

The Phone Call Is Dead - bwaldorf
http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/13/alexia-phone-home/

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fliph
Other 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.

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ry0ohki
The 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.

~~~
auxbuss
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.

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MoreMoschops
Such nonsense. Horrifically US-centric in dealing with a global technology,
and ignoring that tone of voice carries so much information in a conversation
that simply cannot be expressed well in the written word (despite the heroic
attempts of some people to stick smiley faces everywhere).

~~~
tomjen3
A skype call can give the same information but you can send a message first,
asking if the recipient has time.

~~~
MoreMoschops
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 technology to
repair and maintain.

In some parts, mobile phones (AKA cellular phones, AKA handy phones) are
leapfrogging landlines because they require even less physical hardware and
maintenance - it's not the case that everyone has one; rather, someone has one
and sells use of it. People use it to make voice calls.

~~~
tomjen3
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.

~~~
MoreMoschops
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.

~~~
tomjen3
Sure, but on the other hand they are so far behind us that the though of rural
Africa developing high tech is laughable.

~~~
techbio
[http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/african-student-
tran...](http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/african-student-transforms-
tv-parts-into-smart-robot.php)

Note: Lome is the capital of Togo, not rural or isolated.

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jacquesm
The 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.

~~~
Vivtek
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're doing voice,
you're restricted to talking to only _one person at a time_.

Although my 11-year-old tends to do confcalls (one memorable night at Cub
Scouts he was confcalling with friends in St. Louis and Puerto Rico... the
world is so strange sometimes); I think at his age text input is just too
slow.

I don't like articles of the form "The <X> Is Dead" because they're always
hyperbole - voice is still the highest-bandwidth information transfer beyond
actually being face to face, and that isn't going to change for a long time.
Like other communication channels, it's merely being augmented by others, but
not replaced.

~~~
pyre

      > voice is still the highest-bandwidth information transfer
      > beyond actually being face to face
    

Unless you're including 'video calls' in 'being face to face,' I would put
those at the highest-bandwidth information transfer.

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JoeAltmaier
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.

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Mithrandir
Actually, nothing ever dies. It's just remade in another format.

However, that doesn't mean it's any good.

