Mobility

* apply annoying mobile phone ring tone of your choice *

What is it with this country's fascination with mobile phones? Come on, seriously, what is this Israeli obsession all about? After x many years here, I've still yet to get my head round the takeover of this country by small appliances that are getting ever-smaller and ever more fully-featured. Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of gadgets out there, but the need for the latest Samsing or Shmokia just doesn't do it for me...

I've just had a phone conversation with a friend of mine who was talking about something or other when he suddenly started raving about his latest phone upgrade. As he raved on and on, I had to hold back the yawns, but ooops, no good, the barrier was broken and the more he raved, the more my eyes filled with yawn tears (you know what I mean, right?). Voooommm, right over my head.

As for phone etiquette, forget about it. Israelis have no idea. Absolutely none. Cinemas, theaters, shows, none are safe from the invasive ring tones that punctuate the room/hall. Chatting with a friend over coffee? Watch his participation in your conversation disintegrate upon the first shrill ring of his mobile. Sit there gormlessly while he carries on an animated and yet totally meaningless conversation over the phone. 5 minutes later, if you're lucky, you'll manage to continue where you left off.

Yet when the mobile phone companies construct massive erections (ooh lovely!) in order to expand the phone networks reception, the nation (including the PM) rebels. OK, none of us want one of these monsters greeting us when we look out of our balconies, but isn't this the price paid for a phone-filled population? Aren't we quick to bad mouth the phone companies when we can't get reception somewhere? Shouldn't we just accept the fact that phones are here to stay and in order to cater for their ever expanding range of services, an ever expanding number of antennas is needed? Perhaps soon, we won't be raving about the latest phones, but the latest antenna upgrades we've purchased...

Yes, I do have a mobile, the same faithful model for the last 3 years. What always makes me laugh is when a phone addict sees my phone and starts pawing it with some kind of grudging admiration and jealousy. You see, my phone's from England and is not sold over here. And yes, I've lost count the number of times I've said that to people...

Balls of technological steel

First of all, I take my hat off to She, I think she wrote some great posts while I was away. She's a star, don't you know. But, time to disengage from the disengagment, otherwise we'll have all sorts round here...She will have more to say on the topic, of that I'm sure, but let's take a timeout for now.

And now for something completely different...

Modern technology is moving on at breakneck speed and I'm hanging on by my fingertips. I do love some of the gadgets that you can get these days, and am a confirmed aficionado of many a toy or two. For example, I think Skype, and SkypeOut, are fantastic, while my laptop is fast becoming part of the family and often gets preferential treatment over the dog. What always gets me thinking is how fast all this progress has been and in which direction are we going?

Just think about it - where were we just 10 years ago? No emails, no real Internet, hardly any mobile phones...now these have not only entered our everyday lives but have become essential components. Just think about the next 10 years and the technological possibilities that our children will probably experience. Will we be as ignorant/technologically disabled in another 20 years, just as my father and grandfather are today?

So, why bother bringing up this topic? Well, you knew there just had to be an Israeli side to this post...

Last week I was surfing the Web when a friend called. She knows I'm fairly knowledgeable about DVDs and wanted my opinion on a certain model. "Hang on" I told her, and quickly googled the model. I gave her my opinion. "OK, and what about this model *gives model name*?". Google to the rescue again. She wanted to know if the price was OK and that she wasn't being ripped off. I zapped for some prices. "Where are you?" I asked. "Oh, I'm in Best Buy and am looking at the DVDs here. I'm with the salesman and I'm not sure which model to take...".

I could hear the salesman in the background and he was fast getting pissed. Me, I was split: OK, it's great for the consumer that we can utilize all this technology and thoroughly check prices and get the best deal possible - on the other hand, this is just a little bit too hutzpah for me. I wouldn't have the balls to call up a friend while being served by someone and then check prices real-time. OK, I would do it before coming out to buy and there's nothing wrong with that of course, but to walk into a shop and quite blatantly compare prices with their rivals is another thing. An Israeli thing.

I was happy to help her out though. Fuck it, been here too long...