50 Things People Don't Do Anymore

[Silverspoon]

OK, call me old fashion but I still do MANY of these things. One of my great pleasures is getting a hand written letter from a dear friend. Oh sure, we e-mail, but the really good stuff is always in a letter that arrives by USPS in a lovely colored envelope. We hang our wash out on the line all spring, summer and fall and watch TV as it is broadcast.
I think this must have been written by a 20 year old who could only go back as far as rotary phones. Now when they get talking about hand rolling the wash, party lines on crank phones, and watching the test pattern on a black and white TV on Saturday mornings.....well, then we can compare notes!

 

[Madeleine]

Also gone: shorthand, typewriters and ribbon, carbon paper, ko-rec-type, onion skin paper, "erasable bond" paper and typing erasers with the little broom on one end..

On my list of things that I want to see an end to...

• Paper receipts - Really, is it so hard to email me a PDF receipt? They do it in Mexico!
• Cable boxes - Why can't they come up with a standard in this country?
• Table TV Electronics - My TV is on the wall... why do I need a table for stuff?
• Keys - Seriously? Electronic keys, iButtons, and NFC phones mean anything to anyone?
• Charging cables - There must be a better way to charge stuff

.

Um, keys? Yeah, we have those. Electronic locks on some of our exterior doors. All interior doors have keys. I will say I like the idea of walking out of the house without a key or worrying if I remembered to lock the door. But it will be along time before my phone does anything but make a phone call.
Big store in town here does emailed receipts. But the majority of stores don't have the technology, most stores here don't even have an internet connection from the register. And, a lot of people will not give out their email address. We get them here. I snail mail their confirmation.
My TV is eons old. If I hung it on the wall I'd have a new spot to put a window!

 

[Madeleine]

OK, call me old fashion but I still do MANY of these things. One of my great pleasures is getting a hand written letter from a dear friend. Oh sure, we e-mail, but the really good stuff is always in a letter that arrives by USPS in a lovely colored envelope. We hang our wash out on the line all spring, summer and fall and watch TV as it is broadcast.
I think this must have been written by a 20 year old who could only go back as far as rotary phones. Now when they get talking about hand rolling the wash, party lines on crank phones, and watching the test pattern on a black and white TV on Saturday mornings.....well, then we can compare notes!.

Hey, I remember TV didn't go all night long! And we had a party line. The phone co finally forced my parents off it. They were the last people on the line and were paying party line rates for what was, essentially, a private line. No crank phone, tho. There were cranks on the phone line, but not the phone itself. ;-)
OK, how about cars with windows you had to roll down? The last on of those I had was in 2000. VW. The new bug.
Shifter on the column instead of the floor.
My friend brought her camera with her a few weeks ago...real film. Now that surprised me. I held out for a long time but I love being able to throw out the bad photos and not pay to have them mailed to me! However, I would like to print some photos and that's a pain!

 

[Generic]

Also gone: shorthand, typewriters and ribbon, carbon paper, ko-rec-type, onion skin paper, "erasable bond" paper and typing erasers with the little broom on one end..

On my list of things that I want to see an end to...

• Paper receipts - Really, is it so hard to email me a PDF receipt? They do it in Mexico!
• Cable boxes - Why can't they come up with a standard in this country?
• Table TV Electronics - My TV is on the wall... why do I need a table for stuff?
• Keys - Seriously? Electronic keys, iButtons, and NFC phones mean anything to anyone?
• Charging cables - There must be a better way to charge stuff

.

Um, keys? Yeah, we have those. Electronic locks on some of our exterior doors. All interior doors have keys. I will say I like the idea of walking out of the house without a key or worrying if I remembered to lock the door. But it will be along time before my phone does anything but make a phone call.
Big store in town here does emailed receipts. But the majority of stores don't have the technology, most stores here don't even have an internet connection from the register. And, a lot of people will not give out their email address. We get them here. I snail mail their confirmation.
My TV is eons old. If I hung it on the wall I'd have a new spot to put a window!
.

