Comments on: Ode to the pay phone and other things that are gone

By: John, Chicago, IL

John, Chicago, IL — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:17:13 +0000

What about the blank checks that used to be on the counter at stores (pre- 1970)? You picked your bank, wrote your name (and account number if you had it) on the check and paid for your purchase! Try that today!

By: David Anderson, Irvine CA

David Anderson, Irvine CA — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:08:49 +0000

In reference to the demise of payphones; I am a student at the University of California, Irvine, a campus which was built in the mid 1960’s and so therefore has an overabundance of payphones. One day my cell phone battery died and I really had to get ahold of the person waiting for me to let them know I was runnning late. To my shock every payphone I tried (I managed to find 6) was out of order and looked like it hadent been used for at least 12 years. I mena not even the opporator button worked, nothing. It’s a little concerning considering that I would normally rely on those payphones should something go wrong and they don’t even work.

By: Jason, Salem, OR

Jason, Salem, OR — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:24:51 +0000

I will tell you what I mess, customer service. People that believe in working for their money. Attention to detail. People that care. That is drying up faster than the payphone.

By: Dan Buyanovsky, Miami, Fl

Dan Buyanovsky, Miami, Fl — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:32:52 +0000

The rise of technology and personalization everywhere has definitely taken away some sort of social relations, but it has made great advances for business and the amazing opportunities that have come out of this surge.

Just a few weeks ago, I was on vacation to South Florida from New York, and came across a cell-phone charging station made by GC Media in a mall I was walking through. Not only did this machine charge my phone fully in fifteen minutes, but it rolled advertisements on a seventeen-inch screen to keep me interested and occupied as I waited. It was a truly phenomenal method to advertise, and I am expecting to see these machines popping up just about everywhere.

I was really impressed with this invention and the way it’s being marketed in the states, just another sign of advance.

Here’s the website: http://www.generalcharge.com

By: Technogeek in Philly

Technogeek in Philly — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:33:54 +0000

A . Flat screens are a good thing. They consume less electricity than the old CRT technology.

B. I’ve noticed lately that I can’t find a basic bar with Bud, Bud Lite & Miller on tap. Every bar I go to now has 50 weird taps that dispense something they charge $7 for. All I want is a cold one in a frosted mug, or maybe 2 or 3, for a couple bucks.. I don’t need to hear the story of how some Czech forefather brewed this recipe 1000 years ago. One other note, at least 3 times in the last month I’ve asked for one of the weird brews and they were tapped out. Note to all bartenders – when it’s tapped out, remove the tap, then I won’t ask for it.

By: Tristan, Bethesda, MD

Tristan, Bethesda, MD — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:30:52 +0000

Shouldn’t pay phones have been transformed into virtual internet kiosks by now or something? Someplace that I can play chess with my friends from Singapore while getting some e-cash, trading NASDAQ futures, and waiting for a DVD to burn.

I guess I’m saying this is the last straw – I want my promised 1990s cyberspace future and I want it now.

By: Krazit, Paramus, NJ

Krazit, Paramus, NJ — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:39:07 +0000

Now, if only SPAM could be gone.

By: Tina, Chicago IL

Tina, Chicago IL — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:17:46 +0000

Hi Bing,

I miss corn fields. The fields of my childhood are now outdoor malls or Del Webb communities.

By: Chris, NY NY

Chris, NY NY — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:58:26 +0000

Bing,
these responses could have gone two ways: (1) life is better b/c of these advances, or (2) life is worse b/c of these advances. So far, it is overwhelmingly worse. Which is no suprise. People romanticize the past; they forget the difficulties. Here’s something that’s gone forever for the middle class: the family car. Middle class families now have 2, even 3, cars. I couldn’t imagine living in suburbia sharing 1 car with my family (which, conveniently, is smaller than past generations).
PBS aired a great documentary awhile back (Frontier House), highlighting how terrible life really was in the past. These modern marvels that people lament have made life more convenient, comfortable, and enjoyable. Sure, there may be a few items we miss, but life has improved across so many dimensions for so many people over the last 50 years that it’s almost embarassing to hear someone say they’d rather live in the 1960s than today. Could anyone imagine, 50 years ago, that we’d classify a person who has a color tv, cable, central air and heat, and a phone as “poor.” This was unimaginable then, but today there are many who qualify for need-based assistance with these things.

Perhaps it’s part of human’s defense mechanism, not to acknowledge how good things are, lest they become complacent and vulnerable. But it is sad (but not suprising) that so many people long for “the good ol’ days.”

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:30:43 +0000

From the Alberta Oilsands:
Bing, pencils will never become obsolete, because pens don’t write at minus 20 Fahrenheit.

By: Matt D. Placentia, CA

Matt D. Placentia, CA — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:09:26 +0000

Re: Cassette players. I wouldn’t quite write their obituary just yet. There is still a very strong-albeit underground-demand for them. Plus, vinyl records are definitely making a comeback even though those have been written off for over two decades now. Perhaps reel to reel tape recorders might be next. Those too still enjoy huge underground popularity.

The point I’m getting at is despite all of todays novelties and technological advancements, we always return to the basics in way form or another. So while pay phones may seem passé today, in ten or twenty years time, after half of us have been diagnosed with brain tumors as a result of bluetooth headsets and cell phones, they may very well come back too.

