From USA Today:
“Phone book, what's a phone book? 20 everyday tasks that
nobody does anymore”
Daily necessities are vanishing one by one, thanks to new and
efficient technology. Stamps, maps and cookbooks still exist, but we hardly
ever need them. Why place a personals ad when you can just “swipe left?” The
standard electronics, gear and ways of yesteryear have vanished as if it was
never invented at all. As old formats disappear, that leaves us with the task
of what to do with our memories. Even
services that seem new are vanishing in the name of progress; Apple is killing
off iTunes, for example. and here’s what it means to your music and movies. Here
are some rituals that are no longer required in many households. If you’re 40
years or older, you’ll probably smile with nostalgia. Share this list on social
media. Others will enjoy this trip down memory lane too!
1. Memorize a phone number
Pop quiz: How many phone numbers do you know by heart? Some
people don’t even know their spouse’s numbers. How times have changed. Now, you
tell your smart assistant to call someone in your contacts, or you touch their
name on your phone. The earliest cellphones required you to transfer your
entire directory by hand, from the old unit to the new one; now, with cloud
technology, your contacts are automatically downloaded. What happens if you
lose your phone, say, at a Disney theme park? This couple got separated and
turned to Facebook for help.
2. Use a phone book to find a company to do work around your
house
Generation Z may not even know what “Yellow Pages” refers to.
They may not have ever seen a phone book. Online consumer services like Angie’s
List and Yelp have made finding service people easy, plus you can read other
users’ ratings. One of the newer ways to find ultra-local services is Nextdoor,
which has a special section for “recommendations,” along with crime watches and
other local info.
3. Sell your car with a cardboard sign stuck on the
windshield
Unless you’re selling your vehicle to someone you know and
trust, these transactions can get sticky and even a little dangerous,
especially with all the trolls. Craigslist started more than 20 years ago, and
it's still going strong, although it, too, still suffers from trolls and
weirdos. If you want to sell your car, here are three sites that may be better
than Craigslist.
4. Figure out math in your head
Few of us ever carried calculators with us to the grocery
store. In contrast, pretty much everyone with a smartphone uses it to do basic
calculations, no matter where or when you need it. In fact, you don’t even have
to jab numbers anymore, physical or virtual: Tell Siri to solve a math problem,
or command Alexa to do that pesky long division for you, along with countless
other handy skills.
5. Call and ask a family member, “Where are you?”
Find My Friends changed the family-safety landscape by
geographically connecting iPhone users. This app was a life-saver for parents
with kids, adults taking care of aging parents, and countless others. Phone
Tracker is a free app for iPhone and Android-powered phones that not only
tracks location but also messaging and web activity.
6. Tell time by hands on a clock
Like cursive writing, analog clocks may be teetering on
extinction. Few people with smartphones bother with watches anymore, unless
they’re fashion statements or fitness trackers. With digital clocks dominating
our computers and hardware, those 12-numeral timepieces may become pure
novelties. Even your trusted alarm clock has received a tech makeover. Click or
tap for three apps that monitor your sleep cycle, and wake you up when you’ll
feel the most rested.
7. Make photo albums
It’s hard to imagine printing an image at a one-hour photo
store, taking back your packet of 4x6 snapshots, and then meticulously pasting
them into a faux-leather photo album. Given the ease of digital photography,
and the innumerable images you could produce on a regular day, you’d fill up
entire shelves in no time. Photo-sharing services like Flickr and Amazon Cloud
and have existed for some years, and now some apps will help you organize your
photos and keepsakes, some of them from well-known companies like CVS and
Walgreens.
8. Have a CD or record collection
Wasn’t it cool back in the day to walk into a shabby-chic
apartment and see those shelves of CDs? Wasn’t it a joy to flip through boxes
of vinyl records? Napster was the first sign that music could exist as a tiny,
virtual MP3 file, and then iPods basically dealt the death blow. Today, music
exists as a digital index on a screen. Purists may love their turntables, but
CDs have probably gone the way of the wax cylinder.
9. Make mixtapes
There was something so special about a mixtape. We spent
hours finding the right song, then lining up two cassettes to copy a song. So
many lovers cemented their relationships using a blank tape and a few dozen
favorite albums. Now, you can drag and drop a digital playlist in seconds.
10. Call a theater to get movie times
Back in the day, you’d dial a theater and listen to its
endless-loop recording of movies and times. Sometimes, you’d catch it mid-loop
and have to wait for it to start at the beginning to get all the movie. With
Google, type “movie times,” and the search engine will list films based on your
location. You can also ask your personal assistant, such as Google Home, what
films are playing at the cineplex and what time they're on, along with tons of
other tricks and Easter eggs.
