These are things which I'm hoping will still be around by 2050, but, well...

Printed books, magazines.etc  Sure we need to conserve paper, but it'll be a sad day when all media becomes electronisised...

Shopping malls/centres: Not really likely to disappear altogether, as people still go for the social aspect. But a lot fewer people will be visiting them.

Well, can't think of anything else atm. Can you think of anything else that might become extinct in 50 (no 44) years time?

Yes and yes. Sorry, but everybody loves printed books, nobody but a diehard tech freak would respond well to electronic books.

I would think that all that stuff would be around in 2050. I mean printed books and shopping malls were around in 1966 and still are today so I think they will be in 2050 as well.

It's just a guess, but I believe "real" books and magazines will be with us for a long time to come. They've survived radio, television, and are still putting up a good fight with the coming of the Internet, which is great for e-mail, but not long-form storytelling. IMO, of course.  :) Shopping malls and their successors in the world of commerce may take a small hit from online shopping, but I don't think they're going anywhere, either.

There are several reasons why paper books will be around for centuries to come.

For one, they do not need batteries
They do not "break down"
They are almost indistructible
They are very portable, just stick one in your pocket
They have an almost unlimited "shelf life"
You can read them in any position, at any time (as long as there is enough light)

There have been several attempts over the last 20 years to make "electronic books".  And for the most part, they have all failed.  Even "books on tape" (or CD) have largely failed, other then those for people with vision problems, or for listening to on road trips.

Myself, you will find that I have a book with me 95% of the time.  I always have one in my jacket, in my car, of often in my motorcycle.  I go through 2-6 books a week, and it is my major form of relaxation and recreation.  Even when I go out for dinner, I am reading a book as I eat.

Books had better still be printed in 2050.  I think it would be a terrible day if all information become stored electronic.  That almost ensures that if humanity ever undergoes a great loss of knowledge that sets us back a thousand years or so, that the knowledge we have today may never be recovered (since electricity would be gone).  Maybe that sounds extremely pessimistic of me, but it happened before in the Middle Ages.  Although they had printed books stored away in monasteries and stuff that would pull them out of it, the future humans may not have such an opportunity with all our electronically stored knowledge being erased.

Again, it's probably pessimistic of me, but my point still stands.

Maybe that sounds extremely pessimistic of me, but it happened before in the Middle Ages.  Although they had printed books stored away in monasteries and stuff that would pull them out of it, the future humans may not have such an opportunity with all our electronically stored knowledge being erased.

Again, it's probably pessimistic of me, but my point still stands.


It is actually another very good point.

During the Dark Ages, almost all of the "Ancient Classics" were lost.  Homer, Aristotle, Plato, Epicurus, Plutarch, even Hippocrates.  In Europe, they all became extinct.

What we know of their writings now is what has been recovered from Islamic scholars.  During the Renaissance, there was a flury of work translating them back to their original languages, and to the more modern languages of the day.  I find it ironic that Classic "European Philosophy" was saved because of Arabic Islamic scholars.

In Communist Countries, dictatorships, countries with very strict religious laws it's sort of the same with modern books. Indeed, residents of the Soviet Union were not aware of many pieces of classic literature and myths and legends - like the Arthurian legend - we take for granted today, as they were banned during the Cultural Revolution.

I'm sure current electronic documents will be re-formatted etc. for the future, but it's a worrying thought that a massive bug/virus could cause potentially wipe-out huge chunks of data not backed up.

They say that CDs have a lifespan of over 100 years or something, but if you don't treat them properly, many CDs last maybe a few months (From scratching.etc) and one can't continually cleaning them. Even Hard-drives have a theoretical life-span. So they'll have to constantly mutate the forms of storage into the future.

I'm hoping NASCAR racing stays around, and finally gets considered a mainstream sport..with minorities participating fully, as drivers and more important, team owners. I think it is possible. BTW there was an African-American driving in last week's race at Atlanta...Bill Lester is a man to watch for in the future.

I think videotape is going to be gone by 2050, even at the networks. All shows will be recorded on hard disc formats...

The Apple IPods will be a collectible in 2050, as they come up with better ways to store and play music digitally.

I'm not really sure if this 'digitilisation' is a good thing. Sometimes you just one to feel the tangibility of a CD, or a tattered book. The internet is great, but information exists within the confines of memory chips shared among a vast multitudes of connected memory.

I'm not really sure if this 'digitilisation' is a good thing. Sometimes you just one to feel the tangibility of a CD, or a tattered book. The internet is great, but information exists within the confines of memory chips shared among a vast multitudes of connected memory.



Yeah.  The CD for instance is more convienient than a vinyl record, but sometimes this whole digital thing is just reinventing the wheel. Who cares about HDTV?

Yeah.  The CD for instance is more convienient than a vinyl record, but sometimes this whole digital thing is just reinventing the wheel. Who cares about HDTV?
Have you ever seen HDTV? I have. They had a few of them set up at an electronics store in my area....the picture is noticeably sharper..and I like the bigger screen, you see more of the picture, the way it was meant to be seen...of course being a tech nut, I'm biased toward tech stuff.......I remember when having a color set was a big thing.

Yes and yes. Sorry, but everybody loves printed books, nobody but a diehard tech freak would respond well to electronic books.


I personally prefer having a solid copy of my things.. I mean, data can erase and you can't get it back easily... you can't get rid of a book with the press of one key.

But I do think eventually, most things will be replaced by electronics.. we'll still have shopping out, though.. so long as humans need food.

Have you ever seen HDTV? I have. They had a few of them set up at an electronics store in my area....the picture is noticeably sharper..and I like the bigger screen, you see more of the picture, the way it was meant to be seen...of course being a tech nut, I'm biased toward tech stuff.......I remember when having a color set was a big thing.


Haven't seen em, but I've heard they're almost too good-looking graphics-wise.  I'm personally not interested in them, but plenty of people are, so it's good they exist :)

Haven't seen em, but I've heard they're almost too good-looking graphics-wise.  I'm personally not interested in them, but plenty of people are, so it's good they exist :)


I have HDTV, it is great. Regular tv looks quite dated compared to it.

What about those new General Motors vehicles that are supposed to run on 'green' fuel rather than gasoline?

Still further away thank you think...