Tech Decline Week: The Mouse

Yes, you did read that right. In the near future, mouses will be a thing of the past. Hard to believe, right? I was definitely surprised until I took a moment to think about it.

Laptop computers all have those little touch pads included under the keyboards now. Monitors are becoming touch screen capable.

The extra cost of adding the touch software will be so small that everything will have it. A lot of phones already do. Soon monitors, TVs, and laptops will have have touch screens too.

Now, don't get me wrong. Mouses won't just suddenly disappear. We won't wake up one day and they will be gone. No. It will be a slow decline. It's already started. Mouses are fading away and we don't even realize it. My laptop doesn't even have a mouse right now as I type this.

I'm not sure I'm exactly thrilled about this. I mean, I'm all for new technology but I really do like using a mouse for certain projects or when I'm sitting at my desk. Maybe I'll go stock up on mouses just in case.

Tech Decline: Cameras and Camcorders

My first camera was a little plastic Polaroid camera that spit out the picture with pink and purple tabs on each side. I loved it. My mom hated it though because the film strips were so expensive. It's hard to imagine but cameras and camcorders are already starting to dwindle. 

Think about it. Do you have a camera phone? A smartphone? How often do you pull out your camera and take pictures on your phone instead of pulling out that trusty camera? Do you record videos with those smartphones? I know I do. Just this month I've taken four videos and 150 photos on my iPhone. I can't remember the last time that I used my camera.

Companies are already beginning to feel the consumer decline of camera and camcorders. Smartphones are always with us where as we usually only use our cameras and camcorders when there is an event or special occasion. 

DSLRs and micro four-thirds cameras will stay with us, but in a few years, perhaps even a decade, most of us won't own our own camera anymore.