Why Do People Still Text
-
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
So is that more a problem of you don't trust SMSing or email enough, so you pay to ensure you are notified by as many options as possible?
Because they both get traffic all day. If everything went to email AND SMS was exclusively for notifying me that an emergency email had arrived, that would be all I needed.
I'm sorry, what both get traffic all day? SMS and email? but you just got through telling me you don't get 50 a day that are non emergent, so you get 49? so that's to much cruf to trust that the beeping is for an emergent issue?
There as to be a number of non emergent SMSs you can get mixed in with your emergent ones where it wouldn't be worth the effort of them not being there.50 during a normal 9 hour work day (8-5) would be an average of one ever 11 mins... OK thinking you are getting a critical SMS every 11 mins when lets assume you are only really getting one every 90 mins, Ok that's to much. But if you manged to get the SMS's down to two to one, or one non emergent message every 45 mins or so.. we probably wouldn't be having this discussion.
-
If you are already using pager duty why can't you just move all urgent things to that and use SMS for short messages the get something that would otherwise be a pointless call.
-
Good timing on this thread. Someone that I know in Ohio attempted to text me twice on Monday night. The texts sent and went through on their end, never arrived on my end. Two days later they have no indication that anything failed, on my end there is no indication of a message having ever been sent at all. We have texts both before and after in the same conversation, but on there end there are more messages.
While email can have delivery problems, I've never seen it fail "mid conversation" with no indication on either end that something is wrong. This is a case where the failure is completely, from what I can tell, with the carriers.
-
As if to support my concerns, for the first time ever, my iPhone went into salt water and has been completely dead for two days and I will have no means of getting a replacement for two weeks. Anyone relying on texting me or something similar to texting that relies on communicating "to my device" rather than "to a person" (texting, What's App, Kik, etc.) have no way to know why I am not responding and cannot reach me nor I them. Thankfully I'm very opposed to texting and generally avoid this stuff so nearly anyone reaching me that way has an alternative method (Skype, email, Facebook, etc.) But it is times like this, when you are traveling, completely lose a phone, etc. where reaching people is often most critical when these technologies that are focused on the device rather than the person are most vulnerable.
-
Two weeks? You can't get a phone overnighted from the US or at least international priority mail? Heck I would think Danielle could go to a T-mobile store in the US, buy you a phone and send it to you faster than that.
-
@Dashrender said:
Two weeks? You can't get a phone overnighted from the US or at least international priority mail? Heck I would think Danielle could go to a T-mobile store in the US, buy you a phone and send it to you faster than that.
Nope. There is no reliable way to get things shipped to another country like that when you don't have a long standing address with your name on it and good knowledge of how the delivery works. We've tried that places before and it is a disaster. Two weeks is not enough time to do that reliably.
Danielle can have a new phone, for free, later today. Or an AppleStore could do it on the spot. But neither can get it to me in Rio Hato, Panama.
-
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
Two weeks? You can't get a phone overnighted from the US or at least international priority mail? Heck I would think Danielle could go to a T-mobile store in the US, buy you a phone and send it to you faster than that.
Nope. There is no reliable way to get things shipped to another country like that when you don't have a long standing address with your name on it and good knowledge of how the delivery works. We've tried that places before and it is a disaster. Two weeks is not enough time to do that reliably.
Danielle can have a new phone, for free, later today. Or an AppleStore could do it on the spot. But neither can get it to me in Rio Hato, Panama.
That just surprises me that you can't get it sent to a major hotel chain and trust that it will arrive with international priority fast shipping.
-
@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
Two weeks? You can't get a phone overnighted from the US or at least international priority mail? Heck I would think Danielle could go to a T-mobile store in the US, buy you a phone and send it to you faster than that.
Nope. There is no reliable way to get things shipped to another country like that when you don't have a long standing address with your name on it and good knowledge of how the delivery works. We've tried that places before and it is a disaster. Two weeks is not enough time to do that reliably.
Danielle can have a new phone, for free, later today. Or an AppleStore could do it on the spot. But neither can get it to me in Rio Hato, Panama.
That just surprises me that you can't get it sent to a major hotel chain and trust that it will arrive with international priority fast shipping.
Well not being in a hotel makes that that much harder. This is a condo way out in the country. Really, check Rio Hato on a map. Seriously remote. Nearest city is two hours on a good day, four hours in traffic.
-
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
Two weeks? You can't get a phone overnighted from the US or at least international priority mail? Heck I would think Danielle could go to a T-mobile store in the US, buy you a phone and send it to you faster than that.
