Saturday 10 January 2015

Blackberries in December

It has been indicated by several wiser, tho' not necessarily older friends that if I intend to maintain my successful presence on social media, I need to get myself up to date, gadget wise. Apart from the laptop, I also need the sort of mobile that does 'sent from my phone' stuff. As most of you know, I have a cheap Nokia rubbish phone, recently updated from the previous cheap Nokia rubbish phone when its back kept falling off and had to be held on by elastic bands.

So, ever eager to please, not to say gullible, I went recently to the XX shop (not sure whether I can advertise, so pretend you don't understand that last bit), and asked the 14 year old behind the counter whether I could Tweet and access my emails on my current mobile. Showed him mobile, and when he had stopped laughing, he pointed me to the sort of sleek, scary looking devices I should be using and proceeded to explain how they worked.

 I stared at them for a while, making 'Uh-huh... mmm' noises indicating (erroneously) that I understood every word of his explanation. Do they not do subtitles for the bewildered in these places? He then told me how much one of these scary devices would set me back. At which point I left on the basis that I'd have to Tweet 24/7 to sell enough books to fund the purchase of it.

Interestingly, this also coincided with the internal school exam season - I work as an invigilator at a local secondary school. It's better paid than stacking shelves at Asda, and you get a nice green lanyard with your name on it and a card to activate the car park barrier, though sadly, my boss has not yet bought into the concept of a high-viz jacket with Invigilator on the back in raised studs. One of those, and I could do door work in the evenings. (''If I say you're not coming in, sir. Then you're not coming in. Do not mess with me. I'm an Invigilator.'')

Anyway, halfway through a recent exam, someone's mobile went off. Crime of huge magnitude. I took the box of collected mobiles outside, located the offender (a Blackberry, it was locked) and took it apart to make it stop. I was watched doing this by one of the ground staff. 'Look here,' I remarked, waving the offending item. 'A Year 11 with a Blackberry.'  He replied: 'You want to check out Lost Property; they've got a whole drawfull of them. Got some of those new iPhone 6 ones too  Kids just lose them, and their parents buy them another one.'

I am trying not to go down the logical pathway on this, because I am, at core, an honest person, but oh my, it is very tempting .....

21 comments:

  1. A timely post for me, I am just about to enter this brave new world, having just yesterday ordered one of those do-it-all phone thingies from Amazon, it's not the top of the range and only set me back about £20 more than a straight replacement of my current ancient Nokia - but I'm fortunate in that one of my sons has just been given an exact same phone by his work so I can ask him to show me how it works, as he, at 25, speaks more or less the same language as I do.
    Joy x x

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    1. well done Joy. Sally forth and leave the world of the uninitiated and in my case, plain stupid. You Will Be Back!

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  2. My I phone 4 is like a magic wand for me. Just one small gadget that takes photos, sends emails , face time what s app - all amazing to me, but I am a pensioner with loved ones scattered far and wide. At school you have your friends around you all the time and I agree that expensive gadgets in the hands of young people seem unwise. Always enjoy your posts.

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    1. If I actually ever purchased one, I'd never write anything....

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  3. I grew up in an era where tablets were purely of medicinal value, iPad's were worn over the eye to correct impaired vision and 'e-mail' was something my mother would say, in her Northern accent, when the post flopped through our letterbox!

    Ahhh simpler times!

    And let's face it, back in the day, there was no greater joy, when ending an argument via telephone, than to slam the handset down with Herculean force, instantly severing conversation with a satisfying click to announce you as the winner of words!!!!.......Stabbing an angry finger at the touch screen on your mobile doesn't quite cut it, does it?

    Another enlightening and entertaining insight into your crazy world, Hedges, where I for one feel most at home....

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    1. You can always hurl the mobile across the room. Whereupon it will shatter and you have to buy another one. I so agree...a good slamming down of receiver was one of the joys the current generation knows nothing about, and are the poorer.

