This last Tuesday, BlackBerry stopped running support for all of their classic devices. Most people have moved on from BlackBerry, but it brought up thoughts of technology we’ve said goodbye to. So here is a list of some technology that has gone extinct, are going extinct, or were extinct and have made a comeback!
VHS
Ten years ago I would have said okay DVDs and Blueray are replacing VHS. Now even those can soon be added to this list. With Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney Plus, the world has gone nearly full digital. With films now being premiered on streaming will theatres soon fade into history also?
Atari
There are many game systems that have come and gone (and ironically I always seem to buy the ones that fail first). Atari was one of the first on the field of home consoles. With infamous games like Pong, Pac Man and Centipede. I think my favourite story is how ET the Game more or less nearly destroyed Atari and the gaming industry for years.
Video Stores
Be kind and please rewind. I recall when video stores were as prolific as cell phone stores are today. Family Video, Mom’s Video, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, and on and on. I worked at a video store for a year and still believe I can find out more about a person by their rentals more than an hour-long interview. Which Star Wars of the original trilogy was your favourite? Empire? Return? OR New Hope? Now we download and stream from nearly infinite catalogues via the internet. But there is a true loss of “the search” for the perfect movie with a trip to the rental place. So technically this is part 2 of VHS, but I thought it was important to note.Vinyl
At one time, CDs were all the rage and vinyl and tapes had slowly faded away. But even CDs have seemed to slowly vanish as you see them in the thousands in dollar bins. Yet, vinyl has returned by just being cool. It’s cool to own vinyl. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone at WCSX that doesn’t own some vinyl. And everyone still gets excited to hear a new album will be released on vinyl.