Nope. There is no reliable way to get things shipped to another country like that when you don't have a long standing address with your name on it and good knowledge of how the delivery works. We've tried that places before and it is a disaster. Two weeks is not enough time to do that reliably.
Danielle can have a new phone, for free, later today. Or an AppleStore could do it on the spot. But neither can get it to me in Rio Hato, Panama.
That just surprises me that you can't get it sent to a major hotel chain and trust that it will arrive with international priority fast shipping.
Well not being in a hotel makes that that much harder. This is a condo way out in the country. Really, check Rio Hato on a map. Seriously remote. Nearest city is two hours on a good day, four hours in traffic.
Ok that explains a lot - and I do realize as long as you have decent internet connectivity, you are trying to stay away from the main population centers (at least I think you are).
-
This time was not a plan of any sort, it was just a deal. @Dominica found a place that she liked the looks of and it was cheap so we jumped on it. In reality, we should have been further west for some things or just headed in to PC. Being in Rio Hato is a pretty useless location.
-
The phone will be waiting for him when he gets back. Should be in my hands tomorrow.
-
It is going to be waiting for me in Texas, I have to get out of one airport, go get it, get it working, run to the next airport, fly to Albany.
One day Panama City -> Mexico City -> Houston North.... drive across the metro area... Houston South -> Albany.... drive to Lake George.
-
Do you use SIM cards in the US or is it something different? Because I'd just put the SIM into a spare phone and get my texts, assuming the SIM hasn't been damaged. I'm not sure how indestructible they are.
-
@Carnival-Boy said:
Do you use SIM cards in the US or is it something different?
I do because I'm not in the US. But by and large, it's hit and miss. Verizon is by far the biggest US carrier and they do not have GSM or SIM cards. The next two biggest carriers, AT&T and TMobile, are GSM and do use SIMs. Smaller carriers are more or less random.
-
@Carnival-Boy said:
Because I'd just put the SIM into a spare phone and get my texts, assuming the SIM hasn't been damaged. I'm not sure how indestructible they are.
That might work. I'd need to find a spare phone somewhere. Not as easy as it sounds when you don't have a car and the nearest store is a thirty minute drive away
-
@scottalanmiller said:
@Carnival-Boy said:
Do you use SIM cards in the US or is it something different?
I do because I'm not in the US. But by and large, it's hit and miss. Verizon is by far the biggest US carrier and they do not have GSM or SIM cards. The next two biggest carriers, AT&T and TMobile, are GSM and do use SIMs. Smaller carriers are more or less random.
Verizon has been using micro-SIM cards for their 4G access.
-
@Carnival-Boy said:
Do you use SIM cards in the US or is it something different? Because I'd just put the SIM into a spare phone and get my texts, assuming the SIM hasn't been damaged. I'm not sure how indestructible they are.
I took this whole idea for granted - assuming there was a reason that Scott hadn't tried it.
-
@Dashrender said:
I took this whole idea for granted - assuming there was a reason that Scott hadn't tried it.
I'm still not used to having a SIM card. If you ask me, I know it is there. But after more than two decades on Verizon, the ability to "get another phone" does not occur to me.
-
@coliver said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Carnival-Boy said:
Do you use SIM cards in the US or is it something different?
I do because I'm not in the US. But by and large, it's hit and miss. Verizon is by far the biggest US carrier and they do not have GSM or SIM cards. The next two biggest carriers, AT&T and TMobile, are GSM and do use SIMs. Smaller carriers are more or less random.
Verizon has been using micro-SIM cards for their 4G access.
Yeah, but that doesn't solve the texting or calling problem. - well it sorta fixes the calling problem because he can use VOIP. and might even be able to get T-mobile to forward his calls to his VOIP number.
-
@Dashrender said:
@coliver said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Carnival-Boy said:
Do you use SIM cards in the US or is it something different?
I do because I'm not in the US. But by and large, it's hit and miss. Verizon is by far the biggest US carrier and they do not have GSM or SIM cards. The next two biggest carriers, AT&T and TMobile, are GSM and do use SIMs. Smaller carriers are more or less random.
Verizon has been using micro-SIM cards for their 4G access.
Yeah, but that doesn't solve the texting or calling problem. - well it sorta fixes the calling problem because he can use VOIP. and might even be able to get T-mobile to forward his calls to his VOIP number.
Well.... they still have crazy silly requirements with the micro-SIMs. From what I've seen they don't act or respond anything like the GSM or international SIMs that other companies use.
