In 2023, when people look back at 2013, what devices that we are using now do you think they will find quaint?

Have Your Say Jan. 01, 2013 - 06:01AM JST ( 17 )

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17 Comments

0

JeffLeeJan. 01, 2013 - 09:44AM JST

Anything that's analogue...and made by Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi or Sharp.
1

BrainiacJan. 01, 2013 - 09:52AM JST

Smartphones, Facebook, Twitter
1

SerranoJan. 01, 2013 - 09:53AM JST

Smartphones.
1

gaijinfoJan. 01, 2013 - 01:52PM JST

Organized, civilized society.
1

LagunaJan. 01, 2013 - 03:24PM JST

Stuff you actually have to touch to make it do what you want.
0

lwsydneyJan. 01, 2013 - 03:51PM JST

Our respitory systems. Ok, maybe not, but I wish
-1

ProbieJan. 01, 2013 - 03:56PM JST

3D tvs and movies.
0

Ah_soJan. 02, 2013 - 10:02PM JST

Cash.
0

Ah_soJan. 02, 2013 - 10:11PM JST

Anything that's analogue

I think you are a decade late with that resonse!
0

SerranoJan. 02, 2013 - 10:20PM JST

Carry-oki.
0

FrungyJan. 02, 2013 - 10:44PM JST

LagunaJan. 01, 2013 - 03:24PM JST Stuff you actually have to touch to make it do what you want.

Keyboards, touch screens and other manual input devices. Has anyone seen the LEAP? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d6KuiuteIA

Just wave your hands around in front of your computer/tv/etc. ... be careful when rubbing your eyes or you may delete your OS ;)
0

wipeoutJan. 03, 2013 - 02:30PM JST

An advantage of analogue is longevity: not guaranteed, of course, because plenty of cheap crap was produced as well.

But you can pick up a forty or fifty year old paperback and other than yellowed pages, it's still in readable condition. The same for old cameras; models from fifty, sixty, seventy years ago work perfectly well - though unfortunately the cost of film and d&p makes them impractical for most of us.

Audio equipment: look at some of the forums, and people are using ancient turntables, cassette and open-reel decks, amps and speakers to listen to music every day. In Japan you can pick up old gear for a pittance and it'll either work straight away, or come back to life after you've done some very basic maintenance inside the machine. Vinyl records are serviceable for decades if they're treated well, and are cheap to pick up secondhand for those who know where to look. Even old open-reel tapes often survive very well despite poor storage.

I wouldn't deny the convenience and versatility of digital equipment, but anything that is tied in to the world of the PC and the smartphone has the disadvantage of being made for short term use and then dumped, for replacement by the newer, shinier version of the same thing. That in turn breeds the mentality that all products we buy can be treated the same way: use for 3 years, then chuck it away.
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Thunderbird2Jan. 03, 2013 - 06:25PM JST

I agree that smartphones will be seen as quaint... people will be using small wearable comms devices that are speech activated and have small HUD type screens in a pair of discrete glasses.

However I agree that books will never die. Reading from an LED screen (or the new OLED ones) will damage your eyes over time... besides, I like to have something physical in my hands. Something I can hold.
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FarmboyJan. 05, 2013 - 08:00PM JST

Real, push-in buttons on phones.
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LostinNagoyaJan. 07, 2013 - 09:32AM JST

Everything will be seen as quaint, not in function, but in design. I can't see, say, people not using smartphones in 2023. They'll have a different design, but with the same functions we use now. I do hope that cars, as we have them now, will be old technology by 2023.
-1

sidesmileJan. 09, 2013 - 11:09AM JST

Toilet paper, opposable thumbs and eyelids.