The new iPad and iPhone on the market is one more reminder about how fast technological changes are taking place. Many other technologies may simply

cease to exist. Some will die quickly. Others will die a slow death and eventually disappear.

Years ago it was easy to see that CDs would replace phonograph records. That’s exactly what happened. We could also see that coming with our VCRs.

For the better part of three decades, the VCR was the dominant form of watching video. Today, VCRs are quickly disappearing due to the DVD. You may still

have VHS tapes in your home. You may even have a VCR. If you do, you are quickly becoming the exception rather than the rule. Soon VCRs and VHS tapes

will be gone.

What are also on the way out are movie rental stores. I can remember going into stores that didn’t have DVDs. Now DVDs are all they have. But people

aren’t coming to the stores because they can download videos or order them from Netflix. So movie rental stores are closing.

How about cameras? Used to be the only camera you could buy required that you also buy film to put in the camera. Now almost all camera companies

make only digital cameras. Many announced years ago they would stop making film cameras.

And what about television? Most homes get their TV programming from cable or satellite. The homes that still use rabbit ears or outdoor antennae had to

get a converter box. Analog TVs are about to go extinct.

Finally, think about how we write to one another. Yes, people still write letters and thank you notes. But most of the communication today takes place

through e-mails and text messages. More than two million e-mails are sent worldwide every second. Text messages are most likely sent at that same order of

magnitude.

We live in a world of remarkable change. Many of the technological wonders of the past are going extinct. That is due to the digital revolution.