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Done with so-called smart technology!

This little portable handy-talkie cost me about 49 bucks, has a Li-Ion rechargeable battery and packs enough power that I can trigger a repeater 25 miles away or hit most simplex users within a ten mile radius.

They are unbeatable if you're out in the boonies, or in town.
It covers pretty much everything from 108 mHz to 800 mHz. There's a ton of public service and emergency services, plus all the ham bands, plus the FRS (Family Radio Service) plus everything in between.

Pound for pound and dollar for dollar, nothing else will get you heard as well for the money.
Yes, there's a learning curve, but if you live out in the sticks, it means you're a pioneer.
Pioneers accept having to learn new survival skills, as a part of life in the country.
Well, welcome to the "country cousin" of the cell phone and the grandchild of the old CB radio.
Hams INVENTED cellular telephone technology, you know! :D

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Checkerboard Strangler said:
I don't normally print from my phone but I can do so easily, to any printer that the phone has access to, and that is the purpose of things like NFC, bluetooth, etc.

I never watch movies or TV on my phone. I may watch the occasional amusing YouTube clip, and that's about it.
In fact, that's one of my pet peeves, having been in the industry...spending month after month of fourteen hour days on set, crafting beautiful picture and sound, only to have some nimrod dimwit watching it on a four inch screen.

Still doesn't change the fact that I love the convenience of having such great technology.
Look here, Mister Indie Guy...I AM the ONE who should be playing YOUR role in this humorous one-act drama.
I refer to myself as a "recovering analog dinosaur", because I grew up in the vacuum tube era, in the height of the Space Age, in fact.
Do you understand why I don't behave the way that you think I should?

It's because, up until about two years ago, I kept myself on the bleeding edge of motion picture technology, as it was my job.
I am not a software engineer or a programmer, so I cannot say that I am a computer geek. Persons like Mr. Eohrnberger probably qualify.
But I am a power user, and I am indeed quite familiar with the risks, thank you very much.

Without going into detail, let's just say that the way I arrange my public profile is such that the payoff isn't worth a hacker's time in my case, because my public profile with regard to vulnerabilities is small potatoes.
I don't keep enough in my publicly visible accounts to bother with, everything else is not visible nor accessible online because everything else does not "exist" online, only one small account with very little in it unless I am about to make a purchase.

My identity is fully protected. It has to be because I sell films retail online, and in certain music and film circles I'm fairly well known.
No, not like a Hollywood mogul, just some weird guy who is "the guy" if you hanker for a certain kind of music.

My home is my castle, it is well protected, too.
Now, understand that no amount of dire warnings or hand-wringing, or Luddite protestations is going to cause me any paranoia.
I cannot control the outside world, and I cannot control the desires of the criminal element in this world.
What I can do is make it not worth their time, and make it exceedingly dangerous for those who would seek to physically enter my home without permission.
That is all anyone can do, save for hiding their heads in the sand and becoming a recluse.

Thank you for your concern.
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All well and good, and it's awesome that you're up on technology.

I'm not necessarily anti-technology. If I was I probably wouldn't even have a cell phone or a computer at all. My pet peeve is all the morons that have become hopeless addicts to their devices.

If they want to spend most of their lives glaring at some ridiculous tiny screen, it's their choice, but when their addiction starts affecting the safety and security of innocent people - such as when these addicts do things like text and drive, or stare at their phones and walk across a busy street expecting everyone to slow down for them - that's when it becomes a major problem.
 
Grand Mal said:
My first phone was canceled because I realized I was paying $40 a month for a watch.
We have a flip phone in the glove box now because we're pretty rural and my wife feels better knowing It's there.
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My mother has a flip phone that I am paying for on my plan. It costs me 10 bucks a month. So far, I managed to get to her when she fell in the house, and couldn't get up, but got to that cell phone. She also had a dead battery she needed help with. Being able to get to my mother to get her on her feet rather than lay there was invaluable.
 
Indie guy said:
I don't care who pays your bills.

