View Full Version : I'm getting sick of the wearable technology
magiccarpetride
29-10-2010, 20:07
An old friend of mine, who came over the other day to listen to my newly upgraded audio system, was so impressed that he begged me if he could bring a couple of his buddies and show them what a good sounding system can do. Allegedly, these guys were seriously into music and into high quality sound.
We've arranged for the next session, and when these guys arrived, we sat down in anticipation of a nice audition. They then asked me to play whatever I think showcases my system in the best light, cause they would like to hear what is the system capable of.
Okay, I began the audition in eager anticipation of their reactions, but much to my shock, the moment the first song started playing, they pulled their 'wearable technology' (i.e. their smart phones) out of their pockets, and fired up this app called Shazam, and started dicking around with the app. Apparently, that magic little product was supposed to reveal to them what's the name of the track that's playing at that moment, and would then also recommend similar tracks, etc.
And that's what continued happening with each and every song I've played for them. They would just keep shuffling in their seats, messing with their iPhones and what not, showing those tiny screens off to each other, getting annoyed if the bloody app could not recognize the song, and so on, ad nauseum.
Eventually I got really sick and tired of that, and recommended we do something else. It was amply obvious to me that these Robocops were completely incapable of experiencing anything in their lives if it hasn't first been filtered though their wearable computing devices. It's as if they absolutely didn't trust their own sensory input.
What's happening to us? Why are we becoming so enslaved by the machines? Why do we feel like we have to measure everything before we can taste it? Isn't the whole idea about technology to serve us, to alleviate our chores and to give us pleasure, the way a good audio technology does nowadays?
Reid Malenfant
29-10-2010, 20:22
What's happening to us? Why are we becoming so enslaved by the machines? Why do we feel like we have to measure everything before we can taste it? Isn't the whole idea about technology to serve us, to alleviate our chores and to give us pleasure, the way a good audio technology does nowadays?
Next they'll be wanting to be plugged into the matrix :eyebrows:
I can't stand mobile phones, i have had a few & now i only keep one to give me telephone numbers in case i forget them (quite often as it happens). I didn't use my Nokia 3310 (yep, well ancient) for so long that the sim failed to register :lol:
People want everything in a single device, all i wanted was a phone & i didn't use that often enough apparently. I'm not sure where things are going but from what i can see we are being compartmentalised, old roman thing innit - divide & conquer ;)
Or as Maggie Thatcher said "there is no society" :doh:
Sorry to hear your audio demo was turned into a farce :rolleyes:
Hang on, aren’t you the guy who recently purchased a Logitech Touch and wrote on the forums how 16 bit 44.1 now sounded “scratchy” having gone on the internet and downloaded some “Hi Res” tracks.
If my memory serves me, that guy (my apologies if it isn’t you) then got into a bit of a debate about how wonderful this new technology (Hi Res, Touch) is.
So your mate’s friends like a different technology and apparently weren’t that impressed with yours.
Hmm, that’s a tough one mate. It’s a bitch when other people aren’t impressed by your new tech and prefer to play with their own.
Just teasing Alex :eyebrows:
magiccarpetride
29-10-2010, 20:33
Sorry to hear your audio demo was turned into a farce :rolleyes:
Yeah, most people nowadays seem to have no patience for anything else in life but only for serving the little wearable $50.00 gadgets they keep hauling around in their pockets/purses. You see such lost souls everywhere, walking like zombies through the city, driving like zombies while tweeting. There's probably already an iPhone app that will keep track of how you're doing while fucking your wife/girlfriend. After you're done, the app probably tells you "if you liked fucking this ass, you'd probably like these other similar assess..."
Really, really idiotic, yet no one seems to think there's anything wrong with that...
magiccarpetride
29-10-2010, 20:41
Hang on, aren’t you the guy who recently purchased a Logitech Touch and wrote on the forums how 16 bit 44.1 now sounded “scratchy” having gone on the internet and downloaded some “Hi Res” tracks.
If my memory serves me, that guy (my apologies if it isn’t you) then got into a bit of a debate about how wonderful this new technology (Hi Res, Touch) is.
