The 1st cell phone call was made in April 1973-38 years ago

[taabru45]

http://eideard.wordpress.com/2011/04/03 ... hone-call/
That is a staggering fact to me... :shock: :shock: I have a Guild older than that....how fast the world changes....Steffan

 

[GAD]

I used to sell these, circa 1984:

I can remember walking down the street in Morristown, NJ with this thing slung over my shoulder while I made a call and people staring and pointing at me. "He's using a phone!"

 

[chazmo]

The world has indeed changed.

The scary thing to me is that modern equipment uses microwaves. It's my theory that they're going to turn out like cigarettes and eventually people will stop using personal devices because they're killing them. But the way cellphones and integrated voice/data have invaded society is going to make that difficult. I remember being shocked by the effect of cellphones when I was riding the trains in Japan back in 2000. The Japanese were ahead of us in the technology, and I was watching people on the train in their own conversations over the phone... It was rather distasteful to me. It didn't stop there, did it?

Personally, I think the cellular/wireless revolution is a mixed bag. But, I didn't realize the first cell call was actually as long ago as 1973.

 

[taabru45]

I can remember walking down the street in Morristown, NJ with this thing slung over my shoulder while I made a call and people staring and pointing at me. "He's using a phone!" [/quote]

If you did that today people would be ..."staring and pointing at me. "He's using a phone!"..... :lol: Steffan

 

[davismanLV]

Now that people CAN use a phone virtually ANYWHERE, manners come into play. And I find that very few people these days have good manners. There's a time and a place to talk on the phone. I used to jump on my horse and take off into the hills of Southern California as a young teenager.... I'd be gone all day. There were rocks, and ravines and snakes and rivers.... and I was out of touch with the world. If anything would have happened I'd have been screwed until the sun went down and I was missed. Maybe dangerous, but I survived. And I remember those times as some of the most peaceful in my life. Everything's a trade off. Of course, I had no fear back then. 8) Tom in Vegas

 

[Christopher Cozad]

I remember a time when, if I wanted to speak with someone, I had to leave my home, walk to their house, knock on their door, and actually have a face-to-face conversation.

 

[FNG]

I drive around in the morning and see groups of kids waiting for the bus, all with their faces planted in their cellphones. Probably texting the person standing next to them. OMG LOL. :lol:

 

[davismanLV]

Like when you see a group of girls (or boys) at the mall and they're all "together" but they're all talking to someone else..... on their phones. I'd say, enjoy the people you're with while you're with them. And if the people you're with are not that enjoyable, then you should pick the people you hang with more carefully. So I guess that makes me old fashioned.... and old. I never seem to get enough time with my good friends, and while I'm with them.... I'm gonna make the most of it. Texting is a good thing..... it comes in very handy at times. Tom in Vegas

 

[chazmo]

[ ... ] Texting is a good thing..... it comes in very handy at times. Tom in Vegas

Agreed, except that what I see, at least, is that kids use texting to the point of distraction. I have a "phones off" policy with my own kids during dinner time, but I get really annoyed when they're tapping away when we're doing something together... it is what it is, I guess.

 

[taabru45]

[ ... ] Texting is a good thing..... it comes in very handy at times. Tom in Vegas

Agreed, except that what I see, at least, is that kids use texting to the point of distraction. I have a "phones off" policy with my own kids during dinner time, but I get really annoyed when they're tapping away when we're doing something together... it is what it is, I guess.

How long before they can't spell? English is a beautiful language.... I enjoy writing, and it wouldn't be the same in 'txt'.... :roll: Steffan

 

[davismanLV]

They already can't spell. Don't get me started..... OOOPS!!! Too late.... Tom in Vegas

 

[CA-35]

Texting while driving, talking on phone in a restaurant (I love eating dinner in a phone booth!), on the phone when paying for something telling the clerk oh just one minute and there are 6 people in line behind it getting po'ed, the proverbial moron on the phone when the light changes from red to green and they are so engaged in conversation (with the President no doubt) the numerous horns and expletives are not even noticed, let alone heard.

One moment please.......sorry, I gotta take this call.......

 

[geoguy]

talking on phone in a restaurant (I love eating dinner in a phone booth!)

Pardon me . . . what is this "phone booth" of which you speak? :mrgreen:

 

[fronobulax]

One moment please.......sorry, I gotta take this call.......

Slight veer, but you can tell a lot about an organization's values by the way its employees handle the phone when they have face to face customers.

I believe the best customer service representatives give the person standing in front of them their immediate and undivided attention. So I appreciate an organization that either uses separate staff to handle walk-ins and phones or allows staff to ignore the phone if they are with a customer. Next best is staff that also have to answer the phone but are trained to put the caller on hold ASAP. Worst ones are the companies that allow the employee to resolve the phone caller's problem first.

This also helps me deal with frustration and annoyance when I have to navigate a menu system or sit on hold as a phone caller. I pretend that they really do value their customers and that I am being ignored because there is actually someone there in person.

 

[fronobulax]

Pardon me . . . what is this "phone booth" of which you speak? :mrgreen:

fronobulax[/url]]

phone booth

New Zealand phone sex operators are standing by. Call Now!

 

[AlohaJoe]

When I was young we had to write a letter and take it to the Pony Express office. :lol:

 

[CA-35]

Re;

talking on phone in a restaurant (I love eating dinner in a phone booth!)

Tell me the last time you were eating in a restaurant you could hear anything but people on the phone? People talk while they eat, I understand that, but at a level that is only usually heard by the person they are dining with.

I've noticed that people on a cell phone can't hear well (because of all the people on the phone around them) so they tend to talk louder, and slower, and repeat a lot of things.

So if it didn't nauseate you enough the first time, fear not, you'll get a second helping; even louder.

 

[fronobulax]

When I was young we had to write a letter and take it to the Pony Express office. :lol:

You had ponies? We had to find a friendly Native American who would send a smoke signal.

 

[GAD]

When I was young we had to write a letter and take it to the Pony Express office. :lol:

You had ponies? We had to find a friendly Native American who would send a smoke signal.

You had smoke? We had to shove piles of primordial ooze

 

[adorshki]

Now that people CAN use a phone virtually ANYWHERE, manners come into play. And I find that very few people these days have good manners.

I'm in the checkout line at the market. Already a pretty noisy environment with a lot of ambient echo and cancellation right in the 2k midrange for voice. Lady in front of me is on cellphone. I get out a paper bag and open it up in preparation. She gives ME the dirty look from the noise. I told her in no uncertain terms that SHE chose to use her phone in an already noisy and inappropriate environment so don't give ME a dirty look, MA'AM. :evil: It's gettin' that bad.
I do not take calls in (crowded) public places. I will find a quiet place where I will not disturb others to return it. Like my car. BEFORE I start driving.
The other most popular abandonment of simple manners is the public lover's spat. If I want a soap opera I'll watch Erica on All My Children.
The public soap opera's possibly equalled by ringtone downloads of one bar of a song.
THAT one could be a shootin' offense, but I've always made it a practice not to carry, as I can be a mite irritable, at times. :lol: