Saturday, January 4, 2014

"I Forgot My Phone"



This is how we're living now.

34 comments:

  1. Not I. I HATE my phone and if it didn't have the numbers that I need programmed in I wouldn't even know how to make a phone call with it. I have missed numerous calls (not from anyone I know BTW) because I can't even answer the stupid thing sometimes. I'd happily live without it.

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  2. I too hate my smartphone. HATE IT. I need it for work, because I'm out in the field most of the time. I don't know how all the "smart" features work. Answering it is a pain in the ass; that whole "put your finger on the green thingie and drag" only works if I get it just right. Most of the time I have to look at the phone log to see who the hell was trying to call me. I finally got my voicemail set up, and then the next AT&T update destroyed it. I'm constantly fighting with AT&T over the stupid bill. It's impossible to hear on it unless I put it on speakerphone. When I retire I will launch it into the lake, and crack a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

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    1. I have that "put your finger on the green thingie and drag" answer "feature" as well. Who thought of that, FFS? Just give me a friggin button to push to answer the phone would ya...aargh.

      And every time I switch my phone on it goes to some screen I've never seen before and don't know what they are for or how I freakin exit them without dialing numbers I don't even know.

      Did I mention that I HATE my phone.

      The only good thing is that I don't have a contract so I don't have a $60 bill every month for something I use maybe eight times a month.

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    2. So how does that work? I'm guessing you still have to "tap" the numbers???

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    3. I downloaded the Android app and tried it...

      You don't tap, you swipe your finger around in a circle - the dial spins around, it's animated... with sound effects... the phone vibrates when your "finger" hits the little metal tab which stops the rotor... just like a real rotary dial phone. Unlike a real phone there's a subtle digital read out to tell you what you've dialed, a backspace to correct mistakes, etc...

      Nice.

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    4. Another thing that drives me around the bend...when I try to have a conversation, my cheekbone hits the "end call". I'm constantly cutting somebody off in mid-sentence, and then I have to call them back. OMG, who thought up this stuff? The programs AND the design stink! Stink, stink, stink.

      And I don't even want to discuss what happens when I'm talking on it and another call comes in...I need a menu for that? Just beep me fer chrissakes! By the time I try to figure out all my options, I have inadvertently disconnected TWO people! Aaarrgghhh.

      Lewy, I'm laughing at your rotary dial app. I don't think Fay and I are THAT old-fashioned, but if you find an app that will let us answer the Phone From Hades without swiping the green thingie, I'd be downloading it in a split second. That is, if I can figure out HOW to download it without blowing up my contact list or changing my ringtone to a lovely selection by Lil Wayne.

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    5. Oh my! I just read that Fay wants a rotary dial app!!! I'm cryin' here. Too funny!!! I guess one of us...ahem...is a bit old-fashioned, say wot?

      I'm tempted to download it just to amuse my younger coworkers. Oh wait...we're all grey haired biddies. Perhaps my granddaughter would get a chuckle out of it. :p

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  3. LOL you two.

    Actually Ms Lewy and I were giggling hysterically over your replies this AM. Which we read in bed. On my phone. ;)

    (Blogspot has a decent default mobile stylesheet; TCKT is quite readable on you phone. Which I'm sure you're just dying to try!)

    Charlene DeGuzman (the woman in the video, and who co-wrote the piece) has racked up 36 million views on YouTube with this short.

    What is ironic is that while she (quite rightly) lampoons the self-absorbed and socially destructive "selfie" phone culture, the entire video is a selfie.

    She's an aspiring actress / writer / comedienne in LA, so this is her way of getting noticed. I think she did a good job. For her, the "selfie" is her work.

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    1. Lol, glad us old fogies are good for something!

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    2. That's hilarious! I'm glad we keep you and Mrs. Lewy amused! lol :)

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  4. Don't own a smartphone. Don't want one.

    I do have a cellphone now, on which I will receive maybe 5 calls per week, and make perhaps 2. The most calls I ever made in one day was 4, which was when my car was broken, and I was trying to arrange for someone to go pick up my sister at work.

    I don't text, at all.

    Mostly, I don't even answer it after looking at the caller ID

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    1. So I guess I won't call then!

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    2. Actually, texting is the only thing I can do half efficiently on my phone. Only because it has a proper (QWERTY) pull out keyboard. Otherwise I'd be toast. Which leads me to thinking that if they could include a pull out rotary dial I'd be in 7th heaven LOL.

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    3. I actually like the texting feature. I'm not much of a phone person (like that's news to you guys!) but even with my "peasant hands" (thanks for making sure that my short stubby fingers have a name, Mom) I can text till the the cows come home.

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    4. I don't own a smart phone; I don't have texting on my cell either.

      Tom has a smart phone for work. Comcast lost the internet connection in our neighborhood for the last 24 hours so I suppose I could have used his phone if I needed something online. But to be honest, I was glad it was down as I'm already addicted enough to the intarweb.

      I'm with Dances on this one.

      Loved the video though, lady red - it shows how creepy things have gotten.

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  5. What we really need is someone to design a "smart" phone for the non touch screen generation(s). One of the main things I love about the Kindle that I got for Christmas is that it is NOT touch screen operated. It has proper switches and buttons.

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    1. First smartphone I got was an HTC Android model in 2010...

      Soon after I got it, there was a software error which made the touchscreen inoperable - it wouldn't recognize input at all.

