Do You Remember Life Before Google?

Even having stupid pagers , before cell phones . The phones were hard to find.

Fire and police departments still use pagers. It is backup, but still in use. As are landline call boxes scattered around town. Computers, 2 way radios and cell phones are the primary ways to communicate, but as we learned last week with the fires. for a lot of things cell phones were totally useless in an emergency. Towers down, batteries dead, etc. So much so that here in Sacramento they are doing a drill Thursday and working to educate those without a landline that they need to register their cell phone, Voip or email address with the County if they want to get emergency alerts (I.E. Reverse 911). Emergency officials have everyone's landline number, but unless you register a cell phone, VoIP or email address, they have no way of getting that information.
http://www.sacramentoready.org/Pages/Emergency-Alerts-Notification-System.aspx
 
I started college ion 1997 and used the computer in the library to search the internet. Access was spotty as it was dial up and I was still a novice at computers. Our school library still had type writers that you could use, and I did use them occasionally. I also owned a set of encyclopedias from the 80s but used the ones in the library as well as combed the library shelves in search of books. Before Google I used Lycos, Altavista, MSN, and Yahoo.
 
Fire and police departments still use pagers. It is backup, but still in use. As are landline call boxes scattered around town. Computers, 2 way radios and cell phones are the primary ways to communicate, but as we learned last week with the fires. for a lot of things cell phones were totally useless in an emergency. Towers down, batteries dead, etc. So much so that here in Sacramento they are doing a drill Thursday and working to educate those without a landline that they need to register their cell phone, Voip or email address with the County if they want to get emergency alerts (I.E. Reverse 911). Emergency officials have everyone's landline number, but unless you register a cell phone, VoIP or email address, they have no way of getting that information.
http://www.sacramentoready.org/Pages/Emergency-Alerts-Notification-System.aspx
We have so many power outages here and I rely on my landline, but you know the cable company had to update stuff as my land line quit working once. I was dumb founded about that. I kept telling my husband when power goes out no way to keep cell phones going.
 
Oh definitely yes I remember, and sometimes wish we could GO BACK to those days!!

We got our first computer when our DS was in junior high if I remember correctly. And when cell phones first came out and were in those big bags that you could only use in your car, sometimes I wish we could GO BACK to those kinds of phones too!!

Our kids can remember the bag phones, and looking things up for school in our Brittanica set of encyclopedias, and having a party line house phone, corded. And dial-up internet where we were constantly having to fuss at the kids to "get off the computer" so we could use the phone or their Dad was expecting an important call. Those were the days. :)
 


I remember the first time I ever heard the word "Google!" I was in a Ancient History class in college in 2001-ish. My professor was showing us what she wanted us to do for a history paper we were to write. She talked about different research methods and said she had a really good one -

"use the library computer if you don't have one of your own, and type the word "Google" into the search engine. It'll come up and then you type any topic you want into the box! There's even this little box below that you can click called "I'm feeling lucky" and it will try to match your phrase with something in the internet system. It's so funny!"

She was totally tickled by the fact that a computer would try to be clever, and we students feverishly took notes on exactly how to find something in Google lol

I look back at that and realize just how little I, and most people, understood not only the internet, but the scope and depth and breadth of how it would come to shape our lives and our world. DS was a baby at the time and I didn't even own a cell phone, much less one that would make my life 10,000,000 times easier 17 years later. The value and ease of information-sharing for people like me who love to research and find out everything there is to know about everything is life-changing. Now my kids have never known a life without everything at their fingertips. I went on a weekend trip with DS17 this past weekend and we literally spent both legs of the 5 hour drive talking. He wanted to know everything about me from my childhood through today. lol He was amazed at some of the things I told him about how we studied, worked, and even little things like getting out a checkbook and writing out our checks every month for our bills, recording the checks so we could reconcile them to our bank statements later, and go to the post office, buy stamps and mail the bills in (ahead of time so they would get there by the due date!) All he knows is that when you have to pay a bill, it either comes out of your bank account automatically, or you just go to their website and make the payment. He said he would have no idea how to keep a checkbook balanced. And honestly, there is no reason anymore for him to have to do so - his Chase account immediately emails and texts him anytime he does anything with the account!
 
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The other day, DS was complaining about a paper he has to write for school. I told him about how I had to write papers in the Dark Ages and mentioned the card catalog. He had no idea what I was talking about. I googled an image of a card catalog for him. He said no school library he's ever been in has had one. That seems strange to me. Electricity does go out and computers fail. (He's in 10th grade, BTW, so not real little.)

We had card catalogs in my school library, but our public libraries used microfilm readers which had loud motors. I remember this bound catalog of search terms for magazines. It was well known at the time, but I think they’re likely not publishing paper catalogs if they happen to still be in business. I don’t recall the name.

