21. Dialing on a rotary phone
Status: Nearly deceased
The ease of touchtone dialing has made active use of rotary phones a novelty, though it isn't clear whether those old Bell Telephone models will ever become truly rare, since they were built to withstand thermonuclear attack. In any case, mimes may never let the motion go from their repertoire.
22. Storing data on a floppy disk
Status: Nearly deceased
A disk with 1.44MB of storage? Shyeah, right. The once-standard protocol for storing and transferring data seems puny by today's file-size standards. (And don't even get started with the truly floppy 5.25-inch variety.) Few new PCs are being built with floppy disk drives anymore; and as a result, the era of the A:\ prompt is in its twilight. As for the Zip drive, Iomega may still say it sells 'em but is anyone buying it?
23. Booting up to a C:\ prompt
Status: Nearly deceased
DOS, we'll always fondly remember seeing your blinking prompt upon boot-up. Rest in peace, dear friend.
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24. Typing on an old-school word processor
Status: Deceased
Let's face it: Doogie Howser wouldn't have been nearly as endearing if he had typed his nightly journal on Microsoft Office 2010. But boy, that plain blue-and-white screen just screams "1991."
25. Having your mobile phone attached to your car
Status: Deceased
I remember those early mobile phones that mechanics installed in people's cars. What I can't remember, though, is what today's important-looking Bluetooth-always-in-the-ear guys did to make themselves look like tools back then.
26. Putting in a videotape to watch a movie
Status: On life support
Dearly beloved, we gather here today to mourn the passing of VHS. The lucky twin of the long-deceased Betamax (whose cause of death remains a source of controversy decades later), VHS gave us hours of videotape-watching enjoyment and almost as many hours of trying to adjust the blasted tracking knob to get a steady picture.
27. Holding up a lighter at a concert
Status: Showing signs of illness
Listening to a power ballad in a dimly lit stadium without a sea of gently undulating lighters for company is like spending time at Twitter without a sea of social media experts offering their insights and informed criticism: Something about it doesn't feel right. Sure, holding up thousands of illuminated cell phones might be safer but even if the phones have virtual lighter apps installed, it just isn't the same.
28. Watching a movie in laser disc
Status: Deceased
The only proof that anyone ever actually watched movies on laser disc is the (at this writing) 5,282 entries posted on eBay by people trying to dump their LDs. But whether fact or fiction, the technology is definitely obsolete now.
29. Using proper grammar and punctuation
Status: On life support
txting and iming has made proper grammar seems kinda old skoo, dont u thnk? heres hoping 4 capitalization & punctuation 2 make a comeback in emails & other writing. the gr8 gatsby probly wuld hv been way less gr8 if it wuz written like this. lol
30. Getting a new car with a cigarette lighter
Status: Showing signs of illness
Built-in cigarette lighters standard-issue accessories for many nicotine-friendly decades are losing favor among automobile manufacturers. In fact, most new cars today ship cigarette lighter-free, instead dedicating the ports to electronics charging.
31. Flipping on an incandescent light bulb
Status: On life support
More and more nations are saying so long to the traditional incandescent light bulb and encouraging their citizens to use relatively ecology-friendly, energy-saving bulbs. Cartoon characters getting "bright ideas" have yet to adapt, however.
32. Sitting in front of a CRT monitor
Status: On life support
I won't miss staring at blurry, hard-to-read text on a CRT screen. But I will miss the dramatic effect of seeing one of those bad boys dropped from a third-story window. Flatscreen monitors may be more aerodynamic, but they just don't blow up as well.
33. Playing music on an audiocassette
Status: Nearly deceased
You can try to rewind, but the life of the cassette is on its last legs. If anyone knows a practical application for four boxes of late-1980s, early-1990s rock tapes, please advise.
34. Going to the local music store to check out CDs
Status: On life support
Local music stores are becoming harder and harder to find. Here's hoping that the remaining few can manage to hang on. Losing them would leave a cultural void that iTunes is not equipped to fill.
35. Getting an AOL disk or CD in the mail
Status: Deceased
Ever wonder how many of those floppies and CDs AOL sent out over the years? You're not alone. But no one seems to know the answer. The supply of AOL marketing material appeared endless, right up until the mailings stopped a few years back. People who devoted their time to collecting or shunning the discs haven't figured out what to do with themselves since (nor have I figured out what I'm supposed to use for coasters now).
36. Looking up numbers in the phone book
Status: Showing signs of illness
Phone companies still hand them out, but printed phone books have definitely seen better days. The combined influence of the Web and of phone services such as GOOG-411 has sharply reduced everyday use of phone books; and today the traditional walking of fingers through wood-pulp pages seems antiquated to many tech-friendly families (and wasteful to many green-friendly families).
37. Using carbon copy paper
Status: Nearly deceased
With even low-end printers now able to scan, copy and possibly make toast, you don't see old-fashioned carbon copy paper too often, making carbon paper a candidate to join purple-on-white mimeograph paper any day now in the museum of antiquities. And I doubt that anyone's complaining.
38. Sending documents via fax
Status: Showing signs of illness
Why fax when you can attach? Especially since most documents are now created on computers, the facsimile may soon find itself on the endangered species list. Fear not, though, "Office Space" fans: The legend "PC Load Letter" will live on forever.
39. Rockin' out with your boombox
Status: Nearly deceased
Your iPod may look cool, but can you balance it on your shoulder and blare your funky beats at obnoxiously high volumes? Didn't think so. The boombox also known as the jambox, the ghetto blaster or the jerkface apparatus reached its peak popularity during the 1980s, when big hair, stone-washed jeans and bad dancing enjoyed similarly unaccountable heydays. Though updated editions of the boombox may be on the market today, the era of not being able to ride in peace on a randomly selected public conveyance on a randomly selected day is, thankfully, behind us.
40. Giving someone your undivided attention during a social interaction
Status: Showing signs of illness
Oh, come on talking without simultaneously texting or tweeting is so 2008. Ads by GoogleHP ฎ Official Site
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