We all love our gadgets. And when new ones emerge, we can’t imagine how we lived without them. Even so, there’s an ugly truth to the world of technology: A great deal of what’s hot today becomes obsolete down the road. Just think about the humble landline telephone. Sure, many households still have them, but a large number of people are relying solely on cell phones and ditching the expense of operating a landline. It’s not hard to imagine a future in which landline telephones are no longer mounted on our kitchen walls but are instead filling our landfills.

Here’s a look at various other key pieces of technology that were once important and are now on their way to becoming useless. In fact, a number of these gizmos might become obsolete during the next 10 years.

Fax Machines: Most people hate sending faxes; it is old technology. There was a time when it was ground breaking, but don’t be surprised if this is one technology that quickly ends up in the “remember this?” classification.

Newspaper Classified Ads: The Huffington Post fairly recently listed newspaper classified ads as an endangered species. That’s essentially due to the online garage sale that is Craigslist. By giving people the chance to advertise their used futons for free, Craigslist provided a fatal body blow to newspaper-classified sections across the country.

Film-Based Cameras: People love film, and it has taken some time to phase it out, but there’s no denying that the digital camera changed photography forever. Kodak has felt this transition more then most, so much so that the company is no longer making cameras. People like digital cameras because they can save their photos easily and make prints without having to save negatives that degrade. We shall see how much longer film-based cameras last, but they are definitely on their way out.

The Calculator Watch: Remember when geeks everywhere wore calculator watches strapped to their wrists? There was no better way to calculate the tip on that burger and fries. PCWorld, though, recently listed the calculator watch on its list of the 40 biggest losers of obsolete technology. Blame both fashion sense and cell phones. Every cell phone today comes with its own calculator. And fashion sense? Well, those calculator watches never were that attractive.

The Video Arcade: Many people grew up playing games in their local arcade so it’s a shame that these may be on their way out as well. But with the frequency that game systems improve and the inherent expense that it takes to operate an arcade, most gamers just go with their home systems where they can play in comfort.

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