So your mate’s friends like a different technology and apparently weren’t that impressed with yours.
Hmm, that’s a tough one mate. It’s a bitch when other people aren’t impressed by your new tech and prefer to play with their own.
Just teasing Alex :eyebrows:
Well, you've got a point there. But the difference is that I didn't eagerly ask to be taken to their place and given a demo of their piece of technology, only to hijack their session and play with some other piece of technology I may have brought along (imagine if I was messing with my walkie-talkie while they were trying to impress me with their song recognition app).
Like, I'm fine if they want to jerk off all day long while sitting in a shopping mall stroking their dicks, er, their iPhones in the attempt to coerce them to confess what song is playing right now. But don't invade other people's private spaces and impose on their free time only to smother them with that shit.
In other words, I was singularly unimpressed with that shitty piece of technology of theirs. And yet, they seemed to have been excited about it like little kids in a candy store.
Well, I spose I’ve sort of hardened off to it; having two daughters who would seem to live another life through their i-thingies prolly beat the reactionary old bastard bit out of me :rolleyes:
What baffles me is how can my daughters and the others find enough to say to spend all that time on the phone. I put it down to it being a female thing and got slapped (both cheeks) for even suggesting such a thing.
Surprisingly, given the amount of time they spend playing and speaking into their i-thingies, they manage to lead a full and as far as I can tell, worthwhile existence on the same planet as me :scratch:
OMG!! No, I take that back……..the bills, man, I’m way too tight to pay that just to communicate with other people. F**k it, silence may not be golden but it’s cheap :eek::lol:
Is it a big deal? Somehow I doubt it, certainly not worth dismissing the “I” generation as “shopping mall jerk offs”. (now that would get me a slap)
If it’s not “the caps” some complain about it’s the “I’s” or the local hoody’s, or BMW drivers etc, etc.
But, lets face it, would we want to live in a world where everyone listened to record players playing classical music, drank wine and polished their valves? :eek:
Hi Alex, given that the only gadget you mentioned by name was the i-phone, if I send you $50 can you find one for me, please? I don't want it to be antisocial - just as a Spotify remote - so I promise I won't ever use it to harass fellow audiophiles or for jerking off or stroking anyone, be they Tom Dick or Harry - just a piece of really useful technology that could make my life a bit easier! Cheers bud, they're just so darned expensive over here. Hope you can help!
;)
magiccarpetride
29-10-2010, 22:23
Hi Alex, given that the only gadget you mentioned by name was the i-phone, if I send you $50 can you find one for me, please? I don't want it to be antisocial - just as a Spotify remote - so I promise I won't ever use it to harass fellow audiophiles or for jerking off or stroking anyone, be they Tom Dick or Harry - just a piece of really useful technology that could make my life a bit easier! Cheers bud, they're just so darned expensive over here. Hope you can help!
;)
They can be had over here even for $0.00, alas only as a foot-in-the-door bundled up with a phone plan.
Sorry, don't know more details, buddy, I've never even had a cell phone in my life, don't need one, don't care about one, as I'm all about music and how to get the best sound out of a pair of speakers.
That, and how to learn as many songs as my stoopid brain can memorize on the guitar/bass.
P.S. Come to think of it, the name Shazam! would be way more suitable for the "if you liked that ass, you may also like these other asses" app;)
magiccarpetride
29-10-2010, 22:25
Well, I spose I’ve sort of hardened off to it; having two daughters who would seem to live another life through their i-thingies prolly beat the reactionary old bastard bit out of me :rolleyes:
What baffles me is how can my daughters and the others find enough to say to spend all that time on the phone. I put it down to it being a female thing and got slapped (both cheeks) for even suggesting such a thing.
Surprisingly, given the amount of time they spend playing and speaking into their i-thingies, they manage to lead a full and as far as I can tell, worthwhile existence on the same planet as me :scratch:
OMG!! No, I take that back……..the bills, man, I’m way too tight to pay that just to communicate with other people. F**k it, silence may not be golden but it’s cheap :eek::lol:
Is it a big deal? Somehow I doubt it, certainly not worth dismissing the “I” generation as “shopping mall jerk offs”. (now that would get me a slap)
If it’s not “the caps” some complain about it’s the “I’s” or the local hoody’s, or BMW drivers etc, etc.
