Published a few days ago and commissioned by www.mozy.co.uk this is a list of 50 things that people no longer do due to the advance of technology. It prompted some debate on Monday on the radio as I drove into work with one man complaining about the digital cameras and lots of silly little things such as glare on the view finder screen with the sun behind you. What was wrong with film cameras with view finders and printed photos he asks! What a stupid argument, how can moan about technology advancing when using a piece of technology that was sufficiently advanced over something else – come on what was wrong with drawing pictures, why are you using that fancy dan film camera?
Sure some things are more difficult to use but for all the complaints about DVD players I remember people having sufficient complaints about VCR’s.
Here’s the list of 50 with the notes on what I still do, maybe I’m not so advanced.
(Taken from The Telegraph article 50 things killed by technology)
- Ring the cinema to find out times
- Going into the travel agents to research a holiday
- Record things using VHS
- Dial directory enquiries – I have on occasions 118’d
- Use public telephones
- Book tickets for events over the phone
- Print photos – still get this done occasionally, and so do others given all the photo book sites around.
- Put a classified ad in the shop window
- Ring the speaking clock
- Carry portable CD players
- Write handwritten letters
- Buy disposable cameras
- Take plenty of change for pay phones – surely this is the same thing as using a pay phone?
- Make mix tapes – I disagree, people still make playlists and compilation CD’s, just changing the medium
- Pay bills at the post office
- Use an address book – we still have an address book at home
- Check a map before or during car journey – maybe not a physical one, but I don’t have a sat nav and often check google maps before heading to places
- Reverse charges in payphones
- Go into the bank or building society to conduct your business
- Buy TV listings
- Own an encyclopaedia
- Queue to get car tax in Post Office – I’ve done this in last minute desperation
- Develop and send off for photographs – still get photos printed
- Read a hard copy of the Yellow Pages – we have one, I’ve never looked at it
- Look up something in dictionary
- Remember phone numbers/ Have a phone book
- Watch videos – again this is a semantic change of medium, doesn’t count in my opinion
- Have pen friends
- Use a telephone directory – why is the yellow pages and this separate?
- Use pagers
- Fax things – yep, but only for work and work for a large company who are of course stuck in 1980 in some respects.
- Buy CD’s/ Have a CD collection – I still like to own a CD
- Pay by cheque – for sending money by post
- Make photo albums – photo books!
- Watch programmes at the time they are shown – of course we do this still
- Dial 1471 when you get home
- Warm milk or other hot drinks on stove
- Try on lots of pairs of shoes on high street
- Hand wash clothes – occasionally
- Advertise in trading papers
- Send love letters
- Hand-write essays / school work – probably because I’ve left school
- Buy flowers from a florist – still do this
- Work out how to spell something yourself – tweeted about this yesterday
- Keep a personal diary
- Send post cards
- Buy newspapers – I buy one everyday!
- Hang washing out in winter
- Keep printed bills or bank statements – only from those companies who still send them
- Visit car boot sales
So what about everyone else? What do you still do?
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