Today, It's Good Manners Being Killed By Texting

from the what-next? dept

Some grumpy old editor at the New York Times must really be upset about all these damn kids and their cell phones. First, earlier in the week, it ran a story in its health section talking about how texting is destroying teenagers' thumbs and ruining their minds; now, it's got a piece on how texting at the dinner table is the latest epidemic of bad manners. There's the obligatory quote from a mental-health professional, as a therapist weighs in to say that texting while eating has become "a major issue" among couples in counseling. It also has etiquette writers keen to push their latest book by touting the need for proper gadget etiquette, as if being rude or inconsiderate has somehow changed since we got cell phones. It seems like for years, people have been saying how American families never eat dinner together anymore, but apparently that problem's been solved. Now if it weren't for those damn texts...

Filed Under: manners, moral panic, texting

Forget DRM, Microsoft Looks To Build Digital Manners Management

from the mind-your-manners dept

If there's one thing companies should understand by now, it's the idea that restricting people from doing stuff that they want to do tends to backfire, badly. Just look at every attempt to create "DRM." Well, apparently Microsoft is trying to create a different sort of digital restrictions policy: one based on hard-coded "manners." A few folks sent in notice that Microsoft has applied for a patent on a system for "device manner policy" (DMP). Basically, such a DMP system would restrict the use of certain features in certain locations. So, for example, a mobile phone that has the DMP technology might not be able to ring in a movie theater, but would instead shift to vibrate. Or a digital camera or cameraphone would automatically disable the ability to take photos in a museum. Really, this is just another form of DRM, restricting what people can do with the technology they own. While it's nice to think that technology could somehow block out rude uses of devices, the opportunity for problems and abuse seems quite high. Wouldn't we be better off focusing on social norms to get people to learn when it is and is not appropriate to use certain technologies?

Filed Under: digital manner policy, manners, patents
Companies: microsoft

Come To The Slocan Valley, Where Your Cell Phone Won't Work

from the sounds-of-silence dept

As the move towards the hyperconnected lifestyle -- in which people are never out of touch, whether from work or friends and family -- continues, the backlash against it rises. A group of citizens in a rural Canadian valley have asked a telco there not to build a planned cell tower, but not for the usual reasons. It's not unusual for communities to object to towers on aesthetic grounds, or because of health concerns, but people in this community don't want the tower as a tourist attraction. They hope to sell their area to visitors based on its lack of cell coverage, promising them a visit uninterrupted by "the incessant sound of ringtones, immediately followed by someone's shouted conversation." While this approach might be a bit extreme, since it denies the area's residents and visitors the benefits mobile phones can provide, as well as cutting down on the annoyances, it's not particularly surprising. As people get more and more fed up with many mobile users' manners, this sort of blunt-force way of dealing with things could become more popular.

Filed Under: manners, mobile, wireless