11. Record your favorite programs on tape
All year, we’d wait for “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “The
Wizard of Oz” to pop up on TV. When they did, we’d push a VHS tape into the
machine and wait until the proper moment to press “record.” When TiVo emerged,
it streamlined this process by making scheduled recordings even simpler. Now,
with streaming services, web archives and easy-to-purchase downloads, the
timing of a broadcast barely matters anymore. But as you cut on the cord on
traditional cable television, make sure you pick the services that best meet
your interests and budget.
12. Watch shows when they are broadcast live
In the same vein, we rarely have to sit in front of the television,
eagerly waiting for a “major network event.” Services like Hulu and YouTube
convert a huge amount of national television into a digital format, and local
news stations log most of their important segments onto their websites.
13. Run to the store for a last-minute gift
Curses! You forgot a Mother’s Day gift! Should you change
your whole schedule so you can rush to the store and hurriedly pick something
out? If you have Amazon Prime and live in an Amazon hub, there’s no need. You
can order same-day delivery and have that gift couriered to your front door. It’s
just one of the many benefits you probably didn’t know Amazon offers. Click
here for more than 20 lesser-known perks that come with your Amazon Prime
membership.
14. Cut things out of the newspaper
When I was a kid, my dad used to cut out articles from the
newspaper and put them in my lunchbox. I miss those days. If Dad were still
alive today, he’d do what most of us do: Tap or click a button to share content
by text or email. Speaking of sharing information, do you get my newsletters?
Dad would like that!
15. Send a handwritten letter
Don’t get me wrong: It’s still wonderful to receive a
postcard from faraway places. You might say that email, texting and video
conversations have made handwritten letters even more special. But no one is
forced to transcribe their thoughts by hand and drop those letters in a
mailbox. Heck, nowadays, we use voice dictation to write messages.
16. Looking up the spelling of words in the dictionary
Spellcheck is nearly as old as word processors, and many of
us have grown up expecting Microsoft Word to underline our mistakes in red
squiggles. But autocorrect takes this concept a step further, guessing what we
intended to write and correcting our errors. This can be handy for clumsy
thumbs, but it can be embarrassing when autocorrect guesses wrong.
17. Use a phone booth to make a call
Phone booths are making a comeback in open floorplan offices
where there is no privacy. But rare is the phone booth where you handle a dirty
phone and put in a coin to make a call. The last holdouts may be an airport or
a particular part of town, but even international travelers can usually nab a
SIM card the moment they step off the plane. Did you know you can use your
cellphone as a walkie-talkie? Here's how.
18. Carry cash
I remember my dad telling me, “Always carry a ten dollar bill
because you never know when you’ll need it.” In a world of debit cards and P2P
apps (person-to-person), we rarely have to carry cash anymore. So what happens
when your phone is dead, there’s no one around and all you have is a phone
booth? Luckily, most public phones in the U.S. are outfitted with credit card
strips.
19. Use a travel agent
Travel agents can be essential for elaborate vacations, but
for general flights, services like Kayak and CheapFlights have completely
transformed how we book our passage. You can compare hundreds of airlines and
agencies in seconds for the best deal. If you’d like to save even more, use
Google Flights to find the cheapest airfare. Here are five ways Google Flights
can really help you save as long as you’re flexible with your travel schedule.
20. Getting your old checks back from the bank every month
Oh, people still write checks, and physical paychecks are
still routine methods of payment, but I doubt this antiquated practice will
last much longer. Even depositing checks has become digitized, thanks to ATMs
that scan the piece of paper and print a facsimile on your receipt. That said,
online banking does open a whole universe of security risks. If you’re not sure
whether your phone’s banking app is secure, there are three critical steps you
can take.
^ I remember having to do all of these. I still write post cards
and regular letters to people though. I
used to have fun making mixed tapes for a friend or someone I liked. I do enjoy
not having to find a payphone or go to the store for things anymore. Most of
the items I get I order online and they are shipped right to my door – and not
my mailbox a mile from my house. I also don't miss having to be home and watch a show or movie on TV because it only aired at a certain time. Now I can DVR 7 shows/movies at a time and watch them whenever. I also don't remember anyone's phone number (even though cell phones don't work on my mountain) I have them pre-programed in my landline phone so don't have to dial them. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.