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Andrew Joiner
04-26-2013, 1:18 PM
My grandson who's 13 thinks I'm really odd. He has no idea how well people got along before cell phones came to be. I don't feel the need to make or receive calls when I'm not home, so I'm happy.

We keep a land line for the faxing I need to do and we pay $22 a month for it. Is there a cell phone cheaper than that? I'd get one to save a few bucks.

I did have an inactive phone in my car just for a 911 emergency,but I kept forgetting to charge it. It got stolen recently so I do feel a slight need to have a phone for emergencies.

When friends find out I only have a land line many of them say "good for you, I wish I could do that".

Anyone here wish they could ditch their cell phone and why?

Matt Meiser
04-26-2013, 1:27 PM
I don't. I'm planning to ditch the land line in the near future. I would have done it a while back if it wasn't required for DSL. The cable company is fixing that problem this summer.

I also don't wish I could ditch my car and get a horse and buggy.

Also don't wish I could ditch electricity and go back to using candles and oil lamps to light my house.

And so on and so on.

Related, why fax? I've had to send one fax in the last year to some backwards company. I haven't received a fax in at least a year.

David Weaver
04-26-2013, 1:36 PM
Ditched the land line. FIL doesn't have a cell phone, but he pays for everyone else in the family to. In his case, I think it's reluctance to pay for an additional line that he really doesn't even want.

I could do without a cell phone no problem, but my wife wouldn't tolerate it. I really don't like to be out running errands and have the phone ringing in the middle of it with requests to add this or that to the list, or whatever. I'd rather go out the door, run the errands and not be bothered.

Martin Jodoin
04-26-2013, 1:52 PM
I am with you Andrew. I never owned a cell phone, i don't want one & i don't need one. Maybe if i had a business that would be different but now i am happy with the land line.
i am not cheap, but i don't see the need to pay 60$ per month for a package.

Ken Fitzgerald
04-26-2013, 2:10 PM
I had a corporate cell phone since they first became available. For instant business communications, they are great.

With my wife driving alone to the Portland, OR area, I bought one of those Walmart specials several years ago where you buy time in block. She only used it IF she had an emergency.

Then nearly 3 years ago I awoke to find I had become deaf and my world changed. For reasons of personal safety, I was forced to retire. My wife retired at the same time. She travels MUCH more than I do and so we got our first "real" cell phones.....Smartphones.

I researched the phones for weeks BEFORE we went to a national carrier's office and purchased them. Why?

First, even with my cochlear implant, I struggle to hear and understand on telephones and cell phones. Thus texting became and is our main source of communication when she is out of town.

Secondly, when we are traveling even by car, it has become invaluable to be able access the internet for services like motels and car dealerships. For example, we scheduled the winter tours in Yellowstone National Park 2 years ago. Traveling on the interstate near Deerlodge, MT, the wind deflector over the back window on my Honda Pilot became loose and started flapping in the winter wind. My wife was able to look up the nearest Honda dealer which was in Butte, MT. She called them and they said bring it in when you get to town. 45 minutes later we pulled into the dealership and an hour later the problem was resolved and we were back on the road. We made our scheduled destination that evening and the day long tour scheduled for the next day.

BUT.....if we aren't traveling, I don't use mine and my wife is worse than any teen. She and her friends text each other from morning until bed time for goodness sake.

We also have the landline we have had since we bought this house 31 years ago. Why? 1 main reason is my CapTel captioning telephone requires it.

But...again....I turn my cell phone on once a month if neither of us are traveling. Then I charge it. If the either of us are traveling, I use my cell phone for texting and internet service.

Ryan Mooney
04-26-2013, 2:33 PM
I think you'll have a moderately hard time beating $22/mo with a cell plan. I see a sprint prepaid for ~$30 and verizon for ~$50, there may well be some bundle deals that are cheaper but I got disgusted at trying to figure out the providers website to see what things actually cost (4 clicks to see a price and then I can't compare at all? Come on Verizon..). Verizon currently seems to have the best coverage locally though. Depending on your on-the-phone time a tracphone might be cheaper (they have a 50 minutes for $10/mo plan and some competitive yearly plans), not sure on local coverage quality. Don't bother with T-Mobile here, the coverage in The Gorge is unhappy making. The one saving is that most of them include domestic long distance in the plan so if a good chunk of your calling is long distance it might pay back some there.

I have a "smart" phone through work for oncall, but I don't really like to carry it otherwise. Mostly because the thing is HUGE and sucks battery like there is no tomorrow (I have a theory on how to make a useful holster for it but maybe should go with a backpack instead so I can carry an auxiliary battery :rolleyes: :D)! I've had flip phones and a blackberry before that, out of the three I liked the flip phone the best as a phone because it was small, not in the road, had a nice belt holster, and had decent battery life. The modern smart phones are pretty much a hand computer, they need to be plugged in frequently and imho don't make very good phone (otoh the star trek tricorder looks somewhat quaint in many ways beside it - except for the med scan part we don't have that yet).

