21st Century Dodos: A Collection of Endangered Objects (and Other Stuff) Read Online Free PDF Page B

settle with him and credit him with founding the device.
    But, whoever was responsible, it revolutionised entertainment for years, perhaps forever, with the current digital incarnation of iPods and similar devices all owing a great debt to that first simple idea – ‘I want to listen to music on the move, without annoying the people around me.’
    Or, ‘without annoying them too much ’. The incessant chhzzchhhzchhhzz of noise bleed from the headphones would gradually drive other people mad, especially on commuter trains and buses. This is still a problem today, but most would consider it a small price to pay in return for music on the go.
    The first Walkman was a cassette player and that was the standard device for many years. It did evolve into a CD version – the Discman – and now the digital devices we know today. It was the accessory of choice for joggers and roller skaters throughoutthe ’80s, and paved the way for today’s society where everyone goes around with white earbuds and nobody talks to each other any more.
    Oh.
    I am sure there are still some people who own and use a Walkman in its original cassette form, but they must be few and far between. As is the nature with any cutting-edge technology, it has been overtaken by smaller, better, and cheaper devices. It played its part, but has now been cast aside.
    End of side one.
     
    Dodo Rating:

Rotary Dial Telephones
    You know you are getting old when an everyday object you grew up with now looks like an ancient museum piece. Give a rotary dial phone to anyone under about 25 and they won’t have a clue what to do with it.
    Yet, despite the fact that phones haven’t had dials for more than two decades, we still refer to dialling a phone number or dialling someone up. Curious, don’t you think?
    The physical act of putting your finger in a hole and moving the dial round meant that many frequently dialled numbers were fixed in our memories, far more so than in these days of speed dial and smartphones. And to prove it, you can probably remember the phone number of the house you grew up in, or perhaps your first boyfriend/girlfriend, purely because your brain has processed the movement so many times. How many numbers on your mobile contacts list do you know by heart today?
    Still don’t believe me? Try this: 01 811 8055. Ring any bells?
    Rotary dials were essential in the early days of the telephone system as the exchanges operated a pulse dialling system. Each number was represented by a number of pulses, which is why when you dialled the number 5, you could hear five short clicks as the dial moved back round. But, as these networks were updated, we moved to tone dialling, which required buttons.
    While this technological progress means we no longer get sore index fingers from repeatedly calling Multi-Coloured Swap Shop to speak to Bucks Fizz (see, you knew you recognised that number), and no longer suffer the physical agony of getting ten numbers into an international call only to misdial the last digit and having to start all over again, we now have to put up with the annoying ‘Press 1 for customer services, press 2 for deliveries, press 3 to speak to an operator’ and so on.

    Not all progress is good.
     
    Dodo Rating:

One Phone in the Home
    Do these ring a bell? (Pun noted, but not intended.)
    ‘Will you get off the phone? I’m expecting a call!’
    Followed by:
    ‘No, you hang up first … no, you … I’m not … love you … bye … bye … bye … are you still there? Yeah, me too …’
    If they do, then you probably remember a time when most homes only had one phone. This was before the days of mobiles, of course. If you wanted to make a call you often had to do so in front of your entire family, something that could prove incredibly embarrassing to a teenager in the first flush of love or bloody annoying to anyone trying to watch television while mother hollered down the mouthpiece to a deaf grandparent.
    Don’t forget: no texts, no