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Morse Code Faster Than SMS
mentalflossboy writes "Engadget is reporting that Morse Code is actually faster than text messaging. According to the article, 93 year old Gordon Hill transmitted a message faster than 13 year old Brittany Devlin, despite Devlin's 'liberal use of texting slang.' And the fabulous quote they were they sending: 'Hey, girlfriend, you can text all your best pals to tell them where you are going and what you are wearing.'"
Electronics companies, go on making the hardware. But let us screw around with the software. If you remember a little something called "the internet" you'll realize that there are a hell of a lot of good ideas out there (as well as a hell of a lot of really dumb ones, but let's not talk about that).
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
I'm getting quite sick of this crap. A telephone is a telephone. It should be able to make and receive calls, and that's it. Nothing else. People who use those crappy technologies are just begging for the phone companies to add more bloated features to the telephones and to have more and more reason to charge you more. I mean seriously, you *must* have the new features, right? Otherwise you look like a geek-wannabe and are all of a sudden not so popular. Right?
I think that's one too many.
Morse code takes way more talent than I've got. I give the guy props.
"This food is problematic."
Starting from scratch, one can reach over 20 words per minute solid copy in a matter of months, with only, say, an hour of regular training every day. 20 wpm isn't considered particularly fast amongst morse code operator: the EHSC for example requires its members to copy 60 wpm for 30 minutes. While this is at the extreme end of the spectrum, 20 wpm is attainable by anybody with a little patience and time.
Go here and try it out yourself, over the internet. You'll see 20 wpm is waaay faster than any SMS messaging.
Except for the fact that most plans charge per text message, making it more expensive even if by some chance you have run out of minutes
Don't you hate pants?
I assume from your post that you've never tried to call someone from a concert or a party (hey this is /. after all) where there's loud music. There really are times when you can't hear shit.
Quid festinatio swallonis est aetherfuga inonusti?
Africus aut Europaeus?
it doesn't make you look like an idiot
Newsflash:
Most people would rather have you text than yap loudly on the phone in public places.
Don't get me wrong, voice chat is usually more efficient, but text messaging is a whole lot more discreet. My friends and I use it to schedule study-groups - that way, we can notify someone of a meeting later that day while they're still in class.
I'm Trappped at Berkeley.
Texting is asynchronous though.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
If you're at a party or concert, shouldn't your focus be on what is happening there and not telling your friends how crappy/cool it is? Or is this what modern SMS "networking" is all about?
It's all about the scene, man, and commenting on it, not the experience.
I find T9 predictive input input a real help, much quicker than even the folks that use "u", "m8" and other abbreviations.
Still annoys me when people (really had to concentrate and not type "ppl" then) try to use SMS to see if I want to go for a beer tho... I always end up calling 'em, it's far cheaper and quicker. Texts seem so impersonal sometimes too...
It's mainly useful for: "We're leaving, where the hell are you?"
Having to look at my phone, punch in three numbers, put it back up at my ear, listen, pull it away, punch in three more, etc, when someone who "refuses to text" is dictating me a phone number doesn't make me look like an idiot at all though, right?
Or when they want me to write down a long email/web/physical address.
Good stuff, ludites.
Texting is great for either messages that require no response ("I'll be in the pub from 6, feel free to join me", "It's 's birthday on Friday, thought you might want a reminder", "Arrrghh I hate Mondays/my boss/computers/the weather", etc.), or where a response is not time critical, and likely to be delayed ("Can you tell me ", "Are you free next week sometime"), this sort of thing.
In particular, you don't have to interrupt the other person to get your message across. I may notice a message arriving, and read it at the time, or I may leave it until I'm less busy, or more frequently I'll just not notice for a few hours. On the other hand, if someone calls me, I have to stop what I'm doing, respond to them, then go back to what I'm doing.
No, if you are in a meeting futzing with the keypad on your phone, you pretty much look like an asshole.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
"Sup g/f? U can txt all ur homies 2 tell dem wats da haps and wut u waring"
I find it funny that when somebody types like that, they're considered an idiot. But when a person can't read a message that simple, it's because they're too smart.
"Derp de derp."
That joke reminded me of one of life's great mysteries:
As spring is in full bloom, along come the requisite roadside signs advertising upcoming "psychic fairs," and I always wondered, why are the signs neccessary? Shouldn't they just, kinda, know?
"The pie shall be cut in half and each man shall receive.....death. I'll eat the pie."
Anyway, shouldn't you people complain about that crap service, I mean, I don't pay for any kind of incoming thing, no matter what it is. And no, calling isn't expensive either. Seems like everybody got used to it, and the operators are now getting away with it.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
Thats the point, of course. This guy probably had military training of some sort, like my grandfather. When you are drilled in something so hard, you aren't going to lose it. On the other hand, very few teenage girls are going to be prepared to go through RAF Wireless Operator training in order to send messages to their friends.