So at this point you could sort of say I don't have a cell phone because unless I'm oncall it sits on the side table plugged in and I pretty much never carry it - I tried for a couple of weeks but its kinda fragile to carry in your pocket and well.. huge. Might as well be a land line for all that goes at this point. Caveat: I have used it some for the gps navigation so I guess its also a car phone, but if I didn't have it I'd just use a cheap gps or (gasp) a map instead with no great sense of loss.

If you want to really blow his mind tell him about how we didn't used to have voice mail or answering machines either, or party lines.. Anyone else remember party lines :D

Chris Padilla
04-26-2013, 2:54 PM
The one blow to ditching the landline forever, last I checked, is that 911 calls still cannot track cell/smart phone locations. I'm sure that will change and for 911 calls, it'll be good...for "others" wanting to track you, uh....

Stephen Cherry
04-26-2013, 3:47 PM
I've got a walmart cell phone that has a bunch of different plans available. (I think that it is net10) 750 minutes for 25 spacebucks per month.

Mac McQuinn
04-26-2013, 3:48 PM
I personally don't have one, need one or want one. Find them erratic in performance especially in specific regions. There's nothing more annoying than taking your wife to a nice place for dinner only to have some Knucklehead on a C/P blabbing three booths over for the whole place to hear.
Mac

David Weaver
04-26-2013, 3:51 PM
There's a trend downtown here for people to walk down the street, talk on their phone like a normal person, then all of the sudden get excited and take the phone, hold it about 3 feet from their mouth out in front of them and downward and then scream whatever it is they're thinking.

This is not something done by educated individuals. Usually when someone is breaking up with someone else, trying to start a fight, or telling someone about how awesome something they just thought of was.

Matt Day
04-26-2013, 4:03 PM
I'd say that I can't be without one, but it's also nice to have a weekend in the woods without one from time to time.

For instance, I'm posting to SMC right now on my iPhone. It's a quick and easy way to check CL and SMC without firing up the laptop. I also keep an eye on the weather with TWC app. And I text my wife quite a but during the day while she's at work. And I use it for GPS all the time too - so much easier especially since I've lived in two new to me cities in the past three years.

Before I was a stay at home dad (I have a 5 mo old) I texted quite a bit with the wifey at work, texted subcontractors and was constantly in the phone with them and coworkers. Phones were issued to all employees at my work, from field superintendents to project managers, and there wasn't a contractor I dealt with in 5 years that didn't have a cell. I think it's mandatory in this day and age for some types of work like mine.

I'm not saying you need an iPhone and a $100 per month plan, but there can be a lot of value in a smartphone if you know how to use it.

PS - my personal opinion is that faxes should be banned! You can get an all in one printer/scanner/copier for less than $50.

Kevin Barnett
04-26-2013, 4:32 PM
Ditch the cell phone? No way. I read 99% of my emails, book flights, rental cars, and hotels, and call clients from places not near an office - all from a smart phone.

Ditch the land line? Would love to.
Ditch the gas guzzler for an electric car? Would like to.
Ditch the cell phone? I'd probably let you have my guns first.

ray hampton
04-26-2013, 4:41 PM
I keep my cell turn off ,if it were up to me , all phones would be drop into water, when I get a land line call, most of the callers do not speak up so that I can understand them ,the people that stay on the phone all day seems to be the worse at talking very low

Jim Matthews
04-26-2013, 5:01 PM
I'm sure that will change and for 911 calls, it'll be good...for "others" wanting to track you, uh....

Right, somebody actually wants to find us. Cell phones with GPS location features off are not easy to find.
If you pull the SIM card from the phone, they're impossible to triangulate.

Seriously, if you're going to indulge in paranoia - know the limits of your gear.
I also doubt that anyone, at any level of espionage much cares about us.

"Do not worry about avoiding temptation, as you grow older it avoids you."
Joey Adams.

Jim Matthews
04-26-2013, 5:04 PM
I live in a backwater of Coastal Massachusetts, with some of the oldest power and POTS lines in the country.

Cellphones are more reliable than wires, uppa heya.
That said, I think there should be a NASCAR rule about anyone idling at an intersection - yapping on their phone.

It's a wonder there aren't more twennie-sumpins in ditches or out cold from walking into a lamp post.

It's projected narcissism of a very low order, in most cases.
(Unless it's me, sending you pictures of my kids - they're geniuses, you know.)

Rich Riddle
04-26-2013, 5:35 PM
I didn't have a cellular phone of any kind until about five years ago. Until last year, had a simple cellular phone like the Jitter Bug. Wife gave me her old iPhone. It's handy at times, but I prefer the days when there was no cellular phone. I leave it home most of the time and rather enjoy the moments when not at anyone's beck and call.

