Grumble Thread

[french frank]

What I hadn't realised was the difference between having three landline extensions in different parts of the house and having to rely on one mobile phone. I have often left it in a part of the house where I no longer am. It's a mildly annoying - and unforeseen consequence of my decision.

I have to keep my landline in order to ring my mobile to discover where I'd put it down.

[kernelbogey]

I have to keep my landline in order to ring my mobile to discover where I'd put it down.

Whereas I have to contend with a new consequence of putting the mobile on 'silent'....

[LMcD]

I hope you mean only one or two, rather than now getting calls you didn't before!
:winkeye

Yes - only one or two!

[Old Grumpy]

Conventional landlines are being phased out next year anyway, though I understand internet based alternatives are available as a stand alone device.

[french frank]

Conventional landlines are being phased out next year anyway, though I understand internet based alternatives are available as a stand alone device.

But you still have to have a router, don't you? If you get a power cut (as I did last week) it stops working. Brilliant idea.

[Old Grumpy]

But you still have to have a router, don't you? If you get a power cut (as I did last week) it stops working. Brilliant idea.

Yep - like getting rid of personed railway ticket offices!

[Dave2002]

I have to keep my landline in order to ring my mobile to discover where I'd put it down.

If you attach a tag - such as an Apple tag, then you can often find these things again. If the battery in the phone doesn't run down too quickly, then there are ways of locating the phone - which work for Android and Apple phones.

I have lost and found phones, though sometimes I wonder if it would be better if they stayed lost.

[oddoneout]

But you still have to have a router, don't you? If you get a power cut (as I did last week) it stops working. Brilliant idea.

More info here.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/future-of-landline-calls

As you say power cuts are a problem, even more so for those who don't have alternatives - for whatever reason - such as a mobile phone. There are also question marks over how well the switchover will be handled for those who have care related alarm call systems, and the power packs/batteries to keep a phone working during a power cut which apparently only last for about an hour.

[oddoneout]

One quite often hears 'Somebody rang but didn't leave a message or their number'.

Many years ago when I was still with BT and before the pronoun issue existed the standard message for 1471 would say "the caller withheld their number". I could never understand why it couldn't be the number rather than their number, but now that becomes even more questionable as their is used for the non-binary gender option thingy.

[Serial_Apologist]

Many years ago when I was still with BT and before the pronoun issue existed the standard message for 1471 would say "the caller withheld their number". I could never understand why it couldn't be the number rather than their number, but now that becomes even more questionable as their is used for the non-binary gender option thingy.

In the case of the 1471 service the caller is just treated as a "thingy", rather than a gendered person.

[Jonathan]

Talking of phones, routers and internet based calls, aside from the problems with power cuts causing people to be cut off, there's also the problem with call quality. We have VOIP (Voice Over Internet Phones) at work and they are awful! Sometimes the person on the other end of the call sounds more like a Dalek than a human! Why replace a perfectly decent system with something digital all in the way of progress even though it's worse than the original system? Crass stupidity rules again - it's rather like the farcical idea of turning off the FM signal and making everything digital radio based from a few years ago.

[smittims]

Maybe they claim the old phone system is more expensive to maintain, as they did with the old railway system they wrecked in the 1960s. Was it AJP Taylor who said 'one thing we learn from history is that people never learn from history'?

In the future there'll be TV documentaries about it, asking 'how did we (alwys 'we' not they) allow it to happen?'

[cloughie]

Talking of phones, routers and internet based calls, aside from the problems with power cuts causing people to be cut off, there's also the problem with call quality. We have VOIP (Voice Over Internet Phones) at work and they are awful! Sometimes the person on the other end of the call sounds more like a Dalek than a human! Why replace a perfectly decent system with something digital all in the way of progress even though it's worse than the original system? Crass stupidity rules again - it's rather like the farcical idea of turning off the FM signal and making everything digital radio based from a few years ago.

Also the abandoning of Mini discs, the most versatile user-friendly home recording system in many a year.

[french frank]

More info here.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/future-of-landline-calls

As you say power cuts are a problem, even more so for those who don't have alternatives - for whatever reason - such as a mobile phone. There are also question marks over how well the switchover will be handled for those who have care related alarm call systems, and the power packs/batteries to keep a phone working during a power cut which apparently only last for about an hour.

Yes, I have a digital landline, will I or nill I, but wasn't sure what was meant by an 'internet' landline hence my question. When my electricity went down the router was down too and My Phone Was My Lifeline (upper case because it sounded a bit like a book title).

[LMcD]

Talking of phones, routers and internet based calls, aside from the problems with power cuts causing people to be cut off, there's also the problem with call quality. We have VOIP (Voice Over Internet Phones) at work and they are awful! Sometimes the person on the other end of the call sounds more like a Dalek than a human Why replace a perfectly decent system with something digital all in the way of progress even though it's worse than the original system?! Crass stupidity rules again - it's rather like the farcical idea of turning off the FM signal and making everything digital radio based from a few years ago.

Well, in the case of the switch to DAB+, a cynic might argue that the aim is to increase sales of DAB+ radios. There's a general tendency to think that. because something is technologically possible, its value must be proved by exploiting it for commercial gain while pretending that it's a good thing for society.