Unutterably Silly So what are you doing RIGHT NOW?

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

I kind of miss the days that carrying a cell phone simply meant I was on emergency call out duty

My phone is set on 'Silent.' Vibration only. I've let friends, family, and business contacts know that I will usually NOT answer my phone, but will always call back later when I see that they have called, and do so. (Obviously, were I involved in a business where calls were time sensitive, I wouldn't be able to do this.) I do not return 'Caller ID Blocked' calls. I don't have voice-mail enabled on my phone. I 'usually' refuse to txt unless it's about a time-sensitive issue coming up in the next few minutes.

The phone is a multi-tool for my convenience, not a device that rules my life. A ringing phone is all too often an interruption. I certainly have no need to walk around with it in my hand, to say nothing of walking down the street staring into it rather than paying attention to the world around me. The smartphones are a wonderful tool that can provide a wealth of information instantly, or entertainment in so many different modes. It's a communication tool. It is not The Central Life Source.

(I realize I am speaking heresy. I stand accountable for my actions. )

Stitchawl

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

The phone is a multi-tool for my I]convenience[/I], not a device that rules my life. A ringing phone is all too often an interruption.

At a former employer I was issued a Blackberry. It very neatly defined how close a touch I didn't want to be in with my employer. 98% of the email that hit it was stuff I didn't need to see, let alone take action on. The stuff that did simply had to wait till I was in a place to take the action, which I wasn't when I was out and about. I managed to lose the first one on a personal trip to DC. I sent a note about it when I got back, stating that there was no hurry about getting a replacement. The telecom manager questioned that. I said "Ask a slave how he feels about his chains."

At the same employer, I flatly refused to install the IM client IT was expected to use to keep in touch with users. I was a server admin, and the kind of things I did required piece, quiet, and uninterrupted thought to get right. I didn't need the distraction of a phone or a stream of IM messages. A co-worker finally knocked the issue on its head when it came up in a conference call. "The nice thing about Dennis is that if he's at his desk, he picks up the phone on the first ring. If he doesn't pick up on the first ring, he's not at his desk, and you won't get him on IM, either!" Bless him.

My current phone is the smallest, cheapest, least featured phone Samsung makes. All it does is calls and SMS, and that's all I want it to do. Everything else is something else's job.

(I realize I am speaking heresy. I stand accountable for my actions. )

You are preaching to the choir.
______
Dennis

[kindlekitten]

I'm not happy about being tied to my phone, that's just the nature of my business��

[orlok]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

I'm not happy about being tied to my phone, that's just the nature of my business��

Plus three teenage girls to "manage" (actually, they manage me).

[bjones6416]

I unashamedly love my phone, although the call feature is the least used one on it. I love taking and uploading pictures to my cloud storage in the middle of the woods. I love that my calendar is on there, and all the trail maps I've downloaded. I love my various hiking gps apps. I love keeping my knitting patterns on there. I love having my books available on there. I'm not much of a game player so I don't really play games on there, but a lot of people love that. I silence it when appropriate, and I never use it while in the middle of a shopping or business transaction (one of my big pet peeves!), but yeah, I love my smartphone and I use it to its full potential. I no longer have a landline, a point-and-shoot camera, a separate gps device, or a paper calendar. Everything backs up to the cloud so if my phone is lost or damaged I can access the data from any computer. I drank the koolaid quite a few years ago and I haven't regretted it yet! (Plus the obvious, of course - when my mom was still living it enabled me to stay available for the frequent emergencies that came up while allowing us both a little breathing space. For a caregiver, that is PRICELESS.)

[Bilbo1967]

Got back from Finland last night. Now washing and repacking ready to go to France tomorrow.

[ProfCrash]

I have a phone with a pre paid plan of 1,000 minutes. I have no idea how many I have used but I would be surprised if it was half of that. I don't want an insanely priced phone and the data plan that goes with it. I have the internet at home and at work. That accounts for 12 hours of my waking day. I doubt that there is anything that I really need and or want to do in those four hours that I am not at work or at home.