I have a land line and prefer it. There are no communication problems and dropped calls. People always can leave a message that will go through. My alarm system works well with it. It's inexpensive, etc., etc., etc.

Obviously mine is a minority opinion as the trend is for less and less landlines and more folks to have cellular phones. This article says the older one is the more likely he is to have a home phone:

http://www.southwestiowanews.com/council_bluffs/news/local_news/call-me-maybe-decline-of-the-land-line-is-far/article_c9693ea2-a5da-11e2-853b-001a4bcf887a.html

ray hampton
04-26-2013, 5:50 PM
I didn't have a cellular phone of any kind until about five years ago. Until last year, had a simple cellular phone like the Jitter Bug. Wife gave me her old iPhone. It's handy at times, but I prefer the days when there was no cellular phone. I leave it home most of the time and rather enjoy the moments when not at anyone's beck and call.

I have a land line and prefer it. There are no communication problems and dropped calls. People always can leave a message that will go through. My alarm system works well with it. It's inexpensive, etc., etc., etc.

Obviously mine is a minority opinion as the trend is for less and less landlines and more folks to have cellular phones. This article says the older one is the more likely he is to have a home phone:

http://www.southwestiowanews.com/council_bluffs/news/local_news/call-me-maybe-decline-of-the-land-line-is-far/article_c9693ea2-a5da-11e2-853b-001a4bcf887a.html

Thank you Rich , I may had to give my landline up if I can not pay my bills, I got a package line internet, landline and the burglar alarm all coming thru. the cable

Myk Rian
04-26-2013, 5:54 PM
Bought a smart phone last September, and ditched the land line.
I can do so much with the phone, it's always with me.

Andrew Joiner
04-26-2013, 6:07 PM
There's a trend downtown here for people to walk down the street, talk on their phone like a normal person, then all of the sudden get excited and take the phone, hold it about 3 feet from their mouth out in front of them and downward and then scream whatever it is they're thinking.


Thanks David. That's a trend I want in on so I'll have to get one now.:)

Kevin Bourque
04-26-2013, 6:41 PM
You don't have a cell phone!?! How in the world do you send your friends stupid pictures of your dog/cat doing something cute?

Brian Elfert
04-26-2013, 6:46 PM
I have a basic cell phone provided by my employer. I wouldn't be without it. If I didn't have it I would have a pager and then I would need to be some place I could use a phone in case I did get paged. Having the cell phone allows me to go pretty much anywhere when not at work and not have to even remember I am on call. Some people might look at it as an electronic leash, but the reality for me is that I might go weeks between getting a call after hours. Being on-call is part of the deal with my type of job. I am compensated very well so I can handle being on call for the few calls I get. If I was getting calls every night and working 24x7 I would look at it differently.

Having a cell phone means I can can actually receive important calls when I'm not near my land line. I still have a land line and only those who I really want to reach me have my cell phone number. I give out my land line number for all the times when businesses ask for a phone number. I rarely answer my land line because those I want to talk to have my cell phone number. I am not the type who is on my cell phone constantly. I won't answer calls in inappropriate places like restaurants. I generally have the phone on vibrate all the time except at night. (I do very rarely get a work call at night.)

I don't text, don't take pictures or video with my phone, and I don't have Facebook or Twitter accounts. My cell phone is not a smart phone. I use my cell phone, gasp, strictly for voice calls.

Eric DeSilva
04-26-2013, 6:53 PM
The one blow to ditching the landline forever, last I checked, is that 911 calls still cannot track cell/smart phone locations. I'm sure that will change and for 911 calls, it'll be good...for "others" wanting to track you, uh....

Cellular phones have been required to provide automatic location information to PSAPs (public safety answering points) since the early 90s when "enhanced 911" or E911 was implemented. Since the initial implementation, the standards have also gotten substantially more strict--it is no accident that phones have GPS built into them because that is the only way of achieving the accuracy required by Federal law. And, I believe that when you turn off GPS tracking, that does not disable GPS tracking for 911 calls. There may be some PSAPs that are not equipped to receive location information from cellular carriers, but my understanding is that most of them do have the capability at this point in time.

Gary Hodgin
04-26-2013, 7:19 PM
I'm not a phone guy but wife insist on me having one in the car. I normally don't have it turned on and go months without using it. Except for a couple of months when my mom was in a nursing home I've never used it for over 10 minutes a month.

Brian Ashton
04-26-2013, 8:48 PM
I'd chuck the phone if I hadn't become accustom to a couple things. First my wife insists on being able to text me though out the day. Second - the music stations in aus are crap (their target audience appears to be 5 year olds) so I listen to mp3 in the truck (I listen to rock 101 out of Vancouver at home and at work over the internet and everyone that hears it playing for the first time always asks what station it is because they play much better music).

