ExiledInIllinois Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 4/3/1973: First mobile phone call. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65112048 "On 3 April 1973, Marty Cooper stood on a corner of Sixth Avenue in New York and took a phone book from his pocket. He then punched a number into a large, cream-coloured device and put it to his ear while passers-by stared at him. Mr Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, rang his counterpart at rival firm Bell Laboratories, to triumphantly tell him he was calling from "a personal, handheld, portable cell phone". He recalls there being silence on the end of the line. "I think he was gritting his teeth," says the 94-year-old, laughing. ..." 2 Quote
muppy Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 7 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said: 4/3/1973: First mobile phone call. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65112048 "On 3 April 1973, Marty Cooper stood on a corner of Sixth Avenue in New York and took a phone book from his pocket. He then punched a number into a large, cream-coloured device and put it to his ear while passers-by stared at him. Mr Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, rang his counterpart at rival firm Bell Laboratories, to triumphantly tell him he was calling from "a personal, handheld, portable cell phone". He recalls there being silence on the end of the line. "I think he was gritting his teeth," says the 94-year-old, laughing. ..." and then the technology literally blew up. hubby worked in the CDMA division of Qualcomm which produced the chips that go inside the cellular phones. Continual progress from the mid 90's and forward to today. As you can imagine the market HUGE. It took me longer to totally integrate into cell phone culture. Lets say Ima work in progress ...tech stuff not my gift. anyway I use mine minimally. m 1 Quote
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 Few are aware the second cellular call was from an automated message saying that the judicial authorities in the recipient's area had identified the phone and social security number as being involved in drug trafficking and/or tax evasion. Press 2 to speak to an agent. 1 Quote
Fleezoid Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 I'd love to go back to pay phones. That way people can't treat me like I'm "on-call" 24/7. 2 Quote
Nextmanup Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 Oh boy, cell phone birthday! Rot in hell, mobile phones! Cell phone culture is a part of the collapse of human civilization as we know it. In a few years, psychiatrists will discuss a new disorder centered around the compulsive and obsessive interaction with a small computer screen you can take anywhere with you in the world--you know, your cell phone. I walk at the beach every day and see endless packs of teenagers sitting on their blankets, in silence, no interaction among them, with the gorgeous world around them totally cut off, and they all have their faces buried in their little 3" phone screens....for hours! I guess that virtual world is better than a gorgeous real beach. This is a disorder and will be identified as such soon; I can't believe it hasn't been done already. The thing is you know that NOTHING they are doing with that phone is important...and yet it remains an addictive obsession. It's odd and harmful to society. It took me a LONG time go finally get a flip phone, which is I leave in a drawer and use as sparingly as possible. You expect me to take that with me when I go for a nice ride or a walk at the beach? And you expect to get a hold of me on the spur of the moment to suit your convenience? Are you insane? The last thing in the world I would take with me on a nice drive to the beach would be a telephone, or even a mobile computer. Who the hell needs it? If I get a flat tire, I'll fix it; my car has a spare and I know how to fix it. If the engine blows up, I'll walk somewhere, borrow the phone, and call for help. 52 years old now, and haven't ever had to do that, I'll probably get by a few more years.. Rant over! I'm sure young kids are laughing their heads off..."Get off my lawn." Yeah, F you. 😀 1 1 Quote
Gugny Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 10 minutes ago, Nextmanup said: Oh boy, cell phone birthday! Rot in hell, mobile phones! Cell phone culture is a part of the collapse of human civilization as we know it. In a few years, psychiatrists will discuss a new disorder centered around the compulsive and obsessive interaction with a small computer screen you can take anywhere with you in the world--you know, your cell phone. I walk at the beach every day and see endless packs of teenagers sitting on their blankets, in silence, no interaction among them, with the gorgeous world around them totally cut off, and they all have their faces buried in their little 3" phone screens....for hours! I guess that virtual world is better than a gorgeous real beach. This is a disorder and will be identified as such soon; I can't believe it hasn't been done already. The thing is you know that NOTHING they are doing with that phone is important...and yet it remains an addictive obsession. It's odd and harmful to society. It took me a LONG time go finally get a flip phone, which is I leave in a drawer and use as sparingly as possible. You expect me to take that with me when I go for a nice ride or a walk at the beach? And you expect to get a hold of me on the spur of the moment to suit your convenience? Are you insane? The last thing in the world I would take with me on a nice drive to the beach would be a telephone, or even a mobile computer. Who the hell needs it? If I get a flat tire, I'll fix it; my car has a spare and I know how to fix it. If the engine blows up, I'll walk somewhere, borrow the phone, and call for help. 52 years old now, and haven't ever had to do that, I'll probably get by a few more years.. Rant over! I'm sure young kids are laughing their heads off..."Get off my lawn." Yeah, F you. 😀 I'm also 52 and totally thought "get off my lawn," after reading that. 1 1 1 Quote
