Forget petty vents, this is a REAL crisis...

[msmofet]

Yes. And, that's when my old one started working, again... sort of. It has been on its way out for months, and now it is barely functional. It is very unreliable. So, I needed the new one, anyway.

My OP was an observation on just how much a cell phone (at the least) or a smart phone have become so essential for most people. And, yes, phone booths are gone. Land lines are redundant.

CD

My hub refuses to admit pay phones are gone. And the few you do see don't work.

 

[Just Cooking]

My father had a cellular phone in his company car in 1979. It was one of those huge "bag phones."

CD

One of my business friends had one of those... Funny thing is.. He was fiddling with it and ran over a curb, into a street sign.. Took him forever to live that down..

Ross

 

[GotGarlic]

Sure, an answering system for leaving messages is included in my landline telephone. I doubt separate answering machines are sold any longer though.

I have an idea of the ages of the regulars here, and I think most folks remember buying your first answering machine!! I vividly recall making outgoing messages to beg callers to "please leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks so much for calling". Geeeeze.

I sure do. DH was in the Navy and deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for six months. I was in college and working in Norfolk; my family and his lived in Michigan. I kept missing calls from our families and my mom convinced me to get an answering machine. While I was (probably) at work, DH called from somewhere in the Med. It was really difficult at the time for sailors to call home; they had to wait until they were in port somewhere and stand in line at a pay phone in a foreign country. So he was pissed at he** when he got the answering machine instead of me

One other thing: Due to serious chronic health issues, I have spent a lot of time in the hospital, especially over the last 15 years. It was very comforting to me to be able to text DH during the day while he was at work and he would respond when he could I also sent him lists of things I wanted or needed while I was there. It was much easier for him to refer to a text than try to write down a list of stuff and then keep track of it.

 

[Just Cooking]

One other thing: Due to serious chronic health issues, I have spent a lot of time in the hospital, especially over the last 15 years. It was very comforting to me to be able to text DH during the day while he was at work and he would respond when he could I also sent him lists of things I wanted or needed while I was there. It was much easier for him to refer to a text than try to write down a list of stuff and then keep track of it.

An excellent use of texting... I will keep this in mind...

Ross

 

[Cheryl J]

....I am presently in the middle of a lawsuit for all the idiots that want to sell me something like a mortgage on a building that I don't own. And I have been on the "Do Not Call" list since 2004. Sometimes I answer them just so I can shake their bells. Everyone who matters to me will send me a text. So if my phone rings, I know it is a telemarketer. Most of the time I ignore the call, but there are days when I am in the mood for fun.

Addie....really? I would love to hear how this lawsuit is progressing. As far as I know, it's not a crime for telemarketers to 'want to sell something'. Please keep us informed.

And how can you fault them if you play along with their game in the name of 'fun'? I just don't understand that....

 

[Cheryl J]

An excellent use of texting... I will keep this in mind...

Ross

+1. Just today my daughter texted me my grandson's extracurricular activity schedule for the rest of the summer. So nice to have that to refer to and write it down later for the fridge calendar, rather than try to do it when we're talking.

 

[roadfix]

It took me a long while to understand the practicality of texting. This is now my primary way to communicate with people on my contact list.

 

[Andy M.]

I communicate with my two daughters primarily by text.

 

[Addie]

Addie....really? I would love to hear how this lawsuit is progressing. As far as I know, it's not a crime for telemarketers to 'want to sell something'. Please keep us informed.

And how can you fault them if you play along with their game in the name of 'fun'? I just don't understand that....

I have a list of the numbers. I let them talk long enough to find out what they are selling. I then write down the number and what they are selling in a booklet I have just for this purpose. The diabetes folks are the worst offenders. I have told them at the end of every call I am on the "Do Not Call" list. But it doesn't seem to matter to them. They just keep calling. I have sent the list to the lawyers and will be sending another one shortly. It is the latest for just one week.

I have to listen to what they are selling, so I can let the lawyers know just how many times they have called me. So why not have some fun while I am gathering the needed information. I tell every caller that I am on the "Do Not Call" list. But they insist on calling back every day.

Am I annoyed by this? No. It just means more money in my pocket when the lawyers take it to court. It doesn't matter what I say to them, they just keep calling. Also, I keep all the numbers in my phone. My phone is a piece of evidence. A lot of the calls are robot calls. A person doesn't come on the line until they hear a human voice.

Believe me, I keep a record of everything that happens when I get one of these calls. I am beginning to recognize the numbers and what company it is.

And Cheryl, it is against the law to keep on or even call once, when your number has been on the "Do No Call" list.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

My father had a cellular phone in his company car in 1979. It was one of those huge "bag phones."

CD

I worked in Ohio Bell's "Special Services" office back when bag phones were a hot item - 1974. There were only so many numbers available. If they were all in use, you had to put your name on a list and wait for one to become available. There was a list all the time! I didn't work a "mobile telephone" desk. Instead, I was one of two representatives who set up the orders for "Foreign Exchange" lines.

