Cell Phones and Coasters

Besides the few given reasons, why do you people need to bring your cell phones and other random items of the sort to amusement/theme parks? Aren't you there to have fun? You shouldn't have to deal with work or other people while you are there. Leave it in the car or at home. Believe me, I've seen my fair share of broken/shreaded/trashed cell phones where I work, and it's not pretty.

And another thing that makes me mad is when people have to talk on their phone while driving. If I ever get hit by someone talking on a cell phone, they better be ready to pay. And if i ever see someone talking on a phone and get in an accident, THEY better be able to call the police/fire department, because I will not feel sorry for them.
*** This post was edited by transfan 3/18/2003 5:23:35 PM ***

Very enlightened view, Transfan. *rolls eyes*

Like RideMan mentioned earlier, I use Bluetooth-enabled phones and headsets combined with VZW Voice Gear so that I never need to divert my eyes from the road. If you're in business, you're going to need to talk while driving-frequently. You just need to make sure that you're doing it responsibly.

As far as "shouldn't have to deal with work" when you're at a park, it's called "real life." I have to deal with work 24 hours a day, as do many small business owners/operators.

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SRM 2003-Look for the guy with my name on his chest

GregLeg said:
The week I was in the UK last summer, my sister ended up in the hospital, and I had no clue until I got home. I'd have LOVED to have been informed.

All we need is for the USA to finish switching to GSM, which is used in just about all of the rest of the world, and then phones can be truly universal.

-R

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http://www.bannister.org/coasters/

Richard, the number one carrier in this country will never, ever, ever switch to GSM. Sorry to disappoint :)

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SRM 2003-Look for the guy with my name on his chest

Richard, I know. AT&T DOES offer GSM here, but the coverage is still pretty spotty. If they offered a GSM-with-analog-fallback phone, I'd be on it in a heartbeat. But they don't, so I'm still with Sprint...

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"I can't believe I just left a nuclear weapon in an elevator." -- Farscape

I cannot believe *anyone* would be with Sprint. Maybe it's just here along the Eastern Seaboard, but people I know from VA to NY all say that the Sprint coverage is garbage. And their customer service is atrorcious. I used to get a kick out of listening to my co-worker argue with Sprint just about every month about some cell-phone related issue.

I've signed on with Cingular. I dont necessarily think they are the *best*, but, with the exception of the subways in DC, they have never left me without a signal.

lata, jeremy
--who has considered switching to Verizon, because they *do* have signal in the Metro tunnels...but doesnt want t new phone number :)

I agree, Jeremy. Sprint consistently is rated the worst carrier in the nation by all independent researchers. They still charge people to call customer service, which is hilarious.

In about a year or so, J, you'll be able to switch carriers without losing your number-actually, you were supposed to have been able to do that in 1996...but we're working on it :)

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SRM 2003-Look for the guy with my name on his chest

i like sprint. so far im the happiest with their service out of all the others. ive had verizon, which wasnt bad eithier, but cingular was a joke. not only would i constantly lose signal, but the phones they have arent the best.

i cant wait till sprint adds the walkie-talkie like feature that nextel has later this year.

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John
Albany Entertainment
http://albany.n3.net
Great Escape Online Guide Coming Soon!

Funny, I've never had a charge when calling customer service (of course, I've only done that maybe 3 times in 4 years). At the time I signed up with Sprint, they were the ONLY carrier offering nationwide calling plans (free long distance, no roaming when in a Sprint area, etc.) for a reasonable price. In my experience, they offer good coverage at a good price, and that's all I want. I'm too damn lazy to switch unless there's a very compelling reason to do so (such as proper GSM coverage)

Oh yeah, and Jeremy -- Sprint works straight through the tunnels around here :)

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"I can't believe I just left a nuclear weapon in an elevator." -- Farscape
*** This post was edited by GregLeg 3/19/2003 11:28:18 AM ***

Wow, the Sprint v. Cingular thing, at least as of a year or so ago, seems to be the exact opposite here in Los Angeles. I have one friend who used Sprint PCS, and out of all of my friends, his cell phone got far better reception than any of the rest of us. He's the only one I know that actually ditched his land-line, and I don't think he ever lost signal when I was talking to him.

I had two friends using Cingular, and both of them regularly lost signal. One had it so bad that about 9 out of every 10 calls to him would go straight to voicemail when it couldn't find the phone. Conversations regularly got cut off, too.

Greg, here's the funny thing, my phone works in, say, the Harbor Tunnel, by Baltimore, just not in the Metro Stations. It is really peculiar.

It doesnt bother me though. I *think* ONLY Verizon phones work there (my freind's PCS was dead too). I *know* they specifically laid cable antennas in the tunnels. But, hey, I'm happy. Because so few phones actually work down there you rarely have to be subjected to other people's worthless conversations ;)
lata, jeremy
BTW: does any one use VoiceStream or Moblie-One or whatever they are calling themselves this week?

This week they're T-Mobile-and they are the only GSM only carrier in the US. Next week, Deutsche Telekom may sell them, and then who knows what they'll be named.

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SRM 2003-Look for the guy with my name on his chest

I know on Saturday @ SFoG we lost about 4 phones on Cyclone in one day with one-train operation. I can't imagine how many will be lost on a busy day with 2-train operation.

Regarding GSM...

We will never have a GSM system in the USA compatible with the GSM system used in Europe. The reason is simple: the particular frequencies used for GSM service are, in the US, reserved for aircraft navigation services (one set; I forget the exact band); the other set (49 MHz) is designated for unlicensed, mostly unregulated consumer wireless devices (baby monitors, walkie talkies, that kind of thing). We may get GSM service, but North American GSM is not going to be on the same frequencies as European GSM.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

i forgot to mention this before in my previous post, but another plus for sprint is with there new 3g system.

when im not home, and want to get online with my labtop, i can hook it upto my phone, and get speeds of well over 100kb/sec.

definately beats dialup :)

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John
Albany Entertainment
http://albany.n3.net
Great Escape Online Guide Coming Soon!

Not to keep beating a dead horse, but Verizon's 3G system is far more comprehensive than Sprint's, and Verizon's 3G buildout is much greater (neither of which are truly 3G, more like 2.5).
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SRM 2003-Look for the guy with my name on his chest

This is never a problem for me because I don't have a cell phone. If I did I would probably bring it for the long rides. Zipper pockets has been said but the best solutionis ductape.

The big reason why I chose Sprint because of the A500. Sprint, in general tends to have the eye candy phones, and I'm completly happy with mine. I hear lots of complaints about customer service and whatnot, but whenever I've needed help, I got it. My biggest complaint about Sprint PCS is that they charge airtime minutes for going online on the phone. I'm not a big fan of that at all. ;)

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Never Has Gravity Been So Uplifting.

BullGuy - not if you have unlimited vision. all you have to do is create a dialup connection with the phone connected and software installed, and set it to dial #777.

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John
Albany Entertainment
http://albany.n3.net
Great Escape Online Guide Coming Soon!

Why do you need to bring your phone to the park anyways? So you can gloat to someone, "Hey! I'm on the top of the lifthill of MF... and you're not!"