Which technology will be phased out next?

Technology evolves. But in the wake's it has left behind a trash pile of discarded refuge.

Who's next on the chopping block?

Which one of these hardware technologies is the next to go?

Vote for as many as you like. And let us know which ones you think should go and which ones deserve saving.

 

Neither USB 2.0 nor IEEE 1394 are on that list. Also, nearly half of the techs you listed are already or have been on the way out for a long time (AGP for example).

 

Well, I mean... what's your definition of "phased out"?

I've never used a zip drive before and it's been years since I last used a floppy, CRT monitor, ball mouse, parallel port or modem on a consistent basis.

Even then, almost nobody makes IDE hard drives, IDE optical drives, motherboard with AGP slots anymore either... though I have machines still using these in use.

I'd vote that the only technology up there that's not already been "phased out" is the PCI slot...

 

It's kinda hard to vote in this poll because many of these technologies either never really caught on (zip drive), were phased out years ago and are now nearing extinction (floppies, parallel port, dial-up), or have been replaced by newer technologies and are in the process of being phased out (PCI, IDE).

So I'd either have to vote for everything, or I'd have to vote for nothing. Taken literally, none of the things you included in the poll are going to be phased out next since effectively everything listed is already on the chopping block if not well beyond the grave.

As for which one is worth saving... I'd say the CRT monitor, if only so that we have a consistent and somewhat absolute standard with which to benchmark LCD monitors.

If this poll had a list of state-of-the-art technology like SSD's or fundamental technologies that haven't changed in decades like the motherboard, it'd be much more interesting.

[Edit] Dang, Commander Wolf beat me to it

 

I completely forgot to add the PS/2 ports, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394.

Since most keyboards and mouses are USB, is there really a need for the PS/2ports? dial-up needs to be replaced.

I think the floppy may stick around longer than the IDE hard drive. There are a lot of businesses that rely on the floppy, and the floppy drive is relatively cheap. $5 bucks will buy an internal floppy drive. But it's days are numbered.

 

USB 2.0 is going to be phased out next..?????? Not many people i know need to transfer data over 400MBPS and most people don't even know about USB 3.0, 1.1 phase out yes but 2.0 i think will stay around for a few years still.

 

I think 32 bit hardware is starting to disappear. It's days are also numbered. Just like the evolution of the video game console market, the computer industry needs to standardize the 64 bit systems.

This is an area where the Linux community is falling behind. Too many distros, mine included, are 32 bit only. They need to get on the ball or get left behind when the 32 bit hardware vanishes.

 

I'm surprised you don't know many people with an external HDD or USB flash drive made in the past 3 years.

If USB 2.0 was on that list, I'd definitely have picked that.

I doubt that'll be a problem. After all, modern Core i7's still fully support 16 bit programs.

 

I've got 2001 on line 2 and they're pissed that you stole their list...

The Iomega Zip Drive- As stated before this was technology that never really caught on. CD-Rs were much cheaper and everyone had a CD drive to read the media that you created
The Floppy Drive- The writable CD did some damage, but USB flash drives killed these off
The IDE Hard Drive- Most manufacturers moved away from these years ago and the only people buying them now are those who need to replace it in legacy computers.
The IDE Optical Drive- These only recently (within the last couple of years) started their downward spiral... I think by now they have gone the way of the IDE HDD
The CRT Monitor- I think they may still have a use in high definition work, but as LCDs get better, and with OLEDs going mainstream these monstrosities are going to become less and less common
The Roller-Ball Mouse- 5 years ago these things were just about impossible to find...
The AGP Slot- PCI express killed this off
The PCI Slot- see above
The Parallel Port- USB killed it
The Dial-Up Modem- Of all of the technology you listed I think we'll be seeing these the longest. Not everyone lives in an area with a high speed connection, and until everyone does they will sell computers with these.

 

Eh, about half my school's mice are still roller ball mice. And they're all either Pentium D or Core 2 Duo systems.

I'm still using on my T500 a USB 1.1 hub. Plenty sufficient for my mouse and keyboard

Only disagreeing with you on those two:
PCI slots are still widely used in desktops for wireless card slots. I just bought a wireless B/G/N PCI card to install in the downstairs desktop a month or two ago.
PCI-E slot wireless cards are far rarer and much much more expensive.

 

Wow that's old school. My school replaces all the peripherals every time they replace the PC's, so I'm guessing that the keyboards and mice come with the PC's. The fact that they're Dell branded only makes me more suspicious

 

Honestly, the only things they haven't replaced at my school are the peripherals. Most of the mice are rollers with two buttons, not even a scroll wheel. Some of the ones that had to eventually get replaced due to damage are now three-button rollers, once again without scroll wheels.

 

ill vote for the AGP port, IDE drivers, PCI ports, the dial up modem (possible)

these technologies are too much of a bottleneck to even handle todays cpus and boards, ram etc.

 

Is there a check box for "everything in poll"? LOL JK

PCI slots are still useful with the number of peripherals made to use them. It's remained surprisingly resilient against PCI Express x1/2/4/8 when it comes to non-graphics related products. In fact, the mobo in my desktop despite only being available since June (it's an AM3 mobo) has a single PCI-E x1, a single PCI-E x16 2.0, and 3 PCI slots.

 

Well out of the whole poll, I'd say roller balls and CRTs are probably those which would stay longest considering that other than functionality, they're not really that debilitating for people in the sense that they can perform fine in conjunction with newer technology(as both are input devices).

Roller balls still can act as mouses and CRTs still do manage a good screen(and they don't have those tedious issues of fuzzy scaling).