Are You Still Using These Obsolete Things?

Jakarta Globe, December 23, 2010

Over the past 10 years, a variety of gadgets and gizmos such as iPods, Twitter and Blackberry smartphones were created.

With each creation, a new way of life was born and an old one died, including the VCR and phone calls. Yes, phone calls.

Here's a list of 10 things that became obsolete this decade according to The Huffington Post:

1. VCR and VHS tapes. They became obsolete in the early 2000s, five years after the DVD was invented.
   
   
2. Travel agents. With the birth of so many travel sites, fewer people go to travel agents to plan itineraries or book tickets.
   
   
3. The separation between work life and personal life. Smartphones, ultralight laptops and wi-fi enable people to work outside the office.
   
   
4. Forgetting. The Web saves digital copies of everything we do.
   
   
5. Bookstores. More and more people buy books online and the digital version of books or e-books.
   
   
6. Watches. It is still a symbol of style or status, but for practical purposes the watch has been replaced by cell phones or laptops.
   
   
7. Maps. GPS devices on smartphones and laptops have replaced actual maps.
   
   
8. Calling. Instant message services and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have taken over verbal communication.
   
   
9. Classifieds ads in newspapers.
   
   
10. Dial-up Internet.