Fairly boring commentary from an oversensitive, emotionally demanding computer nerd (with a not-so brand-new 4-year-old, and two cats)
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November 16, 2002
Phony baloney
Now you know I'm no stranger to tech toys and such, but we just got a new cordless phone. (It seems like we have to buy a new one about every year because either the old one dies or it just sucks so bad you can't hear anyone.)
And I was amazed at how many models were on display (this was at Target). You've got 900 Mhz and 2.4 GHz and 5.8? Ghz and analog vs. digital and with and without answering machines and with one or two handsets and with/without intercoms, etc. etc. (Not to mention cellphones and IP phones and, yes, phones with cords!)
I am old enough to remember when, when you wanted a phone, you got one from The Phone Company, aka Ma Bell, aka AT&T (but we're not talkin' about your current puny AT&T, we're talking your big monopoly bend over and enjoy it 'cuz we own you type company).
It was a big deal when you could get phones in different colors.
On the wall in the basement we actually have one of those phones - I bought it around 1982 when the phone company had to sell them off.
And get this, kiddies, it has a DIAL on it. Does anyone born in the last 20 years even know how to work that thing?
There's lots of nice features on some of these toys, but I confess that in terms of the progress of civilization, this is not one of the areas that you should write home about. Those old Western Electric clunkers always worked, and lasted forever (see above reference to antique dial phone, which still works).
Cellphones are another story - they are easy to hate when annoying people use them where they shouldn't, but easy to love when you hit a deer in the middle of you don't have a clue where and really don't feel like walking miles in the rain to find a house and hoping it's not like one of those in stupid horror movies, etc.
My wife really hated the breakup of AT&T. Myself, I don't love monopolies, but confess to some nostalgia for Ma Bell and the days when phones were just there... how's that for an old fart comment!
Posted by markj at November 16, 2002 04:57 PM
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