Things you miss about the pre-Internet era

I miss rolling into a new town and having to figure out the geography as you go along.
I miss the romance of paper maps, with all their pirate-treasure implications.
I miss actually winking at and picking up cute strangers in the flesh, rather than doing it virtually.
I miss going into a bookstore or a library to look for a book and not knowing what would be available; sometimes discovering a hidden gem you never would have picked if there had been more options.
I miss not being available when I want to be unavailable.

...you?

i miss pagers.
i miss the oregon trail.
i miss black screens with green text, or blue screens with white text.
i miss sega genesis.
im miss izuzu troopers.

I miss anonymity.

I miss buying a piece of technology and thinking, yep, I should get 30 years out of this puppy.

I miss the approximate era of the slide rule.

I miss letting children go play and not have to worry if they would come home in one piece.

P

I miss my hair.

JK.

I miss going to a new place with very little information about it other than a place on a map.
No research before, no google maps,no gps,no cell phone.

The wind in my hair and a stack of cassette tapes.

I miss albums... real honest to God vinyl albums and the really cool album covers.

Anybody here remember Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon? It came not only with a cool album cover that folded out, but also a poster. Plus the sounds were richer.

How about Led Zepplin 3... had a cool wheel inside the front album cover so when you spinned the wheel, it changed the pattern on the front.

Plus, can't spin a CD or digital down load backwards to see if Ozzy is talking satanically.

I miss looking up things in encyclopaedia’s and going to the library.

Mickierocksman

Originally posted by AlreadyGone
I miss albums... real honest to God vinyl albums and the really cool album covers.

Anybody here remember Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon? It came not only with a cool album cover that folded out, but also a poster. Plus the sounds were richer.

How about Led Zepplin 3... had a cool wheel inside the front album cover so when you spinned the wheel, it changed the pattern on the front.

Plus, can't spin a CD or digital down load backwards to see if Ozzy is talking satanically.

Ah,the Lp.
I dug mine out and dusted it off,brought out the milk crate full of albums out and showed my kids.

" daddy,are those giant cd's"

I laughed really hard.

I love my albums,pink floyd,led zeppelin,neil young.
All I need now is a black light and velvet posters......those were the days.

And,mom that was incense,nothing more.

I miss the .40/gal gasoline.
I miss the fact that the worst SDI you could get could be fixed in a few days with penicillin.
I miss not having to worry about walking anywhere.
I miss being able to leave the doors unlocked on the house and the vehicles.
I miss talking to the cops that actually walked a beat and got to know the people they protected.
I miss my 1971 Trans Am with 455 HO and 8 track player.

Here are a few good ones also.....

You dudes are OLD. Just sayin'.

I miss...being in my previous reincarnation? Lol.

reply to post by silent thunder


I miss having the capacity kids used to have to pick up a stick and see it as a gun, sword, lightsaber, or anything else. Now if it's not online ready and requires 18 batteries - the kids in my world won't touch it.

Personally - being a guy who could turn a stick into a toy... I AM THRILLED TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITH THE INTERNET! Do you have any idea how many years I wasted trying to find my Dads Playboys???

Kids these days have it ssssssoooo easy.

~Heff

reply to post by kdog1982


That is HILARIOUS! And they didn't even get to hardware and software, overclocking, heat sinks, optical drives and ... that was great!

Back to the OP question:

Job applications weren't RESTRICTED to those who had Internet access.

I also miss all that empty space that was in my head which is now filled up with gigabytes of information I could never possibly use.

I miss the REAL classical conspiracy theory ... before the Internet took old CT terms and converted them to misinformed beliefs. The Internet has proven that the lies are more popular than the truths.

I miss sitting on the porch in the rain with my bucket of garden rocks and the toothbrush I would scrub them with. The rain made them sparkle and the toothbrush cleaned out those hidden character lines.

I miss writing approximately 1,000 notebook pages a month. Notebook paper was a 'staple' on the grocery list.

My Encyclopedia Britannica, the library, philately, begging the postmaster to hand over MY copy of Linn's News which she'd take and read before putting it in my PO Box, gardening 100X100 to 125X125 area by hand! YES! Crafting miniatures by hand. DnD.

Most of all - REAL people - not these pseudo plastic faced Facebook type yuppies.

PS - telex/twx/REAL fax machines - Univac 5000, Pet computers 4K and up to 64K, heck even the maligned Tandys. 10 Key by touch. Microfish (spelling?) Secretaries and REAL receptionists instead of voice mail and answering machines. Printers that used paper that had to be decolated and bursted by hand (or by large machines in businesses).

When Xeroxing meant a trip down the hall or down the street - not just popping a "print" button.

When research meant a trip to REAL archives instead of google and wiki.

reply to post by Trexter Ziam


I'm real and I miss sitting on the porch snappin' beans with my mama .
Didn't like beans much,but enjoyed the conversation and the silent moments in between,when the crickets filled those spaces.

reply to post by kdog1982


Yep, YOU are real

I hate green beans too; but, don't mind snapping.

I like fishing, and even cleaning and cooking them - wouldn't eat one if I was starving to death though - aaaargh! BONES!

Oh and CAMPING and survival trips that had nothing to do with 2012 or any of the many more recent reasons people are into survival.

Originally posted by Hefficide
reply to post by silent thunder

 

I miss having the capacity kids used to have to pick up a stick and see it as a gun, sword, lightsaber, or anything else. Now if it's not online ready and requires 18 batteries - the kids in my world won't touch it.

Personally - being a guy who could turn a stick into a toy... I AM THRILLED TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITH THE INTERNET! Do you have any idea how many years I wasted trying to find my Dads Playboys???

Kids these days have it ssssssoooo easy.

~Heff

Really,you are a mod?
Did I miss something here?
My kid does that now,picks up anything that resembles a sword and role plays.
Mostly on me!


But ,I think what is going on is that kids do have it to easy and when they
become adults struggling in the real world,will give up more easily than someone who had to struggle.
Get my meaning?

Originally posted by Trexter Ziam
reply to post by kdog1982

 

Yep, YOU are real

I hate green beans too; but, don't mind snapping.

I like fishing, and even cleaning and cooking them - wouldn't eat one if I was starving to death though - aaaargh! BONES!

Oh and CAMPING and survival trips that had nothing to do with 2012 or any of the many more recent reasons people are into survival.

I teach my kids basic survival strategies,they know how to hunt and fish.
Just how us rednecks roll.
My wife ,well,thats another story.

- I miss the thrill of running to the phone to pick it up and see who was calling

- Or being unavailable ( that was a good one).

- Massive 50 person manhunt games after dinner with the family and being able to stay out until way late because the whole neighborhood had kids out playing and the whole neighborhood had parents doing their thing and watching out for us. We were safe, we didn't worry about anything other than maybe running through some branches and cutting your face up (happened to me a few times, and I still went back out and played). This really has nothing to do with the internet, but my how things have changed since the 80's

- Seeing a movie in the theater, or waiting for 6 months for the VHS to come out

- Going to Erol's Video to rent movies for the weekend

- Going on family vacation from MD up north and all through New England using paper maps and not knowing about the places until we got there and saw it with our own eyes. Getting lost and actually having to stop and ask locals for directions. Also, picking up local literature everywhere we went so that I could learn about where I was