We have an electronic key for the front door. I go on vacation with no keys. I email all the receipts for the guests. And every TV in every guest room is on the wall. The only reason that I have the old analog cable is because I don't need a decoder box. First we don't have a place to put them, so we have to glue them precariously to the TV top. But secondly, the guests can't figure them out. Seriously... they just can't. We have one, in one room (it's part of the package) and over 99% of the time, I see them tuned in on the analog TV cable.

 

[Arks]

Also gone: shorthand, typewriters and ribbon, carbon paper, ko-rec-type, onion skin paper, "erasable bond" paper and typing erasers with the little broom on one end..

On my list of things that I want to see an end to...

• Paper receipts - Really, is it so hard to email me a PDF receipt? They do it in Mexico!
• Cable boxes - Why can't they come up with a standard in this country?
• Table TV Electronics - My TV is on the wall... why do I need a table for stuff?
• Keys - Seriously? Electronic keys, iButtons, and NFC phones mean anything to anyone?
• Charging cables - There must be a better way to charge stuff

.

Um, keys? Yeah, we have those. Electronic locks on some of our exterior doors. All interior doors have keys. I will say I like the idea of walking out of the house without a key or worrying if I remembered to lock the door. But it will be along time before my phone does anything but make a phone call.
Big store in town here does emailed receipts. But the majority of stores don't have the technology, most stores here don't even have an internet connection from the register. And, a lot of people will not give out their email address. We get them here. I snail mail their confirmation.
My TV is eons old. If I hung it on the wall I'd have a new spot to put a window!
.

We have an electronic key for the front door. I go on vacation with no keys. I email all the receipts for the guests. And every TV in every guest room is on the wall. The only reason that I have the old analog cable is because I don't need a decoder box. First we don't have a place to put them, so we have to glue them precariously to the TV top. But secondly, the guests can't figure them out. Seriously... they just can't. We have one, in one room (it's part of the package) and over 99% of the time, I see them tuned in on the analog TV cable.
.

The only reason that I have the old analog cable is because I don't need a decoder box...the guests can't figure them out. Seriously... they just can't.

Yes, it's a huge problem for small-timers like us. You go to a hotel, you just use the simple remote that came with the TV and you can pick from a hundred channels, including premium channels like HBO. Only buttons to manage are power on/off, channel and volume.
But go to a B&B and you have to figure out a cable box that's different from the one you're used to at home, with a complicated remote that's also foreign to you.
I had great hope for cable cards. My sister still has one in her big flat screen TV and it lets her watch any of 800 channels with no need for a "box". She just uses the remote that came with the TV and it works perfectly. No worry about keeping the box and the TV "in sync". But cable card technology has been abandoned. No new TVs are sold with a cable card slot. That's a real shame.

 

[Generic]

Also gone: shorthand, typewriters and ribbon, carbon paper, ko-rec-type, onion skin paper, "erasable bond" paper and typing erasers with the little broom on one end..

On my list of things that I want to see an end to...

• Paper receipts - Really, is it so hard to email me a PDF receipt? They do it in Mexico!
• Cable boxes - Why can't they come up with a standard in this country?
• Table TV Electronics - My TV is on the wall... why do I need a table for stuff?
• Keys - Seriously? Electronic keys, iButtons, and NFC phones mean anything to anyone?
• Charging cables - There must be a better way to charge stuff

.

Um, keys? Yeah, we have those. Electronic locks on some of our exterior doors. All interior doors have keys. I will say I like the idea of walking out of the house without a key or worrying if I remembered to lock the door. But it will be along time before my phone does anything but make a phone call.
Big store in town here does emailed receipts. But the majority of stores don't have the technology, most stores here don't even have an internet connection from the register. And, a lot of people will not give out their email address. We get them here. I snail mail their confirmation.
My TV is eons old. If I hung it on the wall I'd have a new spot to put a window!
.

