A sales message from Down Under
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Ridcully May 02, 2012 7:48 AM EDT |
Sure, it is only one outlet and it is only a large country town, however today as usual, I poked my nose into the biggest outlet for smart phones in that country town - and the outlet is run by the largest internet/telephones/IT company in Australia - no names, no courts martial. Nevertheless, it gives a fair indication of where trends are settling.......My salesman source was queried on what the "kids/consumers" were buying. His response was simple: sales are more or less evens on Apple and Android.......Windows based smart phones are no longer stocked....The kids don't want them and they don't sell anyhow; he admitted quite happily that he could not remember the last time he actually sold a smartphone based on Windows, but he did say that his overall impression of the Windows version was that they were over complex and hard to handle. So there we are. PS...I know I am getting on in years, but it staggered me to watch this youngster with a pad in one hand, a smart phone in the other and using both interactively at times to get his work and deals done......I think I had better retire to my cave and quietly moulder away while crying on my laptop. Envious ? Yeah.....sorta.......but I'd love to be 20 again so I had some more time to see where IT is going in the next 50 years. |
| nikkels May 02, 2012 8:34 AM EDT |
PS..I think I had better retire to my cave and quietly moulder away while crying on my laptop. Envious ? Yeah.....sorta.......but I'd love to be 20 again so I had some more time to see where IT is going in the next 50 years. Same here. When I see those kids punching away faster than I can think, I wonder what has happened with my brain cells |
| Bob_Robertson May 02, 2012 9:25 AM EDT |
I must say that being involved with the change of networks from proprietary to "The Internet" was a wonderful experience I'd not want to have missed, as I would if I were 20 again now. However, if you're talking about physical regeneration to be biologically 20 again without losing knowledge and memory, I'm right there with you. |
| jdixon May 02, 2012 9:41 AM EDT |
> However, if you're talking about physical regeneration to be biologically 20 again without losing knowledge and memory, I'm right there with you. I think I'd shoot for about 35 rather than 20. |
| montezuma May 02, 2012 11:43 AM EDT |
Ridcully, On the other hand there was a recent sobering incident here in NYC. A girl texting on her iphone disappeared down a large manhole and had to be taken to the ER (Yank speak for hospital). I am amazed at how networked some young people are and I am skeptical about it. You also need to free your mind from detail at times to see the big picture. |
| Ridcully May 02, 2012 11:07 PM EDT |
@montezuma.....Yes indeed. There have been similar things (not as nasty) that have happened in Australia. I also worry about other things including repetitive strain injury which apparently is occurring. But I definitely take your point on the "big picture" - why text when your recipient is over the other side of the room ? And yes, I have seen it done - what this is doing to conversational gifts I am not sure, but it can't be good. On the other hand, in the world of IT progress, I'm the sort of person who has only just bravely decided to go for a cordless mouse.....They are incredibly direct and sensitive; and I gave my wife one as well and she loves it. Guess I am an old 'stick in the mud'. |
| gus3 May 02, 2012 11:16 PM EDT |
Quoting:why text when your recipient is over the other side of the room ?I called my parents' land line today, from their own back yard. But I didn't want to disturb the butterfly that had decided to rest on my shirt. |
| Ridcully May 03, 2012 3:56 AM EDT |
@gus3.....that is sooooooo unfair. I'd probably do the same. :-) .....but do you go to a dance hall or a restaurant and text to the other side of the room while you are dining ? |
| gus3 May 03, 2012 6:54 AM EDT |
I've been known to text my brother, when he was sitting next to me. At the time, it was the only way we could have a "private" conversation. And, uh, what is this "dance" you speak of? I know what a "hall" is... |
| tracyanne May 03, 2012 7:12 AM EDT |
I don't text Disabled sms on my phone cos i don't like the spam |
| Ridcully May 03, 2012 8:00 AM EDT |
You know something Gus3 ?....If ever there was a priceless example of how two English speaking/reading people can be caught by something as trite as the term "dancehall" because of colloquial differences, this is the one. Okay.....It's an old bushie term in Australia (sorry, "bushie" is itself a slang word for somebody who has lived in the country all their lives and sort of led a hard, active but happy life with horses, livestock, etc. etc. etc.....that'll do the trick)....A dancehall is a large hall, usually made of corrugated iron and on Saturday nights, that is where the locals congregated with a band to participate in old-time dancing and many beers and a terrific supper table towards the end. It's usually where youngsters met their future wife, or practiced anyhow. Today, the term can be any suitable largish room with a band and a space to gyrate. |
| TxtEdMacs May 03, 2012 8:40 AM EDT |
Don't mean to Ridicule you ... really ... I think or maybe not. In any case, I suggest your immediate placing a time slot with an orthopedist to have the leg that the August Gus III has been pulling brought back to its more normal length. However, if the said orthopedist suggests amputation, I advise promptly getting second or third opinions. Once you find a trustworthy individual in this line of work, have him/her recommend a physical therapist able to return you legs to matching lengths or nearly so depending upon the severity of your experience. In the States, the term dance hall is well understood, though their physical traits may differ from those you described. The joke was perhaps predicated upon some (do they really exist?) Protestant sects that frown on dancing particularly with the opposite sex, thus robbing the urge. Or early geek hood could engender the same result. In the case of August Gus, I would guess that latter as the cause. Trying to be helpful, YBT |
| Ridcully May 03, 2012 6:12 PM EDT |
Thankyou TxtEdMacs...point taken most deviously and with pleasure. I could almost say, the prosecution rests. I don't mind the leg-pull if that is what Gus3 intended (now if it was from you - definitely intended), but there are occasions where even the most simple terms do have different meanings, depending upon where you are, who says them and most importantly, *how* they say them. A classic word in Australian is the word "ba...st...rd" (put in the "a's" for yourself) which can have, depending on context, a meaning of deep friendship or immense anger against the person to whom it is uttered. Even simple terms can be mangled in translation from Aust-English to USA-English. One classic case was a bush-minister of ours who told us the story of one of his own brother ministers who did a small tour in the USA. He was amazed at the audience shock when he said in an address to the congregation in a small American town that: "It was normal for his Australian flock to see the visiting minster go outback in a pair of shorts." He meant of course that when he was travelling through the vast reaches of Australia (known as the "outback") he didn't travel in long trousers - it was just too hot. However his audience interpreted it as: "It was normal for his flock to see the visiting minister go to the outside toilet in a pair of underpants." I believe he dined out on that story a lot. Hmmmm.....I seem to have strayed from the topic.......again ! |
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