By: Gwen0000, Silver Springs, NV

Gwen0000, Silver Springs, NV — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:05:51 +0000

I’m fortunate enough to live in a small, unincorporated area of northern Nevada. We have a “Mom & Pop” grocery-slash-gas station where, the last time my car broke down, they were nice enough to let me use the phone BEHIND THE COUNTER!

I can count on my hands the number of times in larger cities that I saw someone do a random act of kindness; but in my community, things like that happen every single day. I think the electronic age has turned people cold. “Friends” are now made up of faceless handles that share e-mail jokes and 8-gig pics copied from YouTube.

The question of the day: What is your next-door neighbor’s name? *I* know the name of everyone within 5 houses (any direction) of me.

By: Dan, Waukesha, Wisconsin

Dan, Waukesha, Wisconsin — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:26:49 +0000

You know what I miss? Purposeful journalism. Opinions with a point. I miss being able to open to the “Letters to the editor” page and see factual arguements instead of going on cnn.com and seeing… well… this.

I miss bosses that knew how to lead and motivate without having to resort to cliche. I miss companies who understood that direction has to be nurtured and cultured internally instead of screamed in headlines. I miss the days when results were more important then rhetoric. I miss the days when human capital was family, not… well… human captial.

I miss the days when I could say I was a white male in his 30’s without being labelled a racist. I miss the days when the law was to provide even justice, not seperate justice based on social class.

I miss Clavin and Hobbes and Bloom County. Policital correctness be damned.

I miss having an opinion that matters.

By: Jim Meadows

Jim Meadows — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:54:16 +0000

The local (non-chain) bookstore.

The corner service station that would work on your car.

The neighborhood school.

Gone, gone, gone, just like the phone booth.

That’s progress?

By: Bruce Browning Mill Creek WA

Bruce Browning Mill Creek WA — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:39:24 +0000

Bing, when I was youn in our smaal town we had The Villagr Market, where you could walk two blocks,get aloaf of bread for a quarter and still have money left over for a penney or two candy.

By: Steve Scottsdale AZ

Steve Scottsdale AZ — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:24:44 +0000

Hey I actually used a pay phone in a supermarket last year. Where are all the non national chain bookstores? I actually hand wrote a real letter, but the post office was out of stamps, really. Try and get “bisquits and gravy” anywhere, I know, fattening. Free water and air for your car at a gas station? A root beer float? Malts? Seeing kids at the park or school playing pick up sports? “mom and pop” anything stores. Hobby shops? and oh yes a sporting goods store that actually sell something besides shoes and clothes? Boiled eggs and pickles at a local bar, oh wait all the local bars are gone too. Fishing bait and tackle stores? Pin ball machines?

If the credit crunch gets much worse, we will all need a pawn shop, where are they?

By: Shawn, Durham, NC

Shawn, Durham, NC — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:44:58 +0000

Water bottles are bad enough, but the giant water bottles are over the top. I mean, if you don’t carry a 64 ounce bottle of water with you at all times, will you actually die of the dehydration?

And can I find a non-franchise restaurant in any city USA? I was up in Philly recently and asked the hotel staff for a great local restaurant that wasn’t a chain and it took him five minutes to think of one. Seriously!!!

Up next on the list for extinction, video rental stores.

One thing that I do hope makes a return is the 80s giant cell phone that’s so heavy you need a shoulder strap to carry it around. Maybe I will find one on eBay.

By: Frankie, Eldorado, back seat

Frankie, Eldorado, back seat — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:38:55 +0000

Record stores are dropping like flies.
T from Jacksonville, How old are you?
David, aww I feel ya man. The drive-ins were the bomb. Young people are really going to miss out.

By: Rebecca, Philadelphia, PA

Rebecca, Philadelphia, PA — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:18:08 +0000

I’m okay with seeing water fountains go. I’m no hypochondriac, but I can’t help thinking that using a water fountain is only somewhat less hazardous to your health than, say, licking a subway platform.

P.S. Thanks for the South Park recommendation, Bing.

By: David S, Bexley, Ohio

David S, Bexley, Ohio — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:13:05 +0000

Binger..
How about the good old Drive-In Theatre? Sadly, these too are all but extinct. Yes, there are now ‘Stadium Seats’, huge screens and state of the art surround sound systems…but it also costs 3 times the price of a ticket to get mediocre snacks warmed by a light bulb, you spend half the movie thinking of ways to maim the people around you talking on their phones and the other half trying to concentrate on the show through the cavalcade of odors, babies crying and the sticky floor. At the Drive-In, you had the biggest screen of all, your own speaker, and a great snack bar. Whe cared that the speaker weighed 14 pounds and, no matter how close to it you parked, the cord was too short. Whe cares that, to get to the snack bar, you had to navigate through rows of cars – seeing things you did – and didn’t- want to see. It was still the best way to spend a summer night. There may not be anyone over 40 that hasn’t either been in a trunk or drove a car with people in the trunk while sneaking into the Drive-In. And , at the Drive -In..a date was really a date. The possibilities were endless! I miss the Drive-In.