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Author Topic: Cell Phones
Dragonite21
Farting Nudist
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posted 05-08-2007 04:37 PM      Profile for Dragonite21     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I loathe the bloody things. Can't go anywhere without someone ringing me or texting me some dumb mis-spelled shit about shit that I don't care about. Anyway, I'm toying with the idea of getting rid of mine, except - well, is it even possible to live without one in this day and age?

[Trash Bear]

From: London, United Kingdom | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged
Face
I invented cancer.
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posted 05-08-2007 05:24 PM      Profile for Face   Author's Homepage   Email Face   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I haven't used my cell in like 7 months. I hate it. Good luck in getting rid of yours, man.

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Weezing!

From: Hackensack, nj | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged
Mr. K
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posted 05-08-2007 08:43 PM      Profile for Mr. K   Author's Homepage   Email Mr. K   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Just stop answering the thing and only return messages on your own terms. People will eventually stop bothering you so much. It's good to have in emergencies and is ludicrously convenient, so I wouldn't recommend dumping it.

Trying to coordinate with my last holdout friend who refuses to get a cell is annoying.

I'm too old to understand texting at all. You have a goddam phone in your hand and yet you'd rather communicate in strings of consonants using a device designed to enter only digits? What's next, morse code? Communication is moving backwards.

From: Cinnabar Island | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
10,000Lb.Snorlax
loves long time.
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posted 05-09-2007 12:12 PM      Profile for 10,000Lb.Snorlax   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
so are we then agreed that an Azure Heights 1-800 number could do a better job than this forum?

I think texts are efficient to say stuff like "I wan fuk u 2night" "no" "8pm" but yeah if you need a plumber to come to your house and fix your toilet it isn't a very effective medium - just like calling someone and leaving a phone message for them saying "8 pm" isn't effective. You have just created more of a hassle for them to pick up a voicemail than look at their phone and read "8pm".

and we should broaden the scope of this topic to include all of the bullshit that an innocent, innoculous phone call can cause. When you just want to call to say "8pm" there is sometimes the obligation to start a conversation because it would be rude to call someone who is not your best friend to say "8pm goodbye". Texting absolves you from that.

also:

Texting is non-intrusive - phone calls are VERY intrusive. If the person you are calling is in the middle of work, stressed out, eating, busy, angry etc it can be a catastrophe (in relative terms). A text effectively communicates what you wanted to without obligating the receiver to stop everything they are doing to acknowledge you and the bullshit conversation that subsequently will probably follow.

phone calls can be very selfish - texting is anything but*

*except for the $.10 charge the person who receives it probably pays! lollerzkates

From: Denver | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
MewtwoSama
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posted 05-09-2007 02:14 PM      Profile for MewtwoSama   Author's Homepage   Email MewtwoSama   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
It's time to party!

Let's party!

Gotta have a party tonight!

From: Abyss of Evil | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
Mr. K
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posted 05-10-2007 01:13 AM      Profile for Mr. K   Author's Homepage   Email Mr. K   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
10,000K: so are we then agreed that an Azure Heights 1-800 number could do a better job than this forum?

I can see that using a mass text to a bunch of people simultaneously would be a good way to spread a simple message quickly, but that's not the way I see most people using it.

Another decent use of it was after the hurricanes when we didn't have any power and wanted to keep battery usage down to a minimum.

In general, I prefer voicemail to text messages. I can ignore a ringing phone in the same way I can ignore a beeping phone if I don't want to take a message, and it's much more efficient means of communicating ideas. In the instance where I only need a tiny specific data hunk, I can see the use, but that would be rare for me.

Texting absolves you from that.

My grumpy old man side sees this as a further degradation of communication. I don't write letters and never did, but it seems people spent a lot more time and effort on them than email.

On the other hand, email used properly can create a conversational environment absent from letter writing that is more appealing in some ways. Although it is kind of depressing to imagine that historians will be looking through forwarded links to dancing cats instead of stuff like Jefferson's letters, but oh well. People who write krappy emails would otherwise write krappy letters, so it's probably just a matter of seeing history more fondly because no one remembers or cares about the lame material.

