Slashdot Mirror
Mobile Phone Abuse and AbUsers
Doctor Hu writes "The Economist has a story ("Think Before You Talk") describing a new range of mobile phone prototypes designed by Ideo to discourage antisocial usage - devices ringing in concert halls, loud proclamations that the caller is on his way home, etc. The first of the series uses electric shocks to condition the user to talk at a non-intrusive level; the others are similarly ingenious. Not intended to be commercially produced, just to provoke discussion (and provide publicity for Ideo, presumably). Nice comment at the end from one of the designers that for devices like mobile phones, "user-centric" design needs to take the needs of people nearby the user into account as well."
The SoMo4 (the knock-knock phone) is a great idea, though. By being able to communicate not just that I want to talk, but the importance I place on the conversation, it makes it much easier for the other person to decide if it's a good time or not. Even for me, as a call receiver.
"Caller ID" phone numbers are a bad method of determining priority. People call for multiple reasons, and people call for all sorts of devices... including devices owned by another person. Any method of letting me know that someone who I trust is there and wants to talk to me is good. The "secret knock" would be tremendously functional, so that someone could get my attention regardless of where they're calling from.
Not that we explicitly need the "knock-knock" style, but if my cell phone provider always asked the caller "Select a Priority" before ringing me, and then letting me see that priority, it could enhance the experience for me. So when I'm just sitting around I can take those Priority-5 "Hey what's up?" calls, but when I go into the theater I could set my phone to reject everything but Prioirty-0 calls (which I would leave the theater take).
There are all sorts of "permission" issues for things, but this can be handled with passcode-type answers (where anything above a certain level requires a code to be accepted) or automated system permissions (calls from hospitals would always be allowed to go to a higher level than other calls), without requiring me to identify based on phone numbers.