In time.

I'm still crossing my fingers in hope that Vinyl will come back with a vengeance. PLEASE, Lord, don't let MP3s take over!!

Yes. I believe they will be replaced eventually by digital storage cards or chips of some sort. Something that is very portable and scratch free.

I sure hope not.. I have invested a fortune in them.. but then I still own vinyl, cassettes, and 8 tracks!

Probably - but I hope not. I'm not a huge fan of the MP3 players at all, and from where would we legally download our music? itunes? Been there, not a fan of that either.

Yes, though I don't think they'll be replaced with just electronic digital music files.

Of course they will, but the better question is in what timeframe. The biggest problem with CD's, DVD's pretty much all digital media is that it is technology dependent and the as soon as the technology is obsolete or no longer available you cannot access the information. For example, if you bought laserdisc movies back in the 90's you are out of luck if your player dies. BlueRay and HD DVD add an even bigger dilema because they are technology and formatting dependent. All of these types of data storage will become meaningless and inaccessible with time. There are no such issues with photographs(visual), reel to reel audio or video(just magnetic pickups or a lightbulb) or phonographs(vibratory stylus). So if you want to really save content or information, lay it down in a concrete manner(ie. cave paintings...)

Eventually they will yes.

For musical purposes, yes.

Yes. We are moving to USB/MP3 systems.

no, they may change by getting smaller and getting more compact. Other than that, no.

sadly yes. the cd will eventually be outcasted into the history museum due to new and devloping technology.

They already are - i never play cds!

Of course, they are already on the fast track there. MDs came after, then..The next generation will be similar to USB sticks, but with a huge amount of space.

I think Cd's are becoming obsolete now. Most items are turning towards flash based storage. One example is the new mac book air, which uses flash memory instead of a hard drive. *ALSO, it comes no built in optical drive.

What's a CD?

I don't really think they are that popular of a medium for BUYING music any more but many people buy Mp3's then turn around and burn mp3 cds. but even that isnt very common any more because mp3 players aren't that expensive anymore, so for musical purposes they (probably) will eventually go the way of the cassette-tape.

Oh definitely someday, yes.

Yes they are. If you think about it they are horrible. One scratch and they are messed up. But with flash there are no scratches

Anything dealing with electronic WILL soon be obsolete. New stuff always comes out ever time. like they say 'in with the new and out with the old'

In 10 year's

Before something becomes obsolete, another thing should replace it. What could possibly replace a CD? If CD becomes obsolete, where would you rip your songs?

Eventually everything becomes obsolete.

Yep they will be in the schoolbooks soon with all the media outlets mp3,mp4 ect.... just got done figuring out how to send music to my sons psp from the puter what a trip the psp was made 4 the windows xp not vista so you have to download- send -drop -drag -copy -paste oh yep ya gotta get memory stick duo or ya are not gonna be playing music on the psp. But I think with SERIUS RAIDO and all the other gadgits that hold way way more music than a cd CD are in the past:)VIVA LA CD

Yes. Very soon I think... probably within the next 5 years at the earliest, 10 at the latest. Portable media devices seems to be selling pretty well (a couple million Zunes... and I have *no* idea how many iPods are out there). Most modern car stereo systems have audio jacks specifically for mp3 player inputs. Myself, as I type this, I'm ripping my cd's into mp3 format so I can place them onto my Zune. :)

Of course. They are already to me. mp3s are the future!

I don't think CDs would become obsolete, but record stores are well on their way. The only record stores within my biking area are Rasputin, Streetlight Records, and Virgin Megastore. Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Circuit City also sell CDs, but the selection is rather limited. I remember Musicland, Sam Goody, The Wherehouse, and Tower Records.

I believe that by definition they became obsolete as soon as MP3s hit.

Sure just like every thing else I still use. Like I am still using records that looks like a round cylinders. And playing them on a old crank-up player. Plus I updated to 45, 33, & 78RPM records. And yes I've still got many reels of tape, for my reel to reel Rec/Players. Plus many 8-Track players & tapes. Plus even those funny little things they called cassettes. Yes before long, if not all ready. CD's, MP3's, DVD's etc: will most likely be obsolete. Just like me :-(

in our current society things are made to become obsolete... that way we continue buying stuff.

It will all eventually go to DVDs or chip storage. Imagine if albums came on SD cards. All the space you could save. It's just flash memory isn't so reliable for longevity. I believe in hard storage. I consider flash memory a temporary storage device. YES. I belive they will become obsolete just like everything else. mp3 players are working hard to rid us of cds.

Yeah they are, I'd probably give them another 5 years or so.

Already happening!

Yes. Eventually, they will be replaced by solid state memory (such as Flash), holographic data storage, or 3D data storage. Flash itself is due to be replaced soon - a number of developing technologies will soon outperform it in terms of both speed and longevity (Flash is limited to about 10^5 write/erase cycles).

Well CD's will just be a cheaper alternative for those who don't have the money to spend on an MP3 player-and also, they still make records/record players, not to mention tape recorders. Since tapes can be easily recorded at home, blank tapes are still sold even though cassette tapes are undeniably "dead". So, even if the market for PRE-RECORDED CDs goes down the drain, you can always just buy CD-Rs and then download stuff, and then burn it to CD. Thus, anyone who wants to have some form of hard copy that is more standardized than the myriad of formats that are used by online downloading services will have little trouble finding a way, just as anyone who wants to continue to use tapes can just use a recorder with blank tapes to record from another format they already own for their own personal use. So don't forget, even if the record companies stop distributing on CDs, there's always CD-R's! One of the reasons I am not a big fan of MP3 players is that when something goes wrong, trying to pinpoint the issue and fix it is a nightmare. it could be a messed up download, it could be a software update on your computer or on the player itself, or a hardware problem. Also, while rechargeable batteries are money saving and environmentally freindly, I hate the fact that on MP3 players you have to unscrew/pry open the player just to get at the rechargeable batteries to replace them once they cease to hold a charge. I can understand using a slim, rectengular battery to make the player smaller, but WHY can't there just be a pop-off cover to replace it? the company that makes the player often charges an arm and leg to replace the batteries if you have them do it. Sure, you can do it yourself if you know what you are doing, but you risk damaging the player just by trying to replace the batteries!!! Worse, NO player EVER includes an AC adaptor anymore-they can only be charged from the computer unless you buy one seperately. and, depending on the player, an AC adapter may not even be available seperately! which means, if you go on vacation, you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO have a laptop in order to charge your player!!!!! So if you don't have a laptop there's no way to charge your player! With CD players, if it doesnt seem to work, all you need to do to figure out where the problem lies is try another disk. If it works, your other CD was scratched/dirty. If not, your CD player needs adjustment, cleaning or repair-or new batteries. Also, to avoid spending loads of money buying new batteries, you can just get RECHARGEABLE AA BATTERIES-which only cost $10 for a pack of 4! Moreover, if you have an AC adapter for your CD player, and you plug it in when it has rechargeable AA batteries inside, it will charge those batteries just like an MP3 player

you know i was discussing that a while ago but i think, "possible" , but not for a very long time

the next generation is thumb drives. Size of your thumb, can carry tons of music, movies, resume, data etc and it can be plugged into almost any PC

I just ripped all my CDs and threw them away. They take so much space compared to if I just have them on my hard drive.