      No problem, I thought - I'll just hit the power button - it's basically like CTRL-ALT-DEL for a phone, just reboot it and I'll be fine...

      So I hit the "proper" power button and it throws up a dialog box on the screen: Do you really want to power down? | OK | ...

      Of course the screen wasn't taking any input, so I could hit the button as much as I wanted, to no effect.

      And so that's when I stopped to figure out where the battery was, and how to remove it... because that's what it took.

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  6. Hey folks, here and now seems like as good a place as any to ask:

    How's Blogger working for you these days?

    Is it any better?

    It seems better to me in the last year; have you guys just learned to live with it or is it in fact better behaved?

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    1. I haven't noticed any real problems that I can think of. If I had any problems,, though, I may have chalked them up to ancientuseritis.

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    2. I haven't had any posts or comments gobbled up lately, knock on wood. I try to remember to copy them to my clipboard before posting, just to make sure.

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    3. Actually, for the last few days, I've been getting error messages, that my IE9 and Blogger's IE10 interface were incompatible, and I should 'expect more errors', despite the fact that, once I've clicked off the error message, nothing went wrong.

      But today, that has stopped.

      Blogger seems to be doing very well, other than that.

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  7. I can identify with both points of view re the smartphone. I resisted getting one for ages, but when my steam-powered mobile finally died, I entered the 21st century. It took me a while to get used to, and all the snags that Lady Red mentions - the difficulty in swiping to answer, the accidental cutting off a call (or accidentally dialling someone because I touched the screen) - drove me mad. They still drive me mad.

    But otherwise I love the phone! I can read my emails, keep up with my blog (and yours!) and all the news, whatssapp with my kids (that's a texting service which works via the internet or wifi as opposed to the cell network), and take great pictures of my grandkids.

    The most important thing is self-discipline: to learn how to put the phone down or ignore it in certain situations. In that respect the video touches a raw nerve. Certain members of my family never seem to pay full attention because their attention is given to the damn phone.

    We've been out to eat with friends and made a conscious decision for all of us to put our phones away. It made such a difference!

    Shabbat is the best thing for the phone-addicted. We have no choice BUT to put the phone away for a whole 24 hours.

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    1. annie,

      Perhaps you should send a link to this video to those "certain family members"?!

      Now people are talking about taking a regular screen sabbath. Google it; there's lots on it.

      Yes, observant Jews have always had a "screen sabbath''. Since before there were screens!

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    2. Steam powered? I only got rid of the string a year ago.

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    3. LOL at your steam powered charger. I can't imagine going to all that trouble but it's a nice idea. :)

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  8. What amazes me are the people who spend a great deal of time on their smart phones watching videos and similar high band-useage activities, then complain how they got ripped off when the $1000.00 cell phone bill comes in. Weren't they even half-paying attention when they signed the contracts?

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    1. Can't you get good "package deals" from the carriers to include surfing and texting? That's what we did. Hubby arranged a package of unlimited surfing and texting within Israel (abroad is a whole different ballgame) for a set amount of money.

      But yes, you're right. If you don't have a package deal, you should check out the prices - and act accordingly!

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  9. Here is my cell phone ...a W385 Motorola and it does everything I need.

    Why yes, I am a troglodyte of the first rank. I still miss my cellular 5 watt "brick" bag phone (for my truck) that would find towers way out in the boon docks...albiet it was expensive to use. As it is my little flip phone makes connections all over Montana, Wyoming, and down in to Colorado...little sketchy if in the valleys and gorges in the high mountains...but Verizon does better there than anyone else.

    Sadly, when I have to replace it it will be with a smart phone.

    Question: Has anyone made a device you can carrying your pocket to jam and cut off phone signals of people in close proximity to you ...say within 50 foot circumference. I'd really like that in heavy traffic or when a crowd I'm with is almost all staring at their crotches with illuminated faces. WTF....?

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    1. Yes. The armed forces have them.

      I'm sure there's schematics and software for cell phone jammers out there on the internet, but I don't plan on looking.

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    2. You are right, there is a bunch of info on the internet, but most of it is illegal with severe $$ penalty &/or prison. One outfit offering a portable device is Chinese/Vietnam based ...e.g., Chinese company but Vietnamese wording on the device. A bit of shaky there, eh?

      I really don't care about folks sitting staring at their crotches, so long as they are not driving a car or truck near me. I may just take one of the device plans and make one for myself....in my neighborhood it is beyond endemic...9 out of 10 drivers have a phone on their head, even if voice activated blue-tooth, it is absurd.

      For those in a group I am part of who stare at their crotch I can always say (and I do) hey, bitch/boy, look at me when we're speaking to each other! Is there something about you dick or vagina that fascinates you inordinately?

      Usually works. Also usually ends relationship. Which is no loss.

      In my former life I was in a position where a real emergency could arise quickly and I needed to have a cell phone that connected to any and all desk phones, even VOIP, assigned to me. I managed to set it up so they all forwarded to me on the cell phone, with a very strong vibration signal so it didn't interupt what ever else was going on. Today, smart phones are absurd and serve no real vital purpose for 99% of the idiots using them.

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    3. It's standard practice here after a terror attack for the phone lines to crash. I used to think it was from over-use - all those chatty Israelis calling home to say they're OK - but it dawned on me one day that it was the army or police who shut down the lines in order to free up the lines for security traffic.

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    4. Or to deny the use of the cell bandwidth to the terrorists for follow up attacks.

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