10 Technologies on the Way Out
Sep 25, 2012
A few months ago, a co-worker was cleaning out her desk and stumbled upon a long-forgotten 3.5" floppy disk. She took a photo of it and sent it around in an email. "What’s this?" she joked. "Beats me – use it as a coaster, maybe?" someone quickly quipped back.
The floppy disk is a dinosaur that’s been extinct for some time. But LinkedIn wondered: What’s next on the chopping block? The company surveyed more than 7,000 business professionals and assembled the following list. Unless you wear a three-piece suit in the combine, some of these tools and trends probably don’t affect you. But you might be surprised at some of the items on the list.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 office tools and trends that the LinkedIn survey respondents think will be extinct within the next five years:
- Tape recorders
- Fax machines
- The Rolodex
- Standard working hours
- Desk phones
- Desktop computers
- Formal business attire (suits, ties, pantyhose, etc.)
- The corner office for managers/executives
- Cubicles
- USB thumb drives
Wait, USB thumb drives? We use those on a daily basis at the Farm Journal editorial offices! Then again, that poor little 3.5" floppy disk probably felt just as invincible in the mid-1990s…
Does the Farm Journal fax machine belong on the "Endangered Technology Species" list?
