how things have changed

[rcanewvista]

I'm 30 yrs old and I grew up around rotary phones too. Infact when I was a toddler one of my first toys were a fisher price rotary toy phone (I got my older cousins hand me downs). But I noticed my nieces and nephews now have fisher price toy cell phones haha. Its funny how these toys are supposed to help prepare us for the world when we grow up, but by the time we get there the things we learned are obsolete. I also had a toy camera as a kid that had a fake flash cube that turned when u pressed a fake shutter. It was many years later that I finally realized what a flash cube was- since when I was growinp flash cubes were long a thing of the past. So I was prepared for a life in the 60's except I was born in the 80's. It no wonder I love things from that era.

Until recently I had a rotary phone in my house, I had one installed in my bar. Then one day when I left my wife alone in the house a telemarketer kept calling and (according to her) the bell from the phone annoyed her so much that she ripped the cord out of the phone. She claimed she didn't know how to silence it (just pick up the receiver and put it down??). Now I have to rewire the damned thing, I was really pissed. Anyways I find this a good example of how most people these days don't care about the past and won't even take the opportunity to learn something new ... err old haha.

[AUdubon5425]

Originally Posted by rcanewvista

I also had a toy camera as a kid that had a fake flash cube that turned when u pressed a fake shutter. It was many years later that I finally realized what a flash cube was- since when I was grownup flash cubes were long a thing of the past.

I'm 35, and clearly remember my parents using their Polaroid 103 with the flashbulbs up until 1981 or 1982, when my father brought home two promotional Polaroid 600 cameras from the office (an Amigo and a Spirit.) They used the flashbars. Mother used that camera into the 90's - eventually the flashbars became unobtainable. There were also Magicubes, which had a different base than the regular flashcubes. I've still got a bag full of both kinds somewhere.

Personally, I carried an Instamatic 304 in my glovebox (along with a couple of flashcubes) for years, up until Kodak discontinued 126 film (early 2000's.)

[AUdubon5425]

I was the only person in my dormitory (possibly the entire college) using a typewriter. This was in 1997-98. Couldn't afford a computer, and detested waiting in line and having to write reports in a cramped basement computer lab. So I went to the thrift store and bought a Remington Ten electric from the sixties, but it made a lot of noise between the keys and the electric return. I replaced it with a late-50's Adler Universal, the smoothest manual typewriter I've ever touched. Lost it in an accident and never found another.

During a blizzard we had a power outage one day. A guy from one of my classes came down and said he had to write a paper and would I lend him the typewriter? Of course. Thirty minutes later he brought it back - couldn't figure it out. I offered to show him but he declined.

That same winter another acquaintance from a class happened to be on my floor and peeked his head in the door, asking if he could use my phone. Sure - no problem, it's on the desk. He walked over, picked up the receiver and stared at the Western Electric 500 for about fifteen seconds, then hung up and said never mind!

Again, these guys would be around thirty today.

[Beachboy]

I'd be lost without a typewriter. In fact, I just bought a lightly-used electronic daisy-wheel typewriter to replace my old IBM Selectric III. I use my typewriter almost daily, for typing checks, envelopes, labels, and filling out forms. My computer printer won't do any of these items, and I like the professional look of a typed check or envelope.

[magnasonic66]

I don't have too much sympathy for these youngsters who can't dial a phone or figure out an automatic record player, or tapes, etc. I get a kick out of the kids 21 and younger who do embrace the old technology, and they love it!

[radiotvnut]

I'm 34 and there were classmates of mine, in jr. high, who did not know what a record player was.

[holmesuser01]

Originally Posted by kx250rider

I wouldn't allow anyone; child or adult, into my house if they get angry at inanimate objects. Too scary.

Charles

I hate to say it, but I doubt that he will be coming back here. That outburst was a first for me. His mother always has an excuse for things he does. I think that her husband and I agree that something is not right.

