While computer technology has made our lives easier and more convenient, just like anything else, some products start to fade into obscurity. Here’s a look at some technology devices you should consider never buying again.
CDs, Blu-ray, or DVDs
When was the last time you bought a movie on DVD or Blu-ray, or CD for that matter? Unless you’re a collector, there’s no reason to buy any of these discs anymore. You can get all of your music via a plethora of streaming services like Spotify, Xbox Music, Pandora, and the like. As far as TV and movies, you can get them from streaming services like the ones mentioned previously: Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and others. And storing files on a blank CD-R or DVD-R is so 2005.
Cable TV
With so many alternatives to cable now, a lot of people are starting to cut the cable cord. Virtually anything you can watch on cable is available to you online via a sub-$100 set-top box and services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, or Amazon instant Video. Except for live sports, but that is also starting to change with the introduction of MLB and WWE networks.
Thumb Drives
With the availability of so much space in the cloud, it’s really not necessary to carry around a USB flash drive anymore. Not to mention, they get lost or stolen, and if you use say, Office 365, your documents are available anywhere via OneDrive. Of course, if we don’t advise storing sensitive files in the cloud — that included embarrassing pictures!
Desktop Computer
Back in the day, everyone had a big bulky desktop computer and CRT monitor on a desk in their home. But now with software tech going the way of touch apps, and hardware going the way of 2-in-1 convertible laptops, you shouldn’t need a stand-alone bulky and power consuming PC. Of course, there’s always exceptions to every rule. If you’re a hard-core gamer, need tons of horsepower for video editing, enjoy building your own PC, or have a NAS or media server, these types of enthusiasts will still want their boxes that can be upgraded over time.
MP3 Player
Unless you’re a hard core audiophile, there is no reason to buy a dedicated music player ever again. Apple is cutting back on its production of its once popular iPod, as customer demand has steadily declined for such devices. Since you already have your phone, it makes no sense to spend the extra cash for a dedicated MP3 player. Audiophile’s still enjoying specialized devices for music like the Pono Player or the Sony Walkman ZX2 which both do one thing and do it well – play high-quality music. But for most people, a streaming music service and podcasts work for an audio fix.
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These are just a few of the tech items you shouldn’t need to buy again. What are some of the things you can think of that you’ll never buy again — floppy disks and zip drives don’t count, they are already dead.
17 Comments
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Dean Terchunian
I have over 30 years experience being a programmer and computer consultant and I have to disagree with you on this article. Number 1 the cloud is unreliable and untrustworthy. If you don’t have data locally you are at the whim of the cloud websites, oh and where are those website / servers located? If not in the United States I would never put my data on them let alone trust them for my backup. By the way the cloud is nothing new it was around 25 years ago when I worked with Novell servers. You are leading these young and inexperienced users down the wrong road. Local backup is essential.
Chloe7
whoops, Dean, EYE reckon y’r right! I would rather get into a spaceship myself than allow my stuff to float around there.
Frederick C. Wilt
Hi,
I buy BD disks often. We are in the country with only a DSL line. None of the streaming stuff comes close to the resolution of a BD disk.
And I’m one of those nutty people who thinks more hardware is better. I’ve got a desktop in my office, one for the wife in the office, one in my workshop on the lower level, two hooked up to my model railroad and a server in the utility room.
Not to mention the 3 NAS units, with 30+ TB of space, for storage of stuff. Can’t have too much “stuff”.
patrick o,connell
I agree with fred you cant have enough local storage,i dont think people will ever stop buying media on discs and things,there is no value felt with a file stored to a mp3 device or cloud storage alone.
tim
I disagree on a few items here.
Cable Box – Since the majority of what is watched in our house are current affairs analysis shows, they are not available on the web. Sorry.
CD, DVD, Blu-Ray – Our household is bilingual. That is, we watch using two languages. One language is audio and the other is CC. You can’t do this with online purchases.
Thumb Drive – We maintain two networks in the house. One is completely disconnected from the Internet for security reasons. Thumb Drives are the best means to transfer the files. Sorry.
Desktop computers – Have yet to find a laptop that can handle the number crunching I do. Plus, can add parts easier on a desktop.
MP3 Player… OK, I will give you this one.
Vadim
Do they actually sell MP3 players anymore?
