Major changes during your life

There is a large age range here on The Mix. I was wondering what everyone thought was a big change during (not necessarily IN, but during) their lives. Specifically, the earliest thing you can remember.

It has to be something YOU remember, not something someone told you about or that you read in a book.

It doesn't have to be significant - like a malaria vaccine, but as simple as buttons vs touch screens.

I remember using a manual typewriter to do papers. Long before printers and computers.

I remember cars having only AM radio, before FM.

And, I remember Halloween where you could go to ANYONE's house without any fears of poison and other stuff.

School with no uniforms.

We had B&W tv's - as a MAIN set, not a spare.

For the younger crowd, what changes are big to you? CD's to MP3 player? Talk only cellphone to internet connected ones?

Tags: changes, lifespan, technology

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Permalink Reply by Derek on August 26, 2007 at 10:27am: Frank, you reminded me of DSL. DSL and cable had been around for a couple of years, before it was brought to my neck of Houston. I had been on dial-up for so long, that I had a HARD believing DSL's speed and simplicity. 50K/s when I was topping out at 5K/s on dial-up. Of course, nobody was downloading 50meg video's at the time.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by TonyBtheEG on August 26, 2007 at 9:59am: i remember when cassettes went to cds

i remember doing from AOL to cable, then cable to fiber optics

i remember when i went from being just cool to the dopest dude on Earth

i remember when videocameras went from VHS to miniDV

i remember the day i went from not being able to ejaculate to saying "wtf is this?"

i remember eating the WWF ice bar from the ice cream man.

i remember the first time i landed a mistyflip off of a fly box aggressive skating

i remember its not rape if theyre willing

i remember that this topic was entertaining

_____side note
this was out of comedic relief & no one should get offended by any of the things that you would "normally" get offended by.

everyone should look up the definitions for "normal" and then the word "evolution" and make your own decision from there.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Derek on August 26, 2007 at 10:22am: I was around when the Apple ][ was invented, and I remember when it costed $4000 plus (I really have NO idea how much, but boy was it expensive). Problem is, at the time, it didn't change anything for me. Yeah, it had spreadsheets and you could program it, but it wasn't for me at the time.

Oh, here's one. The "real" pencil to the mechanical one. I remember having to get up out of your seat, walk to the front of the room, stick your pencil into the sharpener, whirl it around (making lots of noise during a test), and returning to my seat. Afterwards, a couple of clicks put you back in business.

And, liquid paper! Instead of "crossing out" words, you could make then "disappear" (and get it all over your clothes, desk, hands, etc)

Extremely HOT lightbulbs (100 watt plus) to fluorescent bulbs. Ten bulbs replaced with two!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Paul Dateh on August 26, 2007 at 5:46pm: I remember walking to the front of the class to use the manual pencil sharpener, too. Man, that takes me back. It was a very exciting day when the manual was replaced with the automatic one.

I also remember whenever I wanted to do ANYTHING on AOL, I'd have to wait about 20 minutes so it could download artwork. Then, if I clicked anywhere on the screen, I'd have to wait another half hour for it to download some more. And, when I got fed up with waiting and chose to sign off, I'd have to wait for the stupid thing to download updates. I'm so glad that they got rid of that.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by B Mel on August 26, 2007 at 10:51am: Biggest inventions since I was born would probably be the shift from tape cassettes to CD's, as well as the invention of the GUI (graphic user interface) that made computers a lot more marketable and easy to use for the masses.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Derek on August 26, 2007 at 11:24am: I agree. No need to rewind a CD.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Moka on August 26, 2007 at 11:19am: From newspaper and tv news to internet and the numerous sources of information that it can have (accompanied by the doubts we can have on the dependability of those informations).; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Derek on August 26, 2007 at 11:23am: Good point. I agree.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stacey on August 26, 2007 at 1:52pm: When I was five I could switch to dos by myself.

When I was nine it was considered uncool to not have the internet.

When I was ten I understood the internet better than all of the adults in my family.

I think that would be the biggest change in my life.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Derek on August 26, 2007 at 2:36pm: Just for the record, it doesn't HAVE to related to computers, electronics, or the internet. I mentioned Halloween.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Flamekebab on August 26, 2007 at 2:38pm: The rise of the Internet to its place today.

The age of terror dawning after the twin towers went down, resulting in the western world becoming far more oppressive and totalitarian. I'm far less worried about terrorism than I am of our rights being slowly taken away and replaced with red tape and rules written by severely out of touch bureaucrats.

The replacement of VHS with the far more convenient DVD.

Mobile phones becoming common place. It's unusual for people to not have mobiles here in the UK. Like, VERY unusual.

The vast improvement in the power of personal computers. I am very pleased with my laptop. Daily I am amazed by the amount of power crammed into under three kilos of plastic, metal and silicon.

The disappearance of nearly all other EU currencies with the introduction of the Euro (although it doesn't affect my two homelands, Sweden and the UK, as yet).

The gradual erosion of the time young people spend as children.

The rise of yob culture and the increasing level of consumer culture within the UK.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Derek on August 26, 2007 at 5:02pm: One more. The Debit card. I used to have to go the ATM machine and get cash. Now, I can buy something as simple as gum or as big as a large screen TV with the same card - without interest. That has DRASTICALLY changed my life. I hardly EVER carry cash anymore. No need to jump me! Ain't got no cash!; ▶ Reply to This