Technology (Or Lack Thereof) That My Kids Won't Understand

I decided to take a step outside of my regular review-like posts of differing products for a much more laid-back, fun topic.  One night at work it occurred to me that in only 17 years the technology industry has completely changed, so much so that my kids won't understand any of it even if they were born now.  I have compiled a list of some of the things that I think they will never quite understand, if you have more ideas post them in the comments below:

1. The Sound of a Dial-Up Modem

I can still remember the first day that I got onto the internet, it was a warm summer's day and I decided for some unknown reason to boot up the old modem and get online, only problem was my dad was on the phone and I kicked him off the call, whoops. The scream of a modem was, for a long time, the sound of the internet for me.  The 56Kbps was perfectly fast and I didn't understand why you would want anything more.  Oh how far we have come. (Which reminds me, grandma we really need to get you off that dial-up)

2. The VHS Tape

These wonderful devices still take up a whole bookshelf in my house (who needs books when you have movies?). The ease of use was awesome and the fact that I had to put the tape in a "rewinder" (I can't wait to explain a rewinder to my kids) to get it back to the beginning seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to have to do.  To tell the truth the DVD will be long gone by the time I have kids but I still remember the first DVD I watched.  The quality didn't seem anything special but when I saw the menu I was in utter awe.  How was that possible? I could look at these chapter things and pick one? Special features!? Shrek will always hold a place in my heart as the first DVD I saw.

3. Windows ME

Although many of these other items listed will always have a little nostalgic value for me, Windows ME is one thing I will be happy my children will not have to experience.  At the time I actually used ME I was oblivious to the horribleness I was being subjected too but now in my enlightened state I have been able to block the memories of my run-ins with the OS from my memory.


4. Internet Only When You are at Home or Work

My kids will never appreciate the fact that the internet wasn't always right at your finger-tips, but that you actually had to go find a computer to get it.  Now days from the moment I walk out my door I still stay connected through the internet on my phone and Wi-Fi hotspots dotting the town.  Continuing advances will only improve the speeds and effectiveness of this wide data network.

5. Cell Phones that Only Make Calls

Yes I realize it may be hard to believe but there is actually a phone in that electronic device that you carry around all the time to surf the internet and manage your data.  There are times with my own phone that I have so much running that my phone is no longer effective as a phone.  I use a grand total of like 10 minutes of calling every month and I don't see that growing any time soon.

6. Cassete Tapes

This item follows fairly closely with the VHS tape item.  For quite some time after the CD came out I even still used tapes extensibly because of their ability to easily create mixes of your favorite songs.  My kids will never understand the sadness that comes when you go to pull out your tape to see that the tape has gotten stuck and you ripped it or the requirement to turn around a tape to continuing listening.

7. Having to Have a Lot of Money to Make Videos that Large Audiences will View

I worry that my children will never quite understand what it used to be like to only see videos from high profile companies such as film studios and news agencies.  We can thank YouTube and other video sharing websites for this low barrier to entry into the video market.

8. When You Missed a Show on TV You had to Wait for the Reruns.

Not that I consistently watched many shows when I was a child but if I forgot to watch a show I was just out of luck.  Now, thanks to the beauty of the DVR, I never have to miss another show.  There is something extremely nice in being able to boot up the TV and see a list of new tv shows to watch.  This also makes watching tv much more efficient because I can fast forward through commercials and I only watch the TV shows I want and don't just channel surf.

9. Wires Needed to Connect Things

This one isn't quite complete but eventually it will be.  Sometimes I even forget that I can plug in an ethernet cord to get online.  Wireless is the wave of the future and hopefully my kids won't even have to worry about plugging in their electronics for power thanks to wireless electricity.

10. Blowing on Game Cartridges to Make them Load

There will always be a place in my heart for the lowly Sega game cartridge where it was very common to have to blow in both the console and the game to get it actually to load.  Sadly my children will probably never understand this needed CPR for game consoles.  I might just have to keep the Sega around long enough to show them.