Things you loved that technology has killed off or r00ined.

[Roadrunner75]

As for CB, I recall about a year ago I tried to listen on one of my handhelds and got nobody. I live in one of the most densely populated regions of the country, you'd think there would have been some traffic. 15 years ago channel 19 used to be chock full of traffic, not anymore.

I had the same experience around the same time.  I used to use CBs with my friends back in the early 90s, and there was a lot of local non-trucker use in my area of NJ then (Philly burbs).  I went many years without a CB and about a year or so ago my wife bought me a handheld CB after hearing me talking about my old CB days.  Absolutely nothing out here (closer to the shore).  No trucks, no locals, nothing - even after a few rides up and down the GSP.  I still have it in the car, but it's relegated to the glovebox.

Handheld CBs don't work well at all.  Their range is severely limited by that little "rubber ducky" antenna.  CB antennas should not be shorter than 36" physically (and not less than 108" electrically).

I usually hear some chatter in the densely populated areas.  'Course I run a 6-1/4 foot antenna, with counterpoise underneath...and I just bought a 7-foot antenna that will be installed soon.

I have a good size magnet mount antenna for my handheld CB, for when I use it in the car.  Still got nothing with it.  There could be just something wrong with the CB itself of course.  Back in the day I had a regular radio with mic in the car (still have it somewhere around the house - Uniden I think), with at first a Cobra magnet mount and later a K40 I believe.  It worked great at the time.  I'll give the new radio another shot and see if I can break 1-9 for a radio check on the way home.

[jwolfer]

Remember when watching a movie on television was an "event", and if you missed it, you had to wait a year?

To further clarify.... prior to the 1980s, it was very unusual for a household to have more than one television. Plus, this was before VCRs (never mind DVDs, BluRays, and streaming media), so you had to catch the movie at the appointed time on television. Some movies, such as Sound of Music, The Ten Commandments, and The Wizard Of Oz were considered "event" films, and were shown only once a year at best. Thus, the viewing of the film was "special".

Now, of course, we have DVDs and BluRays, and collecting movies was, for quite a while, considered fashionable. We are able to view the films at any time we can, in the original aspect ratios and unmodified by broadcast standards or edited to fill a time slot. In some cases, you can find an obscure film that is rarely shown on television. Still, there is that specialness of the event that is missing.

Same with Christmas specials.

[formulanone]

I always loved 45 RPM singles. They had much richer sound than CD's.

I've been to too many loud concerts to be able to tell the difference.

Aye, +1.

I can't tell the difference, other than some frequencies tend to be amplified or attenuated to certain mediums than others. Unless they used some 59-cent cassette tape, there's not much of a wholesale difference in my ears. I inherited a bunch of vinyl and a turntable from my father, but it collects dust alongside my CD collection - unwieldy to use for no appreciable gain. 

Is there a noticeable difference between $2 headphones and $20 headphones? Yes.
Do I notice a difference between $200 headphones and $20 headphones? Probably not.

Is a song played over FM radio "missing something" over an album copy? You betcha.
But MP3 versus a CD, it's rarely noticeable to my tin ears.

...to each their own.

[NJRoadfan]

Handheld CBs don't work well at all.  Their range is severely limited by that little "rubber ducky" antenna.  CB antennas should not be shorter than 36" physically (and not less than 108" electrically).

My handhelds have really long pull out antennas, easily 3-4ft in length.

(not my video, but shows the antenna)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S3IeeB2SzA

[DeaconG]

I always loved 45 RPM singles. They had much richer sound than CD's.

I've been to too many loud concerts to be able to tell the difference.

Aye, +1.

I can't tell the difference, other than some frequencies tend to be amplified or attenuated to certain mediums than others. Unless they used some 59-cent cassette tape, there's not much of a wholesale difference in my ears. I inherited a bunch of vinyl and a turntable from my father, but it collects dust alongside my CD collection - unwieldy to use for no appreciable gain. 

Is there a noticeable difference between $2 headphones and $20 headphones? Yes.
Do I notice a difference between $200 headphones and $20 headphones? Probably not.

Is a song played over FM radio "missing something" over an album copy? You betcha.
But MP3 versus a CD, it's rarely noticeable to my tin ears.

...to each their own.

It's called "lack of dynamic range"...most, if not all of the recordings made in most music since the 90s has the problem of wanting to be "louder" than the other group/genre/whatever, so the way they accomplish that is by boosting and compressing the level of the signal to the point where it starts to clip...which doesn't do any good to your ears, your receiver/power amp or your speakers.

All of the CD's I purchased in the 80's and early 90's all have signal levels below clipping, all my newer ones are compressed all to hell and I can tell because they force me to reduce the volume.

All that's needed to fix it it some sanity in the mastering process...good luck with that.

[Roadrunner75]

It's called "lack of dynamic range"...most, if not all of the recordings made in most music since the 90s has the problem of wanting to be "louder" than the other group/genre/whatever, so the way they accomplish that is by boosting and compressing the level of the signal to the point where it starts to clip...which doesn't do any good to your ears, your receiver/power amp or your speakers.