I certainly don't have it for regular communication, cell coverage in this place isn't much better than third world.

Brian Elfert
04-26-2013, 9:16 PM
If you keep a phone for emergencies in the car be sure to charge it once in a while and also keep a car adapter in the car so you have power when you need the phone.

Ole Anderson
04-26-2013, 9:18 PM
I would have ditched my land line except that Comcast's triple play bundle (TV, Internet, phone) was cheaper than just the TV and Internet. The only calls I get on my land line are solicitors of one type or another. I refuse to use Facebook or Email or games or iTunes on my iPhone and I don't text very often or even talk on the phone frequently, but I love it for the misc apps like weather and weather radar, particularly while boating out in the gulf. And if someone needs to contact me NOW, they can, as long as I remember to take it with me. My wife on the other hand...

Tom Stenzel
04-26-2013, 9:33 PM
I'm not much for yakking on the phone but with a 15 year old car and had been working in southwest Detroit, I needed something in case my car conked out. It's not like you can find a pay phone anymore.

I've got a Tracphone and get the $20 60 minute 90 day card. I now have almost 500 minutes built up on the phone.

My wife's work requires her to fax stuff so we're keeping a land line for now.

-Tom Stenzel

Sam Murdoch
04-26-2013, 10:17 PM
Magic Jack for long distance and local for local and HORRAY - no cell phone!!!

Pat Barry
04-26-2013, 10:29 PM
Seriously, its 2013. You have to have a cell phone. I'm so stupid I still have a land line. I need to call and cancel that.

Darius Ferlas
04-26-2013, 10:51 PM
We keep a land line for the faxing I need to do and we pay $22 a month for it. Is there a cell phone cheaper than that? I'd get one to save a few bucks.

I did have an inactive phone in my car just for a 911 emergency,but I kept forgetting to charge it. It got stolen recently so I do feel a slight need to have a phone for emergencies.
You could get a pay-as-you-go phone. Basic ones start at around $20 and then you can get a $10 SIM you can top every month.

John Sanford
04-27-2013, 12:36 AM
I haven't had a landline for almost 10 years. There are a variety of reasons, chief being that I've been technically homeless and/or living on the road for large chunks of that time. Since getting jobs is a lot easier when people can call you, I've kept a cell phone the entire time. My current is an average smart phone, which costs me $40 a month for unlimited talk, text and data.

I don't find it necessary to leave my phone at home in order to ignore it. I'm quite capable of doing so either intentionally or unintentionally.

Rich Engelhardt
04-27-2013, 3:08 AM
I found more reasons to have a cell phone than I found to not having one.
My son added me and my ancient "flip phone" to his plan for a whopping $5.00 a month.

My wife bought a pre-paid phone for what works out to be $10.00 a month.

Curt Harms
04-27-2013, 10:14 AM
...........
Related, why fax? I've had to send one fax in the last year to some backwards company. I haven't received a fax in at least a year.

I heard fax had a mini resurgence in the wake of Sarbanes-Oxley. Shred a fax and it's gone, unlike email. I don't know if there's a trail using something like efax or not.

Bert Kemp
04-27-2013, 11:31 AM
OK I'm gonna chime in here. seems one of the reasons for this topic is to save money and be connected. I have a cheap net10 phone from wally world that I fill auto 200 mins each month for $15 and it never runs out of mins and the mins roll over if not used. I only use the cell when I'm on the road. My house phone is a Magic Jack which I think I pay $20 per year for phone service and 911 does work on that. I have no cable tv I watch all my tv on the 42" Plasma in my living room over the internet. Just connect the tv to the computer with a monitor cable easy. I never run out of things to watch and its free except for the cost of my internet $45 a month. I get all my local news stations plus local tv from any part of the world that broadcasts live on the net and most do. Its cool to keep an eye on news and weather from were the kids live. Also I hooked up a decent set of speaker to the computer so all my CD's play on it and you get virtually every radio station in the world. So i can listen to music from any country I want. You'd be surprised at the great music that comes from all over the world that most people here in the US never hear. So I have everything everyone else has and maybe more for what :
Internet $45 mo
Cell ph $15 mo
TV $ 0 mo
Phone $ 1.60 mo
Radio $ 0 mo
Total $ 61.60mo
Plus you can send and receive all your text message's over the net. I text all my kids phones right from the computer so I don't have to fiddle around with the little buttons on a cell phone, and they text me back I can read it cause its on the big screen LOL so my bad ears and eyes aren't a big problem.

Andrew Joiner
04-27-2013, 12:07 PM
Thanks Bert. Good info on costs.
Saving money is important to me. The need to be connected? I'm not so sure I have that need. I feel plenty connected with the people in my life now on my end. I do feel less connected to my wife and family because of their "need to be connected".
My wife is on Facebook and texting all the time. She's often to busy to converse with a real human in the room. I love her and she accepts my eccentric ways, so it works out.

