Technology is marching forward at an ever-increasing rate. Innovations spring up, revolutionize the way we do things and then fade into obscurity as new versions take their place. Some of us thrive on the constant, fast-paced change, while others sigh and cling to their nostalgia, but none of us can deny the truth: With every decade that passes, the world becomes a different place.
Within industries that employ large-scale power transmission equipment, technological developments can be both a blessing and a curse. With manufacturers constantly engineering more reliable and efficient ways of getting work done, today’s cutting-edge Falk gear reducer will ultimately become tomorrow’s relic. While embracing innovative new power transmission equipment can help improve a company’s bottom line, many facilities may not have the time or budget to reconfigure their equipment to replace obsolete parts with the newest Falk gear reducer components. In such cases, it’s often more cost-effective to shop surplus gear reducers for obsolete technology that’s still in use.
As a supplier of surplus gear reducers, we have a certain fondness for those obsolete machines that still have something to offer in modern industry. That’s why we’ve put together a tribute to some of our favorite obsolete technologies:
PDAs. Remember the days when Palm Pilots ran the business world? It wasn’t that long ago. Smart phones put an end to personal digital assistants by consolidating multiple devices into one.
Polaroids. Remember how amazing it was to snap a photo and watch it instantly develop? With digital cameras now installed on every smart phone, Polaroid abandoned its instant camera and discontinued making instant film in 2009. (We’re a little surprised they waited that long.)
Calculator watches. The calculator watch was the proud badge nerds wore to proclaim their interest in math. Nowadays, with so many calculator widgets readily available on computers and handheld devices, the calculator watch is a thing of the past.
[ Photo by: Toni Rantanen, via CC License ]
Posted under Products/Services on Wednesday, September 26th, 2012