Next everyday household item to become obsolete?

[Knight_Magic]

What household item that you use on a daily/weekly basis could you see becoming obsolete within the next 10-15 years where you won't be able to or feel the need to purchase?

Being that very few people I know have a home telephone anymore, I'm wondering what else we could go that route?

 

[Bob the Citronaut]

Cable/satellite TV.

 

[EweSeaEff]

Refrigerators and ovens. We're all going to have those food rehydrators from Back to the Future Part 2.

 

[HuffyCane]

As far as Im concerned cable TV has been a dinosaur for five years.

They are experimenting with self-cleaning clothes. No Im not kidding. Needed for space travel. So I will vote washing machine, if your question is directed toward the middle class residing in the suburbs of America

 

[Goldenbuc]

The only items that seem to be advancing quickly are communication and media devices. Stand alone TVs may become a thing of the past as projection can be provided in any room onto a wall or ceiling. Maybe traditional light switches and such. Maybe eventually we'll have centralized and remote/voice activated lighting or controls become a basic household luxury, instead of a custom luxury in 10-15 years.

 

[Good Knight Sweetheart]

Furnaces. Because global warming.

.

 

[SublimeKnight]

When autonomous driving car technology arrives, car ownership will go the way of landlines. It will take time, most of us will hold on to the ownership model, just like our parents/grandparents held on to landlines.

Another one is TVs, like @Goldenbuc mentioned. We're already seeing secondary TVs going away as people replace them with tablets. I think VR headsets might eventually replace main TVs. I know, I know, "they're a gimmick", "You'll never catch me wearing one". I thought the same thing, until I tried a GearVR with a 360 video. If ESPN can broadcast 360 video from skycam of live football games, that's how I'm watching football. I don't care if the only headset is a fluorescent pink "Hello Kitty" one, I'm in.

 

[Goldenbuc]

When autonomous driving car technology arrives, car ownership will go the way of landlines. It will take time, most of us will hold on to the ownership model, just like our parents/grandparents held on to landlines.

Another one is TVs, like @Goldenbuc mentioned. We're already seeing secondary TVs going away as people replace them with tablets. I think VR headsets might eventually replace main TVs. I know, I know, "they're a gimmick", "You'll never catch me wearing one". I thought the same thing, until I tried a GearVR with a 360 video. If ESPN can broadcast 360 video from skycam of live football games, that's how I'm watching football. I don't care if the only headset is a fluorescent pink "Hello Kitty" one, I'm in.

If ESPN can do s 360 live VR in HD, nobody would attend games. However, I'd forget where my beer was and probably knock over all kinds of shit.

Sublime bringing up VR made me think of another household item gone, 2D porn. 360 VR porn will significsntly lower VDs and population control. All fantasies could come true!!

 

[CommuterBob]

When autonomous driving car technology arrives, car ownership will go the way of landlines. It will take time, most of us will hold on to the ownership model, just like our parents/grandparents held on to landlines.

Another one is TVs, like @Goldenbuc mentioned. We're already seeing secondary TVs going away as people replace them with tablets. I think VR headsets might eventually replace main TVs. I know, I know, "they're a gimmick", "You'll never catch me wearing one". I thought the same thing, until I tried a GearVR with a 360 video. If ESPN can broadcast 360 video from skycam of live football games, that's how I'm watching football. I don't care if the only headset is a fluorescent pink "Hello Kitty" one, I'm in.

Autonomous vehicles are going to make huge changes in travel patterns, car ownership, and even public transit. There may come a day when services like Uber make public transit obsolete, or at least only more corridor based rather than route based. On-demand transportation will also reduce parking demand and the need for parking lots/garages. It won't completely eliminate car ownership, but it will make living without owning much more attractive.

 

[SublimeKnight]

If ESPN can do s 360 live VR in HD, nobody would attend games. However, I'd forget where my beer was and probably knock over all kinds of shit.

When you're willing to wear a VR headset to watch a football game, you have basically said, "I don't care what I look like, I love football". In which case, is it a bridge too far to wear one of these too?

 

[UCFRogerz]

I hate sitting in traffic more than I love driving. Plus, it would give me a legitimate reason to buy a car for the love of driving vs something practical like a giant truck.

 

[SublimeKnight]

Something else I thought of this morning is 3D printing technology. I think desktop 3d printing in the home is a solution looking for a problem. 3D printing a house on the other hand is something I think is coming and will severely drive down the cost of housing (and therefore the value of existing ones).

 

[CommuterBob]

Something else I thought of this morning is 3D printing technology. I think desktop 3d printing in the home is a solution looking for a problem. 3D printing a house on the other hand is something I think is coming and will severely drive down the cost of housing (and therefore the value of existing ones).

it's already here, but has yet to become widely used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_printing

The Chinese have been able to "print" as many as 10 houses within 24 hours. And they print the walls and floors with the plumbing and electrical conduits integrated into the print, so no need to have additional workers in around the framing.

 

[SublimeKnight]

it's already here, but has yet to become widely used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_printing

The Chinese have been able to "print" as many as 10 houses within 24 hours. And they print the walls and floors with the plumbing and electrical conduits integrated into the print, so no need to have additional workers in around the framing.

I think the hold up is that the titans of the home building industry grew up swinging hammers and sweating copper pipes. There's probably issues with local building codes too. Eventually there will be an Elon Musk type person who comes from a 3D printing hobby background and finds the home building market, not the other way around. I just don't foresee a DR Horton or Pulte driving this.

 

[Knightwalker94]

When you're willing to wear a VR headset to watch a football game, you have basically said, "I don't care what I look like, I love football". In which case, is it a bridge too far to wear one of these too?

Make a device like that with built-in headphones, you'll be a millionaire.

 

[UCFWayne]

it's already here, but has yet to become widely used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_printing

The Chinese have been able to "print" as many as 10 houses within 24 hours. And they print the walls and floors with the plumbing and electrical conduits integrated into the print, so no need to have additional workers in around the framing.

Concrete is expensive.

 

[SublimeKnight]

Concrete is expensive.

Concrete, the material, is pretty cheap. The labor of constructing forms, adding reinforcement, doing the pour, etc is the cost.

 

[Steve A.]

If I had to guess, I'd say the standard letter mailbox is losing usefulness.. I'm also curious if we'll see a standard locker become commonplace for package delivery. Amazon Locker is already used in some urban areas, the single-family home location could make sense.

I'd also guess that Keurig will make an exit if that counts as household. We've ditched ours.

I am also on board with the autonomous vehicles will change everything more than we can imagine theory. Household wise, this could mean driveways are replaced with aprons on the road for a vehicle to pull off and pick you up. You'd gain more lawn than you'd lose.