Posted on 02/23/2006 10:10:45 AM PST by nickcarraway
If you like investment opps for patent infringers here is a co.
PTSC
Ah, a kindred spirit. I can't figure out why people voluntarily shackle themselves.
I know, i don't even like answering the phone at home!! Guess I'm a freak!
Poor Blackberries, I just wish they'd change the name. I find it especially annoying for some reason. Naming electronic devices after fruit just seems so wrong. It just strikes me as just one more annoying piece of yuppie culture. I still think NTPs claims are crap but so are most patents. Patents should be reserved for truly unique non intuitive ideas, products, and processes.
Cell phones are a necessity if you spend a lot of time outside of the house. Co-ordinating with friends for meeting up after work, for example.
Blackberries are a double-edged sword. They let me leave the office without fear that I will miss an important e-mail. I have a lot of freedom, and my boss and clients don't know I'm at home, rather than at my desk. On the other hand, they do function as an electronic leash.
If you want wireless email, there is nothing better.
This is a case of waiting to see who blinks first.
So long as the gov is not exempt from a shutdown, it will never happen. And I don't see how they can shut down the rest of us and leave the Gov up.
Cingular, our carrier, uses GPRS for other purposes besides Blackberry, so their GPRS carrier is not going down. My Blackberry server sitting near me is not going down. I'm not sure how they can even turn off all the Blackberrys in the country.
At my last job, I took off two days before my wedding. My boss suggested, not even half-joking, that we get me a BlackBerry for those two days.
As if I would just up and drop all the wedding prep for a legal marketing "emergency."
I mean, really.
I don't experience any loss of quality in life by not having one; and, I do leave the house often and for long periods of time. Heck, I can remember when cell phones didn't exist. I lived devoid of panic, even then.
Organization and preparation are excellent substitues for the electronic leash.
Choose empty hands. Emails remain in the queue until you get back to your computer. People can leave telephone messages. If you hire decent people, organize your office, set up decent procedures, and do modest planning, the office can survive without one's constant attention.
The preceived need electronic leashes reveals serious weakness.
I guess it may be a generational and/or cultural thing. When you're talking about a group of young adults trying to co-ordinate their schedules and meeting up after work, for example, cell phones and text messaging are key.
Treo 700
That's what I used to think, until I began taking care of my mom (93) and I have to have a way for her to contact me at any time. To me .. it's for emergencies and stuff like that. I refuse to answer it when I'm in the car - too distracting - but I have used it in the car to report an accident which occurred right in front of me (I avoided it).
I forgot to address this one. You might find this hard to believe, but this sort of thing was accomplished regularly long before those obnoxious devices were invented. All you need is a telephone and a watch. Maybe a map.
I meet with an old friend one day each week without contacting him in the meantime. We meet at different times and places each week. All you have to do is agree on the details before you separate each week. What a concept!
Old reliable :)
Yeah, I've noticed that youngsters seem confused or lost most of the time. Technology has eroded preplanning and self reliance.
I'm sure it was. I grew up without a cell phone- I got my first one back in college around 1996. Is it possible? Sure. But it's certainly more difficult.
I meet with an old friend one day each week without contacting him in the meantime. We meet at different times and places each week. All you have to do is agree on the details before you separate each week. What a concept!
Not really possible. Schedules change, plans change. Work comes up, family comes up, the cab get stuck in traffic, the Metro gets delayed because of a suicide attempt etc. etc. A common situation- we go to a bar and decide we don't really like it- too crowded, too noisy, wromg type of crowd etc. So, rather than waiting around for everyone in the group, we text send out a text message to meet somewhere else.
I'm talking about a group of friends who are aides to Senators, young partners at law firms, junior energy executives and such. They have a million things on their plate at any time, to a much greater extent than people their age did a generation ago.
For lifesyles like that, cell phones and blackberries are crucial. Life moves a lot faster than it did 20 years ago.
Not really. Its the people who are moving faster and dynamically changing plans that weren't firm. Real life moves at the same old speed.
There are very different types of people. You obviously like to socialize and flit from one social setting to another with a large group of friends. I prefer to go home, visit with the family, build furniture and steam engines, and pursue other creative hobbies. I also camp, hike, and shoot. I keep few friends, but only those of quality.
You might see more people in a short time than I want to in a lifetime. Have you recently sat and listened to birds, watched sunlight glisten in the dew, or turned a rocket of your own making skyward?
You have conversed nicely with me; and, I appreciate that. I really hope you spend some time away from the electronics and the trivial pursuit. You seem very pleasant. Thanks for the exchange.
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