What's something modern you won't miss when it becomes obsolete?

[jamespowers]

I have finally started to use my smart phone with the new house. I often need to find were to get something and with no land line hooked up, it saves me a lot of gas. You must really use it a lot, I have still never approached 1GB, I have 3 allowed. I will not down load any apps, and don't use any except for the search engine. I don't text even though I have unlimited! And, I would boar any teenager to death, since most of my calls consist of, hello, yes, no, and goodby.

Hmmmmm.....

 

[vintage68]

I never use all the minutes on my plan. I have thousands of rollover minutes...

 

[HudsonHawk]

I never use all the minutes on my plan. I have thousands of rollover minutes...

My wife, my mother and I all share minutes, and we never use them all. Unfortunately, however, they don't roll over data.

 

[Stearmen]

Hmmmmm.....

Maybe that's why the cat left, looking for better reception!

 

[vintage68]

Another thing I won't miss is the near continual availability cell phones, email, texts, etc require. But I'm sure eventually they'll just be surgically implanted in our bodies...

 

[LizzieMaine]

EVERY CITIZEN WILL RECEIVE A FREE UPGRADE!

 

[vintage68]

And until then we will stand in line overnight at the Apple store...

 

[Haversack]

vintage68 wrote: "... But I'm sure eventually they'll just be surgically implanted in our bodies..."

[video=youtube;uUa3np4CKC4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUa3np4CKC4[/video]

 

[sheeplady]

These things do have an off button.

Also, many of the newer ones have a "block" mode that you can set at times you don't want to be disturbed. For instance, I have my phone blocked from 9pm to 7am. I get no "notifications" during that time. I can still use it if I want and I have certain numbers programmed in that can reach me at any time. But I consider those 10 hours to be exclusively mine and my immediate family's.

While I understand that some people have jobs that would not allow them to use the off-button or the block as liberally as I do, very few people have jobs that necessitate that they have their phones on during dinner, a date, or movie.

 

[jamespowers]

Maybe that's why the cat left, looking for better reception!

He used up all your data usage and went on to greener pastures.

 

[Stearmen]

He used up all your data usage and went on to greener pastures.

:eusa_doh:

 

[vintage68]

I realize there's an off button, but it's not even so much the gadgets that make us accessible these days, it's the expectations of others that we will be available at any time for any reason. Even if you turn a device off, there will be people wondering what happened to you when you come back on. It hardly occurs to them that you might want to be left alone....

 

[LizzieMaine]

People react with shock when they ask for my cell number and I tell them I don't have one. And then, more often than not, they get defensive, as if the fact that I don't have, need, or want a cellphone is somehow a direct challenge to their own worldview. "Well," they'll say, "I need one for work/to keep track of the kids/to stay connected/whatever," even though I didn't at any time question them or even comment on their use of the technology. Modern smartphone society has all the hallmarks of a true-believer cult, in which the outsider is seen as a challenge to the belief system and not just as someone who doesn't subscribe to those beliefs.

And that's why I believe they're dangerous.

 

[jamespowers]

People react with shock when they ask for my cell number and I tell them I don't have one. And then, more often than not, they get defensive, as if the fact that I don't have, need, or want a cellphone is somehow a direct challenge to their own worldview. "Well," they'll say, "I need one for work/to keep track of the kids/to stay connected/whatever," even though I didn't at any time question them or even comment on their use of the technology. Modern smartphone society has all the hallmarks of a true-believer cult, in which the outsider is seen as a challenge to the belief system and not just as someone who doesn't subscribe to those beliefs.

And that's why I believe they're dangerous.

They are dangerous.

The crowd outside an Apple store.

 

[TimeWarpWife]

We just recently had to give up our "dumb" phones for smart ones and I am NOT happy! Electronics now days don't come with any instructions other than basic how to set the device up. After that, you either have to be under the age of 25 or an MIT graduate to use these things. Seriously, I feel like such a moron because I can't just use this phone, but instead have to get on the internet to find out how to use it . Give me the old days when you could pick up the phone receiver, dial a number, and if someone picked up on the other end, you could talk. Yesterday when we were at the doctor's office, I noticed just about everyone who walked in - young and middle-aged - the first thing they did was pull out their phones, put their heads down, and had no idea what was going on around them. In fact, as we were pulling out of the parking garage, this 30-something business-looking man stepped out in front of our moving car because his head was down and he was doing something on his phone. Thankfully, dh was driving so slow and was able to stop before hitting the guy. This guy looked up from his phone for maybe a nanosecond and proceeded to go back to looking at his phone, not even acknowledging that dh had been able to keep from hitting him. Personally, I hate cell phones, but unfortunately we have a family member who has many health issues so we must have a backup to our land line if it goes out for some reason. Otherwise, I wouldn't have one. And Lizzie, I wholeheartedly agree that those owning phones, whose entire lives are seemingly contained in these devices, should be considered a cult.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I realize there's an off button, but it's not even so much the gadgets that make us accessible these days, it's the expectations of others that we will be available at any time for any reason. Even if you turn a device off, there will be people wondering what happened to you when you come back on. It hardly occurs to them that you might want to be left alone....

So what? There is no rule that you must answer a phone every time it rings. I rarely answer my home phone. The next day, conversations typically go like this:

Someone: "Where were you last night?"
Me: "I was home all night"
Someone: "Well I called you three times"
Me: "Yes, I heard the phone ring"
Someone: "Why didn't you answer?"
Me: "Because I didn't feel like it"

 

[vintage68]

We just recently had to give up our "dumb" phones for smart ones and I am NOT happy!

When I asked about a simple flip phone at Verizon I was shocked to hear that the difference in price for the plan between smart phones and "dumb" phones is only $10 a month.

 

[sheeplady]

You have to be firm about these things. People who desperately need to get in contact with you are rare.

I had a professor when I was working on a master's degree who stated that he checked his email everyday from 12noon to 1pm. If you sent him an email anytime after that you could expect a response the next day, before 1pm. I liked this a lot because it meant a couple of things, including that I knew when I would get a response.

I do similar things.

I also don't answer the phone when I am in meetings, when I am out with friends, or during family time. Answering the phone is not an obligation when it rings.

If you stop answering the phone each time it rings, people will learn that you're not dead in a ditch after a while.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A copper land line is $28 a month, and is the best investment you can make against "the phones not working."

Last week we had, by far, the worst storm of my lifetime in terms of damage to the communications infrastructure. Cell phone service was down all around the area because of storm damage, Time Warner cable was completely, hopelessly down, power was out in some locations for the better part of a week, people were on the edge of panic. I went almost two days without power, but when I picked the receiver off the hook, I always heard a dial tone. Best $28 a month I'll ever spend.

 

[jamespowers]

A copper land line is $28 a month, and is the best investment you can make against "the phones not working."

Last week we had, by far, the worst storm of my lifetime in terms of damage to the communications infrastructure. Cell phone service was down all around the area because of storm damage, Time Warner cable was completely, hopelessly down, power was out in some locations for the better part of a week, people were on the edge of panic. I went almost two days without power, but when I picked the receiver off the hook, I always heard a dial tone. Best $28 a month I'll ever spend.

Geez! I hope you have a fireplace with the power out like that. You could easily freeze. :doh: