Pen-Elayne on the Web

Tick Tock, Tech Talk

I lived perfectly well without a cell phone until four years ago. It's still switched off about 95% of the time, I mainly use it to keep in touch with Robin during my commute (at least the above-ground parts of it) or to call out-of-state friends and relatives (and e-mail has mostly supplanted that). We have a plan that gives us 500 minutes a month between our two cell phones and we've never even come close to a third of our allotted limit. A cell phone is, however, something that's become essential for me to have in an emergency (like, for instance, the blackout a couple weeks ago). And mine is just about biting the dust. A few months ago it started reading "Invalid Main Battery." Now it won't acknowledge any fully-charged battery (and we know the batteries are okay because they both work fine in Robin's phone); I can only connect for about a minute before getting the cutting-out signal. So it's either repair (at $60/hour, if they can even fix whatever's wrong) or a new phone. I despise planned obsolesence; when I got this thing in November 2000 (I remember the day because someone swiped my initial cell phone from atop a desk during our office move, and my boss agreed to pay for my new phone 'cause it was his doing that I was the only one in the old building at the time) it was state-of-the-art. Now my carrier doesn't even contract with the company that makes it; the Radio Shack guy I talked to this evening looked at it like it was some kind of antique! But I still like it, it's my little Star Trek communicator, y'know? And if they can't fix it, I'll have to buy a phone that I won't like as much with features I probably don't want for more money than I want to spend in any case. (Yes, I know, sucks to be slightly inconvenienced in the 21st century over something I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford. Unlike bifocals, which would cost me twice as much but which I'm beginning to need desperately, and I keep holding out hope that my company will institute a vision plan so it doesn't have to all come out of my pocket...)