I'm just thanking you for being a frivolous consumer of these silly gadgets because you're contributing to a thriving economy and increasing my net worth. Tim Cook thanks you for helping him become wealthier too.
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Why are you so concerned with where other people’s money goes? What do you care?

You should honestly care as much about where my money goes, as I care how much money you are making in investing, which is *not at all.*
 
RAMOSS said:
My mother has a flip phone that I am paying for on my plan. It costs me 10 bucks a month. So far, I managed to get to her when she fell in the house, and couldn't get up, but got to that cell phone. She also had a dead battery she needed help with. Being able to get to my mother to get her on her feet rather than lay there was invaluable.
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My mom is on my phone plan, too. I gave her my 6s when her 5 died, and I know she will always have service at far less than what she was paying for her individual plan.
 
Indie guy said:
All well and good, and it's awesome that you're up on technology.

I'm not necessarily anti-technology. If I was I probably wouldn't even have a cell phone or a computer at all. My pet peeve is all the morons that have become hopeless addicts to their devices.

If they want to spend most of their lives glaring at some ridiculous tiny screen, it's their choice, but when their addiction starts affecting the safety and security of innocent people - such as when these addicts do things like text and drive, or stare at their phones and walk across a busy street expecting everyone to slow down for them - that's when it becomes a major problem.
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I grant you everything.
I'm not one of those.
And I don't have to be.

I live my life the way I always did prior to the advent of all this neato "stuff" that fits in your hand.
Not much has changed, except that if I want, I can have way more fun with it, and it's much more useful when needed for serious purposes.
A lifetime ago, I owned a mobile production truck. (okay, maybe not a lifetime ago, but a while ago)

Not only were my cameras parked in there, but also a simple videotape editing rig, a microwave TV transmitter, a ham radio, multiple scanners, CB, and enough power to light up a fluorescent light bulb in a person's hand eight feet away if I were to key my microphone.

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news truck.jpg

This is old hat to me, these are tools.
And if I was still chasing those crash and burn stories and shootings, I'd still be completely up to date with bleeding edge tech because it was how I made a living when I wasn't on a production set or a soundstage, or at my edit bay cutting footage.

I'm not your target.
What do you want me to say...go yell at people texting in their cars if you want.
If you were to yell at me and I was in my truck, I'd key the mic on a specific part of the radio spectrum and jam your electronic ignition, then I'd leave you at the traffic light while you try to restart your car.
Well, most vehicles are probably better protected from RFI these days, but I used to piss off VW-Porsche and Audi owners.
I guess Bosch took a while to catch up.

I'm not some dork you need to yell at about your pet peeve.
I was the guy who brought the pictures into your living room when the local newscast was on.

Cheers,
Ch.S.
 
Superfly said:
My mom is on my phone plan, too. I gave her my 6s when her 5 died, and I know she will always have service at far less than what she was paying for her individual plan.
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What it means to me is peace of mine. I also took her wired phone, and replaced it with a wireless base, that has 3 different stations. I put the stations in places low to the ground near where she spends her most time, so if she fell, she could get to it.

Sure enough, she fell again, and she could use the phone to call me. Those were the only two times she fell... but being able to get to her quickly after it happened made what I paid for everything more than worth it. She sprained things once, and it took a while for her to get 100%, but no broken bones.

The fact she fell during times I was working, and I sent a note to my manager that I had to go pick her up made my manager make me ineligible to be part of contingency planning of the Union went on strike. No being forced to be a scab for me for now!.

My mother is 93 , and still going strong. Last year, she decided to loose weight, so she cut out sugar and went low salt, and managed to lose 38 pounds. If she falls again, that will make picking her up easier. .. and I hope that lowers her risk of falling.
 
RAMOSS said:
What it means to me is peace of mine. I also took her wired phone, and replaced it with a wireless base, that has 3 different stations. I put the stations in places low to the ground near where she spends her most time, so if she fell, she could get to it.

Sure enough, she fell again, and she could use the phone to call me. Those were the only two times she fell... but being able to get to her quickly after it happened made what I paid for everything more than worth it. She sprained things once, and it took a while for her to get 100%, but no broken bones.