We have an electronic key for the front door. I go on vacation with no keys. I email all the receipts for the guests. And every TV in every guest room is on the wall. The only reason that I have the old analog cable is because I don't need a decoder box. First we don't have a place to put them, so we have to glue them precariously to the TV top. But secondly, the guests can't figure them out. Seriously... they just can't. We have one, in one room (it's part of the package) and over 99% of the time, I see them tuned in on the analog TV cable.
.

The only reason that I have the old analog cable is because I don't need a decoder box...the guests can't figure them out. Seriously... they just can't.

Yes, it's a huge problem for small-timers like us. You go to a hotel, you just use the simple remote that came with the TV and you can pick from a hundred channels, including premium channels like HBO. Only buttons to manage are power on/off, channel and volume.
But go to a B&B and you have to figure out a cable box that's different from the one you're used to at home, with a complicated remote that's also foreign to you.
I had great hope for cable cards. My sister still has one in her big flat screen TV and it lets her watch any of 800 channels with no need for a "box". She just uses the remote that came with the TV and it works perfectly. No worry about keeping the box and the TV "in sync". But cable card technology has been abandoned. No new TVs are sold with a cable card slot. That's a real shame.
.

And seriously, why are the boxes so large? You open the box and it's like half full. Then why can't they make an IR receiver on the top of the box, it would cost like an extra 5c in China. Seriously, you have all these engineers and not one of them can think of that.

 

[Madeleine]

Also gone: shorthand, typewriters and ribbon, carbon paper, ko-rec-type, onion skin paper, "erasable bond" paper and typing erasers with the little broom on one end..

On my list of things that I want to see an end to...

• Paper receipts - Really, is it so hard to email me a PDF receipt? They do it in Mexico!
• Cable boxes - Why can't they come up with a standard in this country?
• Table TV Electronics - My TV is on the wall... why do I need a table for stuff?
• Keys - Seriously? Electronic keys, iButtons, and NFC phones mean anything to anyone?
• Charging cables - There must be a better way to charge stuff

.

Um, keys? Yeah, we have those. Electronic locks on some of our exterior doors. All interior doors have keys. I will say I like the idea of walking out of the house without a key or worrying if I remembered to lock the door. But it will be along time before my phone does anything but make a phone call.
Big store in town here does emailed receipts. But the majority of stores don't have the technology, most stores here don't even have an internet connection from the register. And, a lot of people will not give out their email address. We get them here. I snail mail their confirmation.
My TV is eons old. If I hung it on the wall I'd have a new spot to put a window!
.

We have an electronic key for the front door. I go on vacation with no keys. I email all the receipts for the guests. And every TV in every guest room is on the wall. The only reason that I have the old analog cable is because I don't need a decoder box. First we don't have a place to put them, so we have to glue them precariously to the TV top. But secondly, the guests can't figure them out. Seriously... they just can't. We have one, in one room (it's part of the package) and over 99% of the time, I see them tuned in on the analog TV cable.
.

The only reason that I have the old analog cable is because I don't need a decoder box...the guests can't figure them out. Seriously... they just can't.

Yes, it's a huge problem for small-timers like us. You go to a hotel, you just use the simple remote that came with the TV and you can pick from a hundred channels, including premium channels like HBO. Only buttons to manage are power on/off, channel and volume.
But go to a B&B and you have to figure out a cable box that's different from the one you're used to at home, with a complicated remote that's also foreign to you.
I had great hope for cable cards. My sister still has one in her big flat screen TV and it lets her watch any of 800 channels with no need for a "box". She just uses the remote that came with the TV and it works perfectly. No worry about keeping the box and the TV "in sync". But cable card technology has been abandoned. No new TVs are sold with a cable card slot. That's a real shame.
.