Anyway, a lot of what I see texting used for is people sending "cute" messages to each other all day long to let them know they haven't forgotten each other in the past few hours. That degree of smothering would drive me from any relationship, although, come to think of it, most things chicks do tend to do that.

ALSO: Sama, I am not ready for that kind of party in my pants.

[ 05-10-2007, 01:14 AM: Message edited by: Mr. K ]

From: Cinnabar Island | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
starCaliber
is evil and also MewtwoSama
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posted 05-15-2007 09:44 PM      Profile for starCaliber   Email starCaliber   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Mr. K:
Anyway, a lot of what I see texting used for is people sending "cute" messages to each other all day long to let them know they haven't forgotten each other in the past few hours.

tha hell? When do they let you guys out of high school?

I am one hundred percent an advocate for all of the new technologies mobile phones/devices have brought. I agree with you that text messaging is a pile of shit, but only because it's a 1996 technology that should have dried up and disappeared long, long ago. We want data on our phones now! Fuck spending 15 cents for 160 characters; send and receive all the data your fool heart can desire and do so monthly for a flat fee.

Today's phones have full QWERTY keyboards, two/three/five megapixel cameras, WiFi capability, fullblown operating systems, and internet connections as fast as home cable/DSL lines.

Convergence is to be embraced (also fuck Treos and BlackBerrys [Smile] ).

[ 05-15-2007, 09:45 PM: Message edited by: starCaliber ]

From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Apr 2000  |  IP: Logged
Mr. K
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posted 05-18-2007 04:27 AM      Profile for Mr. K   Author's Homepage   Email Mr. K   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
cal: When do they let you guys out of high school?

After watching my parents and grandparents interact with their neighbors, I have become convinced that it never ends.

The smothering thing is just from those I know who are dating, however. Once you have a house and kid shooting bodily fluids all over it, there isn't much time to worry about whether or not you like your spouse.

Today's phones have full QWERTY keyboards, two/three/five megapixel cameras, WiFi capability, fullblown operating systems, and internet connections as fast as home cable/DSL lines.

Some of that stuff is like putting your toaster on the Internet. I'm completely in favor of combining gadgets you'd otherwise want to use (camera + phone + mp3 player + satellite radio + ...) into one portable device, but I don't really need to build spreadsheets in the park or on the train. I don't want to surf the web on a 2" screen. I don't want a qwerty where the keys are smaller than Tic Tacs.

Text messaging just seems like one of those things that is the wrong tool for the job, and kind of hilariously so.

From: Cinnabar Island | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
Lark84
My skeleton is made of creamy nougat.
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posted 05-19-2007 01:18 PM      Profile for Lark84     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
So what do you pro-convergence people say about the iPhone (apart from the fact that I know you're already hating it because it's Apple and expensive)?

[edit] Oh, about texting:

Aside from being nonintrusive to the person recieving it, it is also nonintrusive for the people around you while you text. If, while on the bus, you text your buddy to say "I'm a little late because I missed the 9 o'clock bus" instead of going "Hi, it's me! Yeah, good morning to you too. Listen, I'm a little late... What? ... No, just a couple of minutes... What? No, I missed the bus... Yeah, I know... So, you're already there? ... What? ... All right. Well, see you soon. Bye!", the people around you will be less annoyed.

Note the many "what?":s, which I think is the number one most used word when talking on a cell. Despite all the cameras and web browsers jammed into the phones, the sound quality is still shit in most cases. This is another advantage to texting when you just need to deliver a concise message without being intrusive.

I also think that there may be certain differences between Europe and the US, which has led to texting not catching on in the latter. It still seems like texting is quite expensive with most American carriers, and paying for recieving texts? LOL WTF! Many European carriers have free texting as a way to lure people into buying their service, because texting is so popular. Instead, they gouge up things like monthly fee, minute rates etc. (rendering texting even more popular).

