Nice and quiet?

[5129frederick]

I am of the Window 3.1 era where a floppy disc was just that, at 3.5" - flopppy.  I then upgraded to 3.11.  Showing my age, aren't I  During that period I had neither the internet nor sound.  I used it purely as a word processor for creative writing purposes.  It wasn't until I "went modern" that the internet opened up a whole new world to me, but the one thing I have never yearned for in all this time is sound.  I'm typing this in perfect silence with the sound switched off.  I don't know if any of you play Roofrats, but to me the boings and pings are a positive distraction, the same as with Pinball.  To me, sound is superfluous.  The only time I have the sound on is when I want to hear what someone is saying, and even then it's such rubbish I only listen with half an ear.  I have the sound off nine-tenths of the time.  Does everybody have the sound switched on to their computers all the time, or am I an oddity?  

If on holiday I'll stray into an amusement arcade, it's so loud, the first thing I'll do is turn off my hearing aids, leaving them in situ, which then act as earplugs!   It's nie impossible to get away from noise.  Two out of three charity shops will have continuous background music - it doesn't attract me. it drives me out.

[xtf70]

Youngster! I remember Windows coming out when you had to start it up manually on your DOS machine...

I'm with you on the sound though - I rarely turn the speakers on - all the dings, dongs and wibbly-bongs just distract

One thing though - a 'floppy' disk was 5.25" in a flexible plastic carrier - the 3.5" disk was always referred to as a 'stiffy' by our Antipodean cousins

Pointless muzak in shops and lifts - don't get me started! There's a shop-lined courtyard in Kendal with piped music outside; pointless or what?

[mustard-tree]

I am with you Fred, only put the sound on when it is needed,

I like peace and quiet,  I dont like the radio on in the car when driving.

I do play games on the computer, but always with sound off.

I can remember my first computer, commodore C16.

Then upgraded to a plus4, so that I could access Prestel, the forerunner to the internet.

All the pages looked like teletext, but it was fun

I even met my husband on one of the forums, or bulletin boards, as they called them

[ilove2patch]

It depends what I am doing. I like the Ping on Facebook when a friend posts something. I wish my email pinged too. Some games I like this sound & some I have it on very softly. Need it for youtube videos too. I would be lost without the speakers really.

[carolyorkie2010]

I love the sound of silence, Fred. Very rare that I have my speakers on. Our doctors surgery now have a radio playing in the waiting room, I don't like it. When I go in my neighbours house, the TV is never off, so you are having to talk above the sound. Give me silence anyday. And yes, even the charity shops have m,usic playing, although I dont mind the 70's music. When I was a teenager the radio was always on, or the record player with the 45's  and the 33's playing (remember them?)  Funny how we change as we get older.

[5129frederick]

You're quite right about the floppy being 5 1/4" of course. - they actually brought out an even larger floppy disc for commercial ventures like insurance companies which wouldn't have fitted my computer.  My daughter still uses the 3.5" square discse.   I lost a hell of a lot of data during the change over, assuming the 3.11 was compatable with 3.1.  I had to start again.  I bought a periphal which was supposed to have plugged into my Compaq Presario, but it never really worked properly.  They no longer even sell it, it's so  obsolete.  There are a couple of conversation companies out there that will comvert 3.1 and 3.11 onto a memory stick for Notebook, but they are heavy - about £25.00 per disc, so you've got to be very certain there's stuff worth converting.  You can't even buy the 3.5" square discs anymore.  I'm fast being left behind.  Everybody seems to have laptops these days, but I much prefer desk tops - why should I change?

Hey, remember when you had to buy a separate Modem to attach to your system? 

[5129frederick]

I can go back further than that - the old 78's with the wind-up gramophone with NO volume control!  Paul Anka - Last train to San Fernando and Stay by me Diana.  You could just about get two songs out of it before it neeeded  rewinding - those were the days.

Much later came the Gerard seven record stacker system.  Bill Haley and the Comets, Helen Shapeiro, Frankie Vaughan, Perry Como - people who could sing.  Old, aren't I

[saasher2012]

We don't say old here Frederick lol. We think of ourselves as a maturing fine wine or whiskey the more mature the better we are.Lol
My pet hate is car radios etc blaring out through open windows it certainly wakes you up.

[rose2008-2008]

I think listening to the music on games on your pc like Candy Crush saga!!!!,,,does my head in after a while. Then when i was watching tv i was still humming the song. I think its bad for your mind monotonous sound. I dont mind listening to music on the computer if its a song but accompanyments to games drive me mad!!!!.

[ilove2patch]

When I play solitaire I like the sound of the cards being dealt & played. Not music, that is very annoying when you are playing a game. Sound effects are sometimes good.

[stroppy*cow]

I can remember far further back than Windows - the bbc basic, the amstrad, the atari, the acorn - used acorn's in various guises for years.

As for sounds, would not be without and I realise just how fortunate I am to be able choose the level of sound - so many have no choice at all. I would hate to live in a silent world.

I use the pooter to play music, to make phone calls. Without sound I would be unable to watch dvd's.

I do dislike music in shops, but it does depend on the volume.

[ed_blackadder_1]

oooops that will be me Sam, I love my music LOUD when I am driving alone.  I don't usually have anything on when I am on the computer, Occasionally I will put a cd on, I don't play games so I don't know about the music on there.

[myraandjim]

I can't remember the last time I put the sound on, drives me mad. Hate music on in the car, shops drive me nuts with the "background music" that is usually deafening. I'm weird anyway, hate putting lights on at night as I love prowling around in the dark! Trouble is OH can't stand silence and had music on all day, and he puts lights on as soon as it starts getting dusk!!

[saasher2012]

Aah it was you then you little Tinker who nearly gave me a heart attack at three in the morning on the way back from a job, mind you I was in danger of falling asleep & it certainly woke me up , so really I ought to thank you! lol.

[5129frederick]

Ironically lightbulbs are one of the cheapest commodities around.  A 150 watt lightbuld will burn just 0.6 amps.  People will quite happil;y sit in the dark to save money, while making sure they're nice and warm sitting in front of a 2 kilowatt bar fire, and that is expensive!  There are tens of thousands of homes without central heating.  Gas used to be cheap, but it's fast catching up with electricity. 

[myraandjim]

It's not the cost of putting the lights on, I just love the darkness, often go and sit in the garden in the dark it's lovely and as we have no lights around us I get a lovely view of the stars on a clear night.