Conservative electronics

[jasong]

Everybody knows about conservative politics, people simply wanting things to stay the same and not change. But what about conservative electronics?

What about a version of Windows 7 that looks and acts like XP? What about cellphones that JUST make phone calls? I've actually seen that last part, the ads tend to show up in magazines that are either read by older people or those who are expected to influence older people, like I've seen some ads in Discover magazine, with the huge buttons and a fairly cheap looking calling plan.

Lastly(there's more, but I'm ending this particular post here) how about installation programs that don't try to trick you with the checkboxes? Those things are infuriating when you fall for them, I have no idea why they think potentially alienating potential customers is a good idea.

[cheesehead]

Just give the electrons sufficient private financial incentive.

[TheMawn]

I'll bite.

If there is a market for devices that do less, as opposed to the many that are trying to always do more, then they will sell. I'm surprised to never have personally seen a cell phone that does not take phone calls.

I don't know where your thing about the checkboxes game from though.

[chappy]

Originally Posted by TheMawn

If there is a market for devices that do less, as opposed to the many that are trying to always do more, then they will sell. I'm surprised to never have personally seen a cell phone that does not take phone calls.

The iPod Touch.

[LaurV]

Originally Posted by chappy

The iPod Touch.

Do you mean that you can make phone calls with it? (the request was for a cell phone that can make phone calls, but it cannot take phone calls)

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by LaurV

Do you mean that you can make phone calls with it? (the request was for a cell phone that can make phone calls, but it cannot take phone calls)

Hey, try living in Barbados... This "functionality" is unfortunately very frequently provided....

[TheMawn]

What I actually meant was a cell-phone like device which sends (and accepts, too, since the semantics police are on the fugging prowl tonight) texts but does not take (or make) phone calls.

[LaurV]

Ok, ok...
Now you talk about a pager... (I however don't know if the pagers were able to send messages too, or only to receive, I never had one in my hands).
(and sorry for take/make confusion, I am not native speaker and for me these things have different semantic, some other people here use to make fun of me because of this reason, see my title above the avatar, which title I did not choose, it was assigned to me forcibly, but I am trying to be proud of it )

[NBtarheel_33]

Originally Posted by jasong

What about a version of Windows 7 that looks and acts like XP?

Isn't that called "Classic Mode" or some such thing? I seem to remember that one could make XP resemble Windows 95/98/2000 (e.g. a gray taskbar instead of the "colorful" one).

Originally Posted by jasong

What about cellphones that JUST make phone calls? I've actually seen that last part, the ads tend to show up in magazines that are either read by older people or those who are expected to influence older people, like I've seen some ads in Discover magazine, with the huge buttons and a fairly cheap looking calling plan.

Cf. the Jitterbug. The interesting thing is that there will likely come a time in the next ten or twenty years when such a product will no longer attract interest, as even the oldest consumers will be well-acquainted with smartphones.

Here's a similar idea for an easy-to-use "seniors' computer": the "WOW computer". I imagine that the marketability of this is fading away even faster than that of the Jitterbug.

Originally Posted by jasong

Lastly(there's more, but I'm ending this particular post here) how about installation programs that don't try to trick you with the checkboxes? Those things are infuriating when you fall for them, I have no idea why they think potentially alienating potential customers is a good idea.

In my opinion, the companies responsible for such installers should face criminal charges. The "added value" programs that are installed are often malware that does nothing more than hijack one's computer, rendering it dangerously insecure and essentially unusable without extensive registry-level disinfection. My mother is into extreme couponing, and has downloaded several coupon printers and toolbars. Let's just say it is amazing how quickly eight "free" virus scanners, twelve "free trial" backup programs, and three "free" weather widgets can be installed on, and bring to nearly a complete halt, a brand-new Windows 8 system with 8 GB of RAM. Don't even get me started on the uninstall process, and the excreta left behind in the registry, leading the system to beg for nonexistent startup files on every boot. Criminal charges followed by life imprisonment with full-time employment copying (backwards) pages of Webster's Dictionary longhand with dull pencils, would be too good for the people responsible for those installers!

[NBtarheel_33]

Originally Posted by jasong

What about a version of Windows 7 that looks and acts like XP?

Isn't that called "Classic Mode" or some such thing? I seem to remember that one could make XP resemble Windows 95/98/2000 (e.g. a gray taskbar instead of the "colorful" one).

Originally Posted by jasong

What about cellphones that JUST make phone calls? I've actually seen that last part, the ads tend to show up in magazines that are either read by older people or those who are expected to influence older people, like I've seen some ads in Discover magazine, with the huge buttons and a fairly cheap looking calling plan.

Cf. the Jitterbug. The interesting thing is that there will likely come a time in the next ten or twenty years when such a product will no longer attract interest, as even the oldest consumers will be well-acquainted with smartphones.

Here's a similar idea for an easy-to-use "seniors' computer": the "WOW computer". I imagine that the marketability of this is fading away even faster than that of the Jitterbug.

Originally Posted by jasong

Lastly(there's more, but I'm ending this particular post here) how about installation programs that don't try to trick you with the checkboxes? Those things are infuriating when you fall for them, I have no idea why they think potentially alienating potential customers is a good idea.

In my opinion, the companies responsible for such installers should face criminal charges. The "added value" programs that are installed are often malware that does nothing more than hijack one's computer, rendering it dangerously insecure and essentially unusable without extensive registry-level disinfection. My mother is into extreme couponing, and has downloaded several coupon printers and toolbars. Let's just say it is amazing how quickly eight "free" virus scanners, twelve "free trial" backup programs, and three "free" weather widgets can be installed on, and bring to nearly a complete halt, a brand-new Windows 8 system with 8 GB of RAM. Don't even get me started on the uninstall process, and the excreta left behind in the registry, leading the system to beg for nonexistent startup files on every boot. Criminal charges followed by life imprisonment with full-time employment copying (backwards) pages of Webster's Dictionary longhand with dull pencils, would be too good for the people responsible for those installers!

[Batalov]

Originally Posted by TheMawn

What I actually meant was a cell-phone like device which sends (and accepts, too, since the semantics police are on the fugging prowl tonight) texts but does not take (or make) phone calls.

Originally Posted by NBtarheel_33

In my opinion, the companies responsible for such installers should face criminal charges.

That's right! They are responsible for our brain-dead children!