We have that problem here...using the remote that came with the box. Even if guests have the SAME box at home, the channels might be different.
I am forever having to get up off the couch, where I sleep at my brother's house, to push buttons on the TV to make it turn off. The 'off' button on the remote turns the box off, but not the TV. Sigh.
And I never have a 9 year old handy when I need one!

 

[Joey Camb]

Also gone: shorthand, typewriters and ribbon, carbon paper, ko-rec-type, onion skin paper, "erasable bond" paper and typing erasers with the little broom on one end..

On my list of things that I want to see an end to...

• Paper receipts - Really, is it so hard to email me a PDF receipt? They do it in Mexico!
• Cable boxes - Why can't they come up with a standard in this country?
• Table TV Electronics - My TV is on the wall... why do I need a table for stuff?
• Keys - Seriously? Electronic keys, iButtons, and NFC phones mean anything to anyone?
• Charging cables - There must be a better way to charge stuff

.

Um, keys? Yeah, we have those. Electronic locks on some of our exterior doors. All interior doors have keys. I will say I like the idea of walking out of the house without a key or worrying if I remembered to lock the door. But it will be along time before my phone does anything but make a phone call.
Big store in town here does emailed receipts. But the majority of stores don't have the technology, most stores here don't even have an internet connection from the register. And, a lot of people will not give out their email address. We get them here. I snail mail their confirmation.
My TV is eons old. If I hung it on the wall I'd have a new spot to put a window!
.

We have an electronic key for the front door. I go on vacation with no keys. I email all the receipts for the guests. And every TV in every guest room is on the wall. The only reason that I have the old analog cable is because I don't need a decoder box. First we don't have a place to put them, so we have to glue them precariously to the TV top. But secondly, the guests can't figure them out. Seriously... they just can't. We have one, in one room (it's part of the package) and over 99% of the time, I see them tuned in on the analog TV cable.
.

The only reason that I have the old analog cable is because I don't need a decoder box...the guests can't figure them out. Seriously... they just can't.

Yes, it's a huge problem for small-timers like us. You go to a hotel, you just use the simple remote that came with the TV and you can pick from a hundred channels, including premium channels like HBO. Only buttons to manage are power on/off, channel and volume.
But go to a B&B and you have to figure out a cable box that's different from the one you're used to at home, with a complicated remote that's also foreign to you.
I had great hope for cable cards. My sister still has one in her big flat screen TV and it lets her watch any of 800 channels with no need for a "box". She just uses the remote that came with the TV and it works perfectly. No worry about keeping the box and the TV "in sync". But cable card technology has been abandoned. No new TVs are sold with a cable card slot. That's a real shame.
.

And seriously, why are the boxes so large? You open the box and it's like half full. Then why can't they make an IR receiver on the top of the box, it would cost like an extra 5c in China. Seriously, you have all these engineers and not one of them can think of that.
.

its why when we changed to flat screen all the tv's have digital boxes in in them - I knew guests couldn't cope with 2 remotes etc - it just aint going to happen. My tv ariel man told my my neighbour who has 8 rooms bought all new flat screens when they first came out - never considered they wern't digital - so when they switch over came here (they have turned off all our analogue channels now) they wouldn't work so called him out - he had to tell them they needed 8 new tv's straight away! thats a nice expense if you wern't expecting it!

 

[gillumhouse]

I am on a loaner laptop - another learning curve for me and unsurprising since it is mine, my hard drive is giving the computer kid his OWN learning curve. I digress -
We still do or use almost half that list. I never used a crank phone (or for a car either) but did not know how to use a rotary phone when I saw my first one - in 1959. I remember dimmer switches on the floor of the car, crank windows, and fuses. I also remember tubes in the black & white TV with a tiny screen as well as in the radio. I remember Gorgeous George and his gold bobbie pins, Superman, and Hopalong Cassidy - oh and Sabu the elephant boy. Wringer washers and heating the water to use that water in a copper wash boiler. Pappy planted the corn field with a corn planter - one hill at a time!