Oh yeah.... roaming...
Remember limited minutes and waiting to talk to people until after 9:00 pm because it was free then?
Ah yes...roaming.
Back during the days when Blackberry, Nokia, and Motorola ruled the world.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The iPhone was born 15 years ago today
- Thread starter Fenway
- Start date
Ah yes...roaming.
Back during the days when Blackberry, Nokia, and Motorola ruled the world.
Bruinaura
Resident Cookie Monster
- Mar 29, 2014
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When I was in middle school in the 80s my friend's dad had one of the very early CD players. First one I had ever seen. I think it was the size of a toaster oven
When I was at my mom's at Christmas I found an actual functioning Discman
Troublesome 85
Proud Girl Dad
Never had ribs in my life. Wifey made some and I been missing out
Started with a "free" bag phone that was remarkably only .25 cents a minute. My cell bill for that first phone was like $800 a month, but that was cool because it came with a 20" wire. I would stay connected with my office and the guys with Motorola radios, base stations wired into the vehicles, in the office with antennas on the roofs. All of those went thru 2 repeater towers. All for another few hundred a month after the initial set up and equipment fees.
along the way, there were cheap little phones, a bunch of them. Then came a flip phone with the wired in base another antenna on the roof and a speakerphone. I was stylin'
I would carry books of customer classified info that I kept locked up in the vehicles. I remember buying a laptop to have customer info loaded on but that could only do so much. So I carried that around in my work vehicles which made me feel so hooked up. Then, I bought a weird universal first-gen GPS that hooked to the laptop and you had to put the antenna up high in the windshield. I felt like Batman. The problem was I had to pull over every 500 feet and wait for the system to calibrate and find 3 satellites or some such crap. That lasted about 3 months. I had heard that the Air Force was working on a GPS system and then I heard that Google was going to start a program where they would "take pictures of every street, house, etc and put it together somehow so that you could look up addresses on the internet. Wow, I told my friends about the Google endeavor, they laughed and laughed and pitied me for being gullible.
But then Nextel had a phone radio combo that did both. WOW! high tech!
There were so many gadgets (Blackberrys etc) a beeper (a couple hundred more bucks a month but oh the convenience) and a bunch of map books (well, those weren't gadgets but they were just another thing to carry onboard). And then a buddy of mine, a guy who used to get excited about anything Mac/Apple bragged to me about his iPhone.
I thought he was deranged as he explained the benefits of the iPhone, said it would do all of this stuff (but even he probably didn't know how the thing would evolve.)
Now, I'm a slave to that phone. Got rid of our wired house phone but now if I ever lose the iPhone or it gets destroyed I'll be lost. Thinking about buying a backup iPhone and copying all of my contacts etc on it. Just.In.Case.
Anyway, these days I wonder what my parents would've thought of the iPhone, after all for years they would never spring for an extra phone in our house, and for an extra $6 a month, one in the kitchen was enough!
along the way, there were cheap little phones, a bunch of them. Then came a flip phone with the wired in base another antenna on the roof and a speakerphone. I was stylin'
I would carry books of customer classified info that I kept locked up in the vehicles. I remember buying a laptop to have customer info loaded on but that could only do so much. So I carried that around in my work vehicles which made me feel so hooked up. Then, I bought a weird universal first-gen GPS that hooked to the laptop and you had to put the antenna up high in the windshield. I felt like Batman. The problem was I had to pull over every 500 feet and wait for the system to calibrate and find 3 satellites or some such crap. That lasted about 3 months. I had heard that the Air Force was working on a GPS system and then I heard that Google was going to start a program where they would "take pictures of every street, house, etc and put it together somehow so that you could look up addresses on the internet. Wow, I told my friends about the Google endeavor, they laughed and laughed and pitied me for being gullible.
But then Nextel had a phone radio combo that did both. WOW! high tech!
There were so many gadgets (Blackberrys etc) a beeper (a couple hundred more bucks a month but oh the convenience) and a bunch of map books (well, those weren't gadgets but they were just another thing to carry onboard). And then a buddy of mine, a guy who used to get excited about anything Mac/Apple bragged to me about his iPhone.
I thought he was deranged as he explained the benefits of the iPhone, said it would do all of this stuff (but even he probably didn't know how the thing would evolve.)
Now, I'm a slave to that phone. Got rid of our wired house phone but now if I ever lose the iPhone or it gets destroyed I'll be lost. Thinking about buying a backup iPhone and copying all of my contacts etc on it. Just.In.Case.
Anyway, these days I wonder what my parents would've thought of the iPhone, after all for years they would never spring for an extra phone in our house, and for an extra $6 a month, one in the kitchen was enough!
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ROAMING was pure evil 
In 2003 I had a fantastic phone called the Sidekick
Does anyone beside Superman miss pay phones?
New England Telephone was brutal after 3 minutes
The iPhone was actually inspired by a colossal failure by Disney called the ESPN Phone.
The story goes that ESPN president George Bodenheimer attended the first Disney board meeting in Orlando, Florida, just after the company had bought Pixar, the innovative animation factory, and spotted Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a hallway. It seemed like a good time to introduce himself. “I am George Bodenheimer,” he said to Jobs. “I run ESPN.” Jobs just looked at him and said nothing other than “Your phone is the dumbest f***ing idea I have ever heard,” then turned and walked away.
In 2003 I had a fantastic phone called the Sidekick
Does anyone beside Superman miss pay phones?
New England Telephone was brutal after 3 minutes
The iPhone was actually inspired by a colossal failure by Disney called the ESPN Phone.
