Voice is getting integrated elsewhere, so perhaps the "dial, ring, answer" model IS going to go away. Witness Sococo. But voice communication can't for all the obvious reasons.
The Phone Call Is Dead
11–18 of 18 posts
Re: The Phone Call Is Dead
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
This also requires a functional computer, a steady power supply for it, and an internet connection reliable enough and fast enough to handle it. In large portions of the globe, this is laughable. A telephone needs a couple of wires and can be powered remotely (those of you who still have basic landlines will recall that they often keep working when the power to your house is out), and is a fantastically simple techno…
But then most of the world hasn't got clean water either, so that is kind of a straw man. In the western world (which is really the only part of the world where we can meaningfully talk about technology) the internet connection is usually fast enough, and smart phones are plentyfull enough that it doesn't matter.
If you want to talk about tech only in the Western world, that's great. Stating that the West "is really the only part of the world where we can meaningfully talk about technology" is just nonsense, though. Technology can be applied everywhere. The laws of physics don't magically stop outside the Western world.
Re: The Phone Call Is Dead
#13The decrease in paid phone calls in the teen segment is likely more than made up for by the amount of time spent on skype and msn.
Based on my data point of one teen in the house: yes, if by "Skype" you mean the IM end of it, and SMS messaging via phone probably compensates for the paid voice calls the phone companies are not getting. Teens don't really do voice much unless SMS and IM bandwidth is too low, like planning when I'm going to drive her around (and even then she'll put in her original request in SMS). I've asked her about it - if you'…
> voice is still the highest-bandwidth information transfer
> beyond actually being face to face
Re: The Phone Call Is Dead
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
A skype call can give the same information but you can send a message first, asking if the recipient has time.
This also requires a functional computer, a steady power supply for it, and an internet connection reliable enough and fast enough to handle it. In large portions of the globe, this is laughable. A telephone needs a couple of wires and can be powered remotely (those of you who still have basic landlines will recall that they often keep working when the power to your house is out), and is a fantastically simple techno…
> they often keep working when the power to your house is out
Re: The Phone Call Is Dead
#15Other things that TechCrunch has declared dead:
* Phone calls
* Computer mice
* The Web
* The physical book
* Apple TV
* Software
* Music DRM
* CDs
I think that AT&T, Microsoft, Facebook, the library in every single city in the US, Apple, and Apple's App store would disagree.
Re: The Phone Call Is Dead
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
But then most of the world hasn't got clean water either, so that is kind of a straw man. In the western world (which is really the only part of the world where we can meaningfully talk about technology) the internet connection is usually fast enough, and smart phones are plentyfull enough that it doesn't matter.
If you want to talk about tech only in the Western world, that's great. Stating that the West "is really the only part of the world where we can meaningfully talk about technology" is just nonsense, though. Technology can be applied everywhere. The laws of physics don't magically stop outside the Western world.
Sure, but on the other hand they are so far behind us that the though of rural Africa developing high tech is laughable.
Re: The Phone Call Is Dead
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you want to talk about tech only in the Western world, that's great. Stating that the West "is really the only part of the world where we can meaningfully talk about technology" is just nonsense, though. Technology can be applied everywhere. The laws of physics don't magically stop outside the Western world.
Sure, but on the other hand they are so far behind us that the though of rural Africa developing high tech is laughable.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/african-student-tran...
Note: Lome is the capital of Togo, not rural or isolated.
Re: The Phone Call Is Dead
#18The introvert nerd in me likes texting more then phone calls for the most part, but it is getting a little ridiculous where people ask questions via text that can't be answered in a sentence: "How did the job interview go?", "How was your date?" Unless you just want a one word answer or don't really care, make a bloody telephone call.
Turn it around. They are making a non-interrupting request for you to tell them something about you; they are showing interest in you. It's for you to decide whether to call or not. They are, in effect, saying, "Call me, I want to know". That's what people who care about you do.