5 ms·

Mobile phones didn't invent caller ID and answering machines...

• skinnymuch 6y ago
  I don’t recall caller ID being ubiquitous in 99. Answering machines had good penetration though.
  • rthomas6 6y ago
    I was 12 in 99, so my memory isn't great on this, but I remember having it around then. It could have been a few years later, though. I seem to recall that you had to pay extra for it, so most people didn't bother.
    • nonameiguess 6y ago
      Caller ID was first trialed in the consumer market in 1984. Hell, the first patent was filed for it in 1969. The international standard was defined in 1993. It's been around longer than people remember. Plus, we had *69 in the 90s.
    • skinnymuch 6y ago
      Perhaps my family was poorer than average at that point. I saw others on HN saying cell phones were getting ubiquitous in 99 too. I only recall one or two adults around me having a cell during that time.