Technology Review Names Ten Technologies That Refuse to Die.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2004

In technology, like biology, we like to imagine evolution proceeding onward and upward. As new species and technologies appear, one would assume their primitive ancestors drop by the wayside, right?

Not exactly. In the case of technology, the early 80s and dawn of the PC age brought electronic storage (360-kilobyte floppy disks!) and data transmission (14 kilobit-per-second modems!), two revolutionary technologies that were supposed to make paper superfluous and keep forests safe. Hah. Electronic data just begat more paper copies!

In the February 2004 issue, Technology Review outlines 10 technologies that have seemingly been surpassed and superseded at one time or other, written off as road kill on the highway of progress. Yet reports of their demise have been exaggerated, as all have survived - some even continue to thrive - because they fill a void still not filled by their supposedly more sophisticated successors. Technology Review's February 2004 issue, now available at www.technologyreview.com, will be on newsstands January 20, 2004.

The 10 Technologies That Refuse to Die are:

-- Analog watches

-- Dot-matrix printers 

-- Typewriters

-- Broadcast radio

-- Pagers

-- Reel-to-reel tape

-- Vacuum tubes 

-- Fax machines

-- Mainframe computers

-- Fortran

Other features in the February 2004 issue include:

-- "Ten Emerging Technologies That Will Change Your World" - In spite of a year riddled with struggles related to war and weak economies, researchers and technologists around the world have kept busy steadily developing the new technologies that promise to revolutionize the way we conduct business and live our lives. Technology Review editors searched the globe to find 10 emerging technologies that will affect our lives and work in revolutionary ways - whether next year or next decade.

-- "Gadgets in the Superchip Age" - Novel chip designs and manufacturing techniques keep the 40-year computing explosion going strong. What consumer devices will they enable?

-- "Can Pfizer Deliver?" - Despite skyrocketing R&D spending, pharmaceutical companies' drug output has slowed dramatically. Pfizer, the world's largest drug company, is counting on creative new technologies to keep the pipeline full, but will it succeed?

In Prototype and Innovation News: Growing Silicon, Lighting Up Lungs, Glass Micromachines, Tissue Tester, Nanotech's Safety Checkup, and Wearable Robots.

About Technology Review, Inc.

Technology Review, Inc., an MIT Enterprise, delivers essential information about emerging technologies and their impact on leaders. Since 1998, paid circulation for the company's magazine, Technology Review, has more than tripled, climbing from 92,000 to 315,000. Combined with its signature events, newsletters, and online businesses, Technology Review reaches over two million business leaders throughout the world each month.