Posted on 02/16/2016 1:28:44 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
1. Cable TV
Though cable providers still have plenty of subscribers — roughly 101 million Americans, in 2015, according to research firm IBISWorld — those numbers are declining.
2. Name-brand razorblades
Americans love their Gillette razorblades — so much so that the shaving giant controls nearly 70% of the nearly $13 billion shaving industry ...
3. Bottled water
Who would pay $2 for what amounts to a bottle of tap water?
4. Credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance
The year 2015 saw more than 732 data breaches as of Dec. 8, according to the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center — with more than 176 million records compromised at financial firms, businesses, universities and schools, government offices and medical facilities.
5. Compact discs
Compact discs have going the way of the dodo, and streaming music will keep that trend going in 2016, says Aram Sinnreich, a media professor at Rutgers University.
6. Memory sticks and thumb drives
Computer memory sticks and thumb drives are becoming obsolete as the online storage wars heat up.
7. Mini tablets
When Apple launched the iPhone 6 Plus phablet in 2014, it may have harmed the sales of another one of their product lines —
8. Paid online dating services
Love might be priceless, but the dating industry is now worth around $2.4 billion, according to IBISWorld, with revenue split between advertising and subscription services.
9. Meal replacement plans
Meal replacement plans help you lose weight by sticking to their strict calorie-controlled shakes and soups, but ...
10. Blu-ray players
Even if you have stacks of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, it probably still isn’t advisable to buy a Blu-ray or DVD player, says Benjamin Glaser, the features editor at DealNews.com
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Amen on the Blu-ray points. Especially with double layer blu-rays for 4k at 100-120Gbps per disk. Sure the whole 4k thing will take years to mature, but there is no network willing, or able, to transfer that level of data within a reasonable timeframe are reasonable price point, even with the latest compression.
Haven’t bought bottled water since learning that Evian spelled backwards is naive.
If you want quality audio and video, local channels out of HDTV broadcast range, a broad selection of programming, and hassle free viewing, cable or sat TV is still valuable. If saving money is more important to you than the programming you watch, there are certainly cheaper alternatives.
Streaming music is great, but typically requires cellular coverage and bluetooth to use in a car, doesn't sound as good through big speakers, and you usually can't easily choose a specific song. Digital music might kill the CD, but streaming is mostly for people that listen through their phone on earbuds and don't really care what they listen to, which is probably good since music only seems to get worse every year.
Storing important or sensitive data in "the cloud" is an excellent way to either lose it, or have it compromised. Meh.
Tablets will continue to be niche tech, between bigscreen smartphones and hybrid laptops. They still have a purpose when my phone is too small and my laptop is too big, which is often.
Streaming video? Netflix /Amazon etc is mostly cut rate content for "free" movies, and why spend $7.99 on "rental" pay per view when I can buy the DVD and watch it 20 times for the same price. For TV shows, sure, but I don't buy TV shows on DVD or Blu Ray. Content remains king, and if you want (legal) premium content you still have to pay for it.
I use a Gillette razor with vibrating blade. I’ve found that if I get my face hot enough that I only need to replace the blade every couple months. I don’t know of the heat, the vibrating blade makes up for some dullness, or I have a soft beard. Probably all three to some extent, but it works.
SD/micro sd cards, or a drive dedicated to storage you only hook up once in awhile.
#6 Thumb drives. I’ll never give my local storage up. See #4, data breaches.
#5 Compact Disks. Per an industry survey I saw, classical/opera CDs will be around for a long time. LPs are now going strong too.
Memory sticks and thumb drives are perfect for those who want real security over their data. It has an air firewall which cannot be breached or shutdown.
Never again, will I ever buy;
1. An Electric can opener. (more trouble than they are worth)
2. An HP laptop.(see above)
3. Pizza from Dominoes. (see below)
4. A glass coffee table.
5. Anything from the Mexican restaurant around the corner.
6. Single ply toilet paper.
CDs going the way of the dodo bird?
Nooooooooooooooooo.
People apparently like to pay a lot of money for their 4G data plans to stream all the time. not this guy, I’d much rather use my data for something useful. Seriously, a 64G thumb drive is so small nowadays it’s literally like three dimes stacked together and almost too easy to lose.
They monitor your spending habits like a hawk, anything out of the normal they will decline and call you, as they are responsible for unauthorized charges. I recently received a call the day after using my Discover card at a gas station in South Alabama. Someone had tried to charge $600 bucks worth of music downloads.
Bright lanyards really help avoid loss of small thumb drives.
I have converted (replaced) most of my old movies to DVD. But a couple years back, I intentionally bought a dual DVDR/VCR so I can still play both formats back.
It can also record DVDs or VCR tape from the airwaves, so my collection continues to grow.
I get weekly FICO reports stating no unusual activity; cost like five and change a month. My Amex card number was used or the account charged (tried to be) and Amex blocked it. Guess it’s okay although the CC’s I have give me free credit scores once a month but the FICO score is only twice a year.
It’s not only a slideshow, the whole thing is clickbait web junk, and ideological junk at that. Thumb drives obsolete because of the cloud? Not for anyone who doesn’t trust Google, Apple or other digital spies.
+100
Otherwise known as an "high resistance air gap" (used when referring to unplugged power cords).
Me and my sons all use Gillette double edge safety razors and we’ve been using my purchase of 100 Gillette Silver Blue blades for a long long time. I’m about to make another batch of shaving soap. The last batch lasted several years.
The most significant thing you shouldn’t buy is a gop-e politician promising anything...anything.
I agree with you that ownership, holding something and appreciating it is enriching. You might be on to something. With technology, nothing is real. Once you interact with it, it's gone. There isn't that richness of the experience of truly appreciating something and making it part of your environment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.