Ah, the old days, before that dratted series of tubes came along. Sure, we don't live in an either-or world -- the old days are always with us -- but computer technologies have shoved old ways aside. Just compare.
Then and now: The world the Internet changed —
Ah, the old days, before that dratted series of tubes came along. Sure, we don't live in an either-or world -- the old days are always with us -- but computer technologies have shoved old ways aside. Just compare.
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Then: Want music? Spin the radio dial and discover old favorites or new hits. Now: Spotify and Pandora allow you to program your own "stations." Where's the surprise in that?
Radio listening —
Then: Want music? Spin the radio dial and discover old favorites or new hits. Now: Spotify and Pandora allow you to program your own "stations." Where's the surprise in that?
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Then: The card catalog was a formidable piece of furniture found at every library. On its thousands of cards: title, author, subject and call number -- sometimes with handwritten notations. Now: Google. The world's knowledge at your fingertips. So much for roaming the aisles of the <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oclc.org%2Fen-US%2Fdewey%2Fresources%2Fsummaries.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">Dewey Decimal System</a>.
Research —
Then: The card catalog was a formidable piece of furniture found at every library. On its thousands of cards: title, author, subject and call number -- sometimes with handwritten notations. Now: Google. The world's knowledge at your fingertips. So much for roaming the aisles of the Dewey Decimal System.
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Then: Dating sources included church socials, smoky bars, house parties and matchmakers. Now: The matchmaker is named Match.com, eHarmony or Zoosk. But can computers detect chemistry?
Dating —
Then: Dating sources included church socials, smoky bars, house parties and matchmakers. Now: The matchmaker is named Match.com, eHarmony or Zoosk. But can computers detect chemistry?
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Then: Porn came in brown paper bags and grubby adult bookstores, or on the screens of adult movie theaters in grimy urban neighborhoods. <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2013%2F02%2F15%2Ftech%2Finternet-rules%2F">Now: Rule 34, baby</a>. Is the world less surprising when the illicit is so easy to find?
Pornography —
Then: Porn came in brown paper bags and grubby adult bookstores, or on the screens of adult movie theaters in grimy urban neighborhoods. Now: Rule 34, baby. Is the world less surprising when the illicit is so easy to find?
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Then: "Uncle Charlie told me about this great new Italian place out on Route 17. We should give it a try." Now: "Let me check Urbanspoon." Those one-star places no longer stand a chance.
Choosing a restaurant —
Then: "Uncle Charlie told me about this great new Italian place out on Route 17. We should give it a try." Now: "Let me check Urbanspoon." Those one-star places no longer stand a chance.
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Then: Three networks and UHF. (Later, cable TV offered hundreds of channels, allowing us to stumble upon new shows.) Now: Netflix and Hulu. Order up what you want, when you want it.
TV programming —
Then: Three networks and UHF. (Later, cable TV offered hundreds of channels, allowing us to stumble upon new shows.) Now: Netflix and Hulu. Order up what you want, when you want it.
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Then: The folding map was one of the great inventions -- giant illustrations of cities, states and regions, all to guide you from A to B. But oh, try getting it back in the glove compartment. Now: Just pull out your phone, click on a GPS app, and navigate digitally. So much for the romance of wandering the blue highways. Time for some recalculating?
Maps —
Then: The folding map was one of the great inventions -- giant illustrations of cities, states and regions, all to guide you from A to B. But oh, try getting it back in the glove compartment. Now: Just pull out your phone, click on a GPS app, and navigate digitally. So much for the romance of wandering the blue highways. Time for some recalculating?
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Then: Like libraries, bookstores were places to lose yourself for hours, scanning titles, having coffee, noting possibilities. Now: When you have Amazon's 1-click, who has time to browse?
Book browsing —
Then: Like libraries, bookstores were places to lose yourself for hours, scanning titles, having coffee, noting possibilities. Now: When you have Amazon's 1-click, who has time to browse?
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Then: Phones were home-based, landline devices, and the phone book -- a mammoth directory delivered once a year -- listed everybody who had a number, unless they paid to be "unlisted." Now: An online search will provide you the number -- if the person still has a landline.
Phone directories —
Then: Phones were home-based, landline devices, and the phone book -- a mammoth directory delivered once a year -- listed everybody who had a number, unless they paid to be "unlisted." Now: An online search will provide you the number -- if the person still has a landline.
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Then: Every morning (and, in some cities, every afternoon, too) a large broadsheet detailed the major news of the previous day. It was called a "newspaper," and many subscribers read it cover to cover. Now: Well, you're <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F">here</a>. We hope you scroll down to the bottom, and roam all over the site, but most news consumers read more selectively online.
Reading news —
Then: Every morning (and, in some cities, every afternoon, too) a large broadsheet detailed the major news of the previous day. It was called a "newspaper," and many subscribers read it cover to cover. Now: Well, you're here. We hope you scroll down to the bottom, and roam all over the site, but most news consumers read more selectively online.
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