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Low-Tech Cell Phone Blocking

Posted by timothy on from the best-kind-of-sandwich dept.

nigelc writes: "This BBC story reports on Japanese work to come up with a low-tech solution to cell phones in cinemas! Hey, if it can stop the person next to me from going 'Hey, dude, guess where I am?,' I'm all in favor of it."

8 of 548 comments (clear)

  1. HELL NO! by SkyLeach · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm sorry, but like most of the /. posters I keep my cell phone on vibrate ALL THE TIME. I'm not going to be rude and talk in the theater, but I HAVE TO GET MY TEXT MESSAGES.

    "Dude, the servers are down" is the most important message I can get from mon!!!! If I can't get to one or the other data center things start going to shit fast.

    Note to owners: This is a great way to get me to stay way the fsck away from your theater if you install it.

    --
    My $0.02 will always be worth more than your â0.02, so :-p
  2. Re:Sounds great for the movies... by GoatPigSheep · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Most theatres have pay phones. 911 is free.

    --
    GoatPigSheep, the 3 most important food groups
  3. 802.11b network security by happyclam · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So if I read this right, this paneling also blocks 97% of Wi-Fi (802.11b) signal strength? So if I want to secure my wireless network, I panel the outside walls of my building with this type of paneling, making it so that the warchalkers of the world can't get the signal? And any time I need to go building-to-building, I wire it.

    (Yes, I realize this only works if you don't need access outside the building, but many applications wouldn't anyway.)

    --
    He looked at me and said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send your fingerprints off to Washington."
  4. Won't happen in the US. by surfcow · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Japan has one lawyer for every 10,000 people. The US has one lawyer for every 300 people.

    "I didn't see the sign saying the theater was blocked and I missed my big interview / wife in labor / server going down / mother dying / stockmarket crashing / etc."

    US lawyers would have a field day. "Was the sign displayed properly? What font was it in? Was it also written in Swahili? What about the literacy impared?"

    I just can't see it.

    =brian

  5. HELL YES!!! by fmaxwell · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm sorry, but like most of the /. posters I keep my cell phone on vibrate ALL THE TIME. I'm not going to be rude and talk in the theater, but I HAVE TO GET MY TEXT MESSAGES.

    If you can't be without your cell phone long enough to see a movie, then wait until the movie shows up at Blockbuster, rent it, and watch it at home. I do not buy movie tickets so that I can listen to your cell phone doing the vibrate/buzz thing. Neither do I want to see your glaring backlit display while you read your text messages. I don't want you tripping over my feet or my girlfriend's while you stumble out of the theatre because of your oh-so-important message. Your job does not concern me in the slightest. I would sooner see you fired than have you interrupt a movie that I paid to see.

    Clue: Important people don't have to carry cell phones into movie theatres. Schmucks that work for important people are the ones on call 24/7.

    P.S. Who told you that most /. posters don't keep their cell phones on vibrate "ALL THE TIME"? I don't. I normally leave mine in the car when I go in a public place.

    1. Re:HELL YES!!! by fmaxwell · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And therefore, these people should not get to watch movies.

      That's why Blockbuster exists. If your presence is likely to be an annoyance to others, whether because you have a chronic cough or you because you have to be on call 24/7, rent a movie and watch it at home.

  6. Re:Not worth the risk by Random+Feature · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And as many others have pointed out - LEAVE A NUMBER where you can be reached.

    Guess what - that's what millions of people do today and what most of us GREW UP WITH. And we're still here.

    If you are that concerned about your child's safety/health/well-being or you don't trust your babysitter then STAY HOME or take the child with you - IF the kid has manners.

    &lt side rant &gt
    If the kid doesn't have manners, both of you stay home. I'm so tired of ill-mannered, disgusting, rude children in public I could slap them and their parents silly. It's as bad as cell phones, only worse because it propagates.

    I'm not a child hater - I have 3 and they are always complimented on their manners. Not because they're perfect but because most people's children are so horrifying.

    &lt /side rant &gt

    --
    I don't have a solution, but I certainly admire the problem.
  7. Re:Sounds great for the movies... by ceejayoz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If he's on call, he should do one of the following things:

    a) not go to a 2 hour movie, wait until he gets off call
    b) leave his pager at the front desk and ask them to get him if it goes off

    Simple enough. People apparently survived when we didn't have cell phones, so saying that blocking them in movie theaters is going to result in the downfall of Western civilization and whatnot is a bit extreme.

    p.s. in my experience, pagers seem to get better reception than phones do - this might not block them anyways.