Wade Lippman
04-27-2013, 4:04 PM
I have a cell phone that I keep attached to a charger in my car. Use it about 10 minutes a year, but if I ever need it, the $120/year will seem really cheap.

Bruce Volden
04-27-2013, 8:46 PM
I'm in the "cell phone-less" category too.

I worked many years in the tech field and know all about their capabilities--I'm cell-phones-less by choice.

Bruce

Brian Elfert
04-27-2013, 8:58 PM
If I paid for my cellphone myself I would probably dump my land line and just be cell phone only. I wouldn't get a smart phone because they cost too much. My land line is cheap because I use OOMA and pay under $5 a month.

Jim Koepke
04-27-2013, 9:14 PM
We ditched our cell phones about a year ago. We do not have cell service in our immediate area. Have to drive a mile or so. We only go into town once a week if we do not have appointments. I sometimes wouldn't get into town for two weeks at a time before running out of one of the essentials like milk, coffee or toilet paper.

The most use we got out of our cell phones was when we got separated while at Costco or Fred Myers.

Now we just find each other the old fashioned way of remembering what the other is wearing and searching the aisles.

jtk

ray hampton
04-28-2013, 2:07 PM
We ditched our cell phones about a year ago. We do not have cell service in our immediate area. Have to drive a mile or so. We only go into town once a week if we do not have appointments. I sometimes wouldn't get into town for two weeks at a time before running out of one of the essentials like milk, coffee or toilet paper.

The most use we got out of our cell phones was when we got separated while at Costco or Fred Myers.

Now we just find each other the old fashioned way of remembering what the other is wearing and searching the aisles.

jtk

this may not work if one of you are short in height or standing at the end of a aisle

Jim Koepke
04-28-2013, 2:46 PM
this may not work if one of you are short in height or standing at the end of a aisle

My wife is about 4'10".

This method has worked for me since the 1950s when shopping with my mother. It still works today. The hardest part is to make sure to take notice of what your companion is wearing.

Tie dye can be spotted a long way away.

jtk

John Lifer
04-28-2013, 3:00 PM
Ditched the landline when we moved, use just DSL w/o phone. About $5/month more than with LL, but what the heck.
Daughter and wife and I all have cell phones. I have to have cell for work, on call 24x7. I could probably ditch wife's, but I want to get her when she's out. Just upgraded to smartphone and as other's have stated, GPS, internet is great on the go. I'd probably not go without it.

ray hampton
04-28-2013, 4:21 PM
If your only phone are a cell phone and you need to key in your birthday numbers for I . D. 2 # for month ,2 # for the day, 4 # for the year, HOW WILL YOU HANDLE THIS PROBLEM ?

Brian Elfert
04-28-2013, 4:40 PM
If your only phone are a cell phone and you need to key in your birthday numbers for I . D. 2 # for month ,2 # for the day, 4 # for the year, HOW WILL YOU HANDLE THIS PROBLEM ?

Huh? Are you talking about using your phone with an automated system? Cell phones can do this just fine. If taking it away from your ear is a problem turn on the speaker.

Greg Portland
04-28-2013, 5:09 PM
We keep a land line for the faxing I need to do and we pay $22 a month for it. Is there a cell phone cheaper than that? I'd get one to save a few bucks.
Some options for cheap phone service:
1) Buy an old/used phone and don't activate it (911 use only).
2) Get some cheap phones that don't use data and get a family plan with shared minutes. I'm averaging under $20/mo per phone before I add in texting and data.
3) Get an itouch or other compute device with wifi. Add a headset. Get a free softphone application (Skype, etc.). You can now make free outgoing calls but can't receive calls. There are various companies where you can buy an incoming phone number for a set amount per month. This works pretty well but requires some fiddling and computer savvy.

ray hampton
04-28-2013, 6:18 PM
Huh? Are you talking about using your phone with an automated system? Cell phones can do this just fine. If taking it away from your ear is a problem turn on the speaker.

what is a automated system ?? what is a speaker ??

Tom Fischer
04-28-2013, 6:46 PM
I don't have a cell phone, but the wife does. That covers most of the loose ends, when it comes to "emergency"
And good folks like Ken (above) hearing impairment, etc, texting is a wonderful thing. God bless you.
And I was in sales, many years ago. Cell phone is obviously required.

Have to say, though, it is a major cultural change, that many or most folks don't experience much of the day within their own "thought boundry"
Just pick up the cell phone, call somebody. They will distract you from your personal "thought boundry"
I've been in many public places. Kids can't go 30 feet without checking for text messages.

In the 1970's there was a series of books written by a Southern California guy. New Age stuff years ago.
It was popular, famous at the time.
I think the term he used was internal silence. That means .... no talking.
The implication was that silence is the source of wisdom.
We are a long way from that, and going in the opposite direction.