[ 05-20-2007, 05:11 PM: Message edited by: Lark84 ]

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10,000Lb.Snorlax
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posted 05-21-2007 02:12 PM      Profile for 10,000Lb.Snorlax   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
When I was in New Zealand - EVERYONE texts

it's something crazy to actually call someone over there - it was over $.37/minute for just about all cellphone carriers, texting however is virtually free.

I was amazed at the extent people used texts over phone calls...

like to the extent that this fishing guide I hired said "Yeah just give me a text when you get into town and we can arrange something".

swap phone-talking with phone-texting - that's what the ratio was over there.

From: Denver | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
Mr. K
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posted 05-21-2007 02:44 PM      Profile for Mr. K   Author's Homepage   Email Mr. K   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Those economic factors make sense to me.

As for the iPhone, I am pretty ambivalent about it. It's nothing amazing tech-wise...a few years behind where Japanese tech was a few years ago, apparently, but Apple sells ease-of-use more than anything. So, assuming it's easy to use, it sounds nice.

Somehow my father (who doesn't understand what files and directories are) can work his iPod, although his brain nearly exploded when I used my mp3 player to copy non-music stuff on to his computer.

From: Cinnabar Island | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
MewtwoSama
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posted 05-22-2007 01:55 AM      Profile for MewtwoSama   Author's Homepage   Email MewtwoSama   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
You have an mp3 player? Holy cow! I figured you were hoarding vinyl.
From: Abyss of Evil | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
Mr. K
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posted 05-22-2007 07:16 AM      Profile for Mr. K   Author's Homepage   Email Mr. K   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I got it for Xmas a few years ago. I never use it for anything other than transferring files. I don't like earplugs.

Sometimes I transfer mp3s, I guess, so that's almost like using it for its intended purpose.

I have some vinyl (from bands who don't exist on the intarweb), but no way to play it, so it's just another one of those things taking up storage space.

From: Cinnabar Island | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
starCaliber
is evil and also MewtwoSama
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posted 05-22-2007 09:40 AM      Profile for starCaliber   Email starCaliber   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
k: Some of that stuff is like putting your toaster on the Internet. ... I don't want to surf the web on a 2" screen. I don't want a qwerty where the keys are smaller than Tic Tacs.

Anyone who legitimately attempts to surf the web on a 2" screen either hates themselves or is lying to you to sell you on smartphones. I still maintain that WiFi on a pocket device is a bit of a gimmick, since you'll likely have access to a laptop or desktop PC when a hotspot is accessible, but an always-on data connection through your carrier is great. You can have your phone's homescreen show the current temperature and five day forecast for your zipcode, check your bank balance without having to find an ATM, have an automatically-updating list of flight information at the airport, use Google Maps to generate colorful maps and turn-by-turn directions (that show where you are on the map if you have GPS), turn your phone into a fucking pocket TV (!), and all kinds of other wacky shit. Powerful pocket devices don't really do any single earth-shattering thing, they just do a fuckload of "oh hey, that's neat" and "damn, that was pretty slick" little things that pile up to the point that you don't want to live without them.

As for QWERTY thumbboards, we'll have to just disagree on that one. [Smile] I crank something like 35 WPM on mine, but I can certainly recognize the desire to confine that sort of shit to the office.

I'm actually surprised at how open you are to convergence; a lot of my friends will irrationally fight that shit like there's no tomorrow. "If I wanted a camera, I'd get a camera, if I wanted an iPod I'd get an iPod, I want my phone to make calls and nothing else!!!!!!!!" Then, there are people like my brother who are the exact opposite and will refuse to use a piece of technology unless it's in his cell phone. Samsung makes a few cellphones that are 9mm thick; I finally told him to just buy that shit along with one of those pocket 6 or 8MP digital cameras and duct tape them the fuck together rather than endlessly lament converged cameraphones and the sad truth that they aren't where he'd like them to be at the price he'd like to pay. There's your god damn all-in-one device, my friend!

lark: Despite all the cameras and web browsers jammed into the phones, the sound quality is still shit in most cases.

