> I can remember when you could quiet a restless baby by holding a watch up to his ear. It doesn't work anymore. I think we may have a new generation who won't know the sound of a ticking clock or a rotary dial phone. Heck, phones don't even ring anymore and neither do alarm clocks. Gas pumps haven't dinged on each gallon is a long, long time and doorbells aren't bells, they're chimes. And what do you call that sound that replaced the siren on the fire trucks?

I was reading a book on movies the other day, "Making Movies," by the director Sidney Lumet, who made the point that advancing technology, such as you describe, has been changing the art of sound effects editing:

"Sound effects have also developed their own cliches over the years. Can there be a country night scene without crickets? A dog barking in the distance? How about a pile driver in a tense urban scene? Slowly, progress is taking some of the cliches away. Phones in an office no longer ring, they purr. Computers have replaced typewriters, fax machines for teletypes. Everything grows quieter and colorless. Car alarms are a great help, but they're just as annoying on-screen as they are off."