Just curious . . . Regarding Smartphones, etc., in general (contract, ATT, electronics)
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A couple years ago, Popular Mechanics magazine did an article on 10 upcoming technologies within 10 -20 yrs that would have the most impact on the world, one of them was the ability to email or text tangible objects.
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I not sure how this technology would work, but Im guessing its been in R&D for awhile now, but technology like this could also eventually drastically change how goods and materials are moved and transported on a global scale, we may see the days when semi trucks, ships, trains are no longer needed to move stuff around
Stereo lithography has been around since 1984. Machines for industrial use were very expensive and had minimal capabilities. Today scale modellers use the technology for home based hobbyists and there are online services that can deliver engineering parts overnight. Right now parts are made from plastic, layer by layer, but who knows what the future brings?
P.S. In fact, I just heard about Amazon Go (and Walmart is trying it out, too, supposedly) in which merchandise will automatically be scanned and deducted from your account as you leave the store. (Question: What happens if there is not enough money in one's account -- will the store police come after you?)
IBM famously released a commercial 11.5 years ago about automatic scanning and billing items as you leave a store.
FYI, I just Googled it, and the average price for a Smartphone is about $500, with an average monthly charge of about $30.00. Why should I pay that much for something I neither want nor need -- or at least right now as we enter 2018? Just to make it easier for businesses? I'M the customer and I think if they want to do business with the elderly, they should make it easier, not harder, for older people to do business with them.
But the main issues I have with Smartphones is feeling that consumers are slowly being forced into having them (unlike my examples of TVs or microwaves). I resent that.
P.S. I also have fat fingers and I am sure I would make a mess of trying to use one.
I went kickin and screamin to a smart phone as I figured my flipper was plenty. Although it had camera, photos could not be shared and such and with all the neat media around from private citizens, it seemed I may need to vid something.
I paid $50 or so for a LG Phoenix smartphone several months ago mainly for the photo/vid capabilities; too many times that a photo explains, remembers, records, etc. and except for the clunkiness of one, I am really appreciating the conveniences. Still aint figured out how one carries it - top pocket exposed partially for me, but dont make mebend over or stoop down. I got a protective cover for $3 ebay so at least it doesn't jump-slide out but because of that, it doesn't easily jam down the pocket either. (dont try and suggest one of those belt cases, I liked to tore it offa my belt several times brushing up against stuff)
I also still haven't figured out how to answer the dang thing with just a single step, thusly ABSOLUTELY no driving and answering (or calling for that matter). I usually just get to a destination and reply, maybe check quickly at a stop light. Swiping is still hit or miss but I'm getting a little better. Texting is neat communications (with photos too !!) if I'm sitting around with NO DANGEROUS DISTRACTIONS.
I pay as I go - GoPhone att. And if I really get it figured out, I'll probably upgrade (although I really don't know what else or how much better an upgrade would matter).
One thing I miss from my flipper is the one step voice recorder, used it all the time for making notes while not able to use my notepad. anybody got an app for this ?
'I also still haven't figured out how to answer the dang thing with just a single step, thusly ABSOLUTELY no driving and answering (or calling for that matter). I usually just get to a destination and reply, maybe check quickly at a stop light. Swiping is still hit or miss but I'm getting a little better. Texting is neat communications (with photos too !!) if I'm sitting around with NO DANGEROUS DISTRACTIONS.
I accidentally hung up on the first 3 incoming calls.
Then I wound up upgrading my car stereo receiver to bluetooth capable, so I can actually use the phone in the car.
I was very reluctant at first, but having on demand music and such while driving is fantastic.
Tip for you: you can text from your flip phone.
I'd bet it probably has a camera, too. Unless it's a Jitterbug... o wait... even the senior focused Jitterbug has a camera.
You don't want it. Fine. But why? I don't understad that. Give me ONE good reason?
Dear lord, put me in in the ground the day I decide I don't need to learn anything new.
No, I cannot text from my Jitterbug phone -- and, YES, that is the one I have. Maybe they have a newer model, but mine is about seven years old, I think.
I do appreciate all the posts, but I must say that I do NOT agree that people who rely on Smartphones are smarter than those who don't. I can Google just fine when I want to find a quick answer to almost anything; and I am at the "Nasty" level of Sudoku, using only my brain and a pen. I also can mentally add the cost of a full grocery cart and get within $10.00 of the actual total, while I know many people do not do ANY mental arithmetic any more. I think Smartphones just make many people too lazy to think in many cases (but certainly not all).
Oh, and finally, if you use your cost example, many people (and not just seniors) cannot afford a Smartphone, even at $229 for the initial cost and $420 a year for service.
