Is it just me, or does everyone use a cellular phone in place of their landline nowadays?
I find it quite interesting that today's generation has been indoctrinated to use the "new" form of so-called quick communication: SMS messaging. In theory, it's great: no need to be in front of a computer to send and receive non-voice conversations, so you can have a few conversations running simultaneously. In practice, the story's completely different: with tiny thumb-keyboards and three-line text displays, not to mention a complete lack of threaded SMS messaging on most phones, the practice is a mess. Best of all, speaking in terms of bandwidth, SMS messaging is one of the most expensive means of communication: on average, $0.35 inbound and outbound, per message. I calculated some meaningful numbers based on my AIM and MSN Messenger logs from last Friday to Sunday: it would have cost me over $100 to have carried out the same conversations by SMS that I had on AIM and MSN for free.
Then there's the fact that it's expensive to send and receive calls on a mobile phone, too. I have a friend that's racked up bills totaling over $300, since he uses his cellular phone exclusively instead of the landline. Whenever I ask for someone's phone number, it's extremely likely that they'll give me their cellular number instead of their home phone number. Occasionally I'll even use my cellular number in certain situations where I don't want anyone else picking up or listening to certain voicemail intended for me, though most often, when I receive a cellular call, I take down the number and call back immediately on a landline... On the other party's cellular number, of course, but that's their own loss. It saves me money, especially when my conversations last over an hour.
I used to be a critic of cellular call quality, though after moving off the old analog network and onto GSM, I've since concluded that call quality on modern phones in populated areas with ample cell towers is more or less a nonissue (though for whatever reason, I can't say the same for Verizon's CDMA or even its third-generation variants). I have, however, discovered that most people living off in suburbia are often victim to poor call quality due to the lack of a strong signal - while at my cousin's, I noticed that my phone constantly shifted between "No Service" and the lowest signal that could be displayed by the signal monitor (or to you non-geeks, "one bar").
It's always made me wonder why people constantly need to be talking. You would be amazed by the number of people I spot each day at school with a cellphone or Sidekick or similar device concealed under a table. Then there's the matter of etiquette: phones ring in the middle of class, and are quickly turned off (accompanied by the strange shutdown sounds prominent in recent phones). Phones ring on the subway, and people actually have the nerve to pick them up and start talking away while everyone else listens. Phones ring in cars, and people pick them up with their right hand and continue to drive with their left. For that matter, phones ring in the local public library, their users are asked to stop talking and shut the phone off, and they instead opt to leave the building and continue the conversation. I'm perfectly content with taking the time to find some place to sit down where there's a power outlet and a solid Wi-Fi connection, and then firing up Pidgin to talk.
Skype is a great solution to this mess: I can talk for as long as I want without paying a cent or tying up the house phone, and it's available wherever there's an open Wi-Fi access point. It's a shame I only know two people that use it.