A Lesson in Obsolescence


Let us talk about obsolescence. Yes, I know, I know.  There are hundreds, nay thousands of blog posts or online articles decrying all the things that have become unnecessary in our lifetimes.  I want to put my own spin on these things by making it about me.  These are things that have become obsolete in my lifetime that I will forever remember.

Obsolescence

The Floppy Disk – Thumb drives and mini external / portable hard drives killed off the sturdy floppy disk.  I will forever remember using 50 floppy disks to install windows 95.  How TEDIOUS.

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.Encyclopedias – I will never forget pouring over volumes of heavy, smelly, usually OLD encyclopedias every time my elementary teachers had us do a research project.  half the info was itself obsolete or at the very least outdated.  THANK YOU INTERNET!

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.Film and Film Cameras – I will always remember the first time i actually saw a Polaroid Instant Film Camera spit out a grey pic that transformed before my eyes into a full color picture.  I will also never forget the ubiquitous DISK film camera my mom was so attached to growing up.  R.I.P. Photo mat one our photo services.

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Cassette Tape – I will always remember when my aunt gave my brother and I some blank cassette tapes and her old boom box.  We recorded radio for hours and for the first time ever could rewind and figure out what the hell Mike Jackson was saying so damn fast as he sang his songs.

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   Incandescent Light Bulbs – I will never forget how a pal of mine in high school that spent a FORTUNE, well it seemed like a lot back then, OK, hundreds of dollars on these new light bulbs that he read would last for YEARS as opposed to normal light bulbs.  They were called fluorescent light bulbs.  Now the F-Bulbs, as I call em’ are almost all you can buy.

 

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Pagers – I will never forget how I jumped into a swimming pool not just once but TWICE with brand new pagers.  Oh how i would cry if those had been cell phones.

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Arcades – OK, not much to say here.  I think we all share some level of reverence for this one.  In his case they SERIOUSLY don’t make em like they used to.  Hours and hours I spent at malls, bowling alleys and in stand alone arcades back in the day.  Memories I will always have.  My kids have no clue what it felt like since they have been surrounded by gaming systems since BIRTH.

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VCR – Its on a lot of lists, but I have a very special story.  I am actually old enough to remember when renting a VCR from Kroger’s to watch Eddie Murphy’s RAW stand-up routine was a weekend of fun.   I will never forget when my mom actually won our first VCR in a contest from a local grocery.
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..So to wrap up, cause I could go on and on, try to hang on to your memories of all these things.  Kids today don’t know how good they have it.  Anyone my age or older really has lived through what is an astounding array of technological advancements.

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About JayCooper

Puzzled WebWizard from Mount Juliet Tennessee. Married for 25+ years to a wonderful wife with three grown sons.

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