H Veeder <[email protected]> wrote: The telegraph was an amazing invention but it did not make sending letters > by mail obsolete. >
That is because telegraphs were far more expensive than letters, and they could not transmit pictures and other non-textual information. The invention of e-mail finally did make sending letters by mail obsolete. The number of letters mailed per year is falling rapidly. When the new, competing technology has some advantages but also some disadvantages such as higher cost or technical limitations, the old technology survives. When the new technology can do everything the old one does, and more, at a lower cost with other advantages such as speed and convenience, the old technology invariably goes away. That is why no one rides horses in cities, and why sailing ships are not used. > The invention of the airplane did not make the train obsolete. > Incorrect. From 1945 to 1960, airplanes destroyed the long-distance railroad passenger business. They did not destroy the railroad freight business because airplanes cannot carry heavy freight, and they cannot go from any location to any other location (without an airport). If they could, there would not be any railroads or trucks. In the distant future, point-to-point air transportation will be perfected and ground transportation will be greatly reduced. - Jed
