All companies did not require these callouts as the pilots assigned to this equipment were expected to know the aircraft limitations...and besides, autopilot/FD/FMS selections are clearly visable to all.
...and that's the stuff accidents are made of. This cowboy attitude belongs in another era, where CRM was a strange three-letter combination and aircraft were raining down from the sky. We all know how easy it is to misread an instrument - or see things as we expect them to be. Mode annunciations and speed call will ensure that both pilots are in the loop, and will give them the opportunity to cross-check. Far too often in my company (especially when flying with the soon-to-be-golfing-full-time captains) I find that the FMS has been re-programmed while I was finding my plates or filling out the flight plan.
...rather than all the chit-chat that permeates all too many flight decks today.
Ah, you mean the professional attitude a real pilot is expected to have?