At UC Berkeley we had computer terminal directories. You had to learn fairly simple search syntax. I also took “Bibliography 1” which was a lower division class taught by graduate students at the School of Library and Information Sciences. I learned a lot about research from that class, but the one thing I couldn’t find as part of an assignment was who said “The revolution will not be televised”. We were directed to a specific section of the reference dept of the undergrad library, but I couldn’t find anything that had that quote.

We also had atypical library rules (not always followed) where books taken out were supposed to be returned to a collection section at the end of the shelf. The library staff were supposed to sort them rather than users possibly putting them back incorrectly. I think it gave a lot of the student employees something to do and did result in few misplaced bs.
 
Um, didn't you have a copier? Xerox machines (as they were generically known then) were around waaaay before pc's.

We weren't allowed to use it. Only the supervisors were for some reason. They felt it was cheaper to carbon copy everything as it was typed.

That's why I got hired - they tested the typing of every person who was hired. You had to have a 98% typing accuracy rate and type a minimum of 60 words per minute. I was told later that I was the only person who did 70 wpm and had 100% accuracy on the test. Sure shocked me! LOL

Nowadays I doubt I could do it.
 


Yes, I remember life before Google since I am 52. Another person that rode the wave so to speak.

My dad always had to have THE LATEST gadget. He was playing the card game "Bridge" online in 1985ish? He claimed to be playing with Bill Gates and his ilk. It was a paid site he was on BACK THEN.

My dad bought me a word processor in 1983, when I went to college. I also was doing graphic designing on the Apple Computers in the lad around 1986?

Now Google is freaking me out, for real. It is always listening. Frankly I am a bit creeped out and intrigued at the same time.
My grandpa had an entire room dedicated to computers (and another dedicated to HAM Radio) in the 80s. I remember him telling me that one day everything would be done on computers and I told him he was nuts. :rotfl:And here I sit DISing on my iPad while my kids do their math homework on the desktop inside. My uncle dug up an article Grandpa wrote about internet etiquette back then, you were NEVER to address someone by their user name. My how times have changed.
 
Well since I feel I predate most things except the abacus:

- I still recall the phone number of the local movie theater (though I haven't lived near it for decades now)
- I still check maps (online now, but I still have a box of paper maps in the basement!) before a driving trip (too many gps incidents, and this allows me to have an idea of where to go should something go wrong)
- I remember when the company I was working for in the early 1980's starting giving the salesforce Compaq "portable" computers which must have been 2 feet x 3 feet x 8 inches and weighed close to 30 pounds
- In the late 80's I worked at a place that was just introducing pc's for all and one of the workers insisted on putting a piece of carbon paper between two sheets of paper when they wanted a copy of something, continuing to do so till they retired many years later
- Still remember being in awe in high school when I saw my first calculator (they started becoming less expensive so we common folk could afford them-though we weren't allowed to use them for tests)
 
My grandpa had an entire room dedicated to computers (and another dedicated to HAM Radio) in the 80s. I remember him telling me that one day everything would be done on computers and I told him he was nuts. :rotfl:And here I sit DISing on my iPad while my kids do their math homework on the desktop inside. My uncle dug up an article Grandpa wrote about internet etiquette back then, you were NEVER to address someone by their user name. My how times have changed.

Well, things haven’t quite turned out as predicted by the Back to the Future movies. Christopher Lloyd and Michael J Fox did a bit on Kimmel. I think as Doc Brown he said something about seeing a smart phone thinking it was a “pocket supercomputer” that is used for important scientific purposes, but Kimmel responds that it’s more than likely being used to send emojis.

 
About 8 years ago I was in the library at the university that I worked at looking for resources and overheard undergraduate students ask the librarian how to look for books? They were completely stumped. No clue about how to use the online catalog or read the Dewey Decimal System. As a child I had a thorough understanding of the Dewey Decimal System as well as how to use the old card catalogs (index cards). I even knew how to use thew microfiche reader. I actually had to locate the office on campus that housed the old microfiche/readers to assist my dad with a class assignment that he was working on (he returned to college to complete his degree 30+ years after he left school). I doubt that his undergrad peers would have even known what they were looking for to complete the assignment.
 
About 8 years ago I was in the library at the university that I worked at looking for resources and overheard undergraduate students ask the librarian how to look for books? They were completely stumped. No clue about how to use the online catalog or read the Dewey Decimal System. As a child I had a thorough understanding of the Dewey Decimal System as well as how to use the old card catalogs (index cards). I even knew how to use thew microfiche reader. I actually had to locate the office on campus that housed the old microfiche/readers to assist my dad with a class assignment that he was working on (he returned to college to complete his degree 30+ years after he left school). I doubt that his undergrad peers would have even known what they were looking for to complete the assignment.
Huh. It’s still taught here. Library is actually classified as a class in grade school with letter and citizenship grades. Any time I went into the school library with my kids they were always insistent on showing me how things worked even though they showed me the last ten times I was in there, lol.
 