But, lets face it, would we want to live in a world where everyone listened to record players playing classical music, drank wine and polished their valves? :eek:
Shazam!
The Grand Wazoo
29-10-2010, 23:33
I'm so profoundly disinterested in mobile phones and the various bits of gizmology that are attached to them that I honestly don't know the model number of my phone (it could be a name for all I know - or care). ....and I had to think for a bit before I knew who the manufacturer was.
It annoys the bejeezus out of me that a telephone can become the sole focus of anyone's attention.
If it rings, all life must stop & the planet ceases to rotate until the call is taken. It's bloody ignorant if you ask me.
I'll have to admit to owning a smart-phone and acknowledging that it has added some convenience to my life, but yet I still get extremely annoyed when I cannot have drinks or dinner with friends and colleagues without someone breaking out their smart-phone and talking about this app or that and how their smart-phone is so superior to so-and-so's smart-phone. And then that will dominate the conversation for the rest of the night. Every freaking time.
At least I'm not bitter, huh? Lol. ;)
Using the internet to complain about technology...Is that delicious irony or what?
The Vinyl Adventure
30-10-2010, 09:40
I'm not narcissistic enough to think my life is interesting enough to warrant a twitter account and I only post of face book if someone messages me or I want to keep intouch with people who I don't see - my mate shaw lives in Denver ... We send messages to each other on face book a lot.
The point of all this technology is that it provides people with answers to problems ... Talk to a mate abroad, find out the name of a song, post messages on a forum etc ... I use my iPhone a lot, more than most probably, but it doesn't make me soulless ... If you don't like them then that's fine, but im not the spawn o Satan because I use one.
The key to using them is to only use them when their use is not going to effect other people, so, here is a few examples of how to use them with the advantages they provide
1. don't use them when you are in social situations - if you need to for some reason then going out for a fag, or just on the way to the loo is enough time to answer a clients email with a simple "it's not a problem I'll get back to you when I get back to the office" - you would be supprised the peace of mind something simple like that can provide a client with a issue.
2. Similar to the above, don't use them in such a way that will upset others in public ... Music doesn't have to be played at full volume in to earphones, ring tones and sounds should be turned off, conversations should be spoken at a murmur - following these rules I can be if I choose very efficient with my time - I have done quick fixes on web sites with minor problems whilst sat on a bus - the client was made happy, and no one on the bus knew I had done anything.
3. If using them in your home whilst relaxing in the evening, only use them whilst the significant other is watching eastenders and wouldn't want you to be talkin to her anyway, if she talks to you, put the iPhone down and listen - this is when I spend my time on forums ... When Hannah is busy... This is no different to having a laptop... And in fact more sociable than having to go and use a pc in a different room!
The people you have issues with are the sort of people who haven't got over the novelty of thier owner ship, that, or they are just morons who lack in social skills an emotional intelligence ... In which case it is the fault of the owner not the smart phone.
Just because you don't have use for them doesn't mean they haven't enriched the lives of others!
Since having a iPhone, I suffer from stress less, I am more efficient at work, and I have a gadget that does a hell of a lot of usefull things that is small enough to sit in my pocket and me barely know it's there.
I have a thing on here that I use to make lists... I'm one of those people that needs lists... Without lists I get stressed as I constantly feel the need to remember things I need to do... I used to make lists and loose the bits of paper - that made things worse - now I make a list on here and it updates it's self on my list on my pc simultaneously ... No lost lists, lists updated when I remember something I need to do - Hamish less stressed. Everything on here is backed up in google using exchange ... So I don't even have o worry if I loose it or it breaks... My contract with o2 will have a new one curriored to me the next working day... Plug it into iTunes and it will be as if it never happened.
We are no longer in the age of pen and paper, the world we live in is fast, email has made cominication instant, and especially in my line of work it is very important that we give off the impression we are on the ball... A smart phone helps with that!
