Another word for "I'm afraid of technology?"

Jitterbug! These phone commercials are funny. They are selling you a phone with none of that "scary" technology. It's funny.

My grandparents aren't afraid of tech... Both are nearly 80, and they have a modern cell phone, LCD tv, wireless Internet at there house, laptop my grandma carries around, and have talked about getting an iPhone... So I know it's not just an age thing...

Joey

Q: Another word for "I'm afraid of technology?"

A: Carburetor

oh yeah, I get goosebumps when someone talks about adjusting jets. And when people ask me about doing carb rebuilds, I pee a little on accident and I have to sit down and breathe into a bag

I dunno... I still get the heeby-jeebies with BMW iDrive.

4cylndrfury wrote: oh yeah, I get goosebumps when someone talks about adjusting jets. And when people ask me about doing carb rebuilds, I pee a little on accident and I have to sit down and breathe into a bag

I am not sure if we are on the same page here or not... see because I was saying that a carb is what people who are afraid of technology use... but it seems by your pouty face that you thought that I may have implied that a carb was a frightening piece of technology.

We really need a sarcasm flag to help clear these matters up... and when is the +eleventybillion coming?

True story: Years ago, my widowed mother-in-law was driving alone frequently, so I decided to get her a cell phone. This was back when cell phones looked like the photo below. I paid for the phone, set up the billing to be paid automatically from my account - and we gave to her for X-mas.

For you younger folks, this was a substantial gift, as not many people had them back then and the monthly cost was much higher than what we're accustomed to these days.

At the end of the year, I asked her if she was enjoying the phone in her car and would she like me to renew the contract. She somewhat sheepishly admitted that she had never used it even once! When pressed, she confessed that she had tried to use it once, but had decided that it was "broken" because... she "couldn't get a dial tone".

"Luddite?"

I'm afraid of new technology and yet somehow I end up consuming/embracing most of it.

I'm still not on the smartphone train, though. $100 data plans make no sense to me. I'll continue to use my regular phone--if someone needs to reach me, they can call me or text me--on the phone. I don't need to be online 24/7.

NASCAR: "I'm afraid of new technology"

Actually, I've been thinking about a Jitterbug but it's not about being scared of technology...I don't text or need to access the internet from it, I already have a digital camera, and I make maybe 5 cellphone calls a month, so all I need is a plain old telephone and it's about the only one on the market.

You might call me a luddite as I had to Google to find out what a Jitterbug phone was, but really it's because I choose not to own a TV as I see them a pointless waste of time and money, not because I'm anti technology.

But the 'funny' thing is I want to get a phone like this for my father back in England. Again, not because he's anti technology, quite the opposite, he used to own and run an electronics manufacturing business, but because he's now 75 years old, has Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other issues and simply get's confused by most modern cell phones.

Lesley wrote: I dunno... I still get the heeby-jeebies with BMW iDrive.

That's not technology, that is just torture.

My Nokia is only a year old and yet some of the screen option / interface key relationships are reversed. IE: If you want the top right option, hit the bottom right key.

As a result, you either waste tons of time getting what you need through trial and error or resign yourself to the horrors of reading the manual.

Additionally, I’m in my mid forties yet I find the font size, font brightness, & speaker volume all to be barely adequate.

Bottom line…”Cool” phones have way more stuff than I need, the things I do use are randomly buried all over the place, the GUI’s are complete E36 M3, & the designers obviously think that if you don’t have the sense organs of a twenty year old, you should get on one of those Logan’s Run wheel of death things and be zapped out of your misery.

Seventy One Seconds of Mail Order Goodness

“It won’t cost you six million dollars to buy my Lee Majors hearing aid but you will think it’s worth it”

Bhahahahaha

bludroptop wrote:

I got one of those sweet Motorolas back in 1989. Being a locksmith, they proved to be very useful in the mobile units, and saved us a lot of time running back and forth. At the time I was averaging ~ 10-15 minutes a month.