The story goes that ESPN president George Bodenheimer attended the first Disney board meeting in Orlando, Florida, just after the company had bought Pixar, the innovative animation factory, and spotted Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a hallway. It seemed like a good time to introduce himself. “I am George Bodenheimer,” he said to Jobs. “I run ESPN.” Jobs just looked at him and said nothing other than “Your phone is the dumbest f***ing idea I have ever heard,” then turned and walked away.
ROAMING was pure evil
In 2003 I had a fantastic phone called the Sidekick
Does anyone beside Superman miss pay phones?
New England Telephone was brutal after 3 minutes
The iPhone was actually inspired by a colossal failure by Disney called the ESPN Phone.
The story goes that ESPN president George Bodenheimer attended the first Disney board meeting in Orlando, Florida, just after the company had bought Pixar, the innovative animation factory, and spotted Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a hallway. It seemed like a good time to introduce himself. “I am George Bodenheimer,” he said to Jobs. “I run ESPN.” Jobs just looked at him and said nothing other than “Your phone is the dumbest f***ing idea I have ever heard,” then turned and walked away.
The sidekick was a phone I lusted after as a child. It was such a cool looking phone.
Also I barely remember pay phones.
Never usually does. It's usually the best marketed product that makes it.
22Brad Park
Registered User
Bah - I didn't get any birthday recognition here today but the freaking iPhone does.
I try to forget my B days now.
Happy Birthday to you though 
mjhfb
Easier from up here
The smart phone (not sure if I'd call it that, by the way) has been a source of immense frustration and comedic enjoyment for a few years now....My favorite is people in crowded places, texting, face timing and checking some bullshit social media site and being a general obstruction to those of us who have our heads out of our asses and have places to go.....
This never gets old.
This never gets old.
Happy Birthday Blessings!!!!Bah - I didn't get any birthday recognition here today but the freaking iPhone does.
Android here....I sore when I got my first smartphone I wouldn't get attached to it ..that lasted about half a day. Now that you have to have it for tickets it's almost a necessity.
Right now I'm listening to the game on my main phone and reading the board on my old phone that I just use for internet... technology - ain't it grand!!!!
Right now I'm listening to the game on my main phone and reading the board on my old phone that I just use for internet... technology - ain't it grand!!!!
My problem with Android is every manufactuer tweaks it for their own purpose.
It staggers me at how good cellphone video has become.
The Apple Infrastructure overran everyone,marketing Ipods and Itunes to the youth, got parents caught up in the trend and then the whole 18-49 group. Nokia and Samsung had better phones,but got overrun by the Apple machine.
Not phone related,but an interesting trend among Airpod wearers.Are AirPods Out? Why Cool Kids Are Wearing Wired Headphones
Terrier
Registered User
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Just wondering aloud on a keyboard, but how would Brad Park be able to stickhandle in a phone booth if he played in this day and age? Speaking of phonebooths, when I was young and running wild I used the phonebooth in front of the drug store on Main St. to call around to see where the action is. One afternoon while calling the rounds I encountered a stuffed manila envelope on the stainless steel shelf that was beneath the phone. I walked pell mell around the corner to the PD and left it with the officer on duty. He had me fill out a form, in case it went unclaimed or something to that effect.
A month or so later I stopped by Ma's to see if there were any unclaimed prizes in the fridge. She gave me a stare like Cashman had when he went into the corner hunting for a Hab. "What'd you do now?" she barked "The cop's called here looking for you." I wolfed down a Ham sandwich and a piece of pie thinking it may be my last meal as a free man. When I walked into the PD I thought I was looking at five to ten, but instead found myself looking at an envelope the desk officer handed me. " What's this a ticket?" I asked.
"No, a gentleman dropped this off for turning in his payroll deposit" he replied. Opened it up and a crisp fifty dollar bill was inside.
Brad Park could stickhandle in a phone booth, I parlayed an envelope into a month's rent in one.
A month or so later I stopped by Ma's to see if there were any unclaimed prizes in the fridge. She gave me a stare like Cashman had when he went into the corner hunting for a Hab. "What'd you do now?" she barked "The cop's called here looking for you." I wolfed down a Ham sandwich and a piece of pie thinking it may be my last meal as a free man. When I walked into the PD I thought I was looking at five to ten, but instead found myself looking at an envelope the desk officer handed me. " What's this a ticket?" I asked.
"No, a gentleman dropped this off for turning in his payroll deposit" he replied. Opened it up and a crisp fifty dollar bill was inside.
Brad Park could stickhandle in a phone booth, I parlayed an envelope into a month's rent in one.
VanIsle
Registered User
Believe it or not I had both, still have my Razor, it was so amazing at the time, now looks like a toy.
I loved flipping it open and closed. . . those were the days.
Iphone 3 and others, Blackberry storm, Samsungs, Hauwai, Nexus, too many over the years.
I've never liked the Apple "ecosystem" and prefer the freedom and choice an open source OS like Android provides. Having said that there is no denying the significance the introduction of the iPhone had on the world of technology and while I don't like the Apple software, their hardware is outstanding.
I'll stick with Android though.
I'll stick with Android though.
BigBadBruins7708
Registered User
Ultimate irony there is the hardware people love the most about an iPhone are made by Samsung...the screen and the camera
A few years ago I was getting gas in Towson MD and saw a payphone in the parking lot. I joked with my sister about it, then wondered if it still worked. I went up with some quarters and right after I put one in, another customer, who was a young kid with a civic ft. a fart can ran up saying "are you in trouble man? Do you need to borrow my cell phone?"
Troublesome 85
Proud Girl Dad
Damn think I got covid. Puking since 5am today. Cant sleep(no weed my sleep aid and lots on my mind) and some other symptoms. Looks like powerade, madden and rest next few days.
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