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The IEEE Gadget Graveyard: What technology will bite the dust in 2013?

IEEE survey says people love spiral notebooks but cable boxes, DVDs, and MP3s not so much

By Layer 8 on Wed, 01/23/13 - 11:19am.

ieee In this high-tech world paper still rules, but gadgets that run movies, television or music exclusively could die off in 2013.

That's one of the conclusions published by the giant professional organization, IEEE, recently in its 2013 Gadget Graveyard survey. The survey is a Facebook application where more than 1,700 IEEE members, engineers, engineering students and CES trade show attendees cast more than 25,000 votes on what sorts of technology they think will die off by year-end, like landline phones and Ethernet cables but mostly which will live on like standalone cameras.

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Some of the interesting result of the Graveyard survey included:

A cloud of entertainment: Gadgets for movies, television, and music are most likely to "bite the dust" this year. Respondents voted that CD-ROMs (75 %), radios (58 %), MP3 players (55 %), DVDs (53 %), and cable boxes (51 %) will enter the Gadget Graveyard by the end of 2013. As Internet streaming services continue to rise in popularity, traditional media devices will likely be less relevant with consumers.

Not as mobile as you think: Desktop computers will live on, at least for another year. The computing power of tablets and smart phones has not reached a point where people are ready to give up their towers, with three out of five voters (62 %) indicating that desktops will not enter the Gadget Graveyard.

All-in-one ... who cares? : While many smart phones have the ability to take great pictures, provide directions from point A to point B, and host apps that can lock the car, many voters aren't ready to say goodbye to their single-function devices. The majority of voters believe cameras (75 %), car keys (60 %), and GPS systems (58 %) will survive another year.

People love paper: Despite the ever-growing availability of laptops and tablets, the majority of voters said spiral-bound notebooks will hang around (64 %). Other paper-based items, including printers (81 %) and printed money (74 %), also topped the list of gadgets least likely to die out in 2013.

"We're reaching a real turning point in technology's history where there's no need for devices we've relied on for decades," said Stefan Mozar, President of the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society in a statement. "Many of today's students never touch a pencil; they take class notes on laptops and tablets. But as the Gadget Graveyard results verify, the 'old-fashioned' way is still the best way to get some things done."

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