I was thinking today about how differently I am doing things on my computer and on my mobile devices then I did only a couple of years ago. I use Google Chrome as my default browser and I realized there are a couple of things that I use to use that I no longer do. The first is bookmarks, truth is I couldn’t tell you the last time I was in my bookmark file. The only book marks that I use constantly are those that are installed on my tool bar. I also rarely ever go to the Google search page. The only time I go there is when someone twitters that there is a new Google Doodle to look at. It is just faster to start typing what I am looking for in the URL bar. Once I have gone to a Web site, the next time I start typing it in the URL bar it will pop up almost immediately. To save specific articles, I use Instapaper or Pinboard. I also use to be a big Google Reader user, but since I got the iPad I find myself using Zite and Flipboard to keep up with the news I am interested in. I do connect to Google Reader in Flipboard , so I haven’t cut myself off from Google Reader entirely, but I rarely go to the Google Reader site.
The other thing I have start to go to less is the iTunes store. I find new music by way of Twitter or Facebook or while listening to Slacker Raido. I am already online so it much easier just to buy my music from Amazon. Now with the Amazon Cloud Player, I can take my whole library with me where every I go, without having to worry about how much space it is using up on my 16GB iPhone. I am a big podcast listener. The fact that anytime I wanted to update a podcast on my iPhone I had to physically link my iPhone to my Macbook and then wait while itunes went through its process was so annoying, especially if all I wanted to do was update a single podcast. Fortunately I discovered PocketCast and now the only time I connect my iPhone to my Mac is when there is an update. There are so many other things and applications I use to use all the time, now use rarely. What about you, are there things that you use to use, but rarely do now? With the invention of products like Google Wallet and Square, just to name a few, will paying with actual money seem quaint in a couple of years, something we no longer use?
