I still have to both
I've only had two mobiles in my life, and I still have both... The first one is back in it's original box, and the second is still in my pocket. Hope I don't lose it now that I've shot off my mouth...
Drunk Brits lose 138,000 devices a year in bars but get most of them back, according to a pub poll by security firm Eset. The mobile security vendor pinged 600 establishments across the country and extrapolated the results to come up with the 138,000 approximation. Mobile devices were often dropped in watering holes across …
Luxury! I've only ever owned a stone, that I use to tap out Morse code. And it's still in the original box because I left my scissors in the pub.
Seriously, why is it that every time there is an article on mobile phones, some ludite pops up to boast about using outdated technology? Similarly articles on Facebook, where half the comments are just people saying they don't use it.
I propose we call this the Proud Antagonistic Non-participating Technophobe Syndrome, or PANTS for short.
"PANTS for short" --- AndyS
Handy umbrella term. I have been using the term e-pocrisy to refer to the practice of using social media to diss social media (all those FB posts saying one, or one's kids, should put down their smartphones and experience real life). I think we could probably apply a similar classification for comments on a news site telling everybody what you think of Facebook, when it is not the central point of the article.
Seriously, why is it that every time there is an article on mobile phones, some ludite pops up to boast about using outdated technology? Similarly articles on Facebook, where half the comments are just people saying they don't use it.
It has really nothing to do with being a luddite, I think. In my case, I've got enough stress and work just keeping up with changes by my employer. I don't need to have the latest and greatest toy (and the learning curve). As for social media, we in tech know enough horror stories to make us run away.
As for the original poster in this topic, he's proud that he's never lost his mobile and he should be. Come to think of it, I've never lost one either. Nor have I left a laptop on the train/bus that may or may not have had sensitive information on it.
@Mark 85
"he's proud that he's never lost his mobile and he should be."
No, I'm fortunate to keep my wiley in my pants, as well as my phone. But, I am fortunate to have never lost my phone. It does come out occasionally. I can lose usb drives, keys and my mind, but not my ancient Nokia.
Thanks for a sane comment!
This has been an issue for years; there have been numerous studies that quote various statistics about items being left in pubs, taxis, trains, on the underground etc. The company tried making all sorts of threats, injunctions etc. to reduce the number of lost devices (including laptops ffs) but it made not the slightest difference.
I used to think that it was because people didn't pay for the device so they didn't give a rat's arse, but it appears that it doesn't actually matter if it's a personal item or a company owned device. It's not just electronic devices; various civil servants have left highly sensitive documents lying around to be collected by cleaners or other members of the public; and at least one senior manager at a previous employer has left stuff in a public place that the company really would have preferred to have stayed private.
I suggested that we should make one of the devices that mothers used to give their kids to stop them losing gloves; a piece of stretch elastic tied to a hand (sometimes think it needs to be nailed!) and secured to whichever device or item they are likely to lose.
I'm guilty, and to be honest the figure doesn't surprise me at all. I've left all sorts of things in all sorts of places, although normally get them back (two notable exceptions - a jacket at the Edinburgh Tatoo, and a pair of sunglasses on a light aircraft that crashed a week later). My wife, in contrast, just doesn't lose things. It's clearly an issue of a defective personality.
I think it's normally down to one of two things. Firstly, something which is necessary on the way there (or once you arrive), but not on the way back. So, a jacket in summer, sunglasses, wellies, tools, etc.
Secondly, things you're not used to carrying. So, the only mobile I left anywhere was in a taxi, about 2 or 3 months after I first got a mobile in 2000.
I try to avoid the first by making a mental (or even written) list of things I put down, and where they are, and then checking that list as I leave.
The second is a reflex and habit thing - I always carry the same items in the same pockets. I rarely leave keys anywhere, as I know exactly where they are at any time, and habitually check every time I stand up.
Been saying for years the only safe mobile device is one with nothing worth losing on it. They're physically insecure and you can't guarantee they won't be snatched while unlocked even if normally secured. Very few people will accept the disruptive level of lockdown needed to fix that so it's not going to change, convenience over safety seems to be the norm.
Many years ago, back when laptops where not the sort of thing many people could buy for themselves and were still comparatively rare in business the team the Mrs used to work for was split between the head office and the London office. It was common that after team meetings in London they'd all pile off down the pub to talk non-work, or at least less-work, bollocks and drink beer celebrating the fact that London meant public transport and so beers after work was OK. So each of a dozen or so people heads off to a well know hostelry and each is now lugging 2->3KG of laptop with a list price of over a couple of grand. Now what do you do with all those heavy bags?
Well you leave them in a stack in the corner of the pub of course
That way you can concentrate of talking bollocks and drinking beer
Once sufficient beers has been consumed you start thinking about where to go for a curry
At which point you head off to the corner of the pub only to discover that the whole pile of laptops has gone AWOL.
The boss can't give you a hard time because the boss's laptop was in the pile along with everyone else's.
How about a small, rechargeable Bluetooth device that serves no purpose other than to keep your smartphone, tablet or laptop unlocked when said device is within range? You could even use it in 'pub' mode where when the device goes out of range you get an audible warning. Maybe the device could have its own buzzer to alert you when the connected devices drop out of range?
In 23 years of mobile 'ownership' I've not lost a single device. I've never even dropped one which ended in any notable damage or a cracked screen.
Now I've been a sanctimonious prick I look forward to getting bladdered and dropping my phone down the pub toilet.
All the best.
These are at odds with each other. Securing it is a great idea for data protection, etc. But most emergency services agencies want your phone to be unlocked so they have contact info in case you get by a bus, train, plane, whatever. Most people, being honest would look at a phone and call someone to say they found this. A very mixed bag of "what to do"....
". My wife, in contrast, just doesn't lose things. It's clearly an issue of a defective personality."
I'm not sure it's a defective personality so much as a male/female thing - many years of eating my lunch in the park on sunny days has lead me to observe that most women, when leaving a park bench (or any other place they've been sitting) will take a few steps and then turn around to have a good look at where they've just left, presumably to check they've left nothing behind.
Men, on the other hand, mostly seem to 'grab and go' and don't pause to do a quick scan of the recently vacated spot from a short distance, thus tending to miss whatever it is that they failed to pick up.
I don't know why there's a difference in behavior - it would seem to be of equal benefit to both species - maybe it's part of living with handbags.