Things we don't need in 2022 like we did 10 years ago

[kylie122]

Just a Sunday thought remembering how we used to get phone top ups

Anyone remember Love film?

Yeah! Because of poor broadband, I actually used LoveFilm until about 2018ish I think. And then Amazon bought them out and killed the service. But around that time, I was able to get fibre optic so joined the streaming revolution, luckily!

LoveFilm was brilliant.

Caramelvanillafudge

No, I've no idea.

I hear about people saying they've got all their music on their phone but I've no idea how it gets there.

Probably because I'm not interested.

@SarahAndQuack Plenty of older people are not online. I'm more stunned that surprises you; there are all sorts of knowledge gaps!

I think it's changing slowly, though.

@Refrosty

I'm unsure what's next for handheld devices. Telephone facilities was the primary focus, but it's so much more than that. It's killed the landline, digital camera, need for personal laptop for casual web browsing etc. What's next?

It hasn’t killed digital cameras, not for the serious photography enthusiast or professional. There are still some things a phone camer can’t do.

Handbag and purse
I just take my phone

I still use my Oyster card - I don't have Apple Pay so the easiest, safest option is to have a single card in my back pocket or the outside pocket of my handbag which I can get out easily and don't have to worry about.

I used to like having a landline phone because our mobile signal was shaky for safety in power cuts etc but now BT has replaced it with a virtual broadband landline and our mobile signal has improved so it's lost its utility for me.

Still like DVDs though, and never got into spotify.

Cash and cheques have died the death - the only place that we use cash is DS's school lunch.

Landlines are still necessary, not everywhere has decent mobile coverage, in fact there are still places that don't have any.

Cash

I still use my Oyster card too because my railcard is linked to it, and I wouldn't get my discount otherwise. I also use cash for things like grocery shopping as it helps me budget.

I haven't had a landline telephone for almost twenty years, but I did have to go out and buy a printer last year when I sold a load of stuff on eBay and needed it for the parcels. Lovefilm was fantastic 😊

A couple of years ago, as I was leaving the office I put a bundle of papers into the confidential waste shredding box, and I accidentally posted my phone in there with them. It was a Friday evening and any staff with access to the box key had already left for the weekend.

Best thing was, this really didn't matter at all, I was fine without my phone until Monday. I still had my wallet with all my cards, a paper season ticket for the train, a book to read en route. I had the internet and my landline at home. I wasn't contactable for an hour or so, that was all.

These things really haven't changed for me - I don't want to be dependent on a device which needs charging and is easily lost or broken, it just feels un-resilient and like a false convenience.

External hard drives

I'm surprised so many use their phones for web browsing in the house, they are small and irritating, you can't split the screen so can really only have one page at once, if you want to look at emails or texts or anything for that matter at the same time you can't, only really ok if you are out somewhere, and I have a newish iPhone so its not like I'm using something old. Whenever I take photos on my phone I always view then on my iMac or iPad as the picture is much larger. Apple are still selling loads of these so how can they be not used anymore.

I am 40 and the last time I had a land line was as a teenager in my parents house. I've always just had a mobile since then. I don't know anyone that's got a landline.

I have got an external hard drive as well, it's permanently stuck in the back of iMac, I wouldn't like to rely entirely on cloud services.

I answered this truthfully - we went electric three years ago and haven’t looked back! Haven’t used or sat in an old-fashioned dirty ICE car at all. This includes rural living, many long distance drives, packed full with dogs and luggage along the length of the UK and around multiple countries on the continent. EVs are simply better.

We looked at getting one to tow our caravan, they cost about £60k-£70k, we are getting a petrol/diesel instead, not so many have that amount lying around or even if they have they would want to spend that much on a car. The slightly more affordable EV are the small ones that people generally have as second cars.

It's easy to be snobby about 'old fashioned dirty ICE cars' when you can afford the significantly higher cost, the cars available are suitable for your needs, ie you don't need to tow, you are able to charge it at home and/or work and you don't do regular time-constrained long journeys so you have time to spend an hour a day waiting for it to charge at service stations during a 400 mile round trip as part of a working day that is already 12 to 14 hours long. And no, I wouldn't spend all that time having coffee and loo breaks anyway.

@User7698365

I'm surprised so many use their phones for web browsing in the house, they are small and irritating, you can't split the screen so can really only have one page at once, if you want to look at emails or texts or anything for that matter at the same time you can't, only really ok if you are out somewhere, and I have a newish iPhone so its not like I'm using something old. Whenever I take photos on my phone I always view then on my iMac or iPad as the picture is much larger. Apple are still selling loads of these so how can they be not used anymore.

I agree and I still need cash for tipping my hair stylist.

I did recently go out to buy a Chromebook specifically for home use to replace a dying laptop. I use my phone for 99% of internet use at home, but a Chromebook is far easier for things like picking holidays or big household purchases, and trying to do my tax return on my phone would have broken me.

Desktops OTOH are really niche nowadays unless you're a very keen gamer.

A kindle just doesn’t smell as nice as a new book.

These things really haven't changed for me - I don't want to be dependent on a device which needs charging and is easily lost or broken, it just feels un-resilient and like a false convenience.

I feel the same, and as for using a phone for everything - no, just no. I can't be bothered looking at a stupid little screen.

[quote Phrenologistsfinger]@Grilledaubergines I answered this truthfully - we went electric three years ago and haven’t looked back! Haven’t used or sat in an old-fashioned dirty ICE car at all. This includes rural living, many long distance drives, packed full with dogs and luggage along the length of the UK and around multiple countries on the continent. EVs are simply better.[/quote]
Not everyone can have an electric car. How could people in flats charge their cars? Also people in houses with no back access and no off road parking. They can't have cables going across the pavement.

Anyone who drives large distances for a living can't have one.

I am sure for some people they are great but it's totally unrealistic to think we can or will all have them eventually

Me and DH still use oyster cards. I think all the reliance on phones for everything is risky and silly. Phone networks can go down and then you are stuck.

I see people on London buses using their watch or phone for paying but it always seems to take longer than just using an oyster card.

I also agree with the poster about not knowing how people can use their phones for using the internet. It's just so annoying especially with a silly little screen

@SquirrelG

These things really haven't changed for me - I don't want to be dependent on a device which needs charging and is easily lost or broken, it just feels un-resilient and like a false convenience.

I feel the same, and as for using a phone for everything - no, just no. I can't be bothered looking at a stupid little screen.

Or scrolling through at the time you use it to find the right code to scan, eg to pay on transport, show a boarding pass to get on a flight etc. Just looks such a complete faff.

Plus if you lost your phone, broke the screen or the battery went flat, you'd be totally screwed.

But I thought contactless credit/debit cards made Oysters redundant because you just tap in and out with those and no longer need the 'middle man' Oyster card, which needs to be kept topped up.

Contactless cards can be used instead of Oysters, but if I'm not wearing an outfit that has a secure and easily accessible pocket I prefer to carry an Oyster with a tenner on it in my jeans rather than my bank card - that way if it gets dropped or stolen all I've lost is a tenner, and I don't have to dig into a zipped handbag to get my card out.