This is a bad argument that demonstrates a lack of understanding as to how the technology works. As an example, a lot of the low-end Nokia GSM phones are considered to be something of a "gold standard" in terms of RF quality for GSM networks. Yet, you'll find that when those same phones are equipped with a 1.3MP cameras, Bluetooth connectivity, J2ME, and assorted other frills and knick-knacks that make their way into today's dumbphones, they perform every bit as well as their barebones counterparts. The reason you see all that stuff added onto phones now is simple: making a phone that "just plain works" was too easy, consumers knew it, and they wanted to see more. That's not to say that some manufacturers haven't put out shitty phones with garbage radio quality, because they have. As a consumer equipped with internet access, you possess within you the power to read reviews of devices prior to exchanging your currency for them in an effort to avoid making such a device your own!

Theoretically, you could probably attach a giant-ass signal boosting antenna to a cellphone and stand directly under a tower while making your calls (provided that the person on the other end of the line was doing the same), but you'd be well beyond a size that anyone's interested in carrying for what would amount to a miniscule gain. Implying that entertainment features added to the specific consumer electronic you carry in your pocket is holding back some "crystal clear voice standard" is ridiculous.

lark: So what do you pro-convergence people say about the iPhone

I'm not going to come up with anything new since I'm pretty sick of hearing about it, but here's what I wrote in the SA thread:
quote:
I suppose what I don't understand is why anyone that's shopping in this market segment would look at an iPhone but not at a Nokia N95. N95 is right about $750 USD now and will almost certainly be at or below the iPhone's price when it releases. Since both devices factor 3G out of the equation, the N95 brings the much-appreciated perk that you can use it on T-Mobile and save some friggin' money on your service if you're not interested in playing AT&T's "$20! No, $40! No no, definitely $20! By which we mean $40!" data plan horseshit roulette game. Yeah, you give up either 2GB or 6GB of storage in going with an N95, but you bump the camera up to a mouth-watering 5 megapixels with that Zeiss gimmick and you add GPS to the picture like so much metaphorical gravy on an already-delightful Thanksgiving turkey of cellular connectivity (though it sure would be fancy-fresh if the forthcoming Nokia N81 and N82 were merged into a single device that retained the form factor of the latter; ah, convergence, you are the cruelest of bitches).

Call me an Apple skeptic, but I'll take the well-established S60v3 Feature Pack 1 and its extensive library of applications long, long before an unproven-and-stripped-down version of OS X shoehorned into a mobile device that urges me to "think different" by violently raping away my tactile keys in favor of the "so post-modern" Greasy Finger Screen Mashing (working title) control mechanism. I consider myself quite entitled to piss on touchscreens; I fight with one everyday on my HTC Hermes. There's probably about nine thousand PocketPC and Treo zealots lurking in the woodwork that disagree with me, but I see touchscreens on convergence devices as legacy technology that hinders software growth.

Hopefully, the finest perk of the iPhone launch will be to serve as a swift kick in the ass to Microsoft encouraging them to work on the image of their software. They've done it with Windows (Vista's Aero notwithstanding) for twenty-some years now, and they're doing it again with these fucking mobiles. We want GUIs that don't look like a college freshman's Visual Basic homework assignment, we want screens larger than QVG-fucking-A, and we want to know why in the hell all WinMo devices continue to have 65K colors whilst Nokia's smartphones sport a cool sixteen mil.

Microsoft needs to heed the iPhone for what it is: a warning to get their asses in gear.

and thus concludes my longest azure post in eleven years
From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Apr 2000  |  IP: Logged
10,000Lb.Snorlax
loves long time.
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posted 05-22-2007 10:51 AM      Profile for 10,000Lb.Snorlax   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I like Apple because it is the only chance we all have against google.
From: Denver | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
Wintermute
My custom title sucks.
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posted 05-24-2007 09:46 PM      Profile for Wintermute   Author's Homepage   Email Wintermute   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'm one of those people who doesn't trust a matchbox-sized device at my ear to pick up what I'm saying, and therefore tries to move the device back and forth during conversations. If I didn't live with my gf I wouldn't keep a land line either. Even so we've considered dropping it for SkypeIn or whatever.

