Crap...I'm lost in the 21st century

[JB White]

My 'dumb phone' finally gave up. Calls and text on a slide out keypad was all I ever needed. Good luck trying to find another. Screen going blind. Had to cuff it to read it in sunlight and it was steadily growing darker from one corner and spreading out. Keys that no longer worked. Had to shift back and forth pad to pad as a workaround but I had it mastered. Tough finding a new case for it when one got frayed and ugly. I always managed to find something. Kept it clipped to my pocket like a tape measure because I was so used to wearing one there for decades. It was small enough that I didn't notice it until needed.
Now the battery is on what I think is its final phase of half life. Decided it was time for a new phone.

Without much hesitation I bought an iphone8. The price was better and it shouldn't be totally obsolete before I got it home.
Can't decide whether I'm a caveman with a new helicopter or a blind man on a motorcycle. Either way it isn't very good. :icon_wink:

[lyman]

we used to set up at a Gunshow in Fishersville VA,

we joked, cause all the patrons of that show seemed to have flip phones,
even the young ones,

you rarely see a flip phone anymore, unless the user is over 70:icon_lol:

[barretcreek]

Lost my LG slider the w/e before TG. Finally bought a new flip phone. I refuse to get a 'tracker'.

[Mark in Ottawa]

My wife just bought an i8 and loves it. One useful thing that she discovered is that the local Apple store gives a lot of 1 hour free courses on how to use its features. You do have to sign up but this is done on line. I attended a couple of the courses and they were worth attending. Typical class size is about 8 students

[JB White]

My wife just bought an i8 and loves it. One useful thing that she discovered is that the local Apple store gives a lot of 1 hour free courses on how to use its features. You do have to sign up but this is done on line. I attended a couple of the courses and they were worth attending. Typical class size is about 8 students

Thank you, Mark. It was suggested I might try "Apple School" but they didn't say what was involved or that it was N/C. I imagined a large symposium or something similar. Knowing what I now know I may look into it a bit further.
To think my mother taught me to use the phone when I was 6. All it took was a brief explanation of what the numbers actually meant using the alpha numerical system,(ie: POL-1313 for police and FIR-1313 for Fire etc.) then showing me how the rotary dial worked and making a call to Grandma.
The only serious question I had was if I could simply dial "O" and ask the operator to call Grandma for me. :)

I did manage to get into the Verizon cloud and transfer my directory over. Feeling all proud of myself at the moment.

[EO1]

I have a flip phone. It cost me $15. No reason to have anything other than a "phone". I figure it's the equivalent of a pocket full of quarters in case I break down.

[Allen]

I like flip phones (the tiny ones). They prevent you from butt dialing. I keep my cell turned off unless I need it for something important. Have you noticed all the pressure everywhere you look to "add your mobile device", link all your accounts into one account such as "twitter" and "facebook"? Why is that? So the feds can track you if they desire but also if one account gets hacked, they all get hacked. The hacker will get all the info he wants this way.

Phones can be helpful though. I for one do not stay glued to one all the time like you see drivers do on the roads so I don't need the expensive unlimited time contracts. I think the camera is a handy feature too if you have one that is of good quality like Fred's on this forum but all the other technology tacked on them you can keep.

[Vern Humphrey]

Like you, I rarely turn my Wal Mart trak phone on. If I need to talk to someone, I have it. Otherwise, it's just something else to carry around.

[gwp]

I had a company cell phone before I retired. After I retired I didn't see the need for the electronic leash. When I started having medical problems, my daughter was concerned when I frequently didn't answer the phone. The fact I didn't answer because I was out of the house didn't matter to her. She added me to her cell plan and selected a smartphone. I would get a "how is it going" text every day and she was happy if I responded some time during the day. After a while, she realized my health was not as bad as she had imaged.

