wasn't owning a horse made quaint by the fact that owning a car was far more advantageous? so what is replacing the car? even the authors own anecdote/ethos plug isn't that they cut the landline cord because they could just share a landline phone with their friends, it was because a personal cell phone was a more advanced replacement. maybe i am looking too deeply into an opinion piece from an author who thinks that their ability to predict the rise of cell phones in 1998 makes them an authority prognosticator. well him, zac morris, my fellow arrl, and anyone whose had the pleasure of cruising the citizen's band.