Much as it pains me to refer anyone to anything done by Fox News, I’m betting the average blog reader will be interested in this particular slide show: “12 Gadgets Once Essential, Now Essentially Useless.”
It seems like only yesterday I was using all these things, and owned most of them. Time flies, and so does technology. Whee! Depending on your age, of course, you may never have laid eyes on a Walkman, a VHS, or a calculator. The person who assembled this slide show must be pretty young, though, because someone my age would have included, or started with, typewriters, adding machines, slide rules, and Princess phones.
Speaking of phones, a recent study has concluded the reason we are annoyed by overhearing someone else’s cell phone conversation is because we’re only hearing half of the conversation. Frankly, it bugs the hell out of me. Always has. But not because I’m hearing only half the conversation. It’s because I’m hearing any of it! To me at least, phone calls are personal business and I don’t want to be hearing it (and why would you want me to hear it?). It’s rude of the user to force me to hear, or try not to hear, his conversation. But I’m bothered even more by the basic weirdness of people wandering around talking aloud to their “invisible friend.” It’s kind of creepy. Normal adults don’t have and talk to invisible friends.
But I’m probably the weirdo here. Or at least out of step. I carry only a prepaid phone to use in case of an emergency when I’m away from home. I’ve used it maybe three times in eight years.
I recall that first generation printer that had the guide holes on either side of the paper. The ones that self folded as they printed out in one long continuous spool. The sound it made drove me nuts.
I actually have my old Walkman in a tub upstairs where all the old tech ends up. To later get ripped asunder and used in art. Not the worst fate awaiting outdated technology. Better than a landfill.
I remember the big flat blue binders that held the printouts and reports. (At least, they were blue where I worked.) And the fact that only a few operators knew what was in the computer. The rest of us had to wait for our unwieldy state-of-the-art accordion-folded printouts to get our info.
I miss my calculator watch, and I got so much pleasure form my Walkman! I too am annoyed by people carrying on personal conversations in my presence. I have to admit, though, that those “Bluetooth” thingys might provide excellent cover for people, like me, who have a tendency to talk to themselves! 😀
My son uses a Bluetooth thingy. Makes him looks like a secret agent or something. He doesn’t talk near other people though, maybe because he’s heard me complain so much about how weird it looks. Yes, it would be great cover if you already talk to yourself; I’d want to cover for that too!