Dying Technologies & Those I Want To See Die
Two related articles. First, a look at outdated technology that refuses to die:
Fax machines should go the way of the dinosaur. With the instant delivery and reliability of email, fax should be a thing of the past.
Second, 10 technologies about to go extinct:
3. Wristwatches: Throwing on a fancy watch may make you look professional, but let’s be honest. Cell phones and iPods tell you the time when you’re out and about, and virtually every appliance in your home — from your refrigerator to your coffeemaker to your television and your DVD player — has a clock. No one wears a wristwatch anymore, unless he or she grew up with one.
I’m one of the people who gave up on watches after I bought my first cell phone. I haven’t worn one in about 10 years and really don’t miss it.
And don’t get me started on faxes. I still have to send them regularly – most recently over the weekend to the Delaware Division of Revenue.
Here are some technologies that I want to see die, and the sooner the better.
1. Checkout scanners – At the store near me there are often lines at the self-service checkout lanes because it keeps the store’s labor costs down. However the cashier minding these works harder than anyone else in the store because they inevitably screw up. Scanning your own items also takes longer because you have to scan each one several times before the scanner recognizes it. The technology exists today to outfit a checkout lane with an RFID antenna that would pick up the price of each product outfitted with an RFID tag. Imagine bagging your groceries while you shop, then pushing your cart through a checkout lane; no more loading the cart, unloading the cart, bagging, loading the cart and paying. Add a cheap RFID antenna at home and you could even keep an inventory.
2. Cords – I’m looking at a mass of cables on the floor that were hidden by a piece of furniture I’ve moved. Each powers or carries a signal to a TV, router, a couple of printers, a PS3, a couple of USB enclosures, PCs, monitors, keyboards, and assorted electronic gizmos of the 21st Century… The power of all these devices could be captured with induction coils, and short-range wireless could handle communication between everything else. We started with keyboards and mice, but hopefully we’ll progress to monitors soon and power within the next decade or two.
MrEMann:
I have been ranting for a few years now about checkout scanners and the need to switch to an RFID system. Glad someone else sees it the same way.
15 April 2009, 12:04 pm