Sometimes in the news, you hear about how some newer gadget will render an older technology obsolete or "dead". However, some items only become "effectively dead", meaning that they are only a small fraction of what their following once was, but somehow still holds on to a small niche market that tends to be very loyal to the brand. This is in contrast to being "dead", in which all or almost all components of a thing or idea is no longer produced. An obsolete format may still survive at a second hand store, but is still considered "fully dead" since companies no longer produce new software for a specified format, such as VHS tapes. For example, I read a story about how a CD disk will just be "effectively dead" by 2022, with sales around 1 million disks a year by then. This is similar to vinyl records, which have really been just effectively dead since around 1990. Here are some other distinctions between the two:

DEAD
-Betamax
-VHS (no new titles being released)
-Cassette and 8-track tapes
-Sony Walkman
-Any Windows version before XP
-Any video game system before XBOX 360/Wii/Playstation 2/Nintendo DS

EFFECTIVELY DEAD
-Stereo boomboxes
-Educational textbooks
-CD
-Portable CD player
-Vinyl
-Desktop computers
-Regular cellphones (may be promoted to dead eventually)
-Pagers
-PDAs
-Typewriters (belive it or not, a few organizations still use them, especially in developing countries)

Textbooks are effectively dead? I go to Illinois State University and we still use textbooks. Some classes have "e-books" but most just have a regular textbook. I usually end up never using them much though, and to think I waste hundreds of dollars on them every semester ::)

EFFECTIVELY DEAD
-Educational textbooks
-Desktop computers
-Regular cellphones (may be promoted to dead eventually)


Have to disagree with these three.

Textbooks are still the majority in public education.
Desktop comps-many, many businesses still use them. Including mine. And our clients.
Regular cellphone: depends upon what you mean, but you would be surprised how many of us have not converted over to a Smartphone yet. Nor plan to, if at all possible.

Atari I know is pretty much dead, touchtone and 80's phones are pretty much dead and I think VCRs as well (though I don't see many of them around anymore)

-Vinyl
-Regular cellphones (may be promoted to dead eventually)


Regular cellphones will never die becuase there will always be people out there who don't want a touch screen phone.  they just want a simple basic flip phone.  Generally the older population, but I've seen alot of younger people who just want something basic

Vinyl is also still popular and won't be dying anytime soon.  Most artists nowadays you see on talk shows, the host will hold up a vinyl copy of their album rather than the CD. 

Oh people said you were effectively dead
And they were so wrong...
8)

Atari I know is pretty much dead, touchtone and 80's phones are pretty much dead and I think VCRs as well (though I don't see many of them around anymore)


Atari still exists.  As a console, they are dead.  But as a corporation, they still put out some great games.  They are responsible for the Test Drive franchaise 8)

Atari still exists.  As a console, they are dead.  But as a corporation, they still put out some great games.  They are responsible for the Test Drive franchaise 8)


One of the most popular corporations of our time.

EFFECTIVELY DEAD
-Educational textbooks


Is this the case in the region/country where you live? I mean, over here in Germany, some schools are already introducing tablet computers for the students, but it's just at the beginning, so textbooks are still necessary. It also depends a lot on the budget of the respective school you're talking about.

In universities it's a bit different. I am a student and a lot of literature can be found on Google Books plus learning material is being provided digitally. However most people like to print that stuff to have something phyiscal in their hands.