Where do media go to die?

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The bodily metaphor of death cannot account for the curious logic of media decline. Most dossiers are premised on the shared belief that media don't necessarily die when they just happen to break, and, conversely, that most 'dead' media may still work perfectly fine. There is no clear boundary between the living and dead with media: the failure of component parts (the brain, heart, etc…) does not a media death make. Instead, media either slowly receded into disuse, are rendered obsolete or inoperable by subsequent technology, or finally go extinct.

Obsolescence

The attic, the basement, ebay These are not skeletons, but fully functional, intact bodies, in the closet.

Non-functionality

Can no longer be used as originally intended, or no one knows how to use or repair something that might still work. Institutional memory Media don't die when they break

Extinction

Go the way of the dodo Lapsed patent? Cease manufacturing? The last floppy disk

http://flickr.com/photos/adubber/sets/72157600179591602/