Back in the "old days", each neighborhood's Central Office (CO) handled numbers assigned to that neighborhood. If you moved, you could take that number from your old CO and use it at your new location, but the phone company had to set up a pair of lines - one from the old number to the new CO, and one from the new CO to your new location. When someone called your old number, the call went only as far as the new CO. Then the equipment passed the call along to the new number. Customers were paying for two lines that way, but for a long-established business it was worth every penny.

Nowadays, with cell phones, EVERY line is a "Foreign Exchange" line.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Yep and we were warned to never say we were "not at home right now" but "unavailable to take your call".

Shrek recorded "you know what to say and when to say it" on our answering machine.

 

[Addie]

Shrek recorded "you know what to say and when to say it" on our answering machine.

Mine said, "At the sound of the tone, you know what to do, so do it."

I have never been a fan of the phone or the answering machine. It always rings at the most wrong time. When I am in the middle of washing dishes, taking a shower, etc.

 

[Merlot]

When I was in jr high or high school I read a post from dear Abby that said what they used on their answering machines, found one and put it.... I know you called just to hear my voice, now it's my turn, let me hear yours! Well as soon as my dad heard it he flipped out and made me change it lol, I guess it could have been cutesy for a jr high gal but not a working civil engineer

 

[dragnlaw]

Being spoken to on a speaker phone is yet another gripe of mine. When I'm speaking to you I expect my conversation with you to be private, not heard by just anyone within ear shot! Grrrr...

I use speaker phone all the time... unless I'm in a public place. I also tell the person they are on speaker and if someone is near me I tell them that too. "Jo-Anne is here with me" for example.

But I am rarely, in a public place receiving a call. Then I usually either don't answer or say I'll call them back!

 

[dragnlaw]

: It was much easier for him to refer to a text than try to write down a list of stuff and then keep track of it.

That's another reason why I prefer texting...

 

[dragnlaw]

When I was in jr high or high school I read a post from dear Abby that said what they used on their answering machines, found one and put it.... I know you called just to hear my voice, now it's my turn, let me hear yours! Well as soon as my dad heard it he flipped out and made me change it lol, I guess it could have been cutesy for a jr high gal but not a working civil engineer

I used to change mine with the seasons...

snow - sorry, out shoveling either come over and help or leave a message...
spring - chasing the basement flooding gremlins - leave a message or call later..
fall - gremlins have moved from the basement to the barn, loading my rifle, bring over a couple of gunny sacks for the bodies or leave a message...

it changed all the time... but then I put the farm up for sale and didn't need to mention flooding or other things to a potential buyer. My friends said they really missed the different blurbs.. |LOL except my kids used to get tired of them - said they were too long once you'd heard it... sigh, just can't win

 

[Kayelle]

I use speaker phone all the time... unless I'm in a public place. I also tell the person they are on speaker and if someone is near me I tell them that too. "Jo-Anne is here with me" for example.

But I am rarely, in a public place receiving a call. Then I usually either don't answer or say I'll call them back!

I'm so old I vaguely remember when you couldn't trust your phone conversations to be private if you were on a "party line". Others could know your business then.
If you're with someone, why is putting the phone to your ear a bad thing?

 

[dragnlaw]

I also don't hold the phone to my ear, unless I absolutely have to - everyone goes on speakerphone. It makes me gag when I see other's phones with sweaty ear prints on the face of them... shudder.

.

I'm referring to cell phones in this instance.. (post #20). Seeing as I don't have a land line - which for some reason holding it to my ear would not/did not bother me, guess I can't see "ear prints" on the shiny surfaces!

But when I do chat on the phone (key word here is 'chat') I like to have both hands free - land line or cell. I do other things at the same time and trying to hold a regular phone, much less a cell phone, to my ear with my shoulder just doesn't work for me anymore. I only have to remember to go back and flush the toilet after I get off the phone...

 

[bakechef]

I'm not much of a phone talker, I prefer to text. I call my mom and Rob calls me on his way home from work, that's about all the talking I do.

I like texting because you never know if someone is busy, in the middle of a meal etc.. It's a great way to stay in touch quickly and efficiently.

My smartphone has replaced my camera (I still have a digital SLR for fun), it's replaced my GPS (satnav), gone are the days of having out of date maps. I'll have questions from customers at work, often about wine (I know very little) so I'll google it on the spot and get them an answer. If there is an issue and the bosses are on a conference call, I can text them if needed. Heck there are so many ways that it makes work easier.

I remember having my first cell in my car in 1993 or 94, it was installed in the car with the main guts under the seat. Back in those days you had to pay by the minute, so you didn't give your number out to just anyone! I remember getting a 60 minute plan and thinking "how would I ever use an hour a month on a cell phone?" My plan also covered the WHOLE state of Maine without roaming!

 

[Bigjim68]

My hub REFUSES to get or use a cell phone.

Smart hub. 10 years ago one could go to dinner and have an enjoyable conversation. Today a dinner party starts with everybody placing their cell phone beside the plate "in case of an emergency" or "it might be important".

Socializing is a dead art.

Rant over.