http://www.idkfa.com/v3 idkfa: syndicated http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=240 true that MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Indiscernible from Magic Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:17:30 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=240 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=235 I'm just throwing this out there..... buuuuut... these things ARE all just phones. Gadgetry above and beyond the simple task of making a phone call may possiby just be a personal preference issue based on how a person likes to use his/her phone. just sayin'......... CapitolZebra@idkfa.com (CapitolZebra) Indiscernible from Magic Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:54:32 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=235 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=229 You misunderstood me - I didn't knock the cheap hunks of plastic. I've owned several, and if I couldn't afford an iphone, but needed a cell, I'd buy the cheapest thing I could find. I think we've reached the same point in this conversation: Do I want X? Do I need X? Is X worth the price? Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) Indiscernible from Magic Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:04:27 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=229 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=227 Hey man, I live is Seattle. IT is the turtleneck wearing lattte sipping people who go gaga over the smart phones. That aside I think apple, HTC, Samsung and all those guys pour a huge amount of time a research into making good user interfaces and sexy exterior design. As I said I actually have an ipod touch, which I like very much as it basically my laptop now... I don't own a laptop because I have no need of one really, all i really need it for is the occassional webbrowsing and emailing when I'm not at home or at work. Its great, but it doesn't really fall in line with my expectations for a phone. You can knock cheaphunks of plastic all you like, even I have my preferences in that I like a flip or slider so that keys are not erroniously pushed or have some kind of retarded key lock button combo. But any cheap phone can handly the three things I do fairly well which is call, look up numbers to call, and text. Pretty much everything on the market has a reasonable interface with mappable buttons to do those three things with ease. That it is always nice to know that no matter how many times I drop my phone it will mostly likely continue to work, work as well as it did before I dropped it, and not crack that very nice and shiny touch screen and get all spiderwebbed and shit like my touch is currently. As perhaps all great conversations anywhere you go, this probably has more to do with individual value. I don't want or need a data plan, the ability to surf the web or update twitter/book with my every step or breath. Sometimes I like it that my battery dies and can completly escape the ability to communicate with others. If I want to do other things I really don't mind single purpose devices. So no, the price is not what I'm willing to pay, for the phone or the service. And the nice thing there is that faster networks really don't mean much to me, basically what I care about is coverage area, which at least down here MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Indiscernible from Magic Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:42:31 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=227 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=223 I think my interest in flight sims comes from my engineering interest. I could write prose about flight parameters and flight characteristics, and of different airplanes' handling characteristics. Playing flight sims sort of validates what I've learned about all those things. And flight sims are kind of the only way I can experience it, because most of my interest and knowledge regarding the subject is of military or experimental aircraft. Along the same lines is why I love the Gran Turismo racing games so much - it's definitely the most realistic driving characteristics I've experienced in a video game. And since my interests lie in exotic cars or the very edge of a performance envelope of a vehicle, the only way to truly explore it safely is with a video game instead of the real deal. Cause, yknow, I'm not gonna walk out and buy a Ferrari F420 just so I can show you that the max speed it will grip a 25'-radius corner is 80mph. kitacek@idkfa.com (kitacek) Indiscernible from Magic Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:13:55 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=223 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=222 I never quite got into flight sims, sadly. They always struck me as games for pilots. Which I wasn't. Which meant that the game I made out of it was finding interesting ways to crash. Space sims, though. They knew where it was at. Flight sims, with no ground to run into, afterburners, lasers, mass drivers... I miss Privateer. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Indiscernible from Magic Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:13:58 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=222 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=221 That's where the humor is. "Check out this cool game!" "My phone flips open." "...What?" Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) Indiscernible from Magic Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:07:27 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=221 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=220 "Apple really did nothing with the iPhone that they don't do with other products: they take a stagnant tech market with products with confusing and slight technical variation but identically frustrating functionality, they solve human interface issues, integrate already existing technology, and sell it to everyman using the best marketing team on the planet." This. I still find it humorous that kitacek's innocent comment on a video game - not a phone - led down this pathway. The argument you should be making that I could get on board with is the price you're willing to pay for a service. If you need a mobile device to make a phone call - and you don't mind if the interface is a pile of dogshit - then the cheapest hunk of plastic is the way to go. I certainly don't purchase a product so I can peel the fresh plastic off and then gush about how much better it is, so you don't need to keep implying that's my motive. (I own an iphone 1.0, btw. 4g? More like Edge) I encouraged a coworker to get a pay-as-you-go service plan, because she intended to use her cellphone as in frequently as possible. Budgeting is not the same as an appreciation for good design (see: usefulness). It is hard to talk good design - in architecture, landscape architecture, industrial design, computers, product design, package design, illustration, etc - without referencing Apple, and the iphone. In no way am I castigating you for not owning a smartphone - I just think your outright dismissal of them is misguided. We all don't wear black turtlenecks and smugly sip lattes while we mock non-smart phone users. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) Indiscernible from Magic Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:01:59 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=220 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=219 Such is our way. