After Hours

Time to toss that gadget? Or not? (photos)

By // March 27, 2011, 8:40 PM PST

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  • Ditch the desktop? Cut the cable? Drop the alarm clock? ZDNet's Andrew Nusca took on The New York Times' Sam Grobart’s view on “Gadgets you should get rid of (or not).” Here are 10 common items that might be on their way to a museum. Add yours in Talkback. For more read 10 gadgets you should actually get rid of - or not.

    1. The desktop computer

    Grobart’s take: “Lose it"

    Nusca’s take: I gave up my desktop in 2005, and haven’t looked back.

    Next: Broadband Internet

  • 2.) Broadband Internet

    Grobart’s take: “Keep it”

    Nusca’s take: Broadband is more Internet than most homes need, but 3G isn’t enough.

    Next: Cable TV

  • 3. Cable TV

    Grobart’s take: “Depends"

    Nusca’s take: Keep it. Setting up TV service without calling the cable company is about as easy as setting up a home network with Windows 95.

    Next: Point and shoot cameras

  • 4. Point-and-shoot cameras.

    Grobart’s take: “Lose it"

    Nusca’s take: Depends" For candid photos around town and of the kids, a current-generation smartphone handles this task

    Next: Camcorders

  • 5. Camcorder.

    Grobart’s take: “Lose it"

    Nusca’s take: Keep it" assuming it’s a Flip-type model.

    Next: USB thumb drive

  • 6. USB thumb drive

    Grobart’s take: “Lose it"

    Nusca’s take: Keep it" Connectivity problems and speed (large photos, home videos, applications) aren’t worth taking the time to upload to the cloud, just to bring back down again.

    Next: Digital music player

  • 7. Digital music player.

    Grobart’s take: “Lose it"

    Nusca’s take: "Keep it" Only gym rats would consider a small player like the Apple iPod nano.

    Next: Alarm clocks

  • 8. Alarm clock.

    Grobart’s take: “Keep it"

    Nusca’s take: "Lose it" Modern smartphones can offer shortcuts.

    Next: GPS devices

  • 9. GPS device.

    Grobart’s take: “Lose it"

    Nusca’s take: "Keep it" It's still far too early to ditch your cheap, windshield-mounted unit.

    Next: Books

  • 10. Books

    Grobart’s take: “Keep them"

    Nusca’s take: "Depends" For beachgoers, paperback books can handle sand and sun and humidity without giving you heart palpitations.

Related Topics:

After Hours Innovation Hardware Tech & Work

Ditch the desktop? Cut the cable? Drop the alarm clock? ZDNet's Andrew Nusca took on The New York Times' Sam Grobart’s view on “Gadgets you should get rid of (or not).” Here are 10 common items that might be on their way to a museum. Add yours in Talkback. For more read 10 gadgets you should actually get rid of - or not.

1. The desktop computer

Grobart’s take: “Lose it"

Nusca’s take: I gave up my desktop in 2005, and haven’t looked back.

Next: Broadband Internet

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