By Mark Jones
As I passed the horse and buggy, I noticed a buggy whip in the driver’s hand. While buggy whips are the standard analogy for obsolete technology, here I was confronted with one currently in use. Any technology doomed to be replaced will, at some point, be compared with buggy whips. Yet, buggy whips are far from obsolete. You can still purchase new ones. It started me thinking about obsolescence, about what it means to be obsolete, and things that have been rendered obsolete in my lifetime. I wondered what the poster child should be for obsolescence.
As fate would have it, I soon had an answer better than the buggy whip. A big “free” sign adorned a very large CRT television. Five days later, both the sign and the TV were still on the side of the road. No one, it appears, wants CRTs of any size, let alone huge ones. The CRT is a better choice than buggy whips to embody obsolescence. It was a product widely used and, for a time, coveted. People lusted after big TVs. Monitor envy was real. Today’s flatscreens are far superior. A quick look didn’t find a way to purchase a new CRT TV or monitor. I can’t find any evidence of any group clinging to CRTs out of nostalgia or claims that they are somehow superior.
Like buggy whips, many technologies remain in use — some gain devotees who perceive an advantage that most overlook. Vacuum tubes were used as amplifiers before transistors were invented. Transistors almost completely replaced vacuum tubes with one notable exception. Audiophiles claim tube amps give a more pleasing sound. Tube stereo equipment remains coveted.
Audiophiles are keeping vinyl alive, too. A CD player transformed music listening. The ritual of using a Discwasher and a Zerostat before playing music disappeared. Careful handling and cleaning weren’t necessary with CDs. Flipping the album went away. And the sound quality was breathtaking. No hiss. No pops. More than forty years after the introduction of the CD, vinyl sales are growing. Physical media has largely been replaced by streaming, but vinyl records outsold CDs last year. Audiophiles claim a smoother, less harsh sound.
Buggy whips, vacuum tubes, vinyl records, and CRTs are examples where market forces dictated change. Technologies most see as superior won. More energy-efficient technologies aren’t winning on market forces alone. Higher up-front costs hinder adoption in lighting. The demise of the Edison bulb is being driven by mandates removing incandescent bulbs from the market. The lighting aisle is now an explosion of choices, almost exclusively LED. The LED light bulb dramatically reduces the energy required for illumination. Costs have dropped, but LED bulbs are still more expensive than incandescent. They are also far more resource-intensive. The higher costs are worth it because energy and resources are saved during operation over a longer life. The math is compelling for lights that are on a lot. For a light in a rarely used closet, an incandescent is probably the better choice.
Some don’t like having the choice made for them, claiming that banning incandescent bulbs is overreach. Much like the audiophiles still seeking vinyl and tubes, a minority remain committed to incandescent light, saying the color and dimmability are superior. Bulbs are being hoarded. No one is clamoring for compact fluorescent bulbs. Introduced in the 1980s, they are all but gone now. Driven to market by legislation, new RoHS initiatives stopped production. Better, safer tech rendered the CFL obsolete in a relatively short time.
My quest is over. No more comparing fading technology to buggy whips. The poster child for obsolescence has to be the CFL. Loved by none and replaced by lower cost, better options, the CFL is the better analogy for obsolete technology.
Filed Under: Commentaries • insights • Technical thinking
