Sure, there are plenty of useless gadgets out there in the world – the internet is full of them. But contemplating some things that we have around the house we realized that a lot of the gadgets that we once looked at with pride and as a technological advance – even some that, at one time, out parents were proud to have in the house – are now becoming, if not useless, at least definitely redundant. Progress is fast and unrelenting, and we know that, but it’s easy to be swept away by it as well, and some items in this list we put together may actually surprise you.

1. Television

Although everyone watches television, the television set as a stand-alone device used just for watching television is going out of the window. The modern television needs to double as a computer screen and as a stereo system; otherwise it will soon have to be replaced. Because although the number of televisions in the average household is still high, the use we give them is dwindling, as TV can now be streamed using computers and even smartphones.

2. Telephone

Like the television, everyone still speaks over the phone. But a landline phone that’s exclusive to the house is losing the battle against cell phones and other kinds of modern communication devices. This is good news for people who refuse to abandon their house phone, as this means better prices as companies fight to keep their clients happy and willing to pay. But communications are going in a totally different direction, and land line telephones are going the other way – the way of extinction.

3. DVD player

So much was said when Blu-ray finally beat HT-DVD in the fight of what would be the next big format that we forgot, for a time, the hard cold truth: physical storage like DVDs and Blu-rays are quickly becoming obsolete. Nowadays information can be store virtually and be accessed everywhere in the house and, if you have it available, from anywhere in the world. And if people today still talk about how much better things on vinyl sound when compared to the “modern” Compact Disk, the same can’t be said about the difference between something on DVD and its equivalent in a computer disk: it’s all the same quality.

4. Record collection and player

As you may have guessed from our previous entry, this too is a thing of the past, or at least it is fast becoming one. The future of entertainment isn’t a bunch of electronic devices doing one job perfectly, it’s one device doing all the jobs flawlessly – and probably a lot at the same time. You would think that the computer would be the one left standing, but probably not, as we will see shortly.

5. Desktop computer

Yes, the computer will also go. Because in the age where everything is digital and wireless, the one piece that kick-started that revolution is now starting to look dated as well. Computers can now be taken everywhere in the form of a laptop or smart phones and other gadgets, making the time that you spend sitting in front of an actual computer screen much smaller.

About: Article contributed by Holly Adams of Coupon Croc, where you can find savings on electronics, appliances, and even your next holiday Thomson travel bookings.