Just because some morons haven't got anything else in their life important enough to talk about or don't have proper social skills... Does NOT mean everyone with a smart phone is like that...
If you don't get it, fine, some of us do, and for the most part don't go round moaning at you for living in the dark ages (apart from when it's funny). Get with the times people! If you don't want to get with the times, at least have the intelligence to realise that gettin with the times has provided some of us with serious advantages ... And like I said, in my case actually helped with some of my neurotic tendances...
All typed whilst taking a dump, boiling the kettle, and drinking a cup of tea ... Who says men can't multi-task!
In the words of Granpa Simpson:
'I used to be 'with it', but then they changed what 'it' was. Now what I'm with isn't 'it', and what's 'it' seems weird and scary to me'
I'm so profoundly disinterested in mobile phones and the various bits of gizmology that are attached to them that I honestly don't know the model number of my phone (it could be a name for all I know - or care). ....and I had to think for a bit before I knew who the manufacturer was.
It annoys the bejeezus out of me that a telephone can become the sole focus of anyone's attention.
If it rings, all life must stop & the planet ceases to rotate until the call is taken. It's bloody ignorant if you ask me.
Yeah, same here. I'm not against people using smart phones as a productive aid to work or everyday life, but I can't stand people who take calls in the middle of a conversation/meeting, or people who ignore the 'no mobiles phones' sign on the trains. There's no binding social etiquette when it comes to phones. I can't help thinking, are you really that important that you absolutely need to take that call. There's a certain amount of subliminal narcissism going on here. Its interesting that in the good old days of landlines people often used to position there phones on a ledge/table in front of a window looking out on to the street so that whenever they were on the phone it was quite obvious for all passersby to see. Psychoanalytically speaking it represents a form of perverse exhibitionism, the blurring of the line between private and public - a benign totem of the flasher. The ubiquity of the mobile phone has allowed this narcissism to run rife.
The Vinyl Adventure
30-10-2010, 14:51
I agree... Those dicks on phones in trains get in my tits ... They talk quietly to the person opposite, then answer the phone and start booming down the phone about their important existences ...
Twitter is the worst... I have never read anything, but I understand some of what some comedians have to say is quite funny... And I can understand that reading snippets about what a news reporter or the like might have to say...
But day to day people telling others that they are walking the dog... WTF? Why would anyone give a shit? My missis brothers girlfriend tells the world about her rows with her boyfriend and about how he can feel her baby kicking and shit on her face book status... I really really couldn't even a fraction of a fuck about any of it... And I don't know who would ... "Get over your self" is my response, no one cares about your pointless lives ... They/we have our pointless lives to worry about thank you very much! Put the computer down and go and bask in the mundantiy of your own life by your self you boring tosser...
Wait, hold on, im being quite the hypocrite here arent I... I'm assuming you all give a shit about my opinion?? Well I suppose it is at least an opinion... And not just a load of old shite... Anyway, I must stop typing the dogs need walking and I need to do the washing up!
Rare Bird
30-10-2010, 14:59
Hamish:
Those places are fer people who want everyone to know their buisness, people tend to get off on it for some reason! As for phones:Everytime i hear that stoopid phone of the wifes i feel like smashing it in a million pieces.I threw mine across the livingroom the other day cos it was getting on my titz.
magiccarpetride
30-10-2010, 17:37
Using the internet to complain about technology...Is that delicious irony or what?
I wasn't complaining about technology. I was complaining about WEARABLE technology, the kind of technology you wear, or carry around with you.
Internet is not that kind of technology...
Majiccarpetride,Just ask people to leave there cell phones in the car when they come to visit,make your home a cell free zone.
Hammish,Just thought I'd warn you that if you come to the states for a visit,NEVER say your going out for a fag.
Whole different meaning here,not one you'd want owner ship of i'm sure.
Hammish,Just thought I'd warn you that if you come to the states for a visit,NEVER say your going out for a fag.
Whole different meaning here,not one you'd want owner ship of i'm sure.
And Wanker is a perfectly ordinary surname. Two nations seperated by a common language...
And Wanker is a perfectly ordinary surname. Two nations seperated by a common language...