P.S. I am not saying that people should not have Smartphones, however! I am just saying that it should be a choice as to whether someone has one or not. (And, yes, that IS how it is now -- but what about in 10 or 20 years -- which was my initial question.)
I’ll bet you can’t do Goggle Maps in your head. Very useful program. I believe in 20 years you will have to have a smart phone for daily life. Sort of like credit cards. Have you tried to rent a car lately. Oh, I am 80 and my wife is 79 and we both own and use smartphones.
Will it be possible for people to conduct everyday business without a Smartphone in 20 years -- or even ten?
I am a senior who has NO interest in new technology. (I have a PC with Internet and a flip phone without texting capability.) Yesterday, i called an electrician to make an appointment, but he was in the middle of a job, and he said to just text the info to him (my name, address, and what I wanted done). When I said I did not have anything with texting capability, he was flabbergasted. This also happened last year with a landscaping company I called to get a quote on cutting some trees back. (They said to send a photo of the trees and property -- and, again, when I said that I did not have the equipment to do that -- to take photos and send it digitally -- again, there were sounds of disbelief.)
Now I KNOW that many people have taken me to task for not joining the modern age, but I don't WANT to join the modern age. In the past, with modern inventions, is someone did not want it, they could simply choose not to get it. Don't want TV? Fine, don't buy one. Don't want a microwave? Fine, don't buy one. But now it seems to me that the choice is being taken away and that people will actually be FORCED into buying new technology, whether they want to or not.
Agree or disagree?
P.S. In fact, I just heard about Amazon Go (and Walmart is trying it out, too, supposedly) in which merchandise will automatically be scanned and deducted from your account as you leave the store. (Question: What happens if there is not enough money in one's account -- will the store police come after you?)
Just to let you know, the computer, Internet, and phone you have are all technology, and at one time were new.
I do not agree nor disagree, but I often wonder about people who seem like they just woke up one day and proclaimed "I will never be interested in anything new again." Not just with tech, but basically everything in their life, shows they watch, music, the way they dress, food, etc.
Don’t close you mind to learning something new. It’s a big mistake.
There you go, the standard answer of the gadget-obsessed to those who opt out.
Try to open YOUR mind and consider the following.
I am not all that young. I work a full time job. Of course I also have to do things like exercise, feed myself, do laundry, pay bills, etc., all of which takes time. So I don't have a lot of extra time, just a few hours every day and a few more hours on weekends. And because I am no longer young, I realize there are just only so many more years before my capabilities are likely to start declining.
For my free time, I have a variety of things I can choose to spend that time on. For example:
- making new interesting recipes
- learning a foreign language
- visiting friends
- visiting and helping out with elderly relatives
- playing music
- having sex
- praying
- meditating
- volunteering with a charitable organization
- making something handcrafted
- reading an improving book
- reading a trashy detective novel or something similar
- fiddling with a computer or smartphone
- and a whole bunch of other possiblities
Do not assume that because I choose other things than fiddling with a computer or smartphone, that I am some kind of technophobe or "afraid of technology" or closed-minded to learning new things. Maybe, just maybe, people who opt out of participating in the gadgetry arms race are making a choice to spend their time, effort, and money on something that is more rewarding to them.
The next big thing may be AR/VR glasses which use a smartphone but the device never has to leave your pocket.
Imagine having a conversation with someone that you see standing in front of you and they see you with them, but you are hundreds of miles apart.
Imagine finding the information you need by talking with a librarian who doesn't exist who walks you to the stacks you need and helps you find just the book you need. Then you copy it to your base files.
Imagine redecorating your apartment by standing in the middle of the room and downloading images of furniture and paintings and decorations and seeing them in place. Then you "click" on them and they are downloaded to your 3D printer and are in your hands moments later.
You want the walls repainted. Scroll through the possibilities and call up a color analyst and a decorator to consult. They see the same images you do and point out good ideas and color clashes. Then you "click" on the selections and send them to Angie's List and the crew shows up the next day to put it in action.
Imagine how far behind all the current non-users may be by 2020.
"Imagine"
There you go, the standard answer of the gadget-obsessed to those who opt out..
But there's a reason that is a STANDARD answer: because for the HUGE majority of the time: it's true.
Huge. Much more often true then not.
There are a LOT of people that DO get stuck in a rut at a certain age and DO stop learning new things. This is nothing new because of phones.
My dad couldn't program the time on a VCR. He was UNWILLING to grab the manual (which, of course, the hoarder had, because he had every manual for every gadget he ever bought) and take 5 MINUTES to read it to figure out how to change the time. No, I had to drive across town, 20 minutes, to set the time on his VCR....
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