Several years ago, I lost my flip cellphone. It was gone for about 2 weeks. This was during the winter and the snow was deep. I figured the phone was gone permanently. I went out to check our horse, and he had almost eaten all the hay in his bale feeder. There laid my phone, in the bottom of his feeder. Covered with dirt and frozen snow and horse saliva. It had been under all that hay and snow, and when he had cleaned up his hay as well as the snow, (while picking thru it for hay), he exposed the phone.
I took it in the house, wiped it off, and let it dry for a few days. Then I charged the battery and it worked perfectly. I was amazed it worked after all of that.
Conceptually, yes. But, in practical terms, it seems like most folks EXPECT an almost immediate response to a text: "Don't you have your phone WITH you??" By contrast, someone sending an email seems
*surprised* if they receive a prompt response: "Were you sitting at your computer??"
I don't use a cell phone but I can't ever think of a case when I saw someone "check their texts" ("Let me see if I've received any texts since I last *checked*"). OTOH, people *do* "check their email"...
Note that SMS (texts) are a *push* technology (your provider *pushes* the message out to your phone) while email is a *pull* technology (*you* check with your provider to see if you have any email).
While it is possible to configure an email client to "check often" and "announce new mail", I don't think this is the normal means of using email. It seems more common for folks to *explicitly* invoke an action to "check" and wait a few seconds for the RESULT of that check.
A good idea. Of course, perfection doesn't exist (there's no way you can guarantee to do this 100% of the time), so an additional check is important too.
That happens. An improperly sealed bag makes the problem worse by collecting water and holding it around the phone.
That reminds me of a newspaper I got when it was raining. It was in a plastic bag but the bag leaked and the paper was thrown in a gutter (leaky end upstream). The bag helped to collect water and soak the paper rather than protect it.
My boss tried to promote the idea of my safety. I hike alone and never tell anyone where I'm going. Half the time I don't know where I'm going until I get there. I didn't have the heart to tell him most places where I hike don't have cell coverage.
A couple of years ago I got a call at 20:00 New Years Eve by one of our support people. A client decided they absolutely had to go live with the system on 1 January. So there I am, standing on a street corner trying to talk him through a complex configuration process.
I'm old and my memory ain't what it used to be. After that I tended to forget to take the phone with me.
A guy I work with gets a lot of texts and the phone makes a sound that he claims is supposed to be an arrow in flight when they arrive. Personally, I think it sounds like someone cutting craft paper on an old-fashioned paper cutter. Anyway, it goes Phhhhhhhh and he checks it.
One morning I started getting texts from some confused woman documenting her progress around town. By the time I figured out how to send a damn message it was none too polite.
There's no guarantee that I'm going to see my email "in a timely manner". And, I don't have to *answer* the door. :>
Most "visits" are neighbors with things like: "I'm headed off to Sam's Club; need anything?" "We're going to San Diego this weekend; can you keep an eye on the place?" "Here's the craft store's coupons from today's paper..." "Nikki's computer crashed while she was working on her term paper, due tomorrow; can you recover it for her?"
I mused about a suitable "door bell" (button) for some time. The top contender was "a coinslot"! I think this would put-off most folks: "You mean I have to PAY to talk to someone??"
But, it would be inconvenient for friends and neighbors, as well ("Can I get my quarter back??").
So, I've opted for a "HAL interface station" alongside the door. Gives me a place to put CCTV camera and microphone. And, a whimsical "decorative" appearance!
Problem is locating a large glass lens... (and an eerie red light!)
"If I'm concerned about MY safety, I'll take precautions to safeguard it."
SWMBO hikes pretty regularly in one of the national Parks, here. Cell phone coverage is spotty, at best (lots of little canyons, etc.). So, her "safety net" is telling me which trail she plans to hike that day so I can have an idea of how long she'll be out and "where to go looking for the body"! :>
I get my exercise walking around the neighborhood -- about a square mile. As we're close to the center of it, I can use a "long range" CORDLESS phone and still be within range of the house. So, can talk to SWMBO via "intercom", she can "page" me if she needs to talk to me, etc. As the phone ring and intercom ring are different, I just don't answer incoming calls on it.
Ha! Exactly my point. If you want me "on call", then PAY me for that privilege. Otherwise, my time is my own. Spending it solving YOUR problems isn't high on my list of priorities.
Over the years, I've spent many late nights getting prototypes ready for demos or trials. Or, even getting deliverables out on a preagreed schedule. But, each of those was something I knew ahead of time and could plan around. Being at your beck and call isn't part of the deal.
[I work late nights. Would you like it if I phoned you AT HOME at
4AM to ask you some technical question that is impeding my progress at that moment??]
My last 9-to-5 employer would "remind" me every evening, "See you tomorrow; and don't forget that tie!" Somehow, I never was able to remember to wear "that tie" in all those years... :> I'm even older, now, so my memory is even worse!
Exactly. Instant gratification. I imagine "texts" will queue, somewhere (client side or server side) until "checked". So, no need to "jump" each time Pavlov rings his bell -- they'll be waiting for you when you get around to looking at them!
We chat with a neighbor-couple pretty often. Almost always, *her* phone twiddles (I can't tell if its a text or call being signalled as I don't know her ringtones). If she defers answering (because actively participating in a REAL conversation at the time), *his* phone will twiddle. If *he* defers answering (because he's in the same conversation!), then their land line will ring.
I always wonder "Who died?" to merit such a frantic attempt to contact them!
What about other bits of kit? PDA, PMP, watch, earpiece, hearing aids, pager, camera, etc.? I.e., it appears that manufacturers put the onus on the user/consumer to safeguard the item instead of designing "robust" items (for the most part).
Personally, I'm hoping the bears, wolves, and ravens get there first. I don't file flight plans and I don't necessarily stick to trails, at least not the human sort.
When I was a young engineer on my first real job my mentor said "They'll give you business cards. Never, never give one to anybody." In my present position, I hide behind a couple of layers of support and operations people. Still there are a couple of clients that have sussed out my email and phone info. Fortunately, both are people I can work with, not the incessant whiners.
When Pavlov rings his bell, my first response is to look around wondering where the music is coming from. After a few seconds, I realize it's a ringtone. A few more, I realize it's the ringtone on my phone. Then begins the search for the muted sounds, which are generally emitting from the old reusable grocery bag I use to carry my lunch, tablet, library books, mail, and other crap. By then the other party has went to voicemail. I attempt to retrieve the voicemail, and manage to delete it instead. Saves a lot of trouble.
It's a result of knowing the hearing aids are little computers that'll die if they get wet, so from the beginning I established a routine on how and where I'd care for them. I wouldn't want my pc to get doused with water, so it's the same with the hearing aids.
I need the little computers to hear, so out of necessity they don't get near water. I also have a nice bright light by my desk where I can inspect them, which is practical.
Mine mostly are "Here's your mail. Got any of mine?" It's a cluster box and some of the contract mail drones use a random sorting technique. I damn near paid the neighbor's propane bill once before I noticed the addressee.
My kids are the texting generation, so if I want to stay in touch with them, I text them or they text me. If I don't see the msg right away, it's not usually a big deal because I get a notification that I'll see when I do check my phone. If I miss a phone call I'll get a notification of a missed call, too, and usually someone will leave a voice msg that I can listen to.
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