More and More I wonder which country has had more influince on the other England or the U.S. because politicly we are so simaler now.
I do belive America is to blame for all the invasive technology,for example to track the movement of American subjects,the computers used by the NSA no longer require a librarian and rooms filled with hard drives but can be located on 1 multidrive server offering menny terabites of files incudeing,travel,purchases,work history,social lists,family,political veiws and statments like this one on web sites.
It is now possable to track someone by default by satilte 24/7 and log there whole life,but we just can't seem to find Osama Binladin or his trusted inner circle.
Guess we need to spend more money on that...
default by satilte 24/7 and log there whole life,but we just can't seem to find Osama Binladin or his trusted inner circle.
Guess we need to spend more money on that...
If they catch him, try him and hang him who do they go after then? All that hardware and technology going to waste...that's no good.. Like the general said about Vietanam - 'it's a lousy war but it's the only war we've got'.
In the whole of the twentieth century there was only one year, 1968, in which no British serviceman was killed on active service - we are always fighting someone, it seems.
Reid Malenfant
30-10-2010, 19:48
In the whole of the twentieth century there was only one year, 1968, in which no British serviceman was killed on active service - we are always fighting someone, it seems.
Jeez, that's incredible Martin :eek:
Looks like the twentyfirst isn't going to be a lot different :rolleyes:
Jeez, that's incredible Martin :eek:
Looks like the twentyfirst isn't going to be a lot different :rolleyes:
I've got a cousin on tour in Afghanistan at the moment - His mother's in her late seventies - I can't imagine how she copes with the worry of it. If I believed we could do some real and lasting good there it would be something but I seriously doubt that we can.
Sorry, thread drift - where were we? Oh yeah mobile phones - sold em for four years, knew every last little thing about every model on the market - hated them ever since.
Ok , old persons rant. I have 3 young staff working for me from different parts of the world. None of them have a clue whats going on in the middle east, about the 2 world wars or who Hitler was. Scary eh.
To get back to topic, a young girl came into my shop today for directions to Russel Square. As i proceeded to give her very clear directions she lost her attention numerous times as she kept glancing at her sat nav on her Blackberry. She then walked out of the shop and headed in the opposite direction.:doh: So much for technology.
Rare Bird
31-10-2010, 21:06
Do you think there's a divide between two hifi personel regarding technology!
Do you find the enthusiast that still plays with his toys the good old fashion way does'nt use technology to get through life where as the other kind of person needs technology to get through life & has to employ this technology to build his system as he feels it's equally important to do so?
Reid Malenfant
31-10-2010, 21:16
To get back to topic, a young girl came into my shop today for directions to Russel Square. As i proceeded to give her very clear directions she lost her attention numerous times as she kept glancing at her sat nav on her Blackberry. She then walked out of the shop and headed in the opposite direction.:doh: So much for technology.
Just remember that these are the people who'll be seriously messed up if everything goes to pot :eyebrows:
If technology goes then these are the first to suffer :mental: Looks like they aren't doing too well with it either :lol: Is Geography still taught in school these days? :rolleyes:
Attempting to divide into two camps; those who use technology and play with all those awful soul destroying modern gadgets and those who go about things the “old fashioned way” is a bit silly really on an internet forum concerned with Hi Fi. As Macca points out, there is some deep irony in reading techno phobic posts on an internet forum.
In the event of a complete technological failure, we’re all fucked whether you use valves and a record deck or stream via your phone in mp3.
Odd though it may seem whichever method you use to play your music you’re using technology. It’s just some use a more modern tech than others……no big deal.
Bad news for you too Alex, mobile phones can and do connect to the internet.
It seems to be more about preconceived notions about the type of person who uses mobile technology rather than the technology itself.
Attempting to divide into two camps; those who use technology and play with all those awful soul destroying modern gadgets and those who go about things the “old fashioned way” is a bit silly really on an internet forum concerned with Hi Fi. As Macca points out, there is some deep irony in reading techno phobic posts on an internet forum.
In the event of a complete technological failure, we’re all fucked whether you use valves and a record deck or stream via your phone in mp3.
