I'm getting a cell phone jammer!

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
I saw it on CNN this morning--I'd heard of it but didn't know you could actually get it. OK it's illegal in the US but I don't plan on using it in public, I want it for one reason & one reason only--to use at the gym while I'm doing cardio. Since cell phones are already against gym rules I don't feel like I'd be breaking any laws, just assisting with enforcement efforts. ;-)

As god is my witness, I shall never listen to some dork's Sunday morning conversation w/his in-laws again! }(
 
Wow, how interesting! The reasons for them being illegal are so incredibly valid, but the reasons for them being legal are valid too. How wonderfully controversial....;)

Allison
 
I know--hopefully I won't get flamed over this. I need to find out what the range of this sucker is before I actually use it. If it can be contained w/in the building or only goes within, say, a 100 foot radius I will use it without a bit of guilt. If the range is broader than that I'll definitely think twice about it--I don't want to interfere w/emergency response.

But what an awesome device........after all, my gym has land lines, I would not be a bit concerned using it in there if I don't have to listen to people yapping while I'm trying to focus on my workout. I mean, what kind of a workout can you get on level 1 of the recumbent bike while you chat with your spouse for 20 minutes? x(
 
I've sometimes fantasized about some kind of gadget that would allow me to zap cell phones in my immediate vacinity, so they couldn't be used for 15 minutes or so (and if I owned a store, I'd make it a 'cell-phone-free' area). You mean there actually are such things?

Too bad they're illegal.

Do they work from car to car? I hate it when people talk on the phone while driving.

;-)
 
Well if it's 30 feet I think it's a no-brainer. And I agree Michele--cell phone usage being my #1 pet peeve, first in the gym & second in restaurants.

I just don't get the phenomenon. I don't bring my cell to the gym with me, I either leave it at home or in my car. First of all, I don't want to be bothered during my workout. Second, it's just a matter of courtesy. I don't know what's so urgent that people can't wait to get home to have private conversations. I mean, what did they do in the dark ages before they were invented? }(
 
I broke down and got the iPhone-yep, I am such a Mac girrl:) you can download itunes on it and everything. I love, love, love it. It an ipod, phone, internet, all rolled into one tidy little package. But I still never use it unless I absolutely have to. I think alot of folks use their phones in public to show others how "popular" they are, or whatever. At least that is what I have witnessed.
Of course there are exceptions, my DH relies on his 24/7 to keep in touch with the business, but I have to remind him when we are out and about to respect others;)
 
> Second,
>it's just a matter of courtesy. I don't know what's so urgent
>that people can't wait to get home to have private
>conversations. I mean, what did they do in the dark ages
>before they were invented? }(

I agree completely! Though at the volume many people talk at on their cell phones, what should be a 'private' conversation no longer is.

I read an article about how cell phones have increased the amount of time people talk to others by phone, but the conversations have much less content than before. I've overheard conversations of people basically just narrating what they are doing at the moment.

I also don't see why people feel so obligated to answer their phones at any time and place. And don't even talk about the people at the airport walking around with Lieutenant-Uhura communication devices (aka: Bluetooth) stuck in their ears, talking (loudly!) to thin air!

I was at a foreign language conference recently, and during almost every session, someone's cell phone went off. One time, the woman had some loud (why does it have to be that loud? Can't it just be loud enough for the person alone to hear?) Mexican-hat-dance-like tune (this WAS a FL conference) as the ring tone. It played....and kept playing...and playing...because this chic couldn't find her cell phone for the life of her! AARGH!! (very considerate of the speaker and other attendees!)
 
Hmm.. totally not feelin' it.
It's easy for regular 'ol Americans to say that something like this would be a convenience.. like many other things we have tried to restrict people from doing/having because those immediatly around us have all been supportive of it. So we don't think of how something like this could be detrimental because an instance like that may never be applicable to us .. but it's a case once again of, "where is the line drawn"?
So churches can have it and restaurants... but making it available to them will CERTAINLY make it easily available for the rest of us, either through someone that owns a restaurant, eBay or the back of someones van.
Yeah it sucks to be in the company of inconsiderate people.. but think about:
How many times in just the past 2 or 3 years have you been thankful to have your cell phone?
Either in a car accident, your kid is sick or stuck somewhere, parent in the hospital, call back from a very important job interview etc..
Then multiply that by the millions of people in the country that all have the same dilemas in their lives. Most of us weren't even planned so maybe if there were less idiots congestinng the US it wouldn't be so annoying hearinng so many cell phones ringing because there wouldn't be so many dilemas any more than there would be so many inconsiderate people.
We have all been irratated. One persons cell phone might irritate someone while their crying baby might be irritating someone else.
Hmm.. we could go on forever with our opinions, this is just some pointless rambling of mine :)
I think just the idea that people MIGHT be resticted from just the important dilemas in everyday life is just too much of a restriction and risk.
Perhaps for a business to have a special system installed that cannot me modular or removed from the building might be more acceptable, but anything that is made available in the public, can and will eventually be reproduced. People will figure out how to get it and duplicate it.
I think Id rather confront a jerk being inconsiderate and loud on the phone and then deal with the big fight that will surely follow than to infringe upon someones will to use the damn thing lol.
In a small normal town it seems a good idea, but in most the rest of the country it's just not ethical because real problems in more congested areas do happen.
 
I have to admit that the idea of this device scares the crap out of me. Like another poster said, "where do we draw the line?"

Yeah, it sucks to have people talking on the phone next to you at a restaurant or on the bus, but the idea that you can control their personal lives--i.e. whether or not they can speak on their cell phone--is insane. What will we be able to control about each other next?

Allison
 
Allison, I think that's one reason why they're illegal here. We Americans put an extremely high value on our freedom.

Pebblesus, I cannot think of a single instant over the past year when I was grateful to have my cell phone. I can, however, think of many instances I was not glad. x( And it's beyond me why anyone would need their cell phone in a gym or restaurant. Both already have phones. I remember my ex hubby used to call the front desk at my gym when I was there working out & he needed to talk to me.

The only time I can think they're really necessary is in the car or when you're someplace without landlines.
 
I don't use my cell phone for casual converstation and it makes me crazy when I'm out in a restaurant w/ a friend who'll ignore me to engage in a conversation on her cell. And I totally hear you about the lame conversations at the gym.
As a nurse, I have an on call responsibility w/ my job. Many times I go to the gym w/ my phone turned on so I'm accessible should I need to go in. Someone w/ a cell phone jammer = my not being able to work out. ;(
I have actually been grateful to have a cell: when I was in a car accident 2 yrs ago and dialed 911. I think cells are incredibly useful tools that many people use improperly. Kind of like cars, or ATM cards.
Valerie
 
>>Pebblesus, I cannot think of a single instant over the past
>year when I was grateful to have my cell phone. I can,
>however, think of many instances I was not glad.

I'm with Laura here! I have NEVER NEEDED my phone. I got my first cell phone in 1994 when they were still big and chunky and cost a million dollars. :) While I understand the IDEA that people *need* them for emergencies, the reality is that *most* people are not using them for that the majority of the time.

I'm not *that* old but I can remember surviving just fine without a cell phone. It's funny, people were always able to handle all these things they need a cell phone for now BEFORE they existed. Twenty years ago you just found a pay phone or used a regular landline phone to make calls. Oh and people like doctors, etc.,...they had pagers.


Now, I know there are people who can say that having a cell phone helped them in an emergency and I think that is great but I would be willing to bet that probably close to 95% of cell phone usage is for anything BUT emergencies. JMO
 
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