May 16, 2004

Conundrum

I've been attempting to draw some sort of functional dividing line to separate my "online" from "offline" lives as I prepare to go offline. I earlier decided that I couldn't avoid using computers completely, if I wanted to be technical about it--if I was going to draw the line at microchips in general, I couldn't even drive (let alone use the microwave or an ATM, talk on the phone, or watch movies on DVD); I'd have to become a hermit. This wasn't a good solution, because the point of the whole experiment was to see how going offline affected my everyday life, and I'm not really a hermit (although I sometimes aspire to that job classification). So here's my conundrum. Can I use my cellphone? I have a Sony-Ericsson T616 that, among other things, runs Java. Now I don't use many of the networked features possible with the phone. I haven't activated text or multimedia messaging, and the Java-based games that come standard with the phone are pretty dull (Q-Bert and Snakes, and I haven't downloaded any others). It has Bluetooth, but if I'm not going to use a standard computer, that's pointless. I'm leaning towards using it, given the overall goals of the experiment. But it's a complicated decision. Posted by johndan at May 16, 2004 10:29 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I say (and mine is the only vote that counts, right?) that you must continue using your cell phone. YOU might like the degree of removal afforded by giving up the cell phone but YOUR family won't like it.

Posted by: The Wife at May 17, 2004 12:31 PM

I think that the cell phone is fine as long as you only use it for voice communication. Your family will appreciate it and you won't have to dig for loose change.

Posted by: dr. b. at May 17, 2004 11:29 PM
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