The fact she fell during times I was working, and I sent a note to my manager that I had to go pick her up made my manager make me ineligible to be part of contingency planning of the Union went on strike. No being forced to be a scab for me for now!.

My mother is 93 , and still going strong. Last year, she decided to loose weight, so she cut out sugar and went low salt, and managed to lose 38 pounds. If she falls again, that will make picking her up easier. .. and I hope that lowers her risk of falling.
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Mom isn’t there yet, but will be soon. It’s good that you are able to keep a close eye on her. That’s one of the reasons I moved closer. I was about 9 hours away. Now I am 2. I am actually with her this week. This month kind of sucks and I needed a break.
 
Karen's phone is inserted into a special clip on the arm of her power wheelchair, but she also wears a smart watch that bluetooths to her phone. That way if she falls, she can still call for help.
Naturally, the only reason she WOULD fall is if she forgot to put on her wheelchair seat belt.
Last year, that happened, and she broke her leg...brittle leg bones from not having weight on them for two decades.

She called for help from the floor, on her smart watch!
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
If GPS enabled nav had existed back in the 1980's I would have made six to eight times the money I made shooting freelance news.
I had to rely on the infamous "Thomas Guides", which while indispensible for their time, were still ghastly and primitive by comparison.
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LOL I remember Thomas Guides, had one in the front seat of my Supra for easy reference everytime I did some field calls in L.A. Still got lost though, lol.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 that was given free since Im still a silent partner in my BPO firm. It's very handy while traveling because of Google Maps, the internet browser and the camera, though I ended up in someone's house while going through the back alleyway in Bangkok one night lol. Lugging a laptop around while sightseeing in another country just isnt ideal anymore.
 
Superfly said:
Mom isn’t there yet, but will be soon. It’s good that you are able to keep a close eye on her. That’s one of the reasons I moved closer. I was about 9 hours away. Now I am 2. I am actually with her this week. This month kind of sucks and I needed a break.
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I am 20 minutes away. When she moved out of the old house to get into a house with single floor living, the reason she choose that location was that it was close enough to me that I could help if need be, and it was reasonably close to hospitals. She chose living near me rather than my sister because of the cost of the houses. She got a better house for less money than being near my sister (who is about an hour away).

It is becoming the custom for the last year or two that my sister and her husband have been coming over to my mothers house for dinner about once a month. I rather suspect because it's because my sister wants to spend the time with my mother while my mother is still here. I have not for the last few weeks because of some health issues of my own but typically, I got over once a week , do some extra shopping for her, and then visit for an hour or two and do things she's not physically able to.
 
I ran my business with a smart phone and a printer in my truck.

I have always used the "Otterbox" cases and they can take a hell of a beating.

I couldn't live without my smart phone. ( yeah, I could, but not much fun)
 
Superfly said:
Why are you so concerned with where other people’s money goes? What do you care?

You should honestly care as much about where my money goes, as I care how much money you are making in investing, which is *not at all.*
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Why? Because I'm an investor and I track the DJIA fairly regularly.

Our nation's economy is largely consumer-driven, so blowing a good chunk of your income on these smart phones is contributing to one of the best growth periods in recent history.

It's obvious you don't care, and for that matter probably know very little about investing, but anyone that has a vested interest in the market is grateful for capital gains as a result of other people's spending habits. I hope you buy a 6th POS in the near future.
 
RAMOSS said:
What it means to me is peace of mine. I also took her wired phone, and replaced it with a wireless base, that has 3 different stations. I put the stations in places low to the ground near where she spends her most time, so if she fell, she could get to it.

Sure enough, she fell again, and she could use the phone to call me. Those were the only two times she fell... but being able to get to her quickly after it happened made what I paid for everything more than worth it. She sprained things once, and it took a while for her to get 100%, but no broken bones.

The fact she fell during times I was working, and I sent a note to my manager that I had to go pick her up made my manager make me ineligible to be part of contingency planning of the Union went on strike. No being forced to be a scab for me for now!.

