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Taking the Plunge: Getting an IPhone
I've been doing a great deal of self-searching lately, trying to understand why I have resisted the current smart phone craze. In doing so, I've found a mosaic of reasons which probably add together to form the basis for my reistance.
Part of it was a point my brother made to Caroline: with my hearing problem, I have a little trouble with phones, particularly small cellphones. But headsets can overcome this, and I'm convinced that, if I look carefully, I can find a headset to meet my needs.
Another factor is the fact that I started using cellphones in the 1990's, the early 1990's, so there's a part of me that is still used to the "you pay a premium for absolutely everything" school of thought. When I got my first cellphone, you got forty free minutes a month, none of this unlimited stuff, no free evenings and weekends, so if you went over and beyond that forty minutes, you paid big-time. I was also on social assistance at the time, translating into a very limited income. My dad insisted that I get a cellphone after a getting-lost experience I had, which I might tell you about sometime.
I also do have some very real concerns about Apple, things I'm seeing and not liking. This flies in the face of most people I talk to, who seem to feel Apple can do absolutely no wrong, ever.
I also get frustrated with a subset of Apple users who not only use their Macs, their IDevices, and so on, but insist on always telling you that they're using it. Why do e-mail recipients care if the message was sent from your IPhone? Why can't Mac users just alk about doing something on their computer, it's always their Mac ... as if using Macs and IDevices somehow makes them superior people. And I just want to state again that I know that not all Mac and IDevice users fit this category, but the ones who do tend to make a lot of noise. When people try to tell me that my choices make me a lesser person, I tend to get defensive and stick to my guns all the more. If I turn into an IBragger, please tell me in no uncertain terms. I also don't want to start using applications that insist on telling the world the street address of everywhere I go, as I see that as a security risk to me and an Intrusion on everyone else who doesn't care that Didar's Grocery is at 110 Adamar Road in Winnipeg, R3T 3M3.
There's also the cost factor. With so many entities vying for my limited financial resources, is it worth shelling out the kind of money needed to make the IPhone a useful purchase?
So, given the above reservations, why have I decided that, when my current contract is up, I want an IPhone? Part of it is an acknowledgement that the IPhone is the way of the future. For how long? I'm not sure. My concerns about Apple still apply. But for now, if I want to be anywhere close to the forefront of technology as a blind computer user, I will have to join the IRevolution. There's simply no way around it. And I must admit that there is an allure to the possibilities that a smart phone opens up.
I'm hearing things like "I had no choice" and "I had to" from some quarters. I did have a choice, I do have a choice. If I were to choose another phone next year that just sends and receives calls, it's not the end of the world, I'll survive just fine. But this is a choice I have made for myself, and I look forward to taking full advantage of it.
Part of it was a point my brother made to Caroline: with my hearing problem, I have a little trouble with phones, particularly small cellphones. But headsets can overcome this, and I'm convinced that, if I look carefully, I can find a headset to meet my needs.
Another factor is the fact that I started using cellphones in the 1990's, the early 1990's, so there's a part of me that is still used to the "you pay a premium for absolutely everything" school of thought. When I got my first cellphone, you got forty free minutes a month, none of this unlimited stuff, no free evenings and weekends, so if you went over and beyond that forty minutes, you paid big-time. I was also on social assistance at the time, translating into a very limited income. My dad insisted that I get a cellphone after a getting-lost experience I had, which I might tell you about sometime.
I also do have some very real concerns about Apple, things I'm seeing and not liking. This flies in the face of most people I talk to, who seem to feel Apple can do absolutely no wrong, ever.
I also get frustrated with a subset of Apple users who not only use their Macs, their IDevices, and so on, but insist on always telling you that they're using it. Why do e-mail recipients care if the message was sent from your IPhone? Why can't Mac users just alk about doing something on their computer, it's always their Mac ... as if using Macs and IDevices somehow makes them superior people. And I just want to state again that I know that not all Mac and IDevice users fit this category, but the ones who do tend to make a lot of noise. When people try to tell me that my choices make me a lesser person, I tend to get defensive and stick to my guns all the more. If I turn into an IBragger, please tell me in no uncertain terms. I also don't want to start using applications that insist on telling the world the street address of everywhere I go, as I see that as a security risk to me and an Intrusion on everyone else who doesn't care that Didar's Grocery is at 110 Adamar Road in Winnipeg, R3T 3M3.
There's also the cost factor. With so many entities vying for my limited financial resources, is it worth shelling out the kind of money needed to make the IPhone a useful purchase?
So, given the above reservations, why have I decided that, when my current contract is up, I want an IPhone? Part of it is an acknowledgement that the IPhone is the way of the future. For how long? I'm not sure. My concerns about Apple still apply. But for now, if I want to be anywhere close to the forefront of technology as a blind computer user, I will have to join the IRevolution. There's simply no way around it. And I must admit that there is an allure to the possibilities that a smart phone opens up.