I purchased a new cell phone to use MirrorLink to display the phone screen (GPS system) on the in-dash monitor of my new car. I use the old cellphone for target practice using iTarget laser target system. The new cell phone has the MantisX shooting system loaded and between the two systems, I am able to track the movement of the pistol and identify where it hits the target. This allows me to practice for a few minutes whenever I chose. With the large screen phone, I can easily watch Netflix over the VA WiFi as I wait. I have games and audio books loaded so I can kill time anywhere. I am not obsessed with the phone but I do find it useful.

[Major Tom]

My wife upgraded her old Samsung 5 to the latest version. She absolutely hates it! Me? I have a Tracfone that costs me $7p/mo. Never has failed and always clear sound.

[blackhawknj]

When VCRs (?) came in, an acquaintance bought a top of the line Fisher. When I asked him it about he said:
"The more you have, the more you don't use."

[Ken The Kanuck]

JB,

The Iphone is a wonderful tool. It has a great compass on it and a level. You can download a free app called "WAZE" which is a great GPS device for driving. I remember my Dad's first video camera, you needed 2 mules and swamper to carry it around and it cost about $2K in the early 80's. The quality of the videos and pictures are a thousand times better from an Iphone. Being that my business always has me on different construction sites, I could not function today without my computer being hooked up to the internet and the "Hot Spot" on the Iphone does that for me. If you have cell service in your hunting country, the satellite imagery from Google maps is a bonus.

I don't play games and typically once I am home it goes on the shelf until the next day or Monday.

KTK

[JB White]

Ken, I found the tools. The compass is good and I'll probably use it. The bullseye level feature may come in handy too. The flashlight is surely bright enough. Thanks for the tip on WAZE.
Like most boys with new toys I played with 'Siri'. She now has a beautiful BBC English accent and calls me Lovie. ;)

The phone is actually too large for my liking. Clunky and binds against me while driving. I find myself laying it down instead of clipping it to me. I fear I might walk away from it someday and not miss it until I need it. I should start developing a new habit of some sort. One that doesn't involve a pocket and sitting on it, or staying inside my jacket after I go inside. Is that why so many inner-city boys carry purses? :)

[IditarodJoe]

I complained when the cost to use a pay phone went from a dime to a quarter . . .

. . . so they took out all the pay phones and replaced them with cells. :protest:

[lyman]

Ken, I found the tools. The compass is good and I'll probably use it. The bullseye level feature may come in handy too. The flashlight is surely bright enough. Thanks for the tip on WAZE.
Like most boys with new toys I played with 'Siri'. She now has a beautiful BBC English accent and calls me Lovie. ;)

The phone is actually too large for my liking. Clunky and binds against me while driving. I find myself laying it down instead of clipping it to me. I fear I might walk away from it someday and not miss it until I need it. I should start developing a new habit of some sort. One that doesn't involve a pocket and sitting on it, or staying inside my jacket after I go inside. Is that why so many inner-city boys carry purses? :)

I break every phone holder\holster\clip I use, so went to a cover for the backside , and I use Mr.Shield glass screen protectors,

I dropped a P38 from about 6" directly on top of my Android at a gunshow,
thought I had shattered the screen,
the Mr Shield glass screen protector broke, but my screen on the phone was like new, (been a fan every since)


Jouster is not on Tapatalk, but a lot of forums are, including Gunboards, so that makes viewing them easier , and supposedly less data usage,


pandora for music (yes, they are not gun friendly)
email apps (I have several accts to look at)

and maybe 7 other apps is all I use,


and yes, that hotspot is very convenient,

[dryheat]

Before cell phones: Construction guys had to ask the home owner, can I use your phone. More than a few people actually died because no one knew where they were when they brokedown, got lost, fell ect. Of course now if you do something so stupid that you probably deserve to die, you can call for help.