.
My post was only a gentle wind up really - the real complaint is about manners isn't it? Good manners and bad manners. You ask to have a listen to somebody's kit you could at least sit still and listen even just for a couple of tracks.
Mobile phones essentially give ignorant people another way of demonstrating their ignorance. Internet phones have one purpose - settling arguments down the pub. The other night - which is bigger? Madagascar or the British Isles
Money changed hands ....
Rare Bird
31-10-2010, 22:20
Slightly off topic again but:
What i was trying to say is there's Hi-Fi enthusiasts that are happy to & do use their toys in the same way they did 25 years ago, nothing changes for them. equally the same in everyday life their happy to use a call box instead of whipping out a mobile phone! Technology does make people idle & dependant which i feel wares off on their everyday life/activities..When i use the term technology within hifi i'm relating to music Files, streaming etc..I think CD has be well enough proven for so long to now be classed as old hat.
I am guilty of using music files but only while on the computer, i use hifi in the old manner when listerning to Hi-Fi where as a lot cannot do this! in the same was as it would be totally unheard of for them using a call box.
Mobile phone is a big improvemnet on a call box - they f*ck you at the call box - remember when you dialled and had to listen for the pips and then jam the 2p and 1p coins in? It took about 40 pounds of force and your'e just a skinny little kid who can bearly reach the slot.
...I'd used walkie talkies in CCF and thought they were fantastic and how great it would be if everyone had a walkie talkie...when cellphones came along I knew it would be big - even down to the schoollkids having one. Gave me a living for 8 years.
Rare Bird
31-10-2010, 22:36
I understand that but i was just pointing out peoples lives are altered too much by technology, it wont be long before say call boxes will dissapear.It's not the fact that they **** you it's that people are too idle to use one even if they didnt **** you.Technology can be very handy but to be totally reliant on it just stinks.
I understand that but i was just pointing out peoples lives are altered too much by technology, it wont be long before say call boxes will dissapear.It's not the fact that they rip you off it's that people are too idle to use one even if they didnt rip you off.Technology can be very handy but to be totally reliant on it just stinks
Not disagreeing with you - I watch those Ray Mears shows where he goes into the wilderness with just a machete - makes a camp, a shelter, a fire, catches food and cooks it. We should all be able to do that.
I must confess, I don’t have an internet able phone, or an ipod. What I have is a 6 year old mobile phone that just about makes phone calls.
It gets worse, I still write letters with a pen and on paper, spose its not parchment so I’m pretty hip to the modern scene :lol: :doh:
Oooops, oh yeah, I ride a bicycle mostly. I do have a truck but it’s for work; can’t be cool in a truck ffs :rolleyes:
But, I got the net and file based audio and couldn’t give a toss what others have tbh.
You don’t have to subscribe to the mobile media set and you certainly don’t have to behave like the more obnoxious elements should you decide to sign up.
Not sure if technology does make people any idler, noisier certainly, perhaps more dependant but I think we all have that problem and whether one streams music or puts a record on a deck isn’t going to turn anyone into an ill mannered slob overnight. You is, or you isn’t ;)
Martin (Macca) hits the nail on the head IMO - it is all about manners. Technology can enrich your life (I'm in touch with my business 24/7, but that means I don't have to be in work 24/7 - more time to spend at home with my family, in front of my speakers ;))
I know that if my wife should break down in the middle of nowhere she can call and get help, and if she is lost in the middle of nowhere then it's because the battery on her GPS enabled phone has run out! I can carry my most favourite albums with me in my pocket when I have to be away from home, keep in touch with my favourite forum (and come here sometimes! :eyebrows:) and generally carry on as normal.
Am I so important that I have to take a call on the train? (I would never sit in the quiet carriage.) - Important - maybe not, but necessary - yes. And answering a call on the train could avoid a huge issue, or certainly solve one - but if you still think everyone with a mobile does a "Dom Joly" then you're about a decade out of touch!
Is it appropriate to answer your mobile in the middle of a job interview? No, but I've seen it happen! How about checking the football scores at Great Aunt Mable's funeral? Or playing that damned Bejeweled game at full volume in the Doctors waiting room?