I have a small camera that I use for pictures and I can wait until the end of the day to upload pictures. I have a calendar that I can look at on my IPad and any desk top.

It is a matter of personal choice but I have better things to do with my money.

[bjones6416]

It absolutely is a matter of personal choice. I have two family members with old flipphones, a couple of iPhone/iPad users, and a couple of Android junkies (like me!) Only one person in all that group still has a landline, though. Interesting how that has changed.

[ProfCrash]

Yup it is. I have diapers to pay for and tea to buy. Very useful stuff. (winks)

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by bjones6416

It absolutely is a matter of personal choice. I have two family members with old flipphones, a couple of iPhone/iPad users, and a couple of Android junkies (like me!) Only one person in all that group still has a landline, though. Interesting how that has changed.

It's a delight not having a landline. No more telemarketers!!
I use my smartphone 10 times a day, but rarely use the telephone functions. I use my iPad Mini even more, it having replaced my Kobo, Sony, and Garmin GPS. The convenience of having a truly portable, pocket-sized computer with internet access is a delight. Having my reading, my meals, or my conversations with people interrupted by a ringing telephone is no longer a daily inconvenience with which to deal. Makes my life a lot more pleasant!


Stitchawl

[ProfCrash]

A part of me is toying with the IPad Mini but I am not sure about that. I don't know that I would use it outside the house enough to justify it

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

A part of me is toying with the IPad Mini but I am not sure about that. I don't know that I would use it outside the house enough to justify it

If you bring your regular e-reader with you, you may well bring your Mini instead. True, the Mini is a bit heavier and the charge doesn't last nearly as long as it does on any of the dedicated readers, the advantage of being able to read ANY format without needing to run it through Calibre to convert it, (I have five different reading aps on my Mini,) to be able to read PDFs comfortably and in full color, PLUS have all the conveniences of a regular computer, even wireless printing, in a package just about the same size as the e-reader may just make up for those two short-comings. I carry a shoulder bag most of the time, and I really don't notice the extra weight of the Mini. I used to use my iPhone for most of the computer needs when I was out of the house, but now, with the Mini's larger screen, I prefer to use it instead. As I said before, I don't really use the telephone function except when I have nothing else going on, so the iPhone has almost been replaced in my eyes as my 'go-to' device for everything when I'm out of the house.


Stitchawl

[ProfCrash]

I rarely take my devices out of the house. I drive to work (10 minutes). I cannot use devices at work (thems the rules). If I am out of the house, I have a Little Man with me 90% of the time and so there is no point in bringing a device with me.

If I take them out of the house it is because we are going on a long trip and I will be using them when the Little Man is sleeping or being distracted by my husband or toys.

I might get a new IPad before our next long trip, probably a year from now, so that we can use my old IPad to play movies for the Little Man or entertain him. I am not a huge fan of letting him watch TV or play with electronics right now because I think he learns more from bricks, scooters, cars, and trains then IPads.

So there really isn't a good reason for me to get a Mini other then they are kind of cool. I am not sure that is reason enough.

[Rumpelteazer]

So, my father accidentally dropped a roll of 100 meters of thick cable on my foot. It just felt wrong, luckily I could go to the GP right away, she sent me to the hospital for X-rays. And it turned out I have a hairline crack in one of my toes. It's now securely taped to the toe next to it. I dusted off my stiff soled and steel toed work boots, they have a lot of space around the toes.

I've decided to treat myself to a visit to the scrapbookstore tomorrow and now I'm making a shopping list.

[Rumpelteazer]

I in bed, reading, when I look up and see a huge spider sitting on the ceiling next to the light fixture. After being creeped out I realise I need to get rid of it if I want to get any sleep.

Luckily the ceiling is low enough to catch insects in a glass and a bit of cardboard without having to climb on anything. When I approach it I see that it isn't a huge spider but a small cricket . I caught it and released it in the yard.