{"id":14468,"date":"2012-11-09T13:53:51","date_gmt":"2012-11-09T19:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcitement.com\/?p=14468"},"modified":"2013-02-07T14:19:26","modified_gmt":"2013-02-07T20:19:26","slug":"shining-a-light-on-a-shifting-paradigm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/hardware\/shining-a-light-on-a-shifting-paradigm\/","title":{"rendered":"Shining A Light On A Shifting Paradigm"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was the middle of my family’s big October cookout\/pumpkin-carving extravaganza. Some time after dark, between half-burnt hot dogs and whole-burnt marshmallows, my seven-year-old nephew Owen lost something on the ground and shouted “DOES ANYBODY HAVE A FLASHLIGHT APP?”<\/p>\n

We laughed, and so did he after we explained it to him, but it got me thinking how much technology has changed the world in the last decade or so. World-changing is nothing new. I’ve only used an outhouse once that wasn’t at a campsite. Years before I was born, baking your own bread transformed from a daily chore to a fun afternoon adventure. But watching the world change, realizing that social norms and expectations have changed dramatically within your own adulthood is somehow different.<\/p>\n

Consider, for example, current trends in televisions and related technology. To Owen’s generation, sleek is the norm. The TV picture is framed like a masterpiece in a museum, and you always operate your TV or DVD player with one of seven remote controls lined up next to Dad’s recliner or one universal remote to control every gadget in pointing distance. But it wasn’t always so. There was a time not that long ago when electronics were required to have buttons on the front. People (by which I mean me) used to choose not to buy a TV, DVD player, or VCR if there wasn’t a bank of buttons and switches to use in case you lost the remote in the couch cushions. I went to the store to make sure, and I’ll be darned if most televisions and Blu-ray players don’t have their buttons hidden on the back. My Roku<\/a> takes it one step further and doesn’t even offer hidden buttons. There’s not even a power switch. Changing the channel by walking up to the TV is fast becoming a completely foreign concept.<\/p>\n

\"Speaking<\/a>

Speaking of VCRs, Owen doesn’t get why the static at the bottom is funny.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

And what about telephones? They’ve seen a seismic shift. To Owen and his generation, phones don’t have cords. You never leave home without your telephone, so checking an answering machine will never be the first thing he does when he gets home. Come to think of it, I don’t know any non-retired people who still have a landline telephone. All of my siblings, and I’m pretty sure all of my friends, have long since switched to mobile-only. Consequently, long distance telephone bills are quickly disappearing from America. And if few American kids under 10 have ever gotten tangled up in their Mom’s telephone cord, even fewer have heard of making collect calls. Remember 1-800-COLLECT? Then you’re a dinosaur like me.<\/p>\n

In case you forgot how stupidly expensive that service was, I checked its current rates. To call payphone-to-mobile, 1-800-COLLECT charges $9.99 for 10 minutes, and remember, that’s the cheap alternative. The service is still around, though it’s a shadow of its former self. Gone are the halcyon days of the Alyssa Milano’s super cool Eva Savelot<\/em> commercials.<\/p>\n