Lucky Pucker
yeah for people who exercise
Jan
Can’t thumb drives receive and transmit infections? We also have one PC, whose OS is WinXP, completely disconnected from the Internet, but are afraid to use thumb drives back and forth from it and a regular Win7 PC that *is connected.
ramjiyahoo
2in one laptop – One problem is the screen size, is there a 2 in one laptop with 24 or 29 inch montiors, if so then I plan to go for it.
Demetri Sarinopoulos
I strongly disgree with this article. It is a blind view of technology.
1. ALL portable devices such as smart phones, Apple devices, etc. are NOT HIPPA compliant. ANY medical facility using such is walking on very dangerous grounds. There are several reasons: (1). They can be easily stolen and resold to anyone thus making the doctor’s patients files open to public view. It makes NO difference how encrypted they are, as a cryptographer, the question is NOT if they are encrypted BUT how long it takes. The 64 bit processors with up to 8 cores and unlimited RAM/storage has enough power to break any password and encryption key. (2). They are not unique. A thief can simply swap a clone and pocket the target.
2. The “Cloud” is a disaster waiting to happen. Recently, a tractor trailer truck struck down several poles nearby and knocked out the Internet in about a 250 square mile area for 12 hours shutting down every business in the cities that relied on “the web”. The loss of business was costly.
NOTHING on “the Cloud” is secure. The statement that the “cloud” is secure is pure BS. The user has NO idea if the data is even stored in the USA! There are numerous resons not to trust the Cloud regardless.
a. It can be (and is) hacked at the ISP locations before it is checked by any virus software. This is due to “holes” in certain ISP routers That seamlessly redirect the traffic blindly to another nation such as Iceland, where it is redirected back to the original destinatin with NO way to track if it was copied in Iceland.
b. See the comment above on encryption.
c. Where is the data facility located? HOW do YOU know the physical and electronic protection of a site you cannot even detect,unless you are a geek.
d. WHO actually owns the site?
bottom line: Regardless of how the remote site is managed, I do not trust them.
3. The desktop PC is the ONLY device capable of operating in a business. My clients have tried them all and find them lacking.
a. The user does not own the device. It MUST be as transparent as possible since any user may use any machine.
b. It must meet HIPPA requirements in a medical facility.
c. The only reliable and easy to use method today is the tried and tested desktop, keybord and monitor. MANY entry level data entry employees cannot use a portable device because of the office design.
d. The portable devices greatly enhance the Intranet (network) in the office and must work wireless. NO wireless device is secure for a number of reasons. Given time, there are a number of ways the wireless network can be hacked. I know because I have done it.
It gets comical: I see users back up their ENTIRE hard drive to a remote unknown facility somewhere, there is no ned to hack that user, ALL of their personal data is compromised!!!
Ken
I agree for most of younger people these things will change. But not for everyone, I remember 30+ years ago mainframes were declared DEAD, even Y2K couldn’t kill them. Recently IBM released the Z13 mainframe.
Predictions are good, but do not always come true no matter how much the naysayers want them to become reality. Will tablets or cell phones overtake desktops and laptops, someday, maybe, but not in the near future.
Brian needs to broaden his scope of thinking, not everyone lives in the “Big City”. Rural users have different needs than inner-city people. Which reminds me, it wasn’t that long ago that the remote office was going to be the new trend, everyone was going to work from home.
wheelsey_4
MP3 Players maybe “on their way” out, down a very long road, but I think you struck out on this article, Brian. Sorry
Jan
Is there a way to stream things to your car, if you don’t have a smart phone? I always listen to CDs in the car and don’t envision giving that up.
Alan
There’s a free stream of music and news available in my car. it’s called “radio”.
Jan
Good one, Alan! The reason why I don’t want to give up CDs is that I only want to listen to music that I like, and I can seldom be sure that that’s what I’ll get from radio. I do, however, listen to a few radio stations for talk and news.There may be some radio programs that mainly deal with the types of music I like, but I have not found them yet. Probably haven’t done enough searching, since I have my CDs.
Alan
My favorite radio station made a list of “top 2000” songs. I added my own favorites, threw out a few I disagreed on, and ended up with about 3,000 songs.
I put these on an Ipod and plugged it into the car. On long distance trips [hey I’m in Australia] I switch to the Ipod once FM coverage from a capital city gets sketchy.
Thanks to the original list coming from a radio station, I’ve had the fun of getting back into their coverage – and they’re playing the same songs I was just listening to.
Jan
I do have an iPod and the device for listening to it in my car–just don’t do that very often. I need to have some separate CD’s with the sort of music my husband likes because our tastes differ somewhat.