Who Doesn't Own A Smart Phone (besides me?)

[Hemlock]

"Our auto insurance folks said they'd give us a discount if we loaded their app. on our smart phone & always keep it on and with us - no can do and have no plans to buy one."

That's so they can track you and raise your rates to see if you speed or fail to stop.

 

[gmerkt]

Well, I can see I'm not alone in by dislike of electronic attachments. I confess to having a couple of cell phones. One is an Android smart phone that my son got me (and pays fees for). When I was still in business, it got to the point where the only way a few customers would communicate was by text. If you want to make a sale, you go with the flow. But I hate texting, I'm done with the business for the most part, and I practically never text now. The Android is pretty basic, I rarely use it and the memory storage is pretty pathetic. I see some people get out their smart phone, they scan through about 150 apps, all kinds of frivolous crap.

Mostly my Android phone stays home. It does have some use on a long trip. One of the few apps I have on it allows me to call home for nothing from a cruise ship in foreign waters. Without changing the SIM card.

The other phone I have is a simple flip phone, pay by the minute. A dime a minute, I know because I just recently recharged it. I take this with me when I'm out and around so my wife can call me if something comes up. Or so I can call and see if she needs something from someplace I might be. She says I should carry it in Fred Meyer when we do the weekly gro. shopping for when I get lost. Which means, when I wander away because I bore easily when looking at produce.

If I do any computer work, it's done on my PC. I just don't like dealing with anything other than a full-sized keyboard.

We have a landline phone in our house; that sees most use. We're are the only ones in our extended family who still maintain one.

I'm thinking the strong sentiment here against smart phones reflects the age group of forum members, mostly. Young people are pretty much addicted to all these things. Or maybe it's the natural, maverick attitude of the average gun owner. I think a lot of the electronic gadget thing is wasted time.

"Our auto insurance folks said they'd give us a discount if we loaded their app. on our smart phone & always keep it on and with us - no can do and have no plans to buy one."

That's so they can track you and raise your rates to see if you speed or fail to stop.

I think there may be something to this. Some insurance companies offer (meager) discounts for having a tracking device on your car. Sorry, not interested.

 

[CLT65]

I have an iPhone, required by work. They pay for it, otherwise I would probably still have my old flip phone. When I'm on call I have to have it with me at all times. I have to admit I do use it quite a bit though.

On the other hand, I hate Siri. I don't use that word lightly, there are very few things that I actually hate. I hate Siri, and Alexa, and "Hey Google". I hate talking to a machine. I like technology and am interested in the technical side of it, but I have no use for technology just for the sake of technology. I think a lot of younger people especially love technology just because it's "technology".

My much younger coworker, on the other hand, lives his life on his smart phone. He has dozens of "Apps" and does everything from banking to ordering fast food delivery on it. What's the deal with fast food delivery anyhow? He told me what it costs, and it's absurd, but he likes the "convenience". Have our lives gotten that busy, that cluttered, that we have to live our lives on the run all the time? Personally I think there's something fundamentally wrong with our culture if that's the way it is.

On another note, does anyone here remember the movie The President's Analyst? It's a 1967 James Coburn spoof that in some ways predicted our modern preoccupation with "phones".

On another, nother note, anyone remember the tinfoil hat predictions a couple decades ago, about how the govt wanted to implant chips into everyone, to track our every move? Well, that pretty much happened on a voluntary basis. Not only that, but it's easy to learn everything you ever wanted to know about anyone just by spying on their internet and social media usage. There are no secrets anymore. Tinfoil hat stuff a generation ago is just commonly accepted life nowadays.

 

[Boboclown]

Its kinda required for work. While any phone would work, not having access to maps sucks.

And the road atlas is horrible for anything other than major US routes and interstate (decent for avoiding low clearances on US highways). Can't trust GPS either, especially in downtown areas.

I'm often having to use maps on my phone to get a better idea of how to get to my delivery. Plus having it connected to my elog makes things a bit easier as I often get messages from dispatch on my phone before my elog gets them.

 

[MannyGlocks]

CLT65,

Do you have Siri or Alexxa?

If so, why?

Thanks!

 

[CLT65]

CLT65,

Do you have Siri or Alexxa?

If so, why?

Thanks!

No I do not. I turned Siri off on my phone, and would never allow Alexxa in my house. While I can appreciate the technology, I see no real use for them, don't like what they represent, and HATE talking to a machine.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I do morse code wid my 9.

way I roll

 

[CLT65]

Three shots in the air when you're lost in the woods?

Edit- no, I guess that would just be an "S" in Morse code. To get rescued you'd need to shoot three in the air with your 9, three with your 12 gauge, then three more with the 9...

 

[CLT65]

You all heard about the two buddies who went hunting in the Oregon woods and got lost? They wandered and wandered but couldn't make their way out. Finally the one says to the other that it's time to use the universal hunter's call for help - shoot in the air three times.

So he shoots in the air three times, and they wait, and wait. Nothing.

They shoot three more times, and wait. Nothing.

Finally the one says to the other, "Man, it's getting dark. I hope they find us soon. We better shoot again."

His buddy says, "I sure hope it works this time. We're down to our last three arrow."

 

[MannyGlocks]

We have satellite tv.

My wife wanted to upgrade...so we did.