Cell phones are very handy for coordinating social events, but usually I only have to do that when I visit Florida and JT Toad already has one, so that's ok.

Asynchronous communication produces happy feelings. Don't modern cell phones have voice messaging? Like, on our phone system at work you can leave a message without risk of speaking to anyone.

Finally the entire pricing model can just fuck off.

From: Winnipeg, Manitoba | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
starCaliber
is evil and also MewtwoSama
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posted 05-24-2007 11:52 PM      Profile for starCaliber   Email starCaliber   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Wintermute:
Finally the entire pricing model can just fuck off.

The pricing model is tailored to the retard buying habits of consumers. You're in no way forced to use it; you can buy your phone online and tell your carrier you already have a phone.

The pricing is actually a bonus since they know you're going to need service every month anyway. I'd rather get $200 off my phone up front with the risk that I'll have to pay a $200 termination fee if I get finicky and want to switch carriers than to simply spend $400 on a device up-front with no bribes. It would be nice if we could just buy devices on our own and service was cheaper every month, but hey, Sprint SERO is only 30 USD a month for unlimited data, text, and 500 minutes.

From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Apr 2000  |  IP: Logged
Ancient Egyptian Cat-Gonk
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posted 05-25-2007 01:36 AM      Profile for Ancient Egyptian Cat-Gonk   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Wintermute:
Asynchronous communication produces happy feelings. Don't modern cell phones have voice messaging? Like, on our phone system at work you can leave a message without risk of speaking to anyone.

People often find checking voicemail inconvenient; it's a lot easier just to glance at the screen of the little black thing. I only make calls on my mobile when trying to arrange things that are dependent on where people are, other than that it's text messages to rally the troops.

Speaking of mobiles, anyone got a recommendation for a mobile phone with a half-decent camera on it?

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ThomasTR
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posted 05-25-2007 01:57 PM      Profile for ThomasTR     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
You Americans are lucky. They're far more popular here in the UK.
From: United Kingdom | Registered: Jun 2000  |  IP: Logged
Wintermute
My custom title sucks.
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posted 05-25-2007 02:16 PM      Profile for Wintermute   Author's Homepage   Email Wintermute   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
arC:The pricing is actually a bonus since they know you're going to need service every month anyway. I'd rather get $200 off my phone up front with the risk that I'll have to pay a $200 termination fee if I get finicky and want to switch carriers than to simply spend $400 on a device up-front with no bribes.

The fact that you have to even make decisions like this is exactly what I'm talking about. Sure, it's laziness on my part and if I cared at all about cell phones I'd be motivated to learn the ins and outs. But as an extremely potential user, phrases like "termination fee" make me laugh and spit on the salesperson's shoes. Any industry that's not evolved enough to make things simple, transparent, and easy to compare across competitors can get back to me when they've commoditized.

It'll happen when they start going after the last 5% of the population.

gonk: People often find checking voicemail inconvenient; it's a lot easier just to glance at the screen of the little black thing.

Ok, good point. Usability is kind of a see-saw between sender and receiver.

Maybe the list of voicemails on my screen could have the sender's ID and also the duration in seconds. Anything longer than 20 gets an automatic tl;dr reply.

From: Winnipeg, Manitoba | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
Donald
Bob the Builder
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posted 05-25-2007 02:52 PM      Profile for Donald   Email Donald      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Ancient Egyptian Cat-Gonk:
Speaking of mobiles, anyone got a recommendation for a mobile phone with a half-decent camera on it?

Depends on how much you're willing to spend. The N95 probably outdoes my little point-and-shoot at 5mp, but at $750... You can probably get an SonyEricsson k800i on the cheap, it actually had assistance from Sony's digicam department. (See this for info)

Note: I work for a cell phone company that likes to play roulette with its data plans. Stan Sigman can kindly die in a fire.