[Sandy G]

My 2 little "girlfriends"-Bethany & Shay- were ASTOUNDED at my TT-they'd never SEEN "records", & one of Bethany's proudest moments was when "We" bought a Polk Phone children's Victrola...She LOVED showing it off to people. She also got a huge "kick" when I'd let her play w/my TV-7 D/U tube tester & test tubes.

[zenith2134]

The best was in 2007 when I drove to Manhattan to purchase a Stromberg Carlson 6BQ5 stereo amp which I won on eBay: The seller, an elderly Korean gent, exclaimed, "YOU won this auction? You're too young to be into this stuff!" Never will forget that.

[Reece]

A few years ago I pulled out my old manual portable typewriter and one of my twenty-something sons saw it, said, wow, can I try? He gently touched a key. I just laughed and said, that ain't the way it works! and proceeded to demonstrate how to pound away.

[Chad Hauris]

I'm 33, almost 34, and when I was a kid (80's) most people still had and used rotary phones. I can remember before touch-tone service was even available too. We finally got a push-button telephone and had to use it on "pulse" mode. My mom took photos on a Kodak camera which used 110 film and flip-flash bars, and we had a Chinon 8mm movie camera and projector and would get the films developed at Fotomat.

However when I was in elementary school/middle school I think records were thought of as old hat by kids (mid-late 80s). Kids would usually listen to cassettes. Of course I still liked records...in the early 80's you could still buy the current hits on 45's at Kmart. I can remember by 1989 or so you could still get 45's at record stores but they were mostly all oldies.

I think I was probably among the last classes of college students to go to college before the computer/mobile device revolution seemed to take place among teenagers/college students. I never saw a cellphone being used or heard a cellphone ring in college...professors still used overhead projectors/35mm slides rather than Powerpoint and most students I know didn't own computers...we used mostly Macs in the computer labs to type our papers. There was no such thing as class notes or messages being sent through email, etc. I graduated in 1999.

[Steve K]

oops, double post

[Steve K]

Originally Posted by Chad Hauris

professors still used overhead projectors/35mm slides rather than Powerpoint"

Ha, I still use overheads in my classes and never use PowerPoint. I actually have quite a number of students who reply in the course evaluations that they like the fact that I don't use PowerPoint!

Steve

[radiotvnut]

I'm 34; and, when I was in school, we still used "old" technology (overhead projectors, record players, R2R tape, roll around tube type TV's connected to U-matic tape machines, etc.) By the time I got to high school, they had computers; but, they were very out of date, even for the early-to-mid '90's. Even though records were still available during most of my school years, not too many of my classmates were into them. It was mostly cassette tapes and, later, CD's. In the 9th grade, my English teacher pulled out an old Califone record player so we could listen to some sort of literary work and one of my classmates asked me what that device was. By my senior year in high school, cell phones were starting to take off among people other than doctors, lawyers, and other "business" people. However, I don't remember seeing any of my classmates using one. By the time I made it to college, record players had mostly been phased out and there were more modern computers in use; but, all my instructors still used slides and projectors for their presentations.

I also remember when people still used 8-tracks, rotary phones, and TV's with rotary tuners.

And, I was probably the last person on Earth to finally get a cell phone. Even at that, only 3 people have the number and the thing is not hanging out of my ear all the time. In fact, it may go two weeks without ringing. And, when I call one of those 3 people who have the number, I state my business and I get off. All long winded conversations are reserved for the land line. And, I've only sent two text messages in my life and I don't know how people do that quickly.

[Spinning Head]

What is it about old technology that we all like so much?
For me it is both growing up with it, and appreciating that the old stuff still works (sometimes with a little coaxing). I still have a couple of rotary phones hooked up. I still use video tape of various formats, records, cassettes, reel to reel tapes, laser disks, old computers w/ 5.25" floppies and of course CRTs. This is my biggest disappointment with new technology, most of it doesn't seem meant to last 10 years. I remember thinking it was a cool video when the Bryan Adams video came out. I wonder if I'd would like it if I were a teenager now and a similar video came out but instead it was done with Flat panels.