Producer Steve’s Childhood Is Dissolving In Front of His Eyes [VIDEO]

I’m in my 30’s.  As much as that hurts, that should have been an indication (and long ago) that I am not a kid anymore.  However, I’ve always been one of those people that believes the saying “You’re only as old as you feel”.

Like most people, I think it’s cool when I see something that reminds me of my youth.  I still get a kick out of playing Super Mario Brothers (on my Wii, though) and riding my old BMX bike when I’m visiting at my Mom’s house.

I was reminded today of my age, though, and it made me quite sad.  Two staples of my youth are now ceasing to exist.  Remember this commercial?

I’m sad to report that after 244 years, Encyclopedia Britannica has finally closed the doors on the ‘ol knowledge factory.  And rightly so.  When was the last time you needed a fun fact about Abe Lincoln and pulled out the L volume to do some research?  I bet it’s been a while.  Still, though, it kind of makes me sad.  It’s the end of an era.  Many a book report was written (read: plagiarized) from the pages of Britannica.  That smug smartass in the commercials, on the other hand, I’m happy we’ll never see him again.  Not like he’s done anything else with his career anyway.

Another piece of bad news came in the form of a Gizmodo post I read last night.  AIM is (essentially) dead.  AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) was pretty much the precursor to social networks.  You needed to see what your friend was up to one night?  Send him an IM.  You wanted to get to know that hot chick in your Science class?  Read her buddy info so you could find out some of her interests.

Now, you’ll still be able to use AIM (for the time being), but AOL has basically gotten rid of anyone that had anything to do with the program except for some support staff.  That means there won’t be anymore updates, new versions, etc.  It is indeed a sad day for the IM generation, which I happily consider myself to be a part of.

Encyclopedia Britannica, AIM, I’ll miss you.  Miss you more than you’ll ever know.

-steve