Now, of course, you can carry thousands of songs in your pocket, and the days of the single-purpose MP3 player are numbered. Smartphones have pushed aside iPods as the music players of choice, just as digital music collections have shouldered aside CDs. Gone are the days when you had to spend an afternoon organizing your disks; now you can do it with a click, and cloud storage means you can access your tunes from anywhere.
Audiophiles may cling to their vinyl, but the rest of us should be more than ready to chuck physical media.
5. Cable or satellite TV
Most Americans don't see their paid televisions subscriptions as a "need," exactly, but it took the recession to get many to cut the cord.
Cable companies lost more than 2 million subscribers in 2010, according to research firm SNL Kagan. Some switched to satellite, but industry watchers say fewer new households -- mostly young people starting out -- are signing up for either cable or satellite.
And when you think about it, why should you pay for a bunch of channels you don't watch when you can get most of the ones you want online?
6. Desktop computer
Kiss your tower goodbye, because laptops, tablets and smartphones are making it obsolete. Given how most people use their devices, any advantage a desktop may offer in speed and performance is probably overkill.
Besides, it's all about mobility. Wireless hotspots mean you no longer have to be tied to your desk in order to work or play. Industry experts predict desktops will become harder to find, much as flat screens have muscled out analog TV sets.
That's not to say you should toss your current desktop in the trash. But when it inevitably dies or becomes so slow you want to kill it, a laptop or tablet will be the logical replacement. If you can't live without the big-screen home computing experience, you can buy a monitor and even a mouse to use with your portable device.
7. Email
Email isn't going away, but often there are better ways to communicate. Texts and instant messages are more appropriate for short and urgent messages, particularly if you're trying to reach someone under 30. She may not have a smartphone to check her email, but she's almost certainly texting. Social-media sites are often a more suitable way to keep up with family and friends. Complex or sensitive topics should be discussed on the phone or, better yet, face to face.
And if you're having a major dispute with a business or government agency, old-school letters are the way to go. In some cases, such as a billing or credit dispute, committing the problem to paper is the only way to ensure your federal rights are preserved.
Liz Weston is the Web's most-read personal-finance writer. She is the author of several books, most recently "The 10 Commandments of Money: Survive and Thrive in the New Economy" (find it on Bing). Weston's award-winning columns appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. Join the conversation and send in your financial questions on Liz Weston's Facebook fan page.