The simple answer is that if you're a dick you're a dick - no amount (or lack) of technology will change that - it all comes down to common courtesy, which sadly seems to be lacking these days.
Anyway, back to wax cylinders, I rue the day some tw@t invented those fast-spinning shellac discs! Ruined the whole world it has!
I must confess, I don’t have an internet able phone, or an ipod. What I have is a 6 year old mobile phone that just about makes phone calls.
It gets worse, I still write letters with a pen and on paper, spose its not parchment so I’m pretty hip to the modern scene :lol: :doh:
Oooops, oh yeah, I ride a bicycle mostly. I do have a truck but it’s for work; can’t be cool in a truck ffs :rolleyes:
But, I got the net and file based audio and couldn’t give a toss what others have tbh.
You don’t have to subscribe to the mobile media set and you certainly don’t have to behave like the more obnoxious elements should you decide to sign up.
Not sure if technology does make people any idler, noisier certainly, perhaps more dependant but I think we all have that problem and whether one streams music or puts a record on a deck isn’t going to turn anyone into an ill mannered slob overnight. You is, or you isn’t ;)
Interesting thread, this.
I haven't had a cellphone for years. When the money-grabbers at O2 killed my tariff and wouldn't refund me my prepaid calls, I took stock of what I'd used the phone for. I used to manage a small company, and it was useful if the office was unattended because I forwarded calls on to it.
Other than that, it spent most of its time switched off or taking voicemail calls telling me that my phone was switched off (which I already knew). As I now do a different job, I don't miss it.
I do think that these machines have contributed to a decline in common courtesy and good manners as it now seems quite acceptable to be someone's guest, but also to be making and receiving phonecalls and text messages which generally tend to be of little or no significance.
I'm awaiting delivery of my first "proper" digital music player but it's not one of those with more apps and games than you can shake a stick at. I'm hoping it will play music to a decent enough quality and be convenient enough to take places like the doctors etc. so I can have a bit of entertainment when I'm sitting there waiting for my eye-drops to kick in.
In my opinion, people come first and technology comes second. When the technology starts running you, it's time to step back and take stock.
:)
?
The simple answer is that if you're a dick you're a dick - !
How does that bit from West Side Story go?
'When you're a Dick you're a Dick to the end
of your first mobile phone call to your last dying day'
magiccarpetride
01-11-2010, 01:52
Majiccarpetride,Just ask people to leave there cell phones in the car when they come to visit,make your home a cell free zone.
That's actually a brilliant idea. I really like it!
I am of the opinion that most people are basically very decent, but some people simply cannot resist the temptation. I'm sure if my visitors didn't have wearable technology with them to distract them, they'd be sitting really quietly and paying their full attention to the music. But this bloody wearable computing device that's wi-fi enabled just wouldn't let them be! They became restless because of the gadget that is in their pockets.
I disagree with the prevailing conclusion in this thread that assholes will remain assholes, no matter what. People can and do change, and also everyone deserves a benefit of a doubt. Most people I meet in my daily life are quite decent and well meaning. I just think that our initial exposure to the wearable technology is in its early infancy, and we still haven't, as a society, figured out proper etiquette regarding how to live with it.
I'm not saying we should get rid of it, I'm just saying we must learn to be more mindful of how is that newfangled wearable technology affecting those around us.
And for those of you who formed an opinion that I'm a Luddite on account of me complaining about Shazam!, that's a bit extreme. I am a huge fan of technology, I have ditched my CD player in favor of streaming my music from the cloud (I call it 'containerless content'), so no one in their right mind can slap a label on me accusing me that I'm a technophobe.
Rare Bird
01-11-2010, 02:11
I'm not saying we should get rid of it, I'm just saying we must learn to be more mindful of how is that newfangled wearable technology affecting those around us.
Have an Holiday in Japan & try speaking on your Mobile inside a passanger train, you see what happens :)
What's happening to us? Why are we becoming so enslaved by the machines? Why do we feel like we have to measure everything before we can taste it? Isn't the whole idea about technology to serve us, to alleviate our chores and to give us pleasure, the way a good audio technology does nowadays?