My mother is 93 , and still going strong. Last year, she decided to loose weight, so she cut out sugar and went low salt, and managed to lose 38 pounds. If she falls again, that will make picking her up easier. .. and I hope that lowers her risk of falling.
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Your mother's situation hits close to home because my aunt is also elderly and prone to falling.

She lives alone, is partially disabled, but can still walk and get around on a limited basis. She didn't have a security system or any means of outside contact if she couldn't reach the phone.

This is why her family had Life Alert installed in her home – a great service that has been around over 30 years and might be considered old-school or outdated by today's tech nerds, but it has been exactly what she needed.

Several months ago when she had an accident in her kitchen, she pressed the call button on her necklace pendant and she got an immediate response. The paramedics were at her home in a matter of minutes to rescue her.

We also got her a combination desk/cordless phone with talking caller ID which she loves because she doesn't have to answer the calls with numbers she doesn't recognize. She would have no use for smart watches, smart phones, ipads, Bluetooth, or any other touch screen bullsh!t.

Imagine that – a home with an ordinary land line and an analog emergency system that can be a lifesaver to the elderly, the disabled, and the sick. Now that's what I call a truly smart device!
 
Indie guy said:
In the last 4 years, I've gone through 2 smart phones which certainly aren't cheap to replace - both of them were dropped and the glass shattered. Since I rarely use a phone except for the occasional text message, and its original purpose which is to make a call and actually speak with someone, I decided to ditch the smart phone and revert to a flip phone. Go ahead and laugh but it's practical, much cheaper, and way sturdier - it doesn't break if dropped!

Another reason I'm done with smart phones is the addiction so many people have to them. I could never understand the fascination of constantly being glued to these devices, and for what? To be on social media, watching stupid youtube videos, playing ridiculous games, or checking texts and email every freaking minute? No thanks, I have a personal computer for those kinds of things which I only use when absolutely necessary.

Also, I'm saying thanks but no thanks to other so-called smart devices like TVs, doorbells, cars, and whatever else. We as a society have become tech nerds to the point where we rely on robotics to do everything for us. Most of all, smart technology is not exactly safe because of the hackers. I realize a standard desktop computer on an internet cable line can be hacked too but the smart devices stand a greater chance of this because of the wireless technology.

These are just a few of the reasons why you won't catch me buried in a phone or those other worthless contraptions. I'm smarter than the so-called smart devices because I actually prefer human interaction and life in the real world!
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Smartphones are fine if you use them appropriately. "Smart" in-home technology scares the bejeesus out of me. If I've got door locks that can be remotely controlled, who says that a hacker might not be able to unlock my doors? :shock:
 
Indie guy said:
In the last 4 years, I've gone through 2 smart phones which certainly aren't cheap to replace - both of them were dropped and the glass shattered. Since I rarely use a phone except for the occasional text message, and its original purpose which is to make a call and actually speak with someone, I decided to ditch the smart phone and revert to a flip phone. Go ahead and laugh but it's practical, much cheaper, and way sturdier - it doesn't break if dropped!

Another reason I'm done with smart phones is the addiction so many people have to them. I could never understand the fascination of constantly being glued to these devices, and for what? To be on social media, watching stupid youtube videos, playing ridiculous games, or checking texts and email every freaking minute? No thanks, I have a personal computer for those kinds of things which I only use when absolutely necessary.

Also, I'm saying thanks but no thanks to other so-called smart devices like TVs, doorbells, cars, and whatever else. We as a society have become tech nerds to the point where we rely on robotics to do everything for us. Most of all, smart technology is not exactly safe because of the hackers. I realize a standard desktop computer on an internet cable line can be hacked too but the smart devices stand a greater chance of this because of the wireless technology.

These are just a few of the reasons why you won't catch me buried in a phone or those other worthless contraptions. I'm smarter than the so-called smart devices because I actually prefer human interaction and life in the real world!
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I've had a flip phone for a couple years. Works great. Mine is the outdoor version, which means water and drop proof. I've field tested both.
 
