cyrano: (Default)
Cyrano Jones ([personal profile] cyrano) wrote2001-08-30 04:22 am

Quick note

I got a new phone (planned obsolesence kicked in after a year and a half, and the speaker finally drew up its resignation notice in the old one) and the new one has all those neat gadgets like games and alarm rings and customised classical music rings. So my phone now rings with Sousa's Liberty Bell March.
I could have customised rings for various people but I'm just not feeling that geeky yet.

obsolete has a purpose

[identity profile] miss-friday.livejournal.com 2001-08-30 11:59 am (UTC)(link)
Speaking in the role of a Luddite, do you have an old-fashioned phone? One that doesn't need electricity? Considering the energy situation in this state, and a recent experience at my uncle's it might be good to have such a gadet. Opportunity might decide to call while your power is out, and you wouldn't want to miss it.

Re: obsolete has a purpose

[identity profile] cyranocyrano.livejournal.com 2001-08-30 12:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Not a single one. Every phone in the house needs a battery because it's a cordless phone with electrical pickup. But I do have the celphone which at least doesn't require being plugged into the wall.

Re: obsolete has a purpose

[identity profile] ambar.livejournal.com 2001-08-30 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I got annoyed about not being able to call anyone when the power was out, so I have a plain old boring Sony phone next to me (well, it has a speakerphone in it, which is handy for those conference calls from work) which doesn't rely on the California ISO doing their jobs to do its job...

Re: obsolete has a purpose

(Anonymous) 2001-08-30 02:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Um. So. Stupid question maybe, but if there's a power outage does that mean that the towers that cel phones rely on are also kaput? Is the cel phone likely to be of any use in a forced-blackout situation?

Re: obsolete has a purpose

[identity profile] ambar.livejournal.com 2001-08-30 02:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I expect cell phones to work during blackouts, for the same reasons that ordinary phones work during a blackout: telephone companies invest heavily in UPS systems, batteries, and generators.

Re: obsolete has a purpose

[identity profile] tersa.livejournal.com 2001-08-30 02:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Actually, my esteemed housemate is incorrect. We have a phone that doesn't require any more power than what is normally transmitted over the phone lines (which, in the past, has worked despite electricity being out).