Count me out! When I listen to music, it's to the exclusion of all else. The same when I watch a film. I embrace technology but it has its place.
Ammonite Audio
01-11-2010, 07:59
I have to agree with the OP's sentiments. Maybe the time has come for my ultimate, make-millions gadget: the Actual Reality Headset. It's made of infinitely transparent materials of infinite lightness, allowing completely normal interaction with the world around. Does anyone think that this is marketable? Maybe it should be called the iActual iReality iHeadset.
magiccarpetride
01-11-2010, 18:09
I have to agree with the OP's sentiments. Maybe the time has come for my ultimate, make-millions gadget: the Actual Reality Headset. It's made of infinitely transparent materials of infinite lightness, allowing completely normal interaction with the world around. Does anyone think that this is marketable? Maybe it should be called the iActual iReality iHeadset.
You bet it's marketable! We all know that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and here we have the most seamless and the most advanced technology ever invented -- human brain hooked into human senses. Pure magic. Package it in some sexy outfit, and it's gonna sell like hot cakes (get Steve Jobs to demo it, then just when you're about to release and ship it, create some fabricated shortages and propagate the paranoid sense of scarcity, so that people will line up and camp in front of the Best Buy chain stores, and you'll retire a billionaire!)
squeezethatbuffalo
02-11-2010, 04:18
Have an Holiday in Japan & try speaking on your Mobile inside a passanger train, you see what happens :)
I'm willing to bet that nothing will happen... very likely your phone won't work in Japan :lol:
Beechwoods
02-11-2010, 07:19
I must admit that if I had invited some people round to hear my system, I'd have no qualms about telling them to put their phones away, and do me the respect of listening as they'd promised they would. It sounds like your thing was at their request anyway. You should have asked them to leave if they were taking the p---!
I love vintage hi-fi, but I also love my Mac(s) and love my iPhone. I must admit that it doesn't get used as a phone much, but it's made me feel like I can use my time more productively, for work and pleasure, than I could before. I can catch up on last night's BBC Four music documentaries on the bus into work (I have a TV tuner on my Mac, and can sync the recordings with the iPhone). I don't get the time for TV otherwise. There's an app (Pingdom) that monitors website downtime and notifies me when there's a problem so I don't need to worry about The Art of Sound going arse up when I'm not around. I have a fantastic VNC client app which allows me to connect to my home Mac and control it from anywhere over a mobile data connection. The high-res of the iPhone 4 screen means I can do anything remotely via VNC that I'd do if I were at my computer at home. If I'm on my lunch I can check uploads I might have been making via FTP, and queue up some more, so they're done by the time I'm back home.
I'm with Alex and Hamish about mobile phone etiquette. Keep the noise down, switch the sounds off if you're at work or with someone socially, and don't keep checking it like an obsessive monkey! Smartphones are liberating, IMO, but they do require user discretion to ensure social politeness!
The Vinyl Adventure
02-11-2010, 09:37
Well said
Does that VNC thin work with PC
We looked at that pingdom, but ruled it out for cost... Just looked again, I hadn't previously noticed the 1 free site thing though ... I wonder if I can fiddle it into monitoring our entire sever?? That would be pretty nifty.... I hadn't realised there was a app for it...
dave2010
02-11-2010, 09:55
All typed whilst taking a dump! ... Too much information, Hamish. Perhaps it's a good thing some things are done remotely!
All typed whilst taking a dump! ...
How many plops?
Marco.
Beechwoods
02-11-2010, 10:50
Well said
Does that VNC thing work with PC
Indeed it does. You run a small app on your PC or Mac and that sorts out all your 'zero config networking' via a GMail account. Google iTeleport. I have found it 100% reliable and very easy to use versus other VNC clients. It's £15 but well worth it.
Rare Bird
02-11-2010, 12:28
I'm willing to bet that nothing will happen...
It's frowned upon & messages are played asking people to refrain from doing so.
Similarly I can run remote desktop on my HTC Windows phone and manage my servers from anywhere. It's crazy and impresses the proles no end.
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