All of the CD's I purchased in the 80's and early 90's all have signal levels below clipping, all my newer ones are compressed all to hell and I can tell because they force me to reduce the volume.

All that's needed to fix it it some sanity in the mastering process...good luck with that.

Agreed.  A well documented example was Rush's Vapor Trails album, which sounds absolutely terrible.  Eventually they remixed and rereleased the album 10 years later, which helped the sound to some extent, leaving just my complaints about the mediocre songs to begin with (of course typical for 90s/00s Rush).

[thenetwork]

My entry to this thread is the near death of pinball machines.  When I was a kid in the 70's, many corner stores and even some of the local discount stores had at least one machine in a corner.  When coin-op video games became the rage by the mid-80s, stores and local arcades started to phase out the pins in favor of the vids because there were less parts to maintain and the games were non-stop (on a pinball, you can take a rest between balls as they sit waiting to be launched, or you could hold a pinball on a raised flipper). 

But nowadays, even arcades and coin-ops in businesses are on the decline since many of these games can be had on a smart-device and can be played anywhere or the Nintendo or Play Stations have matched or exceeded what could be done on arcade-style games.

That being said, I love the fact that there are tech companies that have created apps that have faithfully re-created pinball machines of the past, like Pinball Arcade.  Now you can play pinball machines anywhere and not have to worry about weak or non-working bumpers, flippers, etc due to the lack of maintenance by the establishment that owns the machines.

There are still times where I will plunk in a quarter or 2 to play a real pinball machine in places that still have a few of them.

[SSOWorld]

My entry to this thread is the near death of pinball machines.  When I was a kid in the 70's, many corner stores and even some of the local discount stores had at least one machine in a corner.  When coin-op video games became the rage by the mid-80s, stores and local arcades started to phase out the pins in favor of the vids because there were less parts to maintain and the games were non-stop (on a pinball, you can take a rest between balls as they sit waiting to be launched, or you could hold a pinball on a raised flipper). 

But nowadays, even arcades and coin-ops in businesses are on the decline since many of these games can be had on a smart-device and can be played anywhere or the Nintendo or Play Stations have matched or exceeded what could be done on arcade-style games.

That being said, I love the fact that there are tech companies that have created apps that have faithfully re-created pinball machines of the past, like Pinball Arcade.  Now you can play pinball machines anywhere and not have to worry about weak or non-working bumpers, flippers, etc due to the lack of maintenance by the establishment that owns the machines.

There are still times where I will plunk in a quarter or 2 to play a real pinball machine in places that still have a few of them.

http://www.vpforums.org/

All your favoriite pinball games - for the low-low price of 0.

[mgk920]

One of the watering holes that I frequent here in Appleton has a working Skee-Ball machine, 25¢/game.



Mike

[Roadrunner75]

My entry to this thread is the near death of pinball machines.  When I was a kid in the 70's, many corner stores and even some of the local discount stores had at least one machine in a corner.  When coin-op video games became the rage by the mid-80s, stores and local arcades started to phase out the pins in favor of the vids because there were less parts to maintain and the games were non-stop (on a pinball, you can take a rest between balls as they sit waiting to be launched, or you could hold a pinball on a raised flipper). 

But nowadays, even arcades and coin-ops in businesses are on the decline since many of these games can be had on a smart-device and can be played anywhere or the Nintendo or Play Stations have matched or exceeded what could be done on arcade-style games.

That being said, I love the fact that there are tech companies that have created apps that have faithfully re-created pinball machines of the past, like Pinball Arcade.  Now you can play pinball machines anywhere and not have to worry about weak or non-working bumpers, flippers, etc due to the lack of maintenance by the establishment that owns the machines.

There are still times where I will plunk in a quarter or 2 to play a real pinball machine in places that still have a few of them.

I haven't been here yet myself, but:
http://silverballmuseum.com/

[02 Park Ave]

Camaras which used film.

[bugo]

It's called "lack of dynamic range"...most, if not all of the recordings made in most music since the 90s has the problem of wanting to be "louder" than the other group/genre/whatever, so the way they accomplish that is by boosting and compressing the level of the signal to the point where it starts to clip...which doesn't do any good to your ears, your receiver/power amp or your speakers.

All of the CD's I purchased in the 80's and early 90's all have signal levels below clipping, all my newer ones are compressed all to hell and I can tell because they force me to reduce the volume.

All that's needed to fix it it some sanity in the mastering process...good luck with that.

Nine Inch Nails' Hesitation Marks comes in two versions: the regular loud clipping version and a special audiophile version that isn't mastered as loudly.

[thenetwork]

My entry to this thread is the near death of pinball machines.  When I was a kid in the 70's, many corner stores and even some of the local discount stores had at least one machine in a corner.  When coin-op video games became the rage by the mid-80s, stores and local arcades started to phase out the pins in favor of the vids because there were less parts to maintain and the games were non-stop (on a pinball, you can take a rest between balls as they sit waiting to be launched, or you could hold a pinball on a raised flipper). 

But nowadays, even arcades and coin-ops in businesses are on the decline since many of these games can be had on a smart-device and can be played anywhere or the Nintendo or Play Stations have matched or exceeded what could be done on arcade-style games.