One day I was a bit out of town when I came across an old couple whose car had broken down by the side of the road. I stopped and asked if they had someone they could call. He said yes, if I'd drive him to the nearest pay phone, he could take care of it. When I told him he didn't have to go anywhere because I had a phone in the van, he looked at me as if I'd just beamed down from Pluto; he'd never seen a cell phone before!

I knew he wouldn't be able to figure out how to "dial" it, so I asked him the # and made the call for him. I gave him the handset through the window while the phone bag sat in my lap (the cord on those things are about 3' long). I figure he was a CB user, because once he reached his contact, his conversation was peppered with phrases such as "Do you copy? Over." and "Let me give you my 10-20." , etc. He thought he was on a 2-way, where only one person can talk at once. After he finished, he thanked me and just walked away shaking his head, muttering something like "What will they think of next.."

I kept that phone until Verizon finally went totally digital, which was about 2005 IIRC. Motorola had long since stopped making batteries for it, but as long as I had a 12V lighter, it worked just fine. I could also use my boost-box to power it in the house whenever landlines went down. It may have been analog, but it had 10 times as much power as modern cell phones (4 w vs. .4 w). You could drive out in the sticks until a digital cell couldn't get a signal, drive 2 more miles into the dreaded "no call" zone, climb down in a hole, and STILL get a signal! Heck, the antenna on that thing alone weighed about the same as my current LG cell.

The phone co. used to send me a letter every few months saying I needed to get a new digital phone, as my analog would no longer work, but years later, it was still working fine. About 4 years ago I finally relented and got a small digital, but I still have that old bag phone. Even bought another one at a yard sale for $5, so now I have 2. They tell me that even though it has no paid up plan, if I need to, I can plug it in and call 911 (only). They'll likely stay in my closet from now on, for the same reason we keep our obsolete cars running..

'cause they don't make 'em like they used to.

4cylndrfury wrote: oh yeah, I get goosebumps when someone talks about adjusting jets. And when people ask me about doing carb rebuilds, I pee a little on accident and I have to sit down and breathe into a bag

I just snotted everywhere. Thanks.

nderwater wrote: NASCAR: "I'm afraid of new technology"

+eleventybillion the 1963 Lotus 25 that Jim Clark raced in has more modern technology in it than a modern COT does, apart from maybe the brakes and the ignition box, and probably the on-the-fly adjustable brake balance that the COT has (never examined a vintage F1 car before, so I don't know that one for certain)

I am not anti-tech. I am just picky about which I use. I love my laptop more than I ever did my desk top computer. But I don't need a phone that does eleventibillion things at once.

As for Fi vs. Carbs. FI is not that new.

It's just too bad no one other than Jitterbug makes a cell phone that makes a good phone call. Just like Stuart said, I don't text, I don't use the web, I don't use the camera. I would like to have a phone that does an outstanding job of making phone calls rather than a do everything unit that does fair job of all of it. My cell has a 1.5 megapixel camera, my camera has 8.1 megapixel. My cell has a 1.5X2 inch screen. My laptop has a 17 inch and my netbook has a 10 inch screen. Why would I want to use my phone when I have better technology that I can use. Games? Waste of life. Date book? worthless. Music? worthless. The only thing I use my phone for is phone calls and it sucks at that too.

4cylndrfury wrote: oh yeah, I get goosebumps when someone talks about adjusting jets. And when people ask me about doing carb rebuilds, I pee a little on accident and I have to sit down and breathe into a bag

You LOVE Two Lane Blacktop, don't you?

Toyman01 wrote: It's just too bad no one other than Jitterbug makes a cell phone that makes a good phone call. Just like Stuart said, I don't text, I don't use the web, I don't use the camera. I would like to have a phone that does an outstanding job of making phone calls rather than a do everything unit that does fair job of all of it. My cell has a 1.5 megapixel camera, my camera has 8.1 megapixel. My cell has a 1.5X2 inch screen. My laptop has a 17 inch and my netbook has a 10 inch screen. Why would I want to use my phone when I have better technology that I can use. Games? Waste of life. Date book? worthless. Music? worthless. The only thing I use my phone for is phone calls and it sucks at that too.

