"This must be some strange usage of the word 'safe'...

[serai]

...with which I'm not familiar." - Arthur Dent, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy


For all of you who go around talking into those little Star-Trek-style communicators, an interesting link:

For $110, anyone can buy the record of your outgoing calls.


For double that, they can get your incoming calls, as well.

Feel safe now?


I knew there'd be more reasons not to have a cell phone. Thank the gods I never fell for that "convenience" crap. You want to get in touch with me? You'll have to have a little patience.

Comments

[slipperieslope.livejournal.com]

Holy hell! That is disturbing.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Yep. Disturbing, but not particularly surprising, to me at least.

The other thing that cell phone users either don't know or deliberately ignore is the fact that you're not using a phone. You're using a jumped-up version of a walkie-talkie, a radio transmitter. Anybody with the right receiver tuned to the right frequency can eavesdrop on your calls. Not exactly what I'd call "secure".

Nope, no way I'm getting one of those.

[ladysunrope.livejournal.com]

The longest conversation I've ever had on a cell phone is under a minute. Nothing to do with security , more to do with the price of calls here.

Nothing that comes out of the US surprises me anymore -I'm just waiting for the nations reaction 'enough is enough'. Tell me, it will happen won't it??? *said hopefuly*

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Oh hell no. The one thing Americans worship more than anything else is convenience. If it means less effort, the populace will give up practically anything to get it. It's pathetic how eagerly people will jump on the most spine-chilling bandwagons just because they think it'll make something easier. The first time I heard about cell phones, I thought, "But isn't it just a radio? And doesn't that mean anybody can listen in?" And couldn't imagine why anyone would want one.

Besides which, I really detest the idea that everybody should be available to everybody, every minute of the day. If someone wants to talk to me and I'm out, they can leave a message on my machine. If that's too much effort for them, then I guess they won't be talking to me. To be honest, I've considered even getting rid of the machine. People got along for quite a long time without them, after all.

[lilithlotr.livejournal.com]

You think it's that much harder for them to get landline records? I don't.

Haven't used my landline for anything but DSL in 4 years and I don't intend to start - urgent calls (and I only accept urgent calls - I don't chat on the phone) need to reach me wherever I am, which is almost never near my home phone. And of course my employer tracks incoming and outgoing calls to all extensions as a matter of course.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but it's not as easy to listen in on landlines, is it? Like I said above, cell phones are basically jumped-up walkie-talkies. No thanks.

[lilithlotr.livejournal.com]

I don't say anything on the phone that people can't overhear, so I guess that part doesn't matter to me. Given I spend at least 3-4 hours a day in transit and absolutely have to be reachable AND able to reach other people if I'm connecting for rides or have urgent projects, there really isn't any choice.

I talk on the phone about 10 minutes a week, and that's usually to ask if something is open/available or to report where I am or will be, which is probably why this isn't an issue for me.