Community Chat

[JuJu Squeezie]

Just go to a thrift store, see all the big old console tv's, stereos, boom boxes, telephones, computers and beta and vhs players, reel to reel tape machines too. Lots of material and energy used to make all these dinosaurs, hope they can recycled.

[JustJazzmom]

Speaking of advances in technology, has anyone been watching the TNT program Halt and Catch Fire about the Texas computer industry in the 1980's? Their goal: to make a competitive computer that weighs about 15 pounds to compete against the giant IBM!!

[mima]

OP, I was a telephone operator in the 70's and it looked pretty much like that pic you posted believe it or not.

[LilacTree]

On 7/16/2014 hckynut said:

I'll say it has changed and I have been interested in it since my high school days back in the early 1950's. Before stereo radio was even available(true 2 channel stereo now)I improvised my own version of stereo in my first couple of cars. I added speakers/faders/rheostat or 2 and also a reverberator. Could pass to most as true descrete 2-channel stereo.

Always kept up on technology related to audio and video, and once I got into computers, I included them in my interests.

To this day I am still interested and try to keep up with current technology, but one thing I wish was never made available for public use? It is called a cell phone.

Totally agree. I liked it at first for its use in emergencies as a safety vehicle. I hate what it has become. "Texting" is ruining our relationships and our lives in more ways than one.

[Mmsfoxxie]

Boy, what a memory that picture brings back. They were called cord boards. I worked for a telrphone compnay as a long distance operator for several years starting in 1968 using exactly that type board with those exact chairs. Those women standing behind the seated women (it was a female job at that time) were called group chief operators (guards, lol) who made sure you were grabbing those signals as quickly as they popped up. When it was your break time, you put a break sign up and waited til someone relieved you. If you needed an emergency washroom break, you put up a card, too. When they allowed you to go to the washroom, they wrote down the time you left and the time you came back. If you were gone too long or too often, it went against you and you were called for a conference. Luckily, I didn't work there when I was going through menopause be I had to go check/change myself every hour, lol. Probably would have been fired.

Lol, I remember once, I was having stomach issues and was gone to the ladies' room for 15 minutes or so. I wasn't even allowed to go back to my seat until the supervisor had a little talk with me. It was like prison.

[NoelSeven]

On 7/16/2014 hckynut said:

I'll say it has changed and I have been interested in it since my high school days back in the early 1950's. Before stereo radio was even available(true 2 channel stereo now)I improvised my own version of stereo in my first couple of cars. I added speakers/faders/rheostat or 2 and also a reverberator. Could pass to most as true descrete 2-channel stereo.

Always kept up on technology related to audio and video, and once I got into computers, I included them in my interests.

To this day I am still interested and try to keep up with current technology, but one thing I wish was never made available for public use? It is called a cell phone.

John, cell phones have saved lives in emergencies, and many people don't even have a landline anymore. They do more good than bad from thoughtless people.

[NoelSeven]

On 7/17/2014 Lindsays Grandma said:

On 7/16/2014 NoelSeven said:

December 1943

I had a great aunt who worked as a switchboard operator for a few years. Seeing this photo is a reminder of how much technology has changed.

The new cars are another reminder. I now have one that's all computer run, and even has a monitor to check various parts and functions. Actually, I'm not thrilled with that, you can't let it just sit idle for a week. it drains the battery just hanging out.

I was one of those ladies back in the day in Queens, New York. I operated local and long distance. It was nerve racking at first but after a few months it was a piece of cake and the salary was very good.

I've heard from others that it was a good job, I'm glad it was enjoyable for you

[NoelSeven]

On 7/17/2014 mima said:

OP, I was a telephone operator in the 70's and it looked pretty much like that pic you posted believe it or not.

[kittymomNC]

On 7/17/2014 madzonie said:

This was my first "cell" phone back in the mid 1990's - a phone in a bag! :-)

My first one was just like this! I just kept it in my car for emergencies, and I don't think I used it but three or four times in the couple of years I had it!

[straykatz]

On 7/16/2014 hckynut said:

I'll say it has changed and I have been interested in it since my high school days back in the early 1950's. Before stereo radio was even available(true 2 channel stereo now)I improvised my own version of stereo in my first couple of cars. I added speakers/faders/rheostat or 2 and also a reverberator. Could pass to most as true descrete 2-channel stereo.

Always kept up on technology related to audio and video, and once I got into computers, I included them in my interests.

To this day I am still interested and try to keep up with current technology, but one thing I wish was never made available for public use? It is called a cell phone.

I carry my cell for roadside emergencies..I still have a landline in my home....My father was a trucker so I grew up around CB radio...beside having one in his truck he always had one in the car too in case of emergencies.