The sat. company sent remotes that can 'listen' to our commands.

No, not gonna happen.

We ordered 'dumb' remotes that work just fine without listening....

Do I think I'm protected from being monitored?

Of course not, I'm here aren't I?

But, I ain't gonna make it even easier for the forces of evil to monitor me...

Listening devices that I voluntarily welcome into my home - are you kidding me? (Ah ok, beyond posting on a gun forum?)

 

[ma96782]

Story time.....

I was driving on the I-5 awhile back (?about 10 years ago). And as it happens, I had to make a pit stop at one of those government provided "rest stops". Yup....there was that "homeless type person" soliciting "donations". As I passed him on my way to the facilities, he asked for a contribution. I looked in his direction and noticed that he had a holstered cell phone on his waist. Yup......he had a cell phone. OMG.....I didn't even own a cell phone at the time because I didn't want to pay the cost of the monthly fee. So, there it is......

But maybe, it was an OBAMA phone?

Whatever..... Jeez. Life in America can be so upside down.

Aloha, Mark

 

[po18guy]

I refuse to operate any device that is smarter than I am, or whose operating manual is larger than the device itself.

 

[thorborg]

We have no "smart phone" We don't own one for the same reason we never bought in to cable, besides having no need for them, we consider them both a worthless expenditure of hard earned monies and ultimately pleasing our savings account when we retired to no end
I use to have a real land line which would work in emergencies but since Verizon sold out to Frontier they forced Fiber optics on us so when the power goes out so goes the phone (when the small battery goes that is) of which I've had to buy backup batteries twice since it was put in (users responsibility they claim) and they are expensive. Since they last a few years, you go literally nuts trying to figure out where that soft tiny little chirp (maybe 15 or 20 minutes apart) is coming from when they need replacing.
I did buy the wife a flip phone 20 years or so ago and like others here it has accrued hundreds of dollars over the years although she has only used it three times I think. Kept in the off condition, she only uses it for emergencies, breakdowns and the like. Now the battery will only stay charged for a week in the off state with no replacement option available or even to be made @ batteries plus, so I make sure she carries the cigarette lighter charge wire when she leaves the home. I tried to get her a new one but she refuses saying she is too old to remember how to use it when / if an emergency happens. Besides, except for when I'm away hunting, my sweetheart is always close by. I've always had CB's in my vehicles and early in my driving life have used them to get myself out of a pickle or two but don't feel so confidant as to their value in these modern times. I cling to them non the less and still have them in every vehicle I own plus a couple old hand held types.


As an aside, I'm thrilled to see the old faces lined up below as a sometime evocative addition to comments. the new ones Joe had come up with looked evil

 

[thorborg]

I refuse to operate any device that is smarter than I am, or whose operating manual is larger than the device itself.

What, you get operating manuals!! Where? I haven't seen one of those since the 80's
Even my computers just came with a pictorial hook up chart. That was it. No mater how I worded any question for the on line help, I always came up empty for my particular issues.

 

[Boboclown]

I have a smart phone cause a GPS is bad, and being able to see the map on satellite view makes everything easier. Drive a rig through pittsburgh or philly then tell me you don't need a phone with maps on it.

 

[billdeserthills]

Samsung Rugby flip phone for me. Never had a smart? phone, and hope to never have one.

Unlike smart?phones, I don't have to 'upgrade' every 2 years at astronomical prices. I lost my last one, bought this one on Amazon for $45. Good to go.

Another bonus of no smart? phone, I don't have neck problems.
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The world is full of kings and queens, who blind your eyes and steal your dreams. It's Heaven and Hell.....

I also use a Samsung Rugby flip phone & I have a new one as a backup for the last time this one bounces off whatever I chuck it at next time it pisses me off

You can still buy them from China off E-bay

 

[Hemlock]

I have a smart phone cause a GPS is bad, and being able to see the map on satellite view makes everything easier. Drive a rig through pittsburgh or philly then tell me you don't need a phone with maps on it.

Oh give me a break! I drove a semi for a living back in the 70's. New York City, Hunts Point, downtown Chicago, Houston, Texas. All I had was an atlas and a city map!

 

[BPOR11]

I used to use a map book, now just thinking about focusing on that microscopic print gives me a headache.

 

[Boboclown]

Oh give me a break! I drove a semi for a living back in the 70's. New York City, Hunts Point, downtown Chicago, Houston, Texas. All I had was an atlas and a city map!

Got an atlas, use it to find alternate routes around construction, as well as to calculate how many extra miles and fuel I'll use up. However, you know what's no longer around like it used to be? City maps, only some city maps are on the atlas too. Its not that I can't read a map, or anything, its that with GPS the few who would use a map are screwed.

We should be lucky that an atlas is even around still. So going through pittsburgh, philly, etc, I'm left to using google maps as well as reading signs and using streetview to plan routes. Dragging spreads, I also end up using satellite view to see which turns I could actually make.

Of course, some towns suck without a satellite overview too. I remember my GPS trying to make a turn into a street, that was really just a narrow alley. I knew about it cause I checked google maps and the route the GPS wanted me to take, and made an alternate route instead.

 

[Hemlock]

Technology (GPS) is wonderful. Creature comforts (cell phones) are here to stay. But we must not loose our skills.