All computer technology is obsolete; it's just a matter of how much time it has before it is taken over by the next technology. 5 /14 soft-sectored drives were great for their day, but were surpassed by the 3 1/2, which has been surpassed by several technologies. ISA slots were also great, but were surpassed by PCI. PCI has already been surpassed by AGP for graphics and PCI-X for high-bandwidth needs. Parallel ATA, another technology Apple abandoned, is also going the way of the dodo with the introduction of SATA, which Apple switched to, as usual ahead of the PC manufacturers.
BTW, I've handled literally tens of thousands of 3 1/2" disks in my life, and they are not all that reliable. But if they fit your needs, go ahead and use them. Just don't expect the computer manufacturers do keep directly supporting it.
I don't use automatics but they're still useful to people that prefer being passengers in their own cars.
At least there we agree, but it's a different subject. There are other reasons to get them though, fuel efficiency, disability and others. But most people probably get them because they're just too lazy or want to ride instead of drive.