tinier over time. I am sure the USB sticks will morph into something no bigger than a coin.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458006)
• Switzerland
17 Sep 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum We already have USB sticks that are not a lot bigger than a coin. I think they will be soon useless.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
16 Sep 21
Cell phones... unless some new technology is discovered that can replace all the materials we're running out of to manufacture them from... Right now it costs too much to reclaim the materials from the old phones to use in making new ones... Maybe scientists can figure out a cost effective way to salvage the materials...
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
I had no idea. So all those recycled phones aren't being used for new parts? Can't be melted down and then re-manufactured.
Honestly, if they do become obsolete it would probably do a great deal to stop the dependency on them.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Sep 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum Some companies will actually take a phone apart and check it's connections and re-assemble it and resell it as re-conditioned... but they don't salvage anything from them.
@Marilynda1225 (79708)
• United States
23 Sep 21
I think maybe the DVR will become obsolete as we go more and more into streaming.
As for supermarkets I think cashiers might be limited as more and more people do self checkout.
Online shopping certainly does make things convenient
@LindaOHio (156056)
• United States
16 Sep 21
I think the basic flip phone will become obsolete. We still have them; but I think soon you will only be able to get a smartphone.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
That seems to be just around the corner in my opinion.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (156056)
• United States
22 Sep 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum I think so too. Did you see the smartphone that looks like a flip phone?
@jefferson126 (3050)
• Shenzhen, China
16 Sep 21
You reminded me the fixed telephone really was obsolete nowadays,people were used to mobile cellphone instead.
what i can figure out will be obsolete was traditional round bulb,today more and more family used LED light.In my view,the laptop and computer won't be obsolete,because it had some special functions that didn't appear in a cellphone.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
Power (electric) companies over here are now offering LED light bulbs as part of an energy saving program. The smart bulbs are also all LED bulbs.
I think the first phone to become obsolete was the ones that were corded. Cordless home phones then became obsolete about a decade later.
1 person likes this
@merrybelle2021 (1389)
• Philippines
16 Sep 21
We still have a landline. I use it to call for a gas delivery (for the stove), to call banks, hospitals, diagnostic centers.
But the daily user is mother and my aunts. They chat several times a day and like it better than the cellphone. It's more comfortable, the reception is consistent and they don't get cut off unexpectedly.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
16 Sep 21
Those are all good reasons to keep it. I think everyone I know now has a cellphone, but some kept their landline and paid for the least amount of data and minutes for their cellphones.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
18 Sep 21
@merrybelle2021 Oh yes, that would be annoying and dangerous Especially if cellphone towers were also down due to a heavy storm like a tsunami.
1 person likes this
@merrybelle2021 (1389)
• Philippines
17 Sep 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum What isn't good about today's landlines, though, at least here, it's connected to the internet and cable. So when the power goes out, it all goes out. You can't use the landline to call the electric company, or at least chat the time away with a friend or relative if it's a major outage, like we used to do pre-internet.
1 person likes this