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Indiscernible from Magic Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:47:42 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=219 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=218 Somewhere this whole thing took a horribly wrong turn. All I wanted to do was idle chat about a computer game! kitacek@idkfa.com (kitacek) Indiscernible from Magic Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:31:37 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=218 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=217 Let me defend the iPhone for a minute. My first phone was a hefty Nokia candy bar with a simple black on green LCD display. It had the standard address books, preset ringtones, and a Snake game. Everything you could ever want. My second phone was a horrific, LG Phone that won me over because it had a screen on the outside of its clamshell as well as inside. It had a button on it that would charge me an extra $3.00 at the end of the month if I pressed it, every time I pressed it. Eventually, the outside screen became a snowcrashed mess. My third phone was a Motorola SLVR, or whatever. This time it was about a fourth of the size of the original, fit well into my pocket, and did everything I wanted except for texting, whcih I didn't really care for to begin with. My only problem with it was the metallic inserts glued to the tops of the keys eventually came off, exposing the gel beneath. My fourth and current phone, is my iPhone 3G. I got it because I felt they got the interface for it right (Why should I have to press * and then 3 to unlock my phone? If it's going to be hard to type, why shouldn't the phone try to help me? etc.), and because a discount because of my job. Also, the web browser on it is absolutely second to none in terms of rendering capability and web standards (notice that idkfa on the iPhone looks the same as idkfa on the computer). Apple really did nothing with the iPhone that they don't do with other products: they take a stagnant tech market with products with confusing and slight technical variation but identically frustrating functionality, they solve human interface issues, integrate already existing technology, and sell it to everyman using the best marketing team on the planet. There are technologically more impressive phones out there, but they're really only interesting to geeks like me, and they unfortunately don't usually sell to geeks like me. Some of the functionaltiy and design kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Indiscernible from Magic Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:32:01 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=217 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=214 I suppose saying that all I expect my phone to do is to make calls and make them well IS terribly inflammatory, so much so that it requires someone to jump up and become advocate for technology and combined functionality. The idea that I hate the idea of progress and technological evolution because I don’t want a smart phone is simply an irresponsible use of rhetorical extremisms, of which I am guilty as well. I like things getting smaller, lighter, more accessible and more powerful. But I personally also value siplicity in design and simple functionality. If I want to take pictures I cary a camera, because a dedicated camera take better pictures than phones and do so with less more efficiently which is great when I'm out in the woods. For playing music I have a perfectly servicable ipod nano, and gasp even a touch which for the most part is an iphone without the constant ability to connect to the internet or make calls. In general though the owners and sellers of new phones, smart ones, love to go on about multifunctional abilities of said phone. If you have never met anyone in your life who loves to talk about their new phone I would be surprised. Being proud of some new gadget one owns is fine, but telling me its better because while my phone has a phonebook, makes calls and has a 2mp camera is nice and all, this newer phone can help me track my calorie intake, connect me to facebook, play games, be a flashlight, be a gps, recognize songs, and oh yes take pictures, store phone numbers, and make calls, actually makes me give less of a shit about the technology. It’s a powerful tool, but to what end? I love multitasking items over uni-taskers. But when I need a gps I want my garmin, when I want a flashlight I’ll grab my reliable surefire, when I want to make a call, my $10 phone does that just as well if not better than most smart phone, since I think they provide more room for the antenna in non-smart phones. The fact MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Indiscernible from Magic Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:18:43 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=214 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=207 Who constantly defends or justifies their choice in phones? You're the one who made an inflammatory remark concerning the function of your cell phone - so I countered with the versatile functionality of a smartphone.The simplification of a palm sized computer is also no way analogous to an aircyborgcat (which is awesome, btw). My phone makes phone calls too. It also does a lot of awesome, useful things. Don't tell me you're cellphone doesn't have a camera or clock and that you've never used them. I can't imagine you're still sitting writing with charcoal because it "does the same thing as a pencil." Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:30:29 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=207 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=206 Basically the latter, as I have no need to carry any of the above mentioned things except a regular ipod which when combined with my phone are still less voluminous than an iphone. If I could somehow crossbreed a cat and an airplane it could be an awesome synthesis of entertainment and transportation But I still wouldn't buy one. On a side note, I feel no need to constantly defend or justify my phone. As if it needed it. MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:22:52 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=206 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=205 Maybe MrFood was referring to the somewhat poor quality of phone calls often attributed to iPhones. Or maybe he values simplicity over functionality. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:30:45 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=205 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=203 Yeah, I find the synthesis and progress of technology to be a waste of time and money. So I just carry around separately my address book, calendar, 1998 Zack Morris cellphone, mini-disc player, gameboy, radio, beeper, camera, photo album, recorder, video camera, dictionary, maps, mailbox, notepad, calculator, laptop and watch. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:11:10 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=203 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=202 I can make calls on my phone, pretty awesome I know. I like it yeah. MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:07:04 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=202 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=201 Over the weekend I bought the flight simulator X-Plane for my iPhone; I got the fancy version that works on 4G. I've been flying a bunch in an F-14, launching from a carrier, shooting down an enemy airplane, then landing on the carrier again. It took me a while to get the carrier landing - there was a lot of go-arounds because I missed the arresting wires, and also a lot of me flying into the ass end of the ship or into the big tower on the deck. Anyways, it's pretty amazing what the iphone is capable of. I'm pretty sure this flight sim is better than any flight sim I had before (the last one I had though was during high school). kitacek@idkfa.com (kitacek) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:13:18 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=201&msg_id=201