A lot of it is the fact that while I have a better camera, and a better music player, and a better date book my cell phone is about the ONLY thing I always have on me. If I can get one that will take pictures with as much quality as I need, that will hold all the music I want to listen to, and that will carry all the dates I need...

Well, why carry a phone, and a a camera, and a notepad, and an ipod when I can just have one thing in my pocket.

Never got why people are SO against having extra features in the cellphone...

RX Reven' wrote: you should get on one of those Logan’s Run wheel of death things and be zapped out of your misery.

LOL! A reference to a '70s bastion of awesomeness that only a mid-40s guy could possibly get.

Here's what I love about my iphone: First, it's the first phone I've ever laid my hands on that doesn't have a UI that pisses me off. Honestly, it's the first one that I can use, or even want to use. With every previous phone, if I could place a call without wanting to fling the POS across the room, I was happy.

But really, it's the apps. The best of the smartphones out there are really mobile computing devices. The fact that they make phone calls is almost incidental. Like how your desktop can get email. That's cool and all, but just one thing among many.

Stuff I use my phone for regularly:
Calls, IMs, Facebook, Twitter, Calendar/Scheduling/Alerts/, GRM, taking pictures, checking the weather, youtube, taking notes, playing music, maps/gps/directions, what's on at the theater/out on video, games, email, general web surfing, google reader (RSS).

There's other stuff I use less often (dynolicious, ebook reader, guitar tuner, zillow, etc. but I'm glad to have them)

Toyman01 wrote: The only thing I use my phone for is phone calls and it sucks at that too.

Then get a wireless modem and make calls from your netbook - works like a charm - it just won't fit in your pocket.

RedS13Coupe wrote: Never got why people are SO against having extra features in the cellphone...

You just addressed your own complaint when you said you don't "get" it. Many (usually older) folks don't "get" why someone would add a bunch of gadgets to a phone, since that's just something else to break/go wonky, etc. We just want to make a call.

I'm pretty certain it's a generational thing; which is what started this thread anyway.

I just want a cheaper phone plan....

NYG95GA wrote:

RedS13Coupe wrote: Never got why people are SO against having extra features in the cellphone...

You just addressed your own complaint when you said you don't "get" it. Many (usually older) folks don't "get" why someone would add a bunch of gadgets to a phone, since that's just something else to break/go wonky, etc. We just want to make a call. I'm pretty certain it's a generational thing; which is what started this thread anyway.

A different question would be- "why does one NEED all of those 'features' 24/7?"- yes, having a camera would be cool, but I only take pictures on vacation; having a computer would be cool- but I really only use that at work, and sometimes at home; yes- messaging is nice to have, but I like to keep that time at a minimum- no twitter, IM, etc- I don't have the need to be contacted at any time any place.

It's not just a question of breaking, but a question of need. Even for a phone, I don't NEED it all the time, hence the want for a cheap system.

Having tools on vacation is very, very nice. But why should I spend money year round for things I use about a total of 5 weeks a year?

I've been very, very close to getting an iPhone- posted that here a few times. But when I REALLY looked, I saw me not using 10% of what it offers. And don't tell me that "once you get it, you'll find more things..."- yes, that is true, but it will keep me amused for a few weeks, until I figure out that even it's not that useful to my life, and I stop using it. I bought a GPS for my PDA- and honestly don't use it much. No games- I prefer reality. etc etc.

The only thing that I'm really interested in now is a very small phone. So that the Mrs and I can run with one and not be bothered by it- emergencies DO happen (see the news about the Detroit Marathon...).

I'm not trying to be a crumudgen- I just want to know "what's the point?"

Eric