I'm hearing things like "I had no choice" and "I had to" from some quarters. I did have a choice, I do have a choice. If I were to choose another phone next year that just sends and receives calls, it's not the end of the world, I'll survive just fine. But this is a choice I have made for myself, and I look forward to taking full advantage of it.
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Just so you know, you can change the signature so it doesn't say what you're sending from. I went through a craze where I wanted to show that I was using the Mac or Windows, or whatever, but now I use iMap for one so my emails show up on whatever computer, and I have a very simple signature--my name. You can't tell what I am sending from because it doesn't matter, or at least, I don't think it should.
You're right that the iPhone is at the forefront of technology, at least for now.
no subject
By default, the I Device puts a signature at the bottom of all outgoing messages, that is why you see things like "Sent from my Iphone" or iPad or whatever. many people don't know how to remove it. I leave mine there so people will understand that my emails are short for a reason; I'm not at my computer.
I also use the phrase "my mac" the same way I use the phrase "my braille note" or "my iPod." it's just what they are. My husband calls his computer "My Acer" and I didn't think that was abnormal, but as much of spoken English is over my head, I didn't notice. I also see people use "my Blackberry" and other things like that. I am sure some do it as some kind of elitist thing but many people just use the name for it. When people ask me what kind of computer do I have, I answer "Macbook" because it's a quick way to give a lot of information that 1. I am using a laptop and that 2. it's a Mac.
Anyway, just some thoughts. I don't know if you have a braille display or not, but if you do have a bluetooth display you may find it useful to pair it to your iPhone so you can read texts and emails in braille instead of relying upon speech which can be very fatiguing on your ears.
Good luck!
Having no choice
I'm hearing things like "I had no choice" and "I had to"*snip*
I used the "I had no choice" statement. Let me see if I can explain why.
In 2006 I got a Nokia n75 with MobileSpeak on it. This allowed me to not only make and receive calls, but do things that all sighted phone users have had forever, the ability to see who was calling me, add and delete from my phone's address book, change the phone's settings such as ring tones, vibrate, etc. It also allowed me to text which I thought was a phenomenal thing.
When my beloved n75 began to die in April 2011, I tried to find a phone that would let me stay with MobileSpeak, a program I knew well and loved. But since Symbian and Windows7Mobile had made so many changes, new phones were not accessible with MS and I didn't want to buy a phone that had been manufactured two years previously.
Say what you will, but I believe I had no choice other than to do what I did and choose the iPhone. I didn't say that to be ornery, but it's the truth. I had, and have none. I had to go with the iPhone if I wanted to keep what I had, i.e., the ability to see who was calling me, to change my ring tones, to text. Any other thing I did/do with my phone I figured was gravy.
That said, I don't regret my choice. I've gotten a few apps, some are fun, some are awesome, some are silly. Some I've deleted, some I've gotten just to see what it's all about, can we say 4square? 4s is a lot more than jus tchecking in somewhere. You can have 4s and not check in.
Would I turn back time and make another choice now? No.
But I will always say, and I don't care how much it bothers you or anyone else, that I truly had no choice at the time other than to do what I did, because it's true.
Yeah, I could have made a different choice, get a phone to make and receive calls, but to me, that was going backwards and I was not willing,and am not willing, to do that.
My own thoughts for what they mean.
For years, I was fine with the sending and receiving of calls. But when I thought I needed to, I asked for sighted help deleting the calls. I had nothing to hide, but I felt it was a privacy issue. Whom else do you know that I know of, who asks, Excuse me, would you see whom I'm calling and delete who I told you too? Like [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] I chose Mobile speak. At the time they ran a deal wherein I could get the software for $89 including installation so it spoke out of the box. When I had used it for some time and began texting, I felt renewed I could use the phone as a sighted person does. When I was going to upgrade however, price came into consideration.
I could get another term with Mobile speak, for the eighty bucks, except if I wanted a voice other then Dectalk, I needed to pay 100 dollars more. So now the simple eighty bucks went to nearly two hundred. I could live with Dectalk, however when the opportunity was given, I would've changed the voice. So when the 3GS came out, I decided it was ten dollars more to try out this. I did play with an iPhone in store and admittedly I wasn't sure I could use it. But when my cousin offered to pay for half, I went for it.
Like Shazza I have apps I like, don't like, and there are some I wouldn't spend the exorbitent amount they might want. In future, I will always embrace new technology. I'm sorry to say this, but those who try and stay behind the times, now can't do that anymore. I'm also not saying you're behind the times, I wanted to make that clear. Your our decision is just that, yours. If you do go with the iPhone, good luck and I, or anyone, will be glad to help.
I hope I've given you something to think about.
Siobhan
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I'll be interested to See...
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