[ 05-25-2007, 02:53 PM: Message edited by: Donald ]

From: In your girl's panties | Registered: Feb 2001  |  IP: Logged
Mr. K
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posted 05-26-2007 03:46 PM      Profile for Mr. K   Author's Homepage   Email Mr. K   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
cal: Powerful pocket devices don't really do any single earth-shattering thing, they just do a fuckload of "oh hey, that's neat" and "damn, that was pretty slick" little things that pile up to the point that you don't want to live without them.

I can see where you're coming from, but you're talking to someone who has never worn a watch, because I'm generally just not that interested in what time it is. I'm just not clamoring for that kind of data.

If it were more like a Pokedex and I could point it at various species of animals and get info about that, I would get right onboard. That tech that lets you ID songs in your general vicinity is cool, although now that I am getting old enough to dislike most new music, I'm less interested. Actually, I've always disliked most new music, I guess, I'm just not as actively seeking out new veins of decent tunes. And I'm unlikely to hear them playing at the strip mall down the street.

I'm actually surprised at how open you are to convergence...

In practice, I just buy the cheapest and smallest phone available. Also it should have no protrusions, since I'm going to stick it in my pocket. I would never buy a phone with an antennae poking out of it. (I am not buying a gay leather holster for my tech. That is embarrassing.) I guess it should also be sturdy enough to be dropped from time to time.

Anyway, the way to be convinced that convergence is a good idea is to go on vacation and lug around a phone and a camera simultaneously. If I took more photos or ever listened to mp3s portably, I'd probably get a better phone. It would be nice if this thing had a flash drive on it with a retractable USB port, but I assume that tech will be coming to the cheap phones soon enough.

I suppose it's an issue that all cell phone companies are evil and I don't like the idea of them downloading my photos and files all the time, but that's going to happen no matter what, since no one seems to be at all worried about Google, who I absolutely guarantee will be the one of the most evil empires the world has ever seen in about 10 years. Maybe 15.

Like so much else in life, it's inevitable and no one will care until it's too late. Hell, it probably already is.

As for the voicemail issue, I admit it would be better if companies took the messages and sent mp3s to your phone instead of requiring a dial-in.

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From: Cinnabar Island | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
Face
I invented cancer.
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posted 05-26-2007 04:07 PM      Profile for Face   Author's Homepage   Email Face   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I forgot to say that my first cell phone I ever had was one of those ones that allowed you to talk to people with a button on the side. If you pressed the button you'd be able to talk to other people through it and vice-versa provided the other person had the same feature. I was amazed at how easy it was to use, but I was also in awe of its ability to be nothing that people couldn't do (it was wasn't hard to use, at all). The phone I now have is a Motorola and I have been slacking off in paying for cards because they cost you at least $80-$100 a card (if you want 400-800 minutes for it). The first phone was a lot more fun, because it was big and you could do many things on it but the phone I lately use is a small piece of of nothing. I don't want to use it because you can't do much outside of texting and talking.

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From: Hackensack, nj | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged
starCaliber
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posted 05-26-2007 08:57 PM      Profile for starCaliber   Email starCaliber   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Mr. K:
It would be nice if this thing had a flash drive on it with a retractable USB port, but I assume that tech will be coming to the cheap phones soon enough.

I think it's funny you should mention that, because I always tell Sama that phones should include flip-out USB connectors. He insists that it would be a pretty big size-adder, and I suppose I'm inclined to agree with him. As it stands now, I use WMStorage for Windows Mobile, and tend to keep a cable that plugs my phone into USB in my bag most of the time. Without the cable, you can connect as a disk drive wirelessly using Bluetooth but if you need to transfer anything of reasonable size the speed cap gets a little annoying. In order to really be useful as a USB drive, phones need more storage and/or multiple SD/miniSD/microSD slots. I can only put a 2GB card in my shit, and once you fill up a gig and three quarters with music, there's not much left for installers, photos, documents, etc.

quote:
Originally posted by Mr. K:
I suppose it's an issue that all cell phone companies are evil and I don't like the idea of them downloading my photos and files all the time...

what? Why are cell phone companies privy to anything you do on your device other than calls/texts/network traffic?

(Not that it makes much difference to me, since I'm blissfully not worried about the consequences of who can see my personal information -- just pointing out that most of that stuff can be kept reasonably private).