[gwp]

The phone is actually too large for my liking. Clunky and binds against me while driving. I find myself laying it down instead of clipping it to me. I fear I might walk away from it someday and not miss it until I need it. I should start developing a new habit of some sort. One that doesn't involve a pocket and sitting on it, or staying inside my jacket after I go inside. Is that why so many inner-city boys carry purses? :)My cell phone has a large format (6.97 x 3.35 x 0.30 in) with an edge to edge screen. It carries well in a shirt pocket and in a snap-on case, it is somewhat drop resistant. If I need a more secure carry, I place it in a pocketed T-shirt undergarment. I am around the house most of the time and only carry the phone when I am out.

I carried a cell phone based heart monitor (blue tooth connected to sending unit) for a month. It was a smaller phone in a clip-on case and I found it uncomfortable where ever I clipped it.

[JB White]

........... It was a smaller phone in a clip-on case and I found it uncomfortable where ever I clipped it.

I'm the opposite. I wore a tape measure, a pager or Motorola 2way radio, and later a Nextel for decades. I was forced to grow used to it.


For KTK: I downloaded the WAZE app and I don't think I like it. So far it isn't as easy to use as Siri & Maps, but I realize it's new to me. What I don't like aside from being 'memory heavier' than others, it's a PIA to turn off/disable. The thing flashes a header bar telling me it's still tracking which appears to drain the battery faster.
I disabled it for now but I haven't removed it yet. Not complaining. Just feedback.

[Ken The Kanuck]

JB

Thanks for the feedback. I tend not to use the GPS whether it is WAZES or the one which came with the truck until I am very close to my destination. I do this as often I know pretty much how to get to the area that I am going to, but often I will take back routes to avoid sitting in traffic. My wife calls this taking one of my "long cuts". Of course every time you deviate from the GPS route it wants you to turn around or re-calculate. So the vast majority of the time all the apps. are shutdown.

I do have question though to those tech. savvy types and that is " why to all the things that tell me what to do (GPS, SIRI, etc) have a woman's voice?

KTK

[gwp]

I do have question though to those tech. savvy types and that is " why to all the things that tell me what to do (GPS, SIRI, etc) have a woman's voice?KTK

There are usually choices in settings for voice, such as gender and accent.

[Allen]

I do have question though to those tech. savvy types and that is " why to all the things that tell me what to do (GPS, SIRI, etc) have a woman's voice?

Oh that's a loaded question. I guess it is naturally assumed the women are the one's giving orders all the time. Also perhaps because a man would rather hear a woman's voice and a woman would rather hear a woman's voice.

Like gwp said, some devices have settings you can change if you can find it.

[JB White]

As I mentioned, I changed Siri's voice to English. An American woman telling me what to do sounds too much like nagging. The basic English language accents on my phone were:

American
English
Australian
Irish
South African

They all sound "broadcast" so they're fairly neutral in that regard.

[lyman]

As I mentioned, I changed Siri's voice to English. An American woman telling me what to do sounds too much like nagging. The basic English language accents on my phone were:

American
English
Australian
Irish
South African

They all sound "broadcast" so they're fairly neutral in that regard.

now you got me curious,
and since I use Android and not Apple, I cannot try this out,


ask English Siri what the best whiskey (whisky,, all pronounced the same) is,

then ask Irish Siri,

etc etc,


wondering if you will get the same answer

[Greyjoy]

OP, you're Not alone.

[blackhawknj]

The idea that a computer should have a female voice probably comes from Star Trek. In the episode "Mirror, Mirror" where Kirk & Co. were swept into the evil parallel universe the computer had a sinister sounding male voice.

[JB White]

now you got me curious,
and since I use Android and not Apple, I cannot try this out,


ask English Siri what the best whiskey (whisky,, all pronounced the same) is,

then ask Irish Siri,

etc etc,


wondering if you will get the same answer

Makers 46, but McSiri says Tullamore DEW. I'll ask again after they both sober up ;)

[lyman]

Makers 46, but McSiri says Tullamore DEW. I'll ask again after they both sober up ;)

try some Buffalo Trace, mighty tasty,

been one a Wild Turkey kick lately (101) and tried an Irish called The Irishman,
not bad at all