OT; simplifying

[svelte]

I’m all about efficiency and information…a smart phone helps me with both. Some examples.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve walked into Home Depot / Lowes / Target and forgotten half the things I was going to buy. Now I keep lists to myself on todoist.com and if I forget? I just whip out the smart phone and check my list…

Just last week, we drove to a party in MM. When we arrived, the parking lot was empty and it was a half-hour after the party was to start. I whipped out the cell phone and checked email to see if I had the address wrong. No, I had the right address. So we went in – the club owner said it was typically a late arriving crowd (!!) and other guests would be arriving soon. He was right.

Quite often, a question will arise that will need an answer or a map. Bam! Right there on my hip is Wikipedia and Google Maps.

The finding ppl in the crowd thing was already mentioned, but in large crowds a cell’s voice/text capability is a HUGE time saver (true, it doesn’t required a smart phone but just a regular cell).

[UCGal]

Totally agree about triangulating people in a crowd. We first started doing that at disneyland when we’d split to take one kid on one ride, and the other kid on a different ride.

The party scenario – your answer came from walking in and talking to the owner, not from the smart phone.

I’m a list writer. But I do it old school. I sometimes take pictures of the list with my dumb-phone. I also use the camera on my dumb phone to take pictures of items in a store to consult with my husband… I text the pics to him and then we talk (voice) about whether to pick it up.

I have a gps in my car. It’s portable and doesn’t require a monthly service… so I was able to take it to europe, not get a special sim/phone service, or pay roaming.

Wikipedia on the fly? If it comes up at a party – someone *else* always has a smart phone – I make *them* look it up. 🙂

[briansd1]

I agree on the conveniences of the cell phone and smart phone.

However, I lament the loss of coping skills, the loss of social graces and the loss of freedom.

It used to be that when we made appointments, we’d show up. But now, we can call and cancel and make excuses at the last minute.

There’s also less trust and lack of freedom. I find the tracking, “just for safety” purposes bothersome. I would not want anyone tracking my every move.

So technology is complicating our lives, not simplifying them.

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=svelte]I can’t count the number of times I’ve walked into Home Depot / Lowes / Target and forgotten half the things I was going to buy. Now I keep lists to myself on todoist.com and if I forget? I just whip out the smart phone and check my list…[/quote]
Did you know that there’s some evidence that having tools like todoist.com make it more likely that we forget things? You are training your brain not to remember things! Remember when grandma started to forget little things? That may happen earlier in our generation!

[quote=svelte]Just last week, we drove to a party in MM (…) So we went in – the club owner said it was typically a late arriving crowd (!!) and other guests would be arriving soon. He was right.[/quote]
In other words, the smartphone wasn’t needed at all, and you wouldn’t have doubted yourself if you were used to remember things (see above).

[quote=svelte]Quite often, a question will arise that will need an answer or a map. Bam! Right there on my hip is Wikipedia and Google Maps.[/quote]
I agree with our Luddite friend on this one. Besides, I spend 8-11 hours daily at my desk in front of a computer anyways.

[quote=svelte]The finding ppl in the crowd thing was already mentioned, but in large crowds a cell’s voice/text capability is a HUGE time saver (true, it doesn’t required a smart phone but just a regular cell).[/quote]
Yep, my $10 cell phone with $100/year airtime works fine for this.

Svelte and Ren, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the convenience of a smartphone; I just don’t think it’s worth the price tag. A friend was recently talking me into getting a tablet-type device where I can load the Nook and Kindle software for free, etc., but when I checked prices, I found that it was $400 at eBay, and that was for a used item! Kind of ridiculous to pay that much money… Most of the books I read I buy used from Amazon for $0.01 to $10.00 (plus $3.99 for shipping). I can certainly afford the devices and monthly fees, but I just don’t see the value in them.

[sdduuuude]

[quote=walterwhite]It’s part of an effort to cut Internet usage by 95 percent.[/quote]

Does this mean your average post length will go from 10 words to 1/2 of a word ?

Seriously, check for used phones on ebay. Can always get a working cell phone for $15 to $30.

[Ren]

In my case, I compared it to other things I could potentially give up, and it won. Namely the living room we never use, and cable TV (Netflix is a far better value).

[svelte]

[quote=Diego Mamani]
Svelte and Ren, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the convenience of a smartphone; I just don’t think it’s worth the price tag…[/quote]

No worries, Diego. I know they aren’t for everyone. Shoot, it will probably be the first thing I chuck should I get in a financial pinch.

It’s not a necessity, just as a regular cell phone, TV, or the internet aren’t necessities.

A few other pts:

– it is likely we would have just driven on to the next party had my smart phone not verified the address in MM (we were the only car in the entire parking lot!), so it did indeed pay off.

– I somehow doubt todoist is ruining my memory too badly. After all, people have kept another memory jogger – grocery lists – forever!

– I’m just a knowledge freak. I probably spend more time than any of you in wikipedia and google maps. It’s just me, I know. 🙂

[moneymaker]

This thread reminds me I need to check on my Sprint pioneer plan as I don’t think I’ve made a payment on it since 2008, yeah I think I put $20 bucks on it back then. I have a personal phone for “emergency use only”, now my work phone that is different.
P.S.>Just tried checking my bill and they only go back to 2010, so no history of any payment 🙂 ☺

[ssprings]

Being an computer engineer working on smart phone chips, I always hesitate to switch to smart phone. Being connected all the time doesn’t doesn’t appeal to me.

[UCGal]

[quote=ssprings]Being an computer engineer working on smart phone chips, I always hesitate to switch to smart phone. Being connected all the time doesn’t doesn’t appeal to me.[/quote]
This.
I don’t even like my boss to have my cell #. He has it – but knows I don’t like that he has it.

[Coronita]

[quote=moneymaker]This thread reminds me I need to check on my Sprint pioneer plan as I don’t think I’ve made a payment on it since 2008, yeah I think I put $20 bucks on it back then. I have a personal phone for “emergency use only”, now my work phone that is different.
P.S.>Just tried checking my bill and they only go back to 2010, so no history of any payment 🙂 ☺[/quote]

Ha ha… I have my sprint pcs pioneer plan since 1996 when I joined QC… No contract, no monthly…Just 35cents a minute for local, and 50cents a minute for long distance…Yeah, it’s off most of the time, except for emergencies which my parents borrow.

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