From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Apr 2000  |  IP: Logged
Mr. K
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posted 05-27-2007 01:25 AM      Profile for Mr. K   Author's Homepage   Email Mr. K   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
cal: ...keep a cable that plugs my phone into USB in my bag most of the time.

That's too much krap for me. I'm already carrying around a little box of tech, I don't want to have to worry about a cable too. Just something else to forget in a hotel room or something.

I can only put a 2GB card in my shit...

That'll change eventually. I hear the new laptops are finally going solid state, which means we're finally going to advance beyond the fucking phonograph. Yay, humanity for making it out of the steam age.

Why are cell phone companies privy to anything you do on your device other than calls/texts/network traffic?

Assuming the story I heard is true, the phone company can download software to your phone which allows them to use it as a bug, even when it's "off". Allegedly that's how the Brits caught some terrorist. And of course our locations can be tracked and that data is routinely handed over.

I'm just assuming the phone companies will sell your information to Google or give it to the government or whatever, since most people won't care.

Not that it makes much difference to me, since I'm blissfully not worried about the consequences of who can see my personal information...

As are most people, even my friend who just spent 18 months cleaning up the mess of a bogus mortgage made in his name.

I guess it's the kind of thing kids are going to take for granted, especially the kind of people who put their whole lives up on myspace or whatever. Every generation cares a little less.

I saw an interesting report on how they're adding RFID to passports and credit cards, and now pickpockets don't even need to physically take your stuff any more. They just have to get a small device close enough to your backpack to steal all your vitals.

From: Cinnabar Island | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
MewtwoSama
Asshole
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posted 05-28-2007 12:25 AM      Profile for MewtwoSama   Author's Homepage   Email MewtwoSama   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Mr. K:
Assuming the story I heard is true, the phone company can download software to your phone which allows them to use it as a bug, even when it's "off".

[Tracy Morgan] THAT'S CRAZY! [/Tracy Morgan]
From: Abyss of Evil | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
The Muffin King
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posted 05-29-2007 09:31 PM      Profile for The Muffin King   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
hi im brian fellows n im tellin u 2 shut up u stupid niggrz
From: Maryland | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged
Mewtwo Master
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posted 06-03-2007 06:43 PM      Profile for Mewtwo Master     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Cell phones are handy enough, I guess, but I feel like most of the time I'd just settle for a good ol' corded phone, with caller ID and an answering machine. Does all the same stuff I care about, without interrupting me while I'm away from home.

In my opinion, text messaging is pointless. In the time it takes to write up a text message, I could just call them and say whatever I was going to tell them twice over. Sure, people might think I'm a dick if I did that, but for the most part I don't care.

- - - - -
Guys in the army should wear a helmets and codpieces, to protect both heads.

From: USA | Registered: Oct 2001  |  IP: Logged
MewtwoSama
Asshole
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posted 06-04-2007 12:29 AM      Profile for MewtwoSama   Author's Homepage   Email MewtwoSama   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Gotta admit, it's pretty slick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQLTjiAfdLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH0-GKBmOE8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhhbaaWBgnk

From: Abyss of Evil | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged
Dragonite21
Farting Nudist
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posted 01-29-2011 08:18 AM      Profile for Dragonite21     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
iPhone 4. Where is the iPhone 4?
From: London, United Kingdom | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged
Face
I invented cancer.
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posted 02-19-2011 02:43 PM      Profile for Face   Author's Homepage   Email Face   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Iphone's are so cool. They're the coolest phones on the market. [That Guy] [PBJ Time!] [Trash Koffing]

- - - - -
Weezing!

From: Hackensack, nj | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged
GolemKong
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posted 03-08-2011 01:46 AM      Profile for GolemKong   Author's Homepage   Email GolemKong   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I curse the day I bought a blackberry, I miss the days where I could go for long stretches without contact.

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"I dunno how we managed to become a teen chat line for geeks, but...oh well."
-Mr. K

From: Ontario! | Registered: Feb 2000  |  IP: Logged


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