That being said, I love the fact that there are tech companies that have created apps that have faithfully re-created pinball machines of the past, like Pinball Arcade.  Now you can play pinball machines anywhere and not have to worry about weak or non-working bumpers, flippers, etc due to the lack of maintenance by the establishment that owns the machines.

There are still times where I will plunk in a quarter or 2 to play a real pinball machine in places that still have a few of them.

I haven't been here yet myself, but:
http://silverballmuseum.com/

Colorado is extremely pinball friendly.   Just to name a few:

-  The Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs -- been there and it is awesome!
-  Flipper McGees in Idaho Springs -- Lots of 80s pinball games with generous credits given to breaking certain score levels.
-  Hogback Pizza in New Castle -- 3-5 games from the 80s &/or 90s.
-  Within the town of Lyons, Colorado -- Haven't made it there yet, but I hear there are 2 or 3 places with lots of pinballs and old video games.

I have also heard of some good arcades hidden amongst the ski town bars & restaurants as well.  May want to add a stop or two during the upcoming Denver Meet.


And if you want to see your quarters go a long way in Vegas, this place is on my bucket list:  http://www.pinballhall.org/

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Camaras which used film.

I can't believe I forgot this.  Yes.

[mapman1071]

One of the watering holes that I frequent here in Appleton has a working Skee-Ball machine, 25¢/game.



Mike

Most Peter Piper Pizza and Chuckie Cheese have Skee Ball

[bugo]

Camaras which used film.

I can't believe I forgot this.  Yes.

I've found that a cheap digital camera takes better pictures than a cheap film camera. They're already digitized so you don't have to scan them. You don't have to pay to have them developed and a typical memory card has room for thousands of pictures so you can take a bunch of pictures of the same thing from the same vantage point and pick the best one. With film cameras, when you took a picture you would have to wait until the film got processed before you knew if it was a good picture or not. With digital photography, you can view the pictures in the viewfinder immediately and delete the bad pictures. Most modern digital cameras can also take video. Digital cameras are a better choice for what I use cameras for.

[Scott5114]

I've been starting to get into slightly more advanced photography lately (i.e. worrying about blowing out highlights more than before). My camera has a feature that flashes portions of the image that are #FFFFFF in review mode. Can't do that with film.

[SSOWorld]

For some, not myself though - Shopping malls.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

I've been starting to get into slightly more advanced photography lately (i.e. worrying about blowing out highlights more than before). My camera has a feature that flashes portions of the image that are #FFFFFF in review mode. Can't do that with film.

Nope, you can't.  And that extra challenge was part of what made film-shooting so much more fun, and the reward from doing it right that much sweeter.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

For some, not myself though - Shopping malls.

I miss proper malls.  And furthermore, I miss the big fountains that used to be in many malls.  Schuykill Mall in Frackville, PA had a ton of them.  A couple of them are still working, so I've been told, but most of them were converted to planters in the late '90s.

[mgk920]

For some, not myself though - Shopping malls.

Agreed.  I haven't left any money behind in the big local mall (Fox River Mall) since at least the early double-aughts.  They are sooooo 'last century' and don't turn me on at all.  I might rarely walk around in one, but I'll do my shopping elsewhere.

I agree with CVG, although FRM has never had fountains (that place was literally structurally built like a warehouse - *very* cheap single-level), they did plant big Ficus trees throughout it when it was first opened in the mid 1980s, but had removed them by the late 1990s.  I do miss them. (I did pick up a small trimmed twig from one from the floor when I walked around inside during the chaos a couple of days before it opened, took it home, rooted it out and the resulting tree is still alive and well in my little domicile, 30 or so years later.  )

Mike

[NE2]

And that extra challenge was part of what made film-shooting so much more fun, and the reward from doing it right that much sweeter.

Back in my day, walking uphill both ways gave me nice strong legs.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Back in my day, walking uphill both ways gave me nice strong legs.

Different strokes.  I lost my enthusiasm for photography when I went digital.  It's just too easy now. Plus many of the best film emulsions have all but disappeared.  Provia 400F/400X was my go-to, it's long gone, 100F is the only Provia still available, which isn't bad, but is slow-speed film.  I'm still going to pick up an F5, though.

I will say this: it took 15 years from the introduction of the first DSLR for digital to beat film in terms of noise levels, and it still has a little way to go in color reproduction.

[Scott5114]

I've been starting to get into slightly more advanced photography lately (i.e. worrying about blowing out highlights more than before). My camera has a feature that flashes portions of the image that are #FFFFFF in review mode. Can't do that with film.

Nope, you can't.  And that extra challenge was part of what made film-shooting so much more fun, and the reward from doing it right that much sweeter.

I can barely do it right with digital. I don't need the extra challenge.

[J N Winkler]

The advent of digital cameras has not repealed photographic technique.  Taking a good shot with a digital camera now requires most of the same skills and tricks as taking usable photos with 35-mm color slide film.  I still work with the traditional exposure rule (1/125 sec at f/16 at ISO 100 under unblocked sunshine) and I still bracket when I am unsure of exposure.