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Cell Phone Is The Most Hated Invention
Romeo Elias Cabrera writes "The most hated invention in America -although also one of the most used- is the cell phone, according a
recent survey. The Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, an annual survey by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that among adults asked what invention they hate most but can't live without, 30 percent said the cell phone."
Cell Phone Is The Most Hated Invention
My, how short our collective memories are. Have we already forgotten about astroturf? How about the rubber-chicken-with-the-pully-in-the-middle? Michael Jackson's nose? Umkay?
A programmer is a machine for converting coffee into code.
Did you ever notice that things have gotten way more stressful in the past few decades? We're getting all this advanced technology, and for what? So that we can get in touch with anyone anywhere? So that we can have our bosses bother us at any time with useless BS work that "can't wait until tomorrow?" I say the cell phone is the biggest stress-causer ever, and anyone who has one should eliminate it from their lives.
I've long thought that television was both the best and worst invention of the twentieth century.
"The interconnectedness you get from the cell phone is a very positive thing, ... The downside of that is that you sometimes want to be alone," said Lemelson Center Director Merton C. Flemings.
So turn it off.
The coolest voice ever.
It's not the cell phone itself, it's the asshole who is too busy talking on it to realize there is a world going on around them that is hated.
Perhaps the questions should have been a little more precise. To my mind, I hate other peoples cell phones. My cell phone (when it is on), I like.
This is all really social engineering to some extent. Devices that are engineered to minimize their effects on others will not impinge on the "space" of others. For instance, boom boxes were commonly reviled in the 80's, but when Apple designed the iPod, there was no internal speaker to annoy others with personal choices in music. The audio was left to headphones. With cell phones now, we have people's damned MIDI tones broadcasting all sorts of loud invasive tones in theaters, bistros and lectures. What's worse it the social engineering that has not had negative feedback like getting smacked for actually answering said MIDI-toned cell phone call.
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When I got my cell phone, I was a year into college, and I couldn't find housing-- I ended up couch surfing for six months, followed by living in places for between 1 and 6 months at a time for another two years. If I didn't have a cell phone, I would have had no phone number.
/ex
Now that I'm no longer in college, and I live 300 miles away from that area code, it's the number that everyone knows, and so I don't want to give it up.
Just because a lot of people are annoying on them (hang up and drive, and turn it off at dinner/movies/visiting with people), doesn't mean I hate the invention-- I hate it's uses...
Kinda like video games and dance dance revolution.
It's not the cell phone I mind so much as Push To Talk. You're in a public place, you shouldn't be broadcasting your personal business to the whole area! Hole the damned thing up to your ear and don't force the rest of us to listen to it! also, keep your voice down, the person on the other end can hear you fine without your shouting.
Edward Burr
Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool.
seconding that...who's idea was it to make virtually all cell phones "Beep" while turning them to the "silent" position.
Error: Id10t detected
OTHER PEOPLE'S cell phones.
This message brought to you by the Council of People Who Are Sick of Seeing More People.
"Are people really this stupid?"
Yes.
Cellphones suck?
I'll believe it when you shut the fuck up on the bus, the train, and every other fuckin public space you invade while yammering on and on about your pitiful life.
god, you still dont get it at all...
will burn karma, really, but all the mentions about 'you know, when you pay per SMS received' and 'who needs a cell', etc etc, read to the rest of (the world) Europe like 'no-one needs any more than 64k RAM' or 'who needs a PC on yr desktop.' etc, etc
It's just pure luddism and anger that you have, what, how many un-inter-operable providers? When roaming means 'roam from LA to SF!!!!' whilst the rest of us have > 1000 mins/ month outgoing (at least per territory and sometimes per (EMEA) region), , really, really nice terminals, free WAP, free incoming minutes (!), free 3G video calls, free SMTP/ SMS push, blah, blah, for, like what 15USD/ month (http://www.o2.co.uk)
Should bother to look up urls for the above quotes, but hey - *you* don't 'get' cells, just like Iraq didn't 'get' a free Internet.
http://milkshake.dexy.org
Amongst my friends, when we're in the pub, the only permitted uses of a mobile phone are:
Like most tools, don't hate the tool, hate the person who missuses it. The SUV problem isn't a problem with SUVs, but is a problem with SUV owners. Take, for example, the extreme case of the Hummer. A few years ago they started popping up on roads around here (metro NYC) like crazy because they became a status symbol for the stock broker to drive out to the Hamptons. Most of them never got off pavement, and most of the drivers would have been a dangerous menace in a snowstorm. SUVs are not "good citizens" on the roads, and so it is incumbant that their drivers be good citizens. In too many cases that is not true.