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  4. I'm still surviving with my desk top computer, and old Nokia friend with no internet access, can't see the screen or work the buttons of these new fangled wonders!

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  5. A lovely post, Carol. I've just had my first smartphone for Xmas but know I'm not yet using it to it's full potential. Perhaps I'll get there eventually ...

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    1. I wish technology wouldn't keep advancing, ladies, because I for one am struggling to keep up.

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  6. Loved this post, Carolstar! I think putting temptation in your way like that is a real test, but well done you for not succumbing. I suppose you could ask to buy one of them for a nominal fee? I have a sort of poor man's smart phone. It's a Nokia too, but a very basic model. I think even new they are only about £50. It does FB, Twitter, whatsapp and email too, but it's still more than I can really follow. I only use it for email and whatsapp, and it has real buttons like a blackberry (not the fruity variety). It's not as 'smart' as these touch screen thingies which I can't get on with at all, but it gives me as much as I need, we not having proper phones on our floating homes.

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  7. Carol, I finally entered into the new millenium in 2014 and got a Moto X smartphone. It is well worth the leap. It'll become your new close friend. Lynn

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  8. I need a quad band phone (no I don't know what that means, except I can text from far away places) and was left with little choice - a smart gadgety phone, or one with huge numbers for the partially-sighted! I don't use the email etc, but do text my girls. And the camera was really useful when I was in a very minor road accident. But I don't sit in cafes and play with it, like most yougn people.

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  9. Kids today! I know that statement makes me sound ancient but... Kids today! I often think back to the careful budgeting that my parents had to abide by and know that I would never have been allowed to own all the gadgets that kids today possess. Having said that, I love my Sony mobile. It's cheaper than an iPhone but just as versatile. I'd be lost without it... literally cause it has a satnav on it too!!

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  10. I would love to be more techie, but I'm not, so nothing I can do about it. I get stubborn about some things, and occasionally will master them, but I won't even touch a mobile phone. Coping with a laptop is bad enough...

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  11. I love my fancy phone now but I am so glad when I was growing up we didn't have or pay so much attention to FB and Twitter else it could of been very dodgy. But kids having expensive flashy phones I don't think that's good. The temptation of a box full of lost property smart phones though...

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  12. I was given a smart phone a year and a half ago and I still only use my dumb phone. No one has the number. I use it when I'm lost or late only. Do not call me. I do not want to be in touch. E mail me, skype me, send a letter, a fax, a smoke signal or knock on my door. I hate all telephones. Even my land line number is used at your peril. I am not anti tech devices, using all kinds of programs on my computer a good number of hours a day but when I'm away from the computer leave me alone.

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  13. My husband has one of those ancient Nokias where the back is held on by rubber bands (and electrician's tape, I think). When he was on a network, they kept calling and begging me to upgrade his phone because it was so old it was messing up their network. I switched him into Pay As You Go just to end the pathetic calls.

    I bought an older, used iPhone4 when my Android finally called it quits (admittedly, after I dropped it into a swimming pool). I can Tweet from it, just about, and take photos which are easy to upload to my laptop. More importantly, I can make phone calls. :)

    It is tempting to take one of those "abandoned" phones. I've reclaimed the iPad that was a Christmas present to my teen two years ago. Long since replaced by iPhone and laptop. Hey, if she's not going to play "Flappy Bird" on it, I will!

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    1. The only good thing is you can download an Egg game, which the baby likes...other than that, you are never 'free' of the internet.

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  14. Rather than rely on sales persons to make a decision for you, Carol, why not go on the 'Which?' website and see what information they have. They are usually pretty good in explaining the impossible :) Also, a tip from my techie husband (I really have no chance in this household) is to look online for special deals but be sure before signing any binding contract. OR you could cheat and do it like me. Yes, I have a smart phone but I use Pay as You Go and just use the internet (hence, Twitter) through WiFi when I'm at home.

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