Cell phones are not a big problem, but I don't think it is a great thing to have.

Jon Shank
04-30-2013, 7:01 PM
I gotta admit, when I saw the thread title I thought it was a cry for help! :D

I've had a cell since the early 90s because of work but I am so used to it now-a-days I think I'd be lost without my fancy schmancy smartphone. Phone call, texts, e-mail with work and personal accounts, weather, checking flights, internet browsing, heck I've watched movies on the thing on overnight flights(possibly kind of odd, I never have listened to music on it any amount).

Of course the always connected thing has the down side of being, well, always connected. On the one hand I can talk or text with my wife anytime, or give my Mother a call while I'm on a long drive. On the other, the office can reach me with any of those methods any time day or night too. I can't quite explain the irritation of being on the other side of the planet, jet lagged as all get out and having the phone ring at 3 o'clock in the morning with someone going "oh, teehee, it's only 5 pm here" Plus just the added access that they have to you whether your technically on the clock or not. No possible way I could do my job without it though, just the nature of traveling all the time, even locally I'm at different sites every day or so. So yeah, definitely good and bad points. If I didn't have to have one for work I probably would still have one it just wouldn't be such an omnipresent part of my day.

Sort of a funny story though. Before we got the land-line cut off for good about 10 years ago me and the wife both already had cell phones. Busy running around, traveling although not as much, and just out and about, we just used the cell phones all the time. Apparently the phone bill got shuffled under some things on my desk and never got paid. I got a second or third notice about it having been cut off 2 weeks before and neither of us had even noticed. Dumbfounded by both my being careless with a bill (not the norm believe me, I'm usually more than a little anal about bills) and by the fact neither of us had even noticed it was off, I called and apologized for being a ninny and paid it and cancelled it at the same time. Haven't had any need for it since then.

Jon

Gerald Wubs
05-09-2013, 1:14 PM
I do not have a cell phone, and do not intend to get one. Why does everyone feel that they "NEED" to be reachable 24/7? I see people out for dinner,talking, but not to the ones they are out with. If I'm riding in the car with someone, having a great conversation, I know it will only last until someone calls them, and then I can sit there like a dummy listening to someone else's conversation. At family gatherings, there is no need to talk to others because they are all texting their friends, and if you make a "no cell phone" rule, people get upset. I think cells are great for business and emergencies, but that is all. Go and do something - head out to the shop, go for a walk and throw your phone in the trash.
Gerald

Curt Harms
05-10-2013, 8:33 AM
I do not have a cell phone, and do not intend to get one. Why does everyone feel that they "NEED" to be reachable 24/7? I see people out for dinner,talking, but not to the ones they are out with. If I'm riding in the car with someone, having a great conversation, I know it will only last until someone calls them, and then I can sit there like a dummy listening to someone else's conversation. At family gatherings, there is no need to talk to others because they are all texting their friends, and if you make a "no cell phone" rule, people get upset. I think cells are great for business and emergencies, but that is all. Go and do something - head out to the shop, go for a walk and throw your phone in the trash.
Gerald

That sort of behavior is not caused by any phone.

John Coloccia
05-10-2013, 9:10 AM
I haven't had a real land line in almost 20 years. I got Vonage 10 years ago...I forget why. I think I did it when my mother-in-law moved back to Finland because they had decent international rates. I just dumped that because my wife and MIL skype each other now.

Anyhow, all this talk of people with their heads buried in the cell phone. Don't you remembers the 80s and 90s when teenagers constantly had their ears glued to the house phone? How many remember how common it was for the teenager to have a separate line? I do get annoyed with people that start texting while I'm talking with them, and I call them on it. I don't cut my fingernails while we're talking, I don't read the newspaper, so don't text. People just generally have short attention spans and are addicted to constant stimulation. I'm a pretty high energy guy....drive drive drive...but everyone always says things like I'm relaxed and things like that. It's because when you're around me, I'm don't surround myself with 24/7 stimulation. It makes this artificial cloud of hustle and bustle around you, even if you're standing still.

Honestly, though, I don't think that's anything new. The "stimulants" are just a lot more portable now :)

David Weaver
05-10-2013, 9:24 AM
John, we're probably not too far apart in age. I can vividly recall picking up the phone several times when I was a kid, to call a friend to see if they wanted to come over, only to find my sister was already on it. Pick it up a half hour later, she's on it. Pick it up an hour later...still on it.

Then getting calls from relatives later in the day "your phone's been busy for three hours". My parents didn't believe in paying for call waiting when it came out, and they didn't get an answering machine until they were pretty much home all of the time.

Andrew Joiner
05-10-2013, 11:29 AM
When friends find out I only have a land line many of them say "good for you, I wish I could do that".

Anyone here wish they could ditch their cell phone and why?

