When new technology is released, we snatch it up, and a month later we can’t envision what life was like without it. But what about the technology that it replaced? We tend to forget about it as it fades into history. For example, the telephone: our phones today do so much and landlines are swiftly getting phased out. Yes, many people still use them but it’s not difficult to imagine a near future where they will be gone completely from households.

So we thought we would concentrate on a few technologies that may be phased out soon. Some of these may even disappear in the next 10 years.

Fax Machines: Don’t you hate receiving or sending faxes? It’s not just you. The fax machine, once the height of gee-whiz technology, is now a pain in the posterior. Don’t be surprised if all our “faxing” in the near future is done entirely through e-mail.

Newspaper Classified Ads: The Huffington Post fairly recently listed newspaper classified ads as an endangered species. That’s mostly due to the online garage sale that is Craigslist. By giving people the opportunity to advertise their used futons for free, Craigslist provided a fatal body blow to newspaper-classified sections across the nation.

Film-Based Cameras: People love film, and it has taken a while to phase it out, but there’s no doubt that the digital camera changed photography permanently. Kodak has felt this transition more then most, so much in fact that the company is no longer making cameras. People like digital cameras because they can save their photos easily and make prints without needing to save negatives that degrade. We shall see how much longer film-based cameras last, but they are definitely on their way out.

The Calculator Watch: This little gem didn’t last very long, but while it did it was well loved. It was the perfect strategy to always have a calculator on you. However, it wasn’t very alluring and now people have a calculator in their cell phone. This is why it is on PCWorld’s list of 40 obsolete technologies.

The Video Arcade: This might come as a shock, but the video arcade may be on its way out also. It’s a shame, because many gamers have fond memories of feeding quarters into Space Invaders or Donkey Kong at the local arcade. But these days, gamers have their systems in their homes and can play with people all over the globe.

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