6 replies to this topic

[z2z007]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/opinion/...xprod=permalink

Some subtle humor...

I think I'm in between stage two and three.

[esong27]

Heh, that's cute.

[NickC]

I totally agree with Step 1 when I first got introduced to email in 3rd grade .
But it wasnt that extreme that I ignored my parents haha. Its just like "OMG I GOT MAIL!!! LOL"

[azntechguy]

The funny thing is, about 7-8 years ago, I was in Stage Three, back in the days when spam would flood your inbox every few hours and spam blocking technology was a year or two away from its debut. Yes, I've had my own private email back then, and my email provider then does not exist today (it actually used to be heavily advertised on TV and radio actually)

Right now, I think I'm in Stage X: Too Cool for E-Mail. Hey! I'm walking on dry ground! I have 0 unanswered e-mail messages and unsolicited spam is next to nonexistent. And I don't want any more e-mail. Call me instead, don't even think about texting me, I won't get them and if I do get them, you're paying for my messaging bills. Almost having an email account for 8 years makes me grow weary of it. Kinda like that textbook writing mathematician who had an email in the 70's yet abandoned e-mail as a form of communication in the 90's. Meh, mathematicians, they're crazy in their little own theoretical world. Come back inside and smell the roses... are you afraid of esters?

[z2z007]

Honestly, I never SMS messaged and probably never will. I always felt that it was more tedious than actually talking on the phone. However, I wonder what will happen when I study abroad in Manchester. From what I heard, Europeans just text all day long and carry multiple "mobiles."

[azntechguy]

Off Topic, but in the interests of answering Z's thoughts:

Supposedly, in Europe (in general), calling with your cell phone costs significantly more than texting. Text messaging is flat fee (one-time cost), whereas call minutes is a variable fee (the costs depend on what time of day you call, if you're calling another mobile phone or a landline phone, etc.)

Quite different from the US already, where minute deductions (instead of $ per minute deduction) neglect the time of day (well, except Nights & Weekend), type of phone and domestic distance of the number. Finally, unlike the United States, many providers provide provisions for texting in their plans (an allotment of messages AND minutes).

Just check out O2, T-Mobile, Orange, Vodafone, Virgin Mobile and you'll see that general trend.

[AFaust3]

z2z007, on Jul 3 2007, 11:36 AM, said:

Honestly, I never SMS messaged and probably never will. I always felt that it was more tedious than actually talking on the phone. However, I wonder what will happen when I study abroad in Manchester. From what I heard, Europeans just text all day long and carry multiple "mobiles."

Have fun studying abroad

Actually a lot of the mobile technology in Britain is ahead of ours in terms of implementation. Same for digital (here it's called HD) radio and TV.

As far as e-mail, I like it but it's more something I need to use rather than like to use. Gmail makes it less of a hassle