Life before the internet???

[puttin]

And I didn't mind too much that many places were closed on weekends, it was just a fact of life- you planned and did business during the week even if you had to use your lunch hour. Looking back, it made life better for families who spent more time together- not face time. If the net disappeared I think I'd adjust fine....using those old skills we used to have.

[richard5933]

I remember very well writing to addresses found in the back of trade journals for parts lists from companies specializing in hard-to-find parts. Then once you got the list, you hurried to write back to order the part you needed before someone else bought it. Part of the reason vintage car or machinery restoration was so much more difficult pre-internet.

[sgpd1sam]

Has anybody mentioned banking?
There were no ATMS. You had to physically go into a bank to make a transaction. If you needed cash over a weekend you had to get it by 6PM on Friday. Most all banks were closed on weekends with a few open limited hours on Saturday.
You either mailed your bill payments at the post office or box on the corner, or drove to the utility office to pay them.
Before debit cards there were these things called Travellers Checks. If you were going on vacation and didn’t want to carry cash, you exchanged the money for these checks issued by the bank. You used them in lieu of currency and they were accepted everywhere, even where personal checks might not be because the money was guaranteed.

[nbluesky]

Wow yeah never thought about that one! Just the ease of shopping with cards and electronic everything is so easy now! Good point, really loving this discussion

[Johnynorthla]

In 2025 EV’s will be ubiquitous, in 2050 we will be colonizing another planet.

The internet was a revolution, it will become evolution.

“The greatest machine man will build, will be the last machine man will ever build!”

[TexasJeff]

What about setting your watch? You needed to call the time. In LA it was 853-1212. “At the tone, the time will be...”

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by TexasJeff

What about setting your watch? You needed to call the time. In LA it was 853-1212. “At the tone, the time will be...”

We still have one. 501-376-8111 has been the same number for as long as I can remember. Call it, and you get a Windstream ad then the time and temperature.

[Hopenfaith]

Like many others, I have worked on both sides of the internet. When I entered the workforce, there was no such thing as email. Mail was delivered once a day by some dude in a blue suit (assuming it wasn't Sunday or a Federal Holiday.) I would sit at my desk, grab my letter opener (which sat it it's own little stand on my desk), zip open my mail and process each one. When I was done, I wan't going to get any more mail that day.

I was also in the workforce before there was cell phones. The only work phone I had sat on the corner of my desk and was tethered to the wall. The furtherest one could get from the actual phone and still be talking on it depended on how long of a curly cord you had.

What all this meant was simply this: When I left work, I left work...unless I decided to take some home with me in my hard-side briefcase. With the Internet and advances in technology, none of that applied anymore. With email and cell phones, you have an electronic leash to work that can yank at your collar 24/7. It required a different way of managing work/life balance.

I was hitting the prime of my career when all this was taking place, so doing everything I could to be successful and continuing to advance meant a huge sacrifice to my family life (not proud of that!) It was an adjustment that I learned to manage over time. I did have a successful career in Banking and then in Education/Development for a technology company. After retiring from that, I became a professional speaker/educator teaching people how to manage to all the chaos life so easily throws at us now.

I love having tons of information at my fingertips, being able to listen to any song I want to hear, and being able to instantly communicate with those I want to stay connected to. But, I can remember hearing throughout the technology boom these words: Technology is going to make our life easier. Easier??? More fun, yes. More informed, yes. More stressful, yes. More overwhelmed, yes. Easier...not so much.

[TexasJeff]

How about the news? Then, it was 20 minutes. Walter Cronkite was on top of his game. Or, 79 years ago today when the world tuned in to a radio broadcast that the EOJ bombed Pearl.

[MSHappyCampers]

Actually, most of my life has been without the internet, but I can't imagine living without it now!

[wkayl]

How did we ever pass the time in the bathroom???

Don't answer that.

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by wkayl

How did we ever pass the time in the bathroom???

Don't answer that.

Easy - Readers Digest. Something else that disappeared after the internet came around.

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by richard5933

Easy - Readers Digest. Something else that disappeared after the internet came around.

Yeah. If you saw someone walking down the hall at work you knew where he was headed.

[Johnynorthla]

Originally Posted by richard5933

Easy - Readers Digest. Something else that disappeared after the internet came around.

Don’t forget boys life And highlights magazines !