i have a cable modem and a cell phone, i think it is more convenient (and cheaper for my nationwide tendency to make friends). several of my friends have just cell phones too, and their computers are hooked up through cable or LAN, usually. do you think the ground telephone is losing it’s role as a neccessary object to the 21st century home?
on the same note, what about the USPS? with all the independant companies (FedX, UPS, etc) shipping packages more efficiently and the growing usage of email, do you think that post offices will ever become obsolete?
I have a ground line, and everyone I know still has one. I know that some people are starting to abandon their local phone service in favor of full-time cell service, especially as the rates get cheaper, though I can’t see land lines disappearing completely. If nothing else, they’d be used as a backup.
The USPS will probably start cutting services in the future, but they will likely try and stay competitive with private carriers.
I still mail packages from the local post office. I like chatting with the guys and gals at the desk.
I also still have a ground line for the phone (I know this because about a month ago I lost my phone service for a week; the lines to my building had apparently corroded!).
I still use a vaporizer when I’m sick, and have been known to wear a girdle :eek: now and then.
I occasionally still type letters and notes to people on a 1940’s Royal typewriter, but e-mail is honestly soooo much easier.
My parents, however, are the reigning King and Queen Luddites. Don’t even get me started.
Yup, I still have a land line phone too. And I won’t get rid of it. Even if the power’s out and the battery in the cell phone is flat I can still sit in the dark and call folks.
I’m not a Luddite, but I still like the old-fashioned stuff. Now please excuse me, I have a headache. . .mebbe I should let the evil spirits escape. Where did I put that do-it-yourself trephinning kit?
No landline for me. Fifty bucks to be disturbed during dinner. No thanks. Checks are becoming old fashioned for me too. I go through my deposit slips much faster than I do checks.
Most cellphone calls seem to have crappy reception–both incoming and outgoing. There would have to be a major improvement in this before I gave up my land line. I know several people who have tried to make do with a cellphone alone and put in a land line after all.
My old fashioned gadget? Well, my ergo keyboard broke and I replaced it with a straight one!
Yep, still got land lines. Cell service is still too expensive, and my DSL comes in over my phone line.
Old fashioned gadgets - I grew up with wood heat, kerosene lights, and hauling water. I have used a washboard, a laundry churn, and a flatiron heated on the cookstove. We used to drive around in a '49 Chev pickup (long ugly story about underage arsonists omitted). And of course, outdoor plumbing.
Let me assure you, the back-to-nature bit is nowhere near as attractive as the eco-freaks would have you believe. Especially after a case of the trots at -40.
The postal service probably won’t ever be obsolete. Up here, UPS and Fedex don’t get their stuff much faster than Canada Post, all their stuff is on the same plane. It’s still cheaper to go Canada Post.
Besides, how ELSE could Northerners find out What’s Really Going On? The post office is a VITAL link in the Northern Sneakernet (moccasin telegraph, grapevine).
When going through some of a friends belongings (with her knowledge of course)…I came across this wonderful gadget.
It is a Splinter Remover Thing-a-ma-jig
It is like a pair of tweezers but it has a needle that can be slid out of the other end. It is so cool…I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away!
