The modem dial tone and other sounds of obsolescence

Public pay phone booths stand empty inside Grand Central Stationin New York, April 09, 2012. New York City officials plan to unveil new smart-phone booth next month, equipped with 32-inch (81-cm) touch screen and Internet connections, inside 250 old phone booths throughout the city. The pilot program will replace old pay telephones that most New Yorkers and tourists don't use. The new smart-screen phone could eventually replace all of the city’s 12,800 outdoor pay phones, whose franchise contracts with the city expire in October 2014. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

When was the last time you heard that distinctive clunk of a pay phone hanging up? Or the screech of a modem coming to life?

They're the sounds we lived with for decades and once represented cutting edge technology. But as our world gets more connected and our technology gets quieter, these sounds may soon be lost forever.

Technology makers are increasingly trying to make silent products that don't annoy consumers (remember that Nokia ringtone, anyone?) but what will be lost without the audible reminders that our products are doing their jobs?

That thunk of a cassette tape sliding into a VCR or the shutter click of a manual camera were comforting because we knew our technology was working.

What sounds of technology past do you miss hearing? Will they be replaced with the "bleep" of an iPhone keypad? Gmail chat notifications?

Guest:

Roberto Baldwin, reporter at Wired