While so many books on technology look at new advances and digital
technologies, The Routledge Companion to Media Technology and
Obsolescence looks back at analog technologies that are disappearing,
considering their demise and what it says about media history, pop
culture, and the nature of nostalgia. From card catalogs and typewriters
to stock tickers and cathode ray tubes, contributors examine the legacy
of analog technologies, including those, like vinyl records, that may be
experiencing a resurgency. Each essay includes a brief history of the
technology leading up to its peak, an analysis of the reasons for its
decline, and a discussion of its influence on newer technologies.