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After Hours

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

By Andy Smith March 27, 2011, 8:40 PM PDT

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

ntDitch the desktop? Cut the cable? Drop the alarm clock? ZDNet’s Andrew Nusca took on The New York Times‘ Sam Grobart’s view on u201cGadgets you should get rid of (or not).u201d 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.

n

nt1. The desktop computer

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cLose it”

n

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

n

ntNext: Broadband Internet

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

nt2.) Broadband Internet

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cKeep itu201d

n

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

n

ntNext: Cable TV

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

nt3. Cable TV

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cDepends”

n

ntNusca’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.

n

ntNext: Point and shoot cameras

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

nt4. Point-and-shoot cameras.

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cLose it”

n

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

n

ntNext: Camcorders

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

nt5. Camcorder.

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cLose it”

n

ntNusca’s take: Keep it” assuming it’s a Flip-type model.

n

ntNext: USB thumb drive

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

nt6. USB thumb drive

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cLose it”

n

ntNusca’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.

n

ntNext: Digital music player

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

nt7. Digital music player.

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cLose it”

n

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

n

ntNext: Alarm clocks

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

nt8. Alarm clock.

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cKeep it”

n

ntNusca’s take: “Lose it” Modern smartphones can offer shortcuts.

n

ntNext: GPS devices

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

nt9. GPS device.

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cLose it”

n

ntNusca’s take: “Keep it” It’s still far too early to ditch your cheap, windshield-mounted unit.

n

ntNext: Books

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

nt10. Books

n

ntGrobart’s take: u201cKeep them”

n

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

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