OK, after reading the responses I think I get why my friends admire my choice to be cell-less.

These are the impression's I get.

1- A busy complicated life tends to require a cell phone. It's great for work. Extroverts probably need a cell phone.

2- People who want simpler lives see them as interfering with life. They might even feel addicted to being connected. Introverts probably fit this description.

3- It might seem like a requirement for being part of society now because the're so common. So if you don't have one your like a rebel, a free spirit or eccentric.

Just rambling, but I find the topic interesting. Funny how some people are passionate, pro and con on the subject.

Jerome Stanek
05-10-2013, 11:54 AM
I have a flip phone with no data plan and only limited texting. I don't miss any of the features as I have never had them. But when I am with my kids they all have smart phones and sometimes it does come in handy.

Gerald Wubs
05-10-2013, 5:56 PM
That's my point - the poratabilty makes it almost constant.

Mike Cutler
05-10-2013, 9:36 PM
Andrew

it's your life. If you find that you don't have a need for a cell phone, then you don't, and I personally think you're all the better for it.
I moved out of my parents house and joined the Navy in 1978. I haven't had a television since then, and didn't really watch it for the last few years I was at home.
I haven't missed anything as far as I'm concerned. You can get some passionate responses when folks find out you've never owned a television. Some get pretty offended.:confused:

One thing I would caution you though is to stay conversant in computer tech. Society is rapidly moving toward the digital stream only, and the phone has become an important gateway adaptive interface device. I have an iPhone, and other than talking to my wife on it, I don't use it as a phone much, but I do think it's important to keep up with the technology, Of course maybe when I retire, I'll have a different point of view.;)

Chris Kennedy
05-11-2013, 5:59 PM
I don't equate cell phones with the 24/7 need for contact and stimulation. I have had a cell phone, off and on, for the last fifteen odd years. I got one in graduate school when my mother was dying and I had a commuter marriage so the important folk in my life could reach me. A couple of years later, I dropped it when I started to live with my wife, my mother had died, and the town I lived in had no coverage. A couple of years after that, we got a cell phone for my wife when we moved to a new area and she was commuting long distances particularly while pregnant. A couple of years after that, I got a cell phone again because juggling child care and commutes, we needed to get a hold of each other. And now just recently, I upgraded to a smartphone because I will be in charge of my department and being able to access information when I am away from my office will be useful.

But the thing about being reachable 24/7 -- you don't have to give out your cell number. It is very useful for my wife and I to be able to reach each other and we limit who we give our cell numbers to. We have also evolved with the technology. We love texting. We are constantly in classes or in meetings, and when it is necessary to send a message, it is nice to know you can do so without being intrusive.

Chris

Anthony Diodati
05-12-2013, 12:30 AM
I don't have one either, and I don't need it. They are sickening with these phones.
Couples together in a restaurant eating, both on separate cell phones texting.

Rod Sheridan
05-12-2013, 8:35 AM
I have a corporate cell phone, and a land line at home with DSL for the internet.

My 2 daughters only have cell phones.

Diann has a cell phone so once I retire we'll probably just have her cell phone that we'll use when away from home.

I ditched cable TV a couple of years ago to go with off air broadcast, I live in a large urban area and receive about 20 channels which is great.

Regards, Rod.

Bob Rufener
05-12-2013, 7:48 PM
My wife and I both have cell phones. I wasn't keen about getting one but since I have it, I really like it. We are considering getting rid of our land line. The nice thing about cell phones is that I can use them anywhere in the US. It has been really handy when we are traveling as we can look up motels on the GPS and call motels for room availability and rates.Also, have you looked for a public pay phone lately? They are getting really hard to find if you want to make a call somewhere other than your home. If we didn't have cell phones, we'd hardly ever hear from our daughter as she mainly texts. I don't text often at all and don't have a smart phone or anything fancy-only a basic cell phone.

Everett Fulkerson
05-13-2013, 5:31 PM
I believe the statement "I can not live without my cell phone" is more troublesome than the statement "I choose to not have a cell phone".

Chris Padilla
05-14-2013, 8:00 PM
Smartphone are awesome...nothing like having access to info when you need it. I use it a fair amount for navigation or when the hankering hits, a good Chinese restaurant or reviews on a movie or what have you. I don't actually talk on it very much.

Dennis Watson
05-16-2013, 12:57 PM
If you dial 911 from a landline in your home they tie it to your address should you drop the phone trying to save your loved one or hiding from a intruder.

Erik Loza
05-16-2013, 1:31 PM
My mom is a landline-only person. She drives a lot and her car is getting old/unreliable. I was just out in California recently, visiting her, and we actually got into a bit of an argument about this. My point being that she is getting old and what if she broke down somewhere or had a medical event? Of course, a million excuses and reasons why she saw no point to any of this, all basically boiling down to "fear of change". Very frustrating...

