By Rebecca Torrellas, Online Editor I was out bowling with some of my friends yesterday. When we couldn't get a hold of one of them because his cell phone wasn't available – and he was very late – we began to worry. It brought up the discussion of, "How did we ever survive without cell phones?" Gone are the days of having a number memorized and calling from a payphone. Nowadays, people rarely even call one another – they send a quick text saying, "I'm running late." Having a car phone was a luxury and cost around US $6/minute to use. I'm lucky to be part of a generation that remembers enough of the "old-school stuff" to truly appreciate new technology. I remember sitting in my parents' Duster listening to an A-Track of Abba and being extremely careful with the needle that played vinyl records. And I remember my dad being excited when he got a new car with a tape deck. Chances are any kids born in the 2000s do not realize that we once had to rewind and fast forward over and over to hear our favorite songs on a cassette tape. You were one of the lucky ones if you owned a Walkman. Without Internet, we could not download our favorite songs for free. If we wanted to avoid buying an album, we had to put our blank cassette tape in the jambox and wait until the radio played our song. The VCR was another gadget that elicited excitement when it first came out. I'm not sure kids even know what those letters stand for (video cassette recorder). We went out and rented a movie, watched it, and had it back the next day. Bloopers, behind the scenes, extra scenes, and bonus features didn’t exist. VHS tapes seem archaic, especially now that technology has moved to Blue Ray. Ten years ago there was no such thing as Google Maps or GPS. If you didn't know how to use a map and you got lost, the best you could do was ask the guy at the convenience store for directions and hope you understood what they were telling you. There was no "lady in a box" to tell you where to turn or that "you are now off track." Even the mediums we use to save data have changed. Now we have small USB keys we can take with us anywhere. Does anyone even remember what a floppy disk looks like any more? I still remember when the computer monitor was only green! Computers and the Internet truly have changed our lives. We can film high-end movies and record professional albums in our own living rooms. We can get an entire movie in minutes by downloading it or renting it through the mail. Reconnecting with old friends is possible through Facebook, regardless of where they live. We can apply for a job and do our Christmas shopping without getting out of our pajamas. It's amazing how quickly things have changed.
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