I do love it when I can work in a Ten on Tuesday post and this week’s topic is “10 Ways the World Has Changed Since You’ve Been in School.” Hmmm. I’ve been in and out of school several times in the last couple of decades, graduating from high school and then college and then graduate school. I think for the sake of simplicity, though, that I’ll choose to make a list of changes since 1987, the year I graduated from college. Furthermore (don’t I sound like a college graduate when I use words like furthermore?) I think I’ll limit my list to technological changes.
1. The internet. It was just beginning to be usable when I was in grad school. We learned to use Archie to try and find things because in those days if you didn’t know the URL, you were screwed. Since then I can honestly say that the internet has changed my life, both professionally and personally. Oh, and also, I love Google. It’s a verb, you know.
2. Email. I love me some email. Instant communication at it’s best, even though the kids think email is outdated and they’d rather use texting. Speaking of texting . . .
3. Cell Phones. I got my first cell phone in 1996 and now I can’t imagine life without one.
4. DVR. The ability to pause live tv is a truly wonderful change. No more missing important dialogue or plot developments because the phone rings, no more waiting for a commercial to go the bathroom, get a snack or have a drink.
5. Laptops. I have a laptop that I bring home everyday. All my files are in the same place. This makes my computer life incredibly easier. Speaking of laptops . . .
6. Wireless Technology. Blogging from my deck, need I say more?
7. Library automation. Everything at work is automated. Cataloging, checking out books, placing holds (from home even!), ordering books and supplies. So.much.easier. Remember the ca-chunk of the old gaylord charing machine at the library? Yeah, we don’t miss those either.
8. CDs. These have been around for a long long time now but I visited a friend with a brand new CD player right after I graduated from college. He paid $1000 for it. And now they’ve been replaced with . . .
9. iPods. Because, really, carrying all those CDs around was just such a nuisance.
10. Digital cameras. And truly, thank goodness for digital cameras because having one allows me to end my blog post with this image.
My scotch broom is in bloom.
The end.
I had my first experience with automated paying at the table of a restaurant- was handed a hand held machine, shown how to use it including choices for the tip and told “have a nice day”. Did not like this method so much. Very impersonal.
Just think how much it’s change since I was in
school…it boggles my mind at times. The Scotch Broom around here is yellow and the scent will knock
your head off. Very different from yours.
http://zeneedle.typepad.com/zeneedle_process_of_art/2006/05/you_can_call_me.html
Excellent list! It’s always amazing to me when I realize how many of the things that my kids take for granted are actually recent developments. You have to wonder where it goes from here.
A lot has changed in a very short time!
Great list! It is so weird to me now to talk to the “younger generation” (aka “those crazy kids”) who have all grown up WITH the internet. When I say I used to type papers on an electric typewriter they look at me like I just traveled through time!
I’m with Margene on the Scotch Broom — yours looks great! The kind I grew up with in the Pacific Northwest was a dull, boring yellow and the smell was viscerally nausea-inducing. My favorite new technology is streaming video on the internet — no DVR or cable here, but I love being able to watch shows on *my* schedule and there seem to be fewer commercials online. (No replacement, though, for my Saturday afternoon of cooking and home reno shows on PBS — it’s a ritual.)
A very good list. It’s crazy to think of all the changes that have happened during our lifetime! I remember my dad bringing home a pocket calculator when I was a kid, and it was an amazing thing to see. Of course, I also remember him bringing home stacks of old computer punchcards, which we used as scratch paper…
Ah – but is it “The End” as you say, or is it “just the beginning”. I find it so amazing that all this has happened so much faster than say the time between the invention of the wheel and the invention of the automobile. So what lies ahead tomorrow? Literally!
Fun post, Carole. I remember sending my dad an email in 1995 (had to tell him where to look for it) and his comment that “This sure is a weird way to communicate!” Now that’s the only way I hear from him or any of my family and friends.
Your flowers are lovely, as usual.
Ah, yes….10 things on Tuesday! Love your list!!
🙂
what a fun 10 post. Really gets me thinking about all the changes since I was in school…Unbelievable to kids these days that we didn’t even have hand held calculators when I was in high school. (ahem)
the “cotch broom” out here is a voracious weed, that everyone tries to kill. Not pretty like yours is. What stunning colors.
I’m not good with lists, but I have been enjoying everyone’s. Believe it or not, I used to love the sound of the old Library machines. When I was young, I wanted to be a librarian in the biggest way….I spent a huge chunk of my childhood in the library 🙂
Great list! We have a couple simular ones!
Wonderful list, Carole. I can see there’s going to be some overlap once I do mine. 😀
Technology has certainly changed the world ;0)
I find it interesting that the more ways we have to communicate, the less it seems we actually good-old-fashioned-sit-down-and-talk!
Amazing differences. I can’t believe that text messaging is better than email. It’s so telegraphic, and expensive. Very slight advantage to immediacy.
Our lists were similar … but I forgot about digital cameras! I’m lost without mine!
I played too 🙂
Love your list. Some of ours are similar!
Ah technology… a blessing and a curse, but I’d be lost without all of those things.
Great list! I was trying to explain to Dobby why her life is so much easier the other night – she didn’t get it so now I’ll just email her your post. ;o)
Is that really Scotch Broom? We had it in Oregon — tons of it — but every bit of it was yellow! I’ll have to look that up.
I’ve been trying to do that Ten all day and am overwhelmed, can’t find my groove.
Oh, this is a great one! I can definitely do this one — although I’ll have a few different ones. (What is this DVR of which you speak?)
What’s a gaylord charing machine? Is that the thing you stamped books with? I do sort of miss card catalogs: if a bunch of people wanted different parts of the alphabet they could all use the catalog at once. Only one person can use a computer/terminal — although I’ll admit it’s probably quicker to find what I need. Also, being able to use the online catalog at home is a big plus.
Looks like we shared a few memories. 😉
Blessings,
Linda
TEN WAYS THE WORLD HAS CHANGED SINCE I WAS IN SCHOOL, at Practically at Home
It was hard to keep the changes to just 10. I graduated in 1973 so I felt like an old fossil when I made my list, LOL. It’s pretty similar to yours
I agree with Vicki, I semi-miss the old card catalogs. And as for changes since I graduated!!! I’m Class of 69 so back then computers were either a whole room or if they were “personal” they had less memory than one of today’s toddler computers. Remember the Commodore 32 or 64? Internet, what internet. And checking out books was done with a date stamp and ink pad on a book pocket card and due date slip that had been glued in the book. Few books were pre-cataloged and catalogers were still on staff (I was one of them) and we used manual typewriters! Now I’m really showing my age.
our lists are quite similar. the things we take for granted today – wow!
What’s a gaylord charing machine?
I remember the card catalogs – it was really fun to look through these. But I also like being able to go online and being able to see if the book is still on the shelf and being able to put a hold on it.