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10 things you don’t need around the house anymore because of tech
Just think, not so long ago, you likely adorned your home with a garish stand-up lamp, rotary telephone and a stereo with speakers two feet tall.
While you expect these items to change from generation to generation, rapid advancements in tech over the last two decades have made many of these gadgets unnecessary.
There are tons of new devices that have taken over the tech world. In fact, even Hollywood struggles to track down old gadgets for films. Tap or click here to see where Hollywood goes for vintage tech. Here are ten things new tech has rendered obsolete.
1. Dial-up, anyone?
Thankfully, wireless and cellular technology, like 3G, 4G, and the latest 5G network, has eliminated the need for landline phone outlets. Unless you depend on a dial-up modem that requires an RJ11 connection, remove the jack, spackle the hole and call it a day.
If you’re a Verizon customer, tap or click here to see if 5G is available in your area.
2. Kitchen niche
Did you have a comfy alcove in the kitchen from which you would ring family and friends? Over the years, technology has taken the home phone from wired to cordless in the ’90s, followed by cellphones less than a decade later.
This move to wireless devices allows you to step out of the kitchen and talk whenever and wherever you want. Tap or click here for a list of affordable smartphones.
3. Lights on, lights off
Remember when you had to flip a light switch on and off by hand? With smart bulbs in your lamps, ceiling fans and outside fixtures, this menial task is no longer necessary.
How smart is lighting? Bulbs can be scheduled to turn off at various times and can be programmed to turn on at the sound of your voice or the ring of the doorbell. Tap or click here to learn the pros and cons of smartbulbs.
4. Grandma’s pantry
Gone is grandma’s big, packed pantry. Today, all you need is your smartphone. With a variety of ways to order a feast, you can have food delivered in less time than it would take to dig through that vintage food storage room for ingredients. Even robots are making their way into food delivery — tap or click here to see how.
Whether you order through a restaurant’s site or a food delivery service app such as Grubhub, DoorDash or Postmates, mealtime has never been easier. What to do with that extra space? Think extra closet or wine room.
5. Refrigerator clutter
Say goodbye to jotting down items you need the next time you go shopping. Take the grocery list off your fridge and ask Alexa to handle it for you.
You can create a list through the Alexa app, a third-party app or with an Alexa device using the voice command, “Alexa create a list.” Tell her what to add to the list to reduce the odds you’ll forget your items, and you can view the list on your smartphone.
You also have the option to skip the store experience altogether with the Alexa Voice Shopping service, which allows Alexa to purchase items from Amazon. Tap or click for other skills Alexa has.
6. Losing control
Fighting over who gets the remote is so yesterday. With today’s technology, everyone has a personal remote: their smartphone. With the right app for your TV, you can control everything from the volume to recording your favorite shows.
Tap or click here to learn how to use your smartphone as a remote control.
7. What day is it?
Remember all those big red x’s that indicated important dates on your paper calendar? Good times. These calendars aren’t necessary anymore with apps like Google Calendar. In addition to setting events like meetings and birthdays, you can add other notes and reminders, like personal goals and to-do lists.
The best part is you can take your calendar with you. No more having to walk over to the fridge to see you missed Johnny’s game again. Tap or click here to learn a few Google Calendar tricks.
8. Hello?
If you were fortunate enough to have a large house back in the day, you most likely had an intercom system. This upgraded dinner bell, although useful, wasn’t much better than people yelling at whoever was up or downstairs.
Want the kids to rise from their video games in the basement? Message them via group text. SMS has made connecting easy, whether it be from a world away or simply down a flight of stairs. Tap or click here to learn how to tell if someone read your text.
9. Are you a DJ?
What components did your beloved stereo system have? A turntable, cassette tape deck, thunderous subwoofer? While this setup was at one time pretty cool, these days, they’re relegated to thrift store shelves.
If you want to jam out to the rocking oldies, swoon to country, or whatever your flavor may be, all you have to do is grab your mobile device and download some albums. Play music with Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music or more, and you can still tune in to a radio station. Add a Bluetooth speaker and “party like it’s 1999.”
10. Boxes
Though cable boxes have reduced in size over the years, the need to fuss with them remained. There were a host of challenges like ensuring your remote was pointed at the box at the right angle, or pressing the reset button when service was on the fritz.
But with smart TVs, cable boxes are a thing of the past. Now you can find all of your favorite stations, along with a slew of unique and unusual streaming channels, just by turning it on. You can mix and match content however you desire and can use number of apps that are compatible with your mobile device. Tap or click here for a comparison of the top streaming services.
Bonus: Going green
Do you have tickets from your favorite concert(s) tucked away? Save them for show-and-tell with the grandkids because it’s time to say goodbye to ticket stubs. These days, you jump on apps like Ticketmaster, StubHub, Live Nation and CheapTickets to purchase tickets.
No one is going to admit they miss any of these old-fashioned methods and gizmos, and for good reason! Apps and new tech alleviate many of the headaches of accidentally throwing out lists, seeing static on the screen and losing remote controls. Enjoy the changes coming to tech because today’s gadgets and gizmos are only going to get better.
Tags: 3G, 4G, 5G, Amazon, Amazon Alexa, Apple, gadgets, Google, Google Calendar, Hollywood, remote control, smart bulbs, smartphones, streaming services, technology, vintage tech
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