This is one of the threads I actually read each and every reply.....love this type of discussion. We didn't get a home PC computer until 2002. And I remember paying $25 for AOL email and its services. Yes, life before Google....WHOA, what a world and how on earth did we manage without the wonderful world of the internet. One item I clearly remember, around 1998, when we were looking for a house to buy, I remember getting in the mail, xeroxs black n white of the of potential houses listings...... goosebumps on today's technology NOWADAYS!!!!!!!!!!
 
My DH bought a laptop for me around 2004ish. I remember saying it was ridiculous, I didn’t need my own computer. :rotfl:

It wasn’t until a few years later that I really understood the power of a google search. My kids had Leap Pads and there was something wrong with one of them. (can’t remember what now) I googled the specific issue and with some digging was able to find the fix. I was AMAZED that I could do that. Back then I was about the least techie person on the planet but I was able to fix this device all on my own. Opened up a whole new world to me. I kept saying to my DH, “Five years ago, I would have to spend hours on the phone or send it in!”


You're like me....we didn't get our home PC computer until 2002. I do remember in the late 90's/early 2000's a few of my neighbors n friends and have said..... ""oh, I can't live without my computer...etc." Then, I was like um..."no I am good, and fine"...thinking it was a fad. BOY was I so ever wrong. I love the power of the internet and what it offers.

I remember too hearing in the 2007-ish, a friend of mine mentioned that she went to youtube (I didn't know or understand Youtube was) to learn how to cut a pineapple and for some reason I WAS SOOOOO AMAZED just to hear that. Now, I youtube EVERYTHING as well so I can get a visual.
 
This is one of the threads I actually read each and every reply.....love this type of discussion. We didn't get a home PC computer until 2002. And I remember paying $25 for AOL email and its services. Yes, life before Google....WHOA, what a world and how on earth did we manage without the wonderful world of the internet. One item I clearly remember, around 1998, when we were looking for a house to buy, I remember getting in the mail, xeroxs black n white of the of potential houses listings...... goosebumps on today's technology NOWADAYS!!!!!!!!!!
When we bought this house three years ago we signed everything but the final loan documents online. It was the fastest, simplest closing I’ve ever experienced.

You're like me....we didn't get our home PC computer until 2002. I do remember in the late 90's/early 2000's a few of my neighbors n friends and have said..... ""oh, I can't live without my computer...etc." Then, I was like um..."no I am good, and fine"...thinking it was a fad. BOY was I so ever wrong. I love the power of the internet and what it offers.

I remember too hearing in the 2007-ish, a friend of mine mentioned that she went to youtube (I didn't know or understand Youtube was) to learn how to cut a pineapple and for some reason I WAS SOOOOO AMAZED just to hear that. Now, I youtube EVERYTHING as well so I can get a visual.
My DH calls it “YouTube University.” A couple years ago I had a problem with the back heater in my truck blowing cold air. We could not figure out what the problem was but knew it would cost a ton to take in. I spent days diligently googling different key words and coincidentally ended up finding a thread about the same issue right here on the DIS. From there I was able to know what part it was, looked up how to change it out on YouTube, ordered the part on Amazon and two days and $25 later I had heat in my truck again.
 
Huh. It’s still taught here. Library is actually classified as a class in grade school with letter and citizenship grades. Any time I went into the school library with my kids they were always insistent on showing me how things worked even though they showed me the last ten times I was in there, lol.

My kids classes visit the school library either every week or every other week. I think the thing is that each school handles library time differently in what they teach, but ultimately it depends on what the student chooses to learn. Remember, with budget cuts library time in some schools may be a class trip to simply check out a book, with little instruction on how to actually look things up. Also, middle schools don;t necessarily have designated library periods, so what you once knew is easy to forget without use. My daughters brand new middle school has a library, but no assigned class period to visit it. It's there if your class schedules a visit or for your classes free "recess" period as an alternative to being outside.
 
About 8 years ago I was in the library at the university that I worked at looking for resources and overheard undergraduate students ask the librarian how to look for books? They were completely stumped. No clue about how to use the online catalog or read the Dewey Decimal System. As a child I had a thorough understanding of the Dewey Decimal System as well as how to use the old card catalogs (index cards). I even knew how to use thew microfiche reader. I actually had to locate the office on campus that housed the old microfiche/readers to assist my dad with a class assignment that he was working on (he returned to college to complete his degree 30+ years after he left school). I doubt that his undergrad peers would have even known what they were looking for to complete the assignment.

My college libraries used the Library of Congress classification system. It was generally a better system for really large libraries.
 
We have so many power outages here and I rely on my landline, but you know the cable company had to update stuff as my land line quit working once. I was dumb founded about that. I kept telling my husband when power goes out no way to keep cell phones going.
I don't consider cable phones landlines.
 
I started college in 1995 and they had us sign up for email addresses at orientation.....I remember thinking "What's an email address?" ....I don't actually remember when I was introduced to Google exactly, but 1995 was when I got online access and an email address. Basically, my memory of a time before the internet is my childhood/teen years. Once I was in college, I was connected to the internet (obviously it was very different than what it is today). So, I was never an adult without the internet.
 

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