Apple Bonkers' Journal

Phones . . . meh

Weekend Assignment #222: What do you use a phone for? Do you strictly use it to make calls and pick up messages, or do you take advantage of other technology bundled with phones these days? Which features do you use all the time, which others would you use if they were available and cheap, and which would you not bother with even it they were free?

Extra Credit: Do you still use your land line to make and receive calls from friends or family?

I didn't have a cell phone at all until about a year ago. Yes, I am a member of Generation X. Yes, from 2000 - 2002 I worked for a company that dealt solely in mobile phone applications. I do not like phones. But I finally decided I disliked certain situations, like trying to track down a pay phone when my tire blew out on the way to rehearsal, even more. So I broke down and got a simple pay-as-you-go phone. It doesn't make sense to me to pay a monthly bill for something I use so seldomly (I don't have cable television, either, and I'm not planning on doing anything about it when the digital switchover thingy happens. I won't much miss my TV). So . . . my phone has some silly games on it, and rudimentary Web access that would eat away at my minutes like sulfuric access, if it worked, which I suspect it doesn't. I think I've texted from my phone about five times.

Extra Credit:

Yes! I use the land line far more frequently than my cell phone. Not that I use it all that much either. I prefer conversations to be face-to-face, and if that's not possible, I'm far more likely to communicate by e-mail or IM. It just seems more efficient to me (of course, I type unusually fast!). Also, I think another reason that I like e-mail and IM over the phone is that the person you're talking to via e-mail or IM can't interrupt you. :) You can get your complete thought out.

I'm also on the phone a great deal at work, too, and that's certainly a contributing factor to it being one of the last things I want to do when I get to be not-at-work.

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