WotAGuy Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 I had no idea the number of teenagers and adults who send nude photos of themselves via cell phone until I read through Reddit’s sextortion sub. Man, people are dumb. Quote
Augie Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said: Few are aware the second cellular call was from an automated message saying that the judicial authorities in the recipient's area had identified the phone and social security number as being involved in drug trafficking and/or tax evasion. Press 2 to speak to an agent. And I was so sure it was going to be about my car warranty! 1 Quote
WhoTom Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Fleezoid said: I'd love to go back to pay phones. That way people can't treat me like I'm "on-call" 24/7. You know that answering the phone is optional, right? Quote
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 31 minutes ago, Augie said: And I was so sure it was going to be about my car warranty! Land lines were always answered in my home, or at least monitored by an answering machine. I rarely answer my cell phone, even if it seems to be a local number. 🤨 1 Quote
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 3, 2023 Author Posted April 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Fleezoid said: I'd love to go back to pay phones. That way people can't treat me like I'm "on-call" 24/7. "We" (the previous generations) warned us (gonna say us, but I listened). 😉😜 1 hour ago, Nextmanup said: Oh boy, cell phone birthday! Rot in hell, mobile phones! Cell phone culture is a part of the collapse of human civilization as we know it. In a few years, psychiatrists will discuss a new disorder centered around the compulsive and obsessive interaction with a small computer screen you can take anywhere with you in the world--you know, your cell phone. I walk at the beach every day and see endless packs of teenagers sitting on their blankets, in silence, no interaction among them, with the gorgeous world around them totally cut off, and they all have their faces buried in their little 3" phone screens....for hours! I guess that virtual world is better than a gorgeous real beach. This is a disorder and will be identified as such soon; I can't believe it hasn't been done already. The thing is you know that NOTHING they are doing with that phone is important...and yet it remains an addictive obsession. It's odd and harmful to society. It took me a LONG time go finally get a flip phone, which is I leave in a drawer and use as sparingly as possible. You expect me to take that with me when I go for a nice ride or a walk at the beach? And you expect to get a hold of me on the spur of the moment to suit your convenience? Are you insane? The last thing in the world I would take with me on a nice drive to the beach would be a telephone, or even a mobile computer. Who the hell needs it? If I get a flat tire, I'll fix it; my car has a spare and I know how to fix it. If the engine blows up, I'll walk somewhere, borrow the phone, and call for help. 52 years old now, and haven't ever had to do that, I'll probably get by a few more years.. Rant over! I'm sure young kids are laughing their heads off..."Get off my lawn." Yeah, F you. 😀 😆... You shut your mouth... While I hack away on that blasted thing! Quote
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 3, 2023 Author Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) I don't know... It is kinda important. Literally everything I do is on a cellphone. Personal, banking, bills, calendar. Absolutely no paper or mail...Etc... Only time I use a PC is at work and at tax time. I probably could do my taxes on the phone. It really has saved clutter and paper... If I get something in mail, I can take a picture of it and deal with it later. I used to have a shoebox full of bills, stamps, etc... Edited April 3, 2023 by ExiledInIllinois Quote
Fleezoid Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 37 minutes ago, WhoTom said: You know that answering the phone is optional, right? Of course. But I can't control the reaction when I don't answer. Quote
The Jokeman Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Gugny said: I'm also 52 and totally thought "get off my lawn," after reading that. Get with the time it's now "get off my lan" yet I'm a young 45 soon to be 46. Edited April 3, 2023 by The Jokeman 1 Quote
Just Jack Posted April 11, 2023 Posted April 11, 2023 (edited) My first experience with a cell phone was using my uncles car phone in the mid 1980's. My first cell phone I owned was a bag phone, in the early 1990's. Good old analog phone, pumping out 3W signal strength. It was this particular model actually... Radio-Shack-1992-OCR-Page-0086.pdf (worldradiohistory.com) Edited April 11, 2023 by Just Jack 1 Quote
Augie Posted April 11, 2023 Posted April 11, 2023 8 minutes ago, Just Jack said: My first experience with a cell phone was using my uncles car phone in the mid 1980's. My first cell phone I owned was a bag phone, in the early 1990's. Good old analog phone, pumping out 3W signal strength. It was this particular model actually... Radio-Shack-1992-OCR-Page-0086.pdf (worldradiohistory.com) Was your uncle Banacek? Quote
Just Jack Posted April 11, 2023 Posted April 11, 2023 11 minutes ago, Augie said: Was your uncle Banacek? No, he was Gene (RIP) Quote
Augie Posted April 11, 2023 Posted April 11, 2023 4 minutes ago, Just Jack said: No, he was Gene (RIP) RIP Gene. 🙏 Quote
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 11, 2023 Author Posted April 11, 2023 9 hours ago, Just Jack said: My first experience with a cell phone was using my uncles car phone in the mid 1980's. My first cell phone I owned was a bag phone, in the early 1990's. Good old analog phone, pumping out 3W signal strength. It was this particular model actually... Radio-Shack-1992-OCR-Page-0086.pdf (worldradiohistory.com) That's about right. $349.95 is roughly $750 in 2023 dollars. What does an average smartphone today cost? That... OR if not a lot more! Quote
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