>>>>It really is naughty of you to convert "less and less relevant" to "death knell" especially after I've said that mobile doesn't need to displace PC to succeed. Oh, well. As long as everybody stays productive, we can review in a year and see what's happening.
>>>
>>>Fair enough, but I got confused in that your original statement was in reply to something where I wasn't talking about mobile apps at all. But I understand you are passionate about this technology and it would seem with good reason so if nothing else you've stimulated me to look into it further.
>>>
>>>Meanwhile I am working on my own invention - a telephone big enough to hold easily in the hand and hard to lose or break even if thrown (I'm thinking of two piece with and independant hand set employing the durability of black Bakelite ) with a simplified interface ( I'm leanng toward single purpose, numbered buttons ) that overcomes the problem of always losing the damn thing or the battery going dead ( having a lot of success with a wire tethering it to a wall ) Software requirements are minimal and a big safety issue addressed as it is unlikely to be used frequently while driving ( I call this the "cord length safety feature" )
>>>
>>>I'll keep you posted.
>>>
>>>( oh, and stay tuned for my "pad" that has a clamshell screen cover with a built in keyboard ! )
>>
>>I think it might be useful if when entering the number you had a little time to think before you made the call. Perhaps a rotating dial could be used. Be nice if the hand set was big enough to be wedged between ear and shoulder as well.
>
>I had indeed considered that but I was distracted by an infrastructure issue. Between unemployment and customer frustration with automated routing systems, I am proposing an intermediate layer of human "operators" who would connect the calls. They could even be "voice activated" to where one would merely speak the number and they would connect you. Mnemonics could also be applied to make it easier to remember exchange prefixes such as "Montrose - 4675 please"
>
>( we are trying to sign Lily Tomlin for the ad campaign )

I remember visiting the old mechanical exchanges with the rooms of operators and teams of engineers maintaining them. .I bet they are happy to have left that life of drudgery for the bright lights of the Walmart checkout or a cosy cardboard box under a bridge somewhere. Progress is a wonderful thing.