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

Eric DeSilva
05-16-2013, 2:17 PM
If you dial 911 from a cell phone, they also are required to tie it to a physical location for response--only it is generated by GPS in the phone or tower triangulation rather than an index.

Brian Elfert
05-16-2013, 2:27 PM
My mom is a landline-only person. She drives a lot and her car is getting old/unreliable. I was just out in California recently, visiting her, and we actually got into a bit of an argument about this. My point being that she is getting old and what if she broke down somewhere or had a medical event? Of course, a million excuses and reasons why she saw no point to any of this, all basically boiling down to "fear of change". Very frustrating...


They make cell phones especially for seniors that simply have a couple of buttons of which one is for 911. You could buy one for her if she won't buy one.

ray hampton
05-16-2013, 2:37 PM
They make cell phones especially for seniors that simply have a couple of buttons of which one is for 911. You could buy one for her if she won't buy one.

two or more questions, 1st when was this cell phone first made for the seniors 2nd are we talking about high school seniors 3rd what is the cost 4th who sell them 5th MAY I PLEAD THE FIFTH

Harley Reasons
05-16-2013, 2:37 PM
I've had pager/cellphones since the early 90's and have gone through all of the evolution process, Blackberry, Android and now Apple. My wife & I both have IPhones and IPad's. I also have a Mac Air Pro laptop and a Dell Desktop. The Mac Pro I keep out in my shop except when traveling.
I'm 67 yrs. old and have been fooling with computers since the 80's. If I forget my cellphone when I leave home I feel like I'm not fully dressed. I love being able to text my kids and grandkids anytime and to respond back to them quickly. I don't talk a whole lot on the phone but use it for looking things up on the go. Also, use it as a GPS sometimes.
My wife had a old flip phone and I got her an IPhone a couple of years ago and she wouldn't part company with it if her life depended on it. Then she got an IPad and that was the icing on the cake. All of her knitting friends have smartphones/tablets so they sit and knit and talk. They even do facetime.
As to a landline, I ditched that about 10 yrs ago as soon as cable internet came to our town.
I'm just an old techie I guess.

Brian Elfert
05-19-2013, 1:31 PM
two or more questions, 1st when was this cell phone first made for the seniors 2nd are we talking about high school seniors 3rd what is the cost 4th who sell them 5th MAY I PLEAD THE FIFTH

I've seen ads for this cell phone for seniors (elderly) for years. I can't find a website, but I have seen the ads for them in magazines in waiting rooms.

Harley Reasons
05-19-2013, 2:54 PM
Cellphone for seniors Jitterbug (http://www.greatcall.com/Jitterbug/) Endorsed by AARP

ray hampton
05-19-2013, 3:11 PM
Cellphone for seniors Jitterbug (http://www.greatcall.com/Jitterbug/) Endorsed by AARP

many thanks, I saw this before in AARP magazine but guess it were forgot

Brian Elfert
05-19-2013, 3:22 PM
The phone for seniors I'm thinking of was not the Jitterbug. It had no number buttons and it only had buttons for 911 and a few other things. One of the buttons may have been for an emergency contact like a son or daughter.

ray hampton
05-19-2013, 4:32 PM
The phone for seniors I'm thinking of was not the Jitterbug. It had no number buttons and it only had buttons for 911 and a few other things. One of the buttons may have been for an emergency contact like a son or daughter.

sort of like a number that you enter once , If I search the AARP site , will I find this phone

Andrew Joiner
10-11-2017, 11:00 PM
Now I know why my friends said "good for you, I wish I could do that"
When they found out I only had a land line.

I now have a cell and no landline. It's a little like opening a pandora's box. I know I'll get into it. I remember feeling overwhelmed when I first used a computer.

Keith Outten
10-12-2017, 10:46 AM
I wouldn't be here if I didn't have a cell phone. When I had my first heart attack I was just three feet inside the door of my workshop and went down to the floor. I was unable to move but my cell phone was in my shirt pocket and I was able to call my daughter in the house.

Mine is a cell phone love/hate relationship, I would love to not have to carry a phone but I have to admit that they are convenient and in an emergency can save your life.

Andrew Joiner
10-12-2017, 11:35 AM
I wouldn't be here if I didn't have a cell phone. When I had my first heart attack I was just three feet inside the door of my workshop and went down to the floor. I was unable to move but my cell phone was in my shirt pocket and I was able to call my daughter in the house.

Mine is a cell phone love/hate relationship, I would love to not have to carry a phone but I have to admit that they are convenient and in an emergency can save your life.

Thank you Keith! I'm so grateful you recovered and shared your experience.

I take my grandkids on long drives and for years I thought I should get a cell for emergencies. You gave me one HUGE reason to be patient and learn how to use my new phone like most people do. I can't be a retired eccentric forever.