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What are some things that used to be expensive, but which no longer are? (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I was just thinking in the back of my head about how cheap LEDs have made types of lighting that would've cost way too much (both to install, and in electricity usage) no longer stupidly expensive.

For example, I noticed on Amazon some cheap furniture that has LEDs/power outlets sort of integrated right into them. Looks pretty cyberpunk-ish to my eyes. And I know years ago that sort of thing would've been marked up to high heavens.

Fancy lighting in general has changed drastically in price/design.

So...what are some things, due to changes in demand or changes in tech or changes in anything...that would've been really expensive back in the day, but which no longer seem to be, making them more frugal than they used to be?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Then there’s the “calling card”. These allowed you to pre-pay for calls. You used to be able to buy a card at gas stations, drug stores, etc. that had prepaid domestic and long distance minutes on it

These calling cards are also the format that SIM cards are based on. It could store contact names and phone numbers (and most SIM cards still support this, although it's largely deprecated for smart phones) so you'd have a contact list ready to go.