OT: motivational question

No surprise here. It's just the extension of "family life" as we witnessed it a few times last century. Dinner was ready. Everyone grabbed a plate and plopped back onto the couch in front of the TV. The teenagers went to their rooms and watched who knows what. No prayer, no sitting together around a table, nothing.

And then the parents are surprised when their kids get into trouble or become bumerang kids because they can't make it in life.

I think it was Dave Barry who wrote in American Airline Magazine how he was surprised that even older couples in France held hands while walking. So he and his wife did the same. After returning to the US they kept doing that on occasion and noticed people staring at them.

Although there is no guarantee that the folks he saw were married. Well, maybe married but not always to each other ...

The little we need in terms of prescriptions comes via mail, from Kaiser. For HMO members shipping from their pharmacy is free so why go there and stand in line? You still receive an announcement when it's coming but that is a simple phone message. Very convenient for those with a more medieval setup. It probably can be switched to email notification but phone is more convenient.

Text for me would have one advantage. When out of coverage area on my mountain bike I could type a text and then the phone would send it off whenever it achieves an RF link for a sufficient number of seconds. But I can't think of an instance where I couldn't have lived without text messaging. Very occasionally a client needs to get an urgent hold of me and then the phone voice mail notification will beep in my backpack once back into civilization with cell coverage. Occasionally that happens on a hilltop way in the boonies with spectacular views. That's the best kind of "office" one can wish for. A text message would not likely reach me earlier.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg
Loading thread data ...

That's got nothing to do with it.

When you're not cycling, you're eating? ;-) I often use the smart phone in conversation. My wife and I often discuss movies that we want to see while we're waiting at a restaurant (or similar). It's really handy to be able to look up the show times right there. There are thousands of such times. The only time I read the cell phone during a meeting is if it's totally useless and I'm being "forced" to be there.

You said you didn't need a cell phone.

It's nice to have that power in your pocket. I wouldn't be without it. Some of the apps are pretty nice, as well. During my recovery from surgury over the last six months, I've found the FitBit app to be more than a little useful.

...but you've made up your mind.

Reply to
krw

The other function that has been worth more than a year's Verizon bill was staying in contact with the Brat and wife when their newborn (two days old) had to have open heart surgery (we have matching scars ;-). We were able to text back and forth wherever we were and get pictures of the kid.

Reply to
krw

You still have not answered why I should need a smart phone.

My wife and I also have lively conversations at restaurants but we do not require smart phones for that :-)

I said I do not need a smart phone. The regular cell phone going to zero bars at times does have certain advantages.

I am open-minded. There is one combination of facts that might convince me to get a smart phone:

a. It can run a live GPS map application that shows very detailed bush road information, down to unmapped singletrack level _and_ runs sans cell network coverage _and_ without exhausting the battery in just a few hours.

b. Pay-as-you-go, not $35/mo or so flat rate "deals". Has to end up around $10/mo or so. Right now I am paying $7/mo. I am a very low volume user and that's not going to change.

c. The phone part should ideally be CDMA, not GSM. But that's not an absolute requirement, just would be nice.

Also nice to have:

Being able to run simple LTSpice sims and Cadsoft Eagle sketching on it. If I can't do that it would be a tough sell because then I'd carry my netbook anyhow.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

Understandable. But I could live without pics and use the voice part of the phone instead. Has always been sufficient in dicey situations so far. My old cell can also receive texts.

[...]
--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

Your mind is made up without even using one.

You've never tried it. They're quite useful for looking up schedules and answering questions that come up during conversation. If you're smart, they become part of the conversation rather than an avoidance of conversation.

Ok, good grief. They *all* have off buttons.

Bullshit.

Sure but a stand-alone GPS may be better.

Such plans exist.

I don't care but I'm pretty sure mine is CDMA.

Windows phone? Yech! ;-) I have a tablet for such things but it's

*really* slow.
Reply to
krw

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.