Personally, this is the list of people who should have SUVs...
...and this is the list of people who shouldn't have SUVs...
Really, the cell phone is just a continuation of other communication technology. I remember reading how bad even the telegraph was. People sending runners to your house at all hours of the night. The telephone was worse. A person could no longer leave work at work. With the telephone you could be disturbed at any time of the day or night, and it was so easy, that anyone who could afford it felt they had a right. I have heard some say that the telephone was a significant contributing factor to the end of doctors making house calls. The simple equation is that as communication becomes cheaper, the data transmitted becomes less information and more junk.
As far as the people who just say "turn it off", I have but one question. Do you turn off your phone at home? Do you value your family and friends enough to not answer the phone when they are present as guests in your house? Do you fight the social pressures to answer the phone? I do not worry about missing calls, and I deal with the social ridicule that results from my decision. I know that not everyone has the freedom to miss calls, and some just want to take the path of least resistance. Not mention that fact that some jobs will fire you if you are not available 24/7.
OTOH, there is a difference between the path of least resistance and purposefully antagonizing the people around you with silly ringtones and constant babbling. Therefore, my least favorite invention if the musical ringtone, and I can think of few punishments that would be too severe for their users. The constant babling, as I have said, is an inevitable result of the cheapness of the medium.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Cellphones should ship on "vibrate" by default, requiring users to "opt-in" to audible rings. Ringing used to make sense when the phone was stationary, tethered somewhere in the privacy of a house/office. But now they are more often in earshot of many people, often with the same ring. Just defaulting to vibrate might not be a perfect solution, but its a lesser problem than the current cacophony.
--
make install -not war
I have a cell phone, unfortunately. It is understood that it is nothing personal if I do not answer, I will get back to you. I leave it on vibrate in any potentially sensitive situation (movie, dinner, etc). I also use it in case *extreme* emergency situations at work, only when I can not be reached by land line phone, or e-mail, this is understood by the brass. It is my personal phone so I am not on a ball and chain. If it rings while I am in traffic, I do not answer. I call back when I come to a permanent stop. Yeah it is the worst invention, if used irresponsibly, as are guns and knives.
I hate sigs.
I didn't have it. I was rounding a freeway loop when the cord going from the gas pedal to the engine decided to detach itself from the pedal. I drive a 74 VW.
After rolling to a stop at the side of the freeway I had exactly one option. Get out and start walking. A mile and a half later (1 mile of it walking along the freeway) I made it to a church where a wedding rehersal happened to be going on and borrowed a phone. Fortunatly the freeway was designed to have things planted along side of it so I wasn't walking a couple feet from traffic going 70 miles per hour. I was walking in dirt about 8 feet above and off to the side of traffic.
I use AT&T and just use their $20 per month plan. I actually got paid $80 to take a Nokia phone through Amazon.com. They're definitly worth the cost. If you don't want to be annoyed by people calling you, don't give your number to people who will annoy you. Give them your home number.
It's also great to have when you go places with a group and want to break off.
Ben
Work Safe Porn
What about tall people?
I'm 6'4" and I cannot comfortably fit into a small SUV let alone a car. The only choice for me is a full size truck or a Suburban/Excursion/etc. I had a 1989 Toyota Camry in college and it was painful on the knees. It's pretty much the same type of pain as sitting in a movie theatre seat or amusement park ride; they were made for Joe Sixpack not the Jolly Green Giant.
Some people have suggested I get the new Mini Cooper, tear out the driver seat and sit in the back. =)
I see a *lot* of women that put their cell in a purse. Not only does this mean that the vibrate function is useless, but it means that when the audible rings start, they start fumbling around in their bag. Extremely annoying.
May we never see th
Of course, now she has zero chance of willingly going to said church again. She was humiliated in front of everyone, a presumably expensive piece of hardware was broken, and she was whacked.
The easiest solution, methinks, would have been not dragging her to church if she didn't want to go. Trying to force church on the actively disliking is a waste of time and effort.
May we never see th
Cellphones are a matter of maturity. Here's why:
Here in Germany, I am an avid hater of cellphones. You can't drive on a train or bus without someones damn phone ringing, and every second business meeting is interrupted by calls.
But then I travelled to Tokio last year. Everyone there has a cell phone. Nevertheless, during my entire week I heard two rings, and both were from foreigners' phones.
I also had to look very closely before I noticed people actually using them.
The difference is that the japanese extend basic courtesy towards other people. You keep your cellphone on silent, and you leave the room before you take a call. That and maybe 2-3 other basic rules make cellphones a non-problem.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org