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[AugustWest]

I like cool gadgets.  I don't like being connected all the time.

It is the quandry of our times.

[miles]

I went cell phone free for like 5 months a few years ago and it was so nice. But it was equally nice to get one again. The solution is to silence it or turn it off when you don't want to be contacted, and if it offends your needy friends, fuck 'em.

[KeithHernandez]

I have said this a thousand times, but why cant we just have a fuck*ng ipod plus phone, not all of this fancy stuff.  I mean, the internet is cool, but about 3 times a year I wish I had it in situations I don't.  That's not too many.  On the other hand, a phone and ipod in one would be one less thing to carry, and besides cigarettes wallet keys and maybe drugs, that is all I carry.

[CortJstr]

I've been strongly in the "it's just a phone" camp for years but I'm breaking down and getting a MyTouch 3G next week. Partly because I'm about to start dating again and SMS has become a required part of the dating procedure and partly so I have access to Google maps on the go.

I very rarely need a real GPS, I'm more a "OK, if I see Hanover St then I've gone too far" kind of driver but I'm driving into DC a lot more often than I used to and having maps handy makes this much easier when you invariably miss your turn or discover it's one-way during rush hour.

I won't use a phone for music until it has at minimum a 32GB capacity and a battery that can play music for 8 straight hours and still make phone calls.

[wombat]

SMS has become a required part of the dating procedure

WTF?

[KeithHernandez]

I won't use a phone for music until it has at minimum a 32GB capacity and a battery that can play music for 8 straight hours and still make phone calls.

Yeah, it's got that.

[CortJstr]

WTF?

I don't like it any more than you do. But if I'm going to have to start texting I want to be doing it with qwerty.



[Huh. Firefox's spell check recognizes qwerty but not texting]

[Choop]

keith, as far as i know you don't have to sign up for the internet data plan when you get a smartphone

but look, andy rooneys of this forum, you don't *have* to leave your phone on all the time. you don't *have* to carry 8 digital devices that each do something different. you don't *have* to use the capabilities that come in a phone. you don't even *have* to buy the thing so why the *fuck* are you complaining.

[jaydub]

The solution is to silence it or turn it off when you don't want to be contacted, and if it offends your needy friends, fuck 'em.

This.  Sometimes I get an exasperated message from my mom saying, "Why is your phone always off??!!"

[CortJstr]

keith, as far as i know you don't have to sign up for the internet data plan when you get a smartphone

but look, andy rooneys of this forum, you don't *have* to leave your phone on all the time. you don't *have* to carry 8 digital devices that each do something different. you don't *have* to use the capabilities that come in a phone. you don't even *have* to buy the thing so why the *fuck* are you complaining.

This is why I've been carrying a Razr. I basically just makes calls. But now I feel like smarthphones are finally reaching that nice intersection between non-ridiculous prices and usability.

This.  Sometimes I get an exasperated message from my mom saying, "Why is your phone always off??!!"

My mom goes to the opposite extreme. She only turns her phone on to make a call then immediately turns it off. She does this even if she leaves a message saying to call her back. And she's never set up her voicemail despite the fact that she's had the same number since 1998.

[miles]

This.  Sometimes I get an exasperated message from my mom saying, "Why is your phone always off??!!"

Moms are different. But this is a problem with Moms regardless of whether you own a cell phone. They always will think you are not in contact enough.

[pmcd9]

I would get an iphone (or something comparable) in a minute if I could afford it.  As soon as I can I will.

[AugustWest]

why the *fuck* are you complaining.

Recreation.

[Cioran]

What I'm saying is that... man, in the old days, all the Big Scary science fiction was about the government forcing us to have cameras and microphones and tracking devices fuck*ng everywhere and MAYBE a few scrappy free-thinkers would be actively fighting it but everyone would, at least, secretly hate it but feel they had no way to act against it.

And now... everybody not only WANTS these things and NEEDS these things but they'll even sign a two-year committment to pay slightly less for the newest iteration of all these devices that tell everyone exactly where they are and exactly what they're doing at all times and... the coolest person is the one with the shiniest newest tracking-distraction device.
 

True. Everywhere people are signing up and paying for the opportunity to be controlled - not just with phones. What happened?

I was sitting there thinking about the ticker and the font

Me too - what font is that?

[AugustWest]

True. Everywhere people are signing up and paying for the opportunity to be controlled - not just with phones. What happened?

With phones I would suggest that the enhanced communication and organization tools these gadgets provide allow one to take greater control over one's life.  Or at least they provide the illusion of greater control.