Not-So-Hands-Free
Mobile phones are one of the most defining inventions of our era; they have completely revolutionised the way we communicate and interact forever. They have also given people new and interesting ways to make fools out of themselves.
I was leaving the Law Library a couple of days ago in order to stretch my legs and get some exercise from having studied all morning, and in the foyer I saw someone talking on their mobile phone. But instead of using the handset, they were using the hands-free headset. Now I don’t have any large issue with using hands-free per se, but this person was holding the microphone up to their mouths so they could be heard. Now where’s the point in that?
If you’re using hands-free, the general assumption is that you are doing something else with your hands. You could be carrying something, writing, or gesturing wildly, the end result is that you don’t want to use your hands. I do realise that some mobile phone manufacturers leave a little to be desired in their design and manufacture of hands-free headsets, but one expects that they meet the basic functionality requirement of allowing you to place the microphone somewhere near your mouth and talk without holding anything. And if they don’t work, then why the hell use them? It just makes you look like a right fool when you talk using a hands-free headset, and you’re holding the microphone.
Not to mention the people that put their phone on speaker, and then proceed to hold the phone in their palm. This functionality was invented for a reason people, and it sure as hell wasn’t so that you could share your conversation with the world! It was so you could carry out a conference-esque call, or put your phone down if your hands were busy. Good money has it that the person you’re talking to would rather not have their dulcet tones shared with the world at large unless strictly necessary.
November 17th, 2006 at 9:46 am
Maybe he was just afraid of “mobile-phone radiation” : he didn’t want his communication to necessarily be hands-free, just the handset as far from his brain as possible … ? !
But yep, grabbing the mike seems a bit unnecessary…
November 17th, 2006 at 11:03 am
GeM, don’t get me started on the whole “mobile phone radiation” bizzo, I’ll be here all day ranting about how it’s all silly hype.
November 19th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
I’ll read those links at some point, but for the moment shall restrain myself and all that was fed to me by (real) hippie high school buddies about mobile phone radiation….
I think the holding the microphone thing is a bit intuitive. In the same way that when you do kareoke, or anything where you need to hold a mic, you just KNOW how to hold it. I dont think the object looks obvious, but once you’re handed it, you know just where to put it. I totally agree that the purpose of hands free is bloody well to keep your hands free, but… I can also understand how (if your hands dont need to do anything else) it’d feel weird to not hold something and be talking to someone. So I’m a fence sitter.
Also, I doubt the functionality of the particular device concerned would be optimum. Gem was within 100 meters, right?
November 19th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
Hmmmm… just KNOW how to hold it eh?
BANG
well, well, well… i suppose holding the mic is another way of showing off how very, very important they really think they need to be. I myslef love holding the hands free speaker in the palm of my hand… plus otherwise i simply walk off away from the phone, as many people will probably attest to… damned engineering limitations… why won’t the phone listen to me all the time!!
plus many people cannot actually multitask, and don’t give me crap about women being able to do it, when ppl multitask they do multiple things half arsed, when your a woman, you do everything half arsed, so multitaking it just a way of doing things half right at double speed.
Thanks for the inspiration David Sobey… BANG!!
November 20th, 2006 at 9:41 am
BANG
November 21st, 2006 at 7:49 am
I’m not completely convinced radiation is a serious threat, but then again, my mobile phone addiction may be influencing my stand on this one.
So much to learn about women, so little time Denny. Try again.
Hehe nope I wasn’t anywhere near the malfunctioning handset, must be my all-conquering luck that got to it without my knowledge this time around…