Rotary Phone Challenge

[BC Landlord]

Just wondering how many people nowadays would know how to dial number on a rotary phone ..

[Catsumi]

I do, but it sure was hard on a manicure.

Back then, dialling 4 numbers got you an answer.

Then it went to 7 numbers

Now it’s 10 numbers for a local call, and more for out of country. By the time dialling finished, I’d be short a digit.

[Even Steven]

Kinda micro-aggression against those young whippersnappers.

Let's see how many boomers can edit a PDF file

[Fancy]

There would be a certain age that would be a cutoff for the most part. We had one until they became unsupported and that has been in the last 20 years

[GordonH]

I grew on a rotary phone, as well a party line to boot.

[BC Landlord]

I do, but it sure was hard on a manicure.

Back then, dialling 4 numbers got you an answer.

Then it went to 7 numbers

Now it’s 10 numbers for a local call, and more for out of country. By the time dialling finished, I’d be short a digit.

Still, we kept most of our contact numbers memorized in our head. No speed-dials back then, and you could not really carry your phonebook everywhere you went. Nowadays, I cannot even tell my wife's phone #. It's, .. "Hey Google, ... phone my wife" thing.

[Catsumi]

You have a point re memory recall. I can still remember file numbers from 45 years ago but have to think hard to come up with a viable phone number now

[BC Landlord]

I grew on a rotary phone, as well a party line to boot.

I remember those party lines as well. Nowadays, if you mentioned "party line" to youngsters, they would ask, where the "partying" is, and for the phone #.

[BC Landlord]

Kinda micro-aggression against those young whippersnappers.

Let's see how many boomers can edit a PDF file

Didn't mean any "aggression". Boomers actually had to learn Fortran, DOS, and such. Actually, software UI's nowadays are much more dumbed-down from they used to be. Editing PDF? Try using WordPerfect for DOS.

[JLives]

Kinda micro-aggression against those young whippersnappers.

Let's see how many boomers can edit a PDF file

Didn't mean any "aggression". Boomers actually had to learn Fortran, DOS, and such. Actually, software UI's nowadays are much more dumbed-down from they used to be. Editing PDF? Try using WordPerfect for DOS.

I was saying that to mycoworker the other day. I'm much better with computer stuff than my kids. Because we basically had to do programming to make them operate growing up. I told my coworker I was older than Windows the other day and she nearly died. My first computer was a Commodore Vic20. I was four and could use it.

[Even Steven]

Boomers actually had to learn Fortran, DOS, and such. Actually, software UI's nowadays are much more dumbed-down from they used to be. Editing PDF? Try using WordPerfect for DOS.

Yeah yeah. Yet we keep hearing about people getting scammed online and it's always somebody over millions years old and never yoingins who don't know how to use the rotary phone lol. I guess that DOS knowledge doesn't go far when somebody from India calls and pretends to be from Microsoft...

[BC Landlord]

Boomers actually had to learn Fortran, DOS, and such. Actually, software UI's nowadays are much more dumbed-down from they used to be. Editing PDF? Try using WordPerfect for DOS.

Yeah yeah. Yet we keep hearing about people getting scammed online and it's always somebody over millions years old and never yoingins who don't know how to use the rotary phone lol. I guess that DOS knowledge doesn't go far when somebody from India calls and pretends to be from Microsoft...

What does scamming have to do with rotary phones? My point was that younger generations are totally oblivious to past technologies. Rotary phones (the above video) are just an example, perhaps not a big deal by itself. But, what if all internet communication ceased to exist overnight? Would they be able to orient themselves by looking at a paper map? Would a boater know how to use a sextant? Radio operator understand Morse code?

My point was, endorsing modern technologies is a progress only if we are not forgetting the past ones.

[Babba_not_Gump]

Kinda micro-aggression against those young whippersnappers.

Let's see how many boomers can edit a PDF file

There's an elderly woman, 80 or 81 in our condo building. She doesn't drive anymore so usually walks everywhere.
A few weeks ago she needed a ride into town, weather was ugly, so I drive her and went into the store with her and watched as she pulled out her cell phone to pay for her purchases.
Rotary phone? She left that behind decades ago.

[BC Landlord]

Kinda micro-aggression against those young whippersnappers.

Let's see how many boomers can edit a PDF file

There's an elderly woman, 80 or 81 in our condo building. She doesn't drive anymore so usually walks everywhere.
A few weeks ago she needed a ride into town, weather was ugly, so I drive her and went into the store with her and watched as she pulled out her cell phone to pay for her purchases.
Rotary phone? She left that behind decades ago.

My mother is 93, and she's pretty internet savvy, and uses a smartphone. The notion that older people are somehow technologically outdated is inaccurate.

[LovemyBolt]

Rotary phones still work.
Dialing 9's was always so time consuming though. Yank it all the way around and then it makes its way back eventually.