Another fun thing to do with the yellow pages books to have the kids make huge Angels. Simply fold in the top right hand corner to the center and fold in bottom right hand corner to the center. Then stapel the front cover and back cover together. This makes for an accordian-looking Angel. Spray paint color as necessary. :-)

As for YellowPages.com, yes, once ALL their issues are rectified with the BBB and collection agencies, they might close their doors as well.

I think what is great is the amount of options people have to get what they need when they need it and how they need it. We could go all digital, but sometimes simple and traditional works and feels better.

I won’t give up my hardback books for a Kindle. I don’t use the yellow pages much but they are still the best sources for local services for home repair. We gave up our land line, but I’m considering adding it back because of the lower cost of international calling and sound quality. I like TV for entertainment – just like going to the movies, although I would prefer it as you do or through an on demand model like Netflix has now. Email is a huge part of my communications, but there is nothing better than getting a letter in the mail as there was effort behind it. Makes me feel special.

Oh, and newspapers at the hotel. I agree with you for US travel. But, there was nothing better than reading a local paper in China and getting a different perspective. I would never have gotten that if I stuck to the information I had in my rss feeds.

Yellow Pages – I’m with you 100%. There’s two age old questions: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop and How the hell are the Yellow pages still around?

Print newspapers – They are definitely a waste of paper and they definitely report the news WAYYYYY to late in print form. I don’t see them lasting much longer in print form.

Landline – At this very moment, I agree with you Adam because I have absolutely no need for a landline. But as Christopher pointed out, I wonder when I have kids if my mind will change for the reasons stated. I’m not sure here.

Fax machine – I agree with you for the most part but I think what’s keeping fax machines alive is convenience. I use Internet faxing but sometimes it can be a little bit of a pain in the arse. Using a fax machine itself can be very convenient and quick.

Audio CD – Right along the lines of the Yellow Pages. I don’t see these lasting much longer.

Cable TV – I agree that there is a lot of trash out there but I think part of the appeal is the plethora of programming (trash or not) available at any particular time. If I ordered only Discovery and History, I’d only be able to watch those two channels ever. Unless I REALLY only liked those two channels, I’d probably appreciate some other programming from time to time. Not sure about this one…definitely varies from person to person.

AM/FM Radio – My biggest pet peeve with this medium is people constantly complaining “Ugh, that song is SOOO overplayed!”. I then explain to them that this is the exact reason the radio exists. So don’t listen to it! As a professor of mine once said, the radio is a bunch of commercials interrupted by songs, not the other way around.

Data calls on mobiles can be expensive unless you are on a plan. I don’t have a data plan because my handset is too small for typing in URLs. It’s fine for accessing bookmarked sites.

For situations without power, e.g. after a natural disaster, computerised alternatives won’t work.