What is some of your Pet Peeve's

[Runner]

... and your friend's pet peeve? Luddites.

Not to pick on you, but you have to admit, it's kind of funny that you're "pro email", but "anti text". I mean, these two technologies are separated by little more than the blink of an eye, on the grand scale.

Next time, respond via Western Union telegraph.

I'm usually slow to adopt any new "social" tech, my wife always jumps first, and then has to drag me along. But smart phones are one that I just can't imagine living without, anymore. So much of my daily life is scheduled through that damn thing, including my "to do" and "shopping" lists, appointment calendar, and my daily listening of audiobooks and podcasts while I fritter about my chores.

I am not anti-technology at all. If I had a use for a smart phone, I would have one in a second, but I just don't need one. If I travelled a lot, or was running some kind of business, or was in some kind of situation where I thought I needed access to the internet or email, or all my electronic files remotely, I would have one. But I don't.

I'm retired, rarely travel, get VERY few phone calls (except for advertising). Quite literally, I probably don't make or receive an actual phone call more than once per month, if that.

If I need to do something that requires a computer, I've got four of them, including one in the shop, to access the internet, files, etc. Accessing electronic files on a little, tiny screen is just not something I ever need to do. I can view a computer screen without wearing my cheaters, and be comfortable doing it while using a full-sized keyboard.

As far as using maps, my pilot background teaches me to plan trips ahead of time, so if I need a map, I get that information before I leave the house and I also have a hand-held GPS if I really think necessary, but usually not.

My "doodlebug" (as my wife calls it) sits on my desk on the charger all the time, except that I do take it with me in the car, or out to the "field" if I think I might need to communicate for some reason. But it normally resides in the house because I normally just don't need or want to be in instant communication (I had that for 35 years).

I will have to say, it's a shame that all the "basic" phones seem to be kind of crappy quality-wise. Just because I want basic and no-frills, doesn't mean I want it to perform like crap.

I phones are great, but I just don't need one for my lifestyle and it would be a complete waste of money for me.

 

[Runner]

Not to pick on you, but you have to admit, it's kind of funny that you're "pro email", but "anti text". I mean, these two technologies are separated by little more than the blink of an eye, on the grand scale.

I don't know when you last used a "flip phone" i.e., something with keys instead of an I phone with a "keyboard", but texting with one of these devices is totally different than on an I phone and is a total pain in the neck.

... and your friend's pet peeve? Luddites.

I've been called worse (maybe by some on this board).

 

[WinterDeere]

I don't know when you last used a "flip phone" i.e., something with keys instead of an I phone with a "keyboard", but texting with one of these devices is totally different than on an I phone and is a total pain in the neck.

Oh, I remember! I had a Moto Razr until about 2009 or 2010, while others were carrying Blackberries and even early iPhones. The Razr was a traditional 12-key flip phone, and you could choose texting modes, either hitting the 5 key four times to get "L", or letting the phone guess your words based on the key combos (eg. 843 = "the"). It definitely wasn't ideal, but I actually don't remember it being totally terrible in that latter mode, either.

I actually rarely type a text, I just say something like "hey Siri, text my wife, I finally met your brother's new girlfriend, she has cute dimples." Then wonder why my wife is responding to ask how I saw her brother's girlfriend's nipples.

I've been called worse (maybe by some on this board).

Hah... I was just poking fun. I totally get not wanting to jump on the bandwagon.

 

[Runner]

Hah... I was just poking fun. I totally get not wanting to jump on the bandwagon.

I know you were. I would jump on in a heartbeat if I wanted or needed, but I just have no use for it.

 

[Oaktree]

Pet peeve - people who ONLY communicate by text. I guess if you have an I phone it doesn't matter whether you use email or text because you have a "keyboard" to type on, but if you have a flip phone, like me, texting is a pain in the a$$. When a friend sends me a text, I send the response as an email.

... and your friend's pet peeve? Luddites.

Not to pick on you, but you have to admit, it's kind of funny that you're "pro email", but "anti text". I mean, these two technologies are separated by little more than the blink of an eye, on the grand scale.

A computer keyboard is a LOT easier to type on than a touchscreen. The only cellphone I have is also a flip phone, it's enough of a PITA to enter phone #s in the contact list, let alone try to type a meaningful message. I don't know how anyone who has fingers larger than those of a teenage girl can type on a smartphone screen.

 

[Oaktree]

Speaking of passwords, and folks who lose them... if your passwords are anything other than random, if they have literally any similarity to them between institutions, having just one of them cracked or leaked means having all of your financial accounts accessed or wiped out within hours. The better hackers are very sophisticated today, with automatic routines that will try your email / password combination at every financial institution on earth, once they obtain it from a data breach.

Put otherwise: Your wife gets an email that an attack on Target's or Kohls' site may have compromised her data? Better believe that same password/email combination, and tens or hundreds of thousands of permutations of it, have already been tested against Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Fidelity, etc., long before you even heard of the data breach. Use randomly-generated passwords from a password manager app, for your own safety, please!

I used to only have 3 or 4 passwords, but as time's gone on the number has expanded considerably. Not totally random, and some are variations on others. I just keep a file that lists them alphabetically by who they're for, and update it when I'm required to change one. Password managers can be hacked too...
Don't think I use any one on more than one site anymore.

 

[WinterDeere]

A computer keyboard is a LOT easier to type on than a touchscreen. The only cellphone I have is also a flip phone, it's enough of a PITA to enter phone #s in the contact list, let alone try to type a meaningful message. I don't know how anyone who has fingers larger than those of a teenage girl can type on a smartphone screen.

Definitely agreed. I was just poking fun. I don't have huge fingers, but even so, I find it easier to just dictate to Siri. She gets most stuff right, and it's usually pretty fun when she screws up (eg. nipples for dimples). When it matters, I proof read and correct.

My FIL has a flip phone, and fingers like bratwurst. We don't text him.

 

[WinterDeere]

I used to only have 3 or 4 passwords, but as time's gone on the number has expanded considerably. Not totally random, and some are variations on others. I just keep a file that lists them alphabetically by who they're for, and update it when I'm required to change one. Password managers can be hacked too...
Don't think I use any one on more than one site anymore.

Yeah, it's definitely a problem, which is why you see so much 2-factor authentication happening these days. But the better password managers are actually nearly impossible to hack, using localized encryption and strong lock-out rules for failed login attempts. Anything can be done, especially with phishing and user error, but it's definitely not the low-hanging fruit.

Nothing's perfect, we could argue that all day, but a good password manager that randomizes your passwords is about the most secure and convenient option available today. I use a third-party one, which has a browser add-in, so I have the same live access to the vault from each of my PC's and my smart phone.

 

[Runner]

My password (swordfish) is 100% safe, secure and foolproof. Never been hacked.

 

[bigtiller]

Just thought of another pet peeve that I'm going to have to add here and I hope I don't piss anyone off, it's not personal, just something that bugs me. It is people beginning EVERY sentence with the word "so". Where the HE!! did this habit come from? It's getting to the point where you hear it in almost every interview. Not just people with limited vocabulary or education, it is EVERYONE, government, education, industry, you name it. I don't get it. This is the modern version of Valley Girls beginning every sentence with the word "like" in the 80's. This is like nails on a chalkboard to me.

People who are occasional stutterers sometimes have trouble saying the first word of a sentence. Like me, after I get the first word out I am generally fine. The word "so" can be stretched out, kind of like singing, and it makes the next word easy to say. Remember the singer Merle Haggard? He had trouble speaking but not singing.

Maybe the rest of them are imitating us?