QotD: Devices
Posted January 7th, 2005 @ 01:24pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Question: If you could get rid of one "device" in your life, what would it be and why?
My Answer: I'd ditch my… alarm clock. My computer's in another room, so setting alarms on it is impractical. The whole process of setting an alarm - all twelve seconds of it - is silly. I have a dual-alarm clock, too. It'd be nifty if someone could invent an alarm clock that wirelessly grabbed my iCal calendar or something.
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Posted 07 Jan 2005 at 1:48pm #
I just have my iPod mini wake me up now... custom music, easy to set up the time, and no stupid issues with the battery running out either. 🙂
Posted 07 Jan 2005 at 1:56pm #
I use my bluetooth cellphone as an alarm clock since I can sync the iCal events to it. My wife uses the alarm clock when she needs to wake up, I just keep my cell phone on my end table. Set the alarm to whenever I need to wake up -- yet if an ical event pops up it will also generate the alarm tones. I don't know how I would manage without bluetooth syncing and iCal.
Posted 07 Jan 2005 at 10:24pm #
My phone line. I never use it; people always call me on the cell phone anyway, and the only people I call on the cell phone on a regular basis are my parents, if I'm not at home. When at home I use Skype instead.
I've been meaning to cancel it for several months now.
Posted 08 Jan 2005 at 3:58am #
Skype is nice, but I prefer Vonage. It is nice to have a phone number for my laptop that anyone on a land line can call me at. Attach that to bluetooth headset and you're golden for mobility even without a cellphone (so long as you have inet access where you are). If you have a cellphone you can pair your headset to both the OSX X-ten client and your cellphone -- using the headset you can answer any alternating call between your cell and your laptop's software SIP phone -- Ideal house phone solution too -- $25/month, unlimited local+long distance+Canada in the US. Jack a 5.8Ghz cordless system spread throughout the house into the Vonage line and link your address to 911 and it's a cheap alternative to a land line. Hell, even people that dial from the callbox at the entrance to our gated community goes right across to the Vonage line, and I can let them in via the keypad.
I suppose Skype is one step above iChat for voice communication from the sense there is a better codec and you can use Skype Out to call people on regular telephones -- but my understanding is people on regular telephones can't call you, so that limits the usefulness.
One other niceity about Vonage is for an additional $5 a month you can get an alternate phone number for whatever area code/zone you choose. So if you live in San Diego and wind up spending most of the time talking to a friend in NYC -- instead of being forced to always call him due to unlimited ld, you can get a phone number that is a local call to him, and he can call the local NYC number like you are right across town, even though it's ringing your 3000 miles away.
But I digress -- I think I am fielding more a comment for 'devices you can't live without' 🙂
Posted 08 Jan 2005 at 1:17pm #
Erik chimed in and told me I didn't answer the question 😉 So here we go...
I would have to say PDAs are the one device I can live without. I got one a couple years ago thinking I would use it regularly, and it's just turned out to be something that collects dust. Gestures with a stylus is a horribly inefficient way to write notes. I'd rather have paper and a pen, if I didn't have my powerbook with me, which seems to be a rare occasion these days.
Posted 10 Jan 2005 at 12:43am #
Does Vonage come with voicemail? I would think that it does, but you didn't mention it at all.
My ticket into this commentary: I'd get rid of my house phone line too.. or cable for the TV, but I didn't really know how loose "device" could be.
Posted 10 Jan 2005 at 7:49pm #
I recently (as in just last month) "fired" my landline provider. Got rid of the landline entirely. I've got Primus TalkBroadband (~= Vonage) and Shaw Cable for access. I can even send ol'skool faxes over it.
As for the alarm clock problem, I use X10. Use the computer to set the time for the lights and radio to come on.