PoS said:
LOL I remember Thomas Guides, had one in the front seat of my Supra for easy reference everytime I did some field calls in L.A. Still got lost though, lol.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 that was given free since Im still a silent partner in my BPO firm. It's very handy while traveling because of Google Maps, the internet browser and the camera, though I ended up in someone's house while going through the back alleyway in Bangkok one night lol. Lugging a laptop around while sightseeing in another country just isnt ideal anymore.
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You know what's really great? Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
If you have a new enough vehicle, either app will just display everything from the phone screen on your dashboard radio display screen.
All you need is to have your car and your phone "shake hands".

So while my phone sits in the dashboard pocket, my nav is on the big dashboard screen and the audio prompts play through the speakers.
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
You know what's really great? Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
If you have a new enough vehicle, either app will just display everything from the phone screen on your dashboard radio display screen.
All you need is to have your car and your phone "shake hands".

So while my phone sits in the dashboard pocket, my nav is on the big dashboard screen and the audio prompts play through the speakers.
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Love it, esp navigation. I'd be lost in India without it by now. I can barely spell direction and am completely confused by maps. Not sure why.
 
Indie guy said:
In the last 4 years, I've gone through 2 smart phones which certainly aren't cheap to replace - both of them were dropped and the glass shattered. Since I rarely use a phone except for the occasional text message, and its original purpose which is to make a call and actually speak with someone, I decided to ditch the smart phone and revert to a flip phone. Go ahead and laugh but it's practical, much cheaper, and way sturdier - it doesn't break if dropped!

Another reason I'm done with smart phones is the addiction so many people have to them. I could never understand the fascination of constantly being glued to these devices, and for what? To be on social media, watching stupid youtube videos, playing ridiculous games, or checking texts and email every freaking minute? No thanks, I have a personal computer for those kinds of things which I only use when absolutely necessary.

Also, I'm saying thanks but no thanks to other so-called smart devices like TVs, doorbells, cars, and whatever else. We as a society have become tech nerds to the point where we rely on robotics to do everything for us. Most of all, smart technology is not exactly safe because of the hackers. I realize a standard desktop computer on an internet cable line can be hacked too but the smart devices stand a greater chance of this because of the wireless technology.

These are just a few of the reasons why you won't catch me buried in a phone or those other worthless contraptions. I'm smarter than the so-called smart devices because I actually prefer human interaction and life in the real world!
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I agree with you. I refused to get a cell phone because of the scam the telephone companies were pulling, charging both parties for the same call. I am only responsible for the calls I make. I refuse to pay for the calls other people make. So I kept my POTS landline.

I've never owned a smart phone or a cell phone, nor do I intend to get either. If people want to contact me they can reach me at my home.
 
Glitch said:
I agree with you. I refused to get a cell phone because of the scam the telephone companies were pulling, charging both parties for the same call. I am only responsible for the calls I make. I refuse to pay for the calls other people make. So I kept my POTS landline.

I've never owned a smart phone or a cell phone, nor do I intend to get either. If people want to contact me they can reach me at my home.
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Out of curiosity, how is the overall cell phone coverage up there? I can imagine some issues.
 
Lovebug said:
Out of curiosity, how is the overall cell phone coverage up there? I can imagine some issues.
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You are asking the wrong person. As I said, I've never owned a cell phone so I cannot comment on the coverage. However, I am aware that they built special cell phone towers along the 850 mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline corridor. So if you are within a few miles of the pipeline you should have good coverage.
 
Glitch said:
You are asking the wrong person. As I said, I've never owned a cell phone so I cannot comment on the coverage. However, I am aware that they built special cell phone towers along the 850 mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline corridor. So if you are within a few miles of the pipeline you should have good coverage.
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Thanks. I found an article about it.
Best Cell Phone Coverage in Alaska | WhistleOut
 
Just felt a little chilly and asked Alexa what the temperature of my home was. Told her to increase the heat one degree:lol:
 
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