Unplanned Obsolescence

The Funai Corporation — reportedly the last company still making video cassette recorders — is about to stop making them. Will someone else start? Probably. You can still buy devices that play your old vinyl records. Still, it's jarring to realize that the V.C.R., which once seemed so revolutionary, is now classified along with Polaroid cameras and other outmoded inventions. I have lots of tapes I've yet to transfer over to digital — some VHS, some Beta — and I have three or four of each machine in my home or garage. Maybe I need to get around to this.