4 ms·

> A modern business, software, or smartphone system may offer some, or even all, of these functions, but frequently: > They aren’t available whilst a call is i

> A modern business, software, or smartphone system may offer some, or even all, of these functions, but frequently: > They aren’t available whilst a call is in process > They have vastly less capability or flexibility than the systems they replaced What function isn't available during a call on a smartphone? Playing music? And when the author says "capability or flexibility", this is what the author is comparing a smart phone with: > The user > The phone itself > A Rolodex or addressbook / contacts list > The local PBX – the business’s dedicated internal phone switch. > A secretary or switchboard operator, serving also as a message-taking (voice-to-text), screening, redirect, directory, interactive voice response, and/or calendaring service > A desk calendar > A phone book > A diary or organiser > Scratch paper Yes, having a dedicated secretary is more flexible and capable than a smartphone. But modern businesses still have secretaries don't they? I don't understand how this is a viable comparison. --- In 2021, a functional phone is no longer functional for my use. It hasn't been so for years. My university account required a Duo app (2 factor) to login. My family relies on chat programs to talk, because we live in different countries and SMS is expensive. And so many other things...... I know that some people find themselves wasting time on smart phones. But others have been several times more productive on smart phones. It all comes down to choosing what works best for you, and how you use the device. (Edit: format)

dredmorbius 5y ago
From a follow-up comment to the original essay: I strongly suspect that much of the reason for the lack of awareness and consideration of these methods, tools, and concepts is that this was "secretarial work", that is, women's work. It was conceived of specifically to free the minds of executives and administrators from having to deal with these problems. Further, as secretarial and administrative positions were eliminated from organisation, the knowledge, context, and even the culture in which they were embodied, was lost.
ghaff 5y ago
>But modern businesses still have secretaries don't they Well, they have admins/assistants for seniorish execs but, no, they mostly don't even have a shared admin for anyone below that level
troyvit 5y ago
To me it's a pain while I'm on a call to pull the phone from my face, switch apps to contacts, read or otherwise ingest the data, then put my face back to the phone to relay what I learned. Compared holding the phone with one hand and flipping through an address book with the other it's much less flexible to me.
- powersnail 5y ago
  > Compared holding the phone with one hand and flipping through an address book with the other it's much less flexible to me My point was that we didn't replace address books with just smartphones. As address books disappeared from our desks, computers showed up. Emails showed up. It was a strange comparison between a single phone and a whole ecosystem of doing business. "I'll send/email/fax all the information to you in a second." largely replaced "I'm going to read this to you from this piece of paper." especially in a business setting. More efficient, formal, traceable methods have been invented and adopted.
- silisili 5y ago
  Am I the only one who typically just uses speakerphone at a low volume? Most calls I receive are at home, and I hate holding my phone to my head anyways. That or a headset solves the issue...
  - gentleman11 5y ago
    I sometimes do, but it’s because smart phones are very poor phones. They are heavy, weirdly shaped, and the microphones don’t line up with your mouth because the phones have gotten too large. The Ux for making calls is bad too, I miss land lines but don’t want to pay for both land and cellular when a land line is so expensive
    - LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
      Funny. Over here it's almost impossible to get internet without included phone service. The ISP's, Cable-Co's and Telcos all try to bundle Voice, TV and Net into one big fat offer. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_play_(telecommunications) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_play_(telecommunication... That is for broadband, cable, fibre. Mobile is an additional thing, not standalone. Besides that you can always opt for VOIP via some SIP-service [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_Initiation_Protocol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_Initiation_Protocol register that number whereever you want to, [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIP_provider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIP_provider and pipe that into a [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoIP_phone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoIP_phone by whichever means. (second mobile/cell for instance)

dredmorbius 5y ago

From a follow-up comment to the original essay: I strongly suspect that much of the reason for the lack of awareness and consideration of these methods, tools, and concepts is that this was "secretarial work", that is, women's work. It was conceived of specifically to free the minds of executives and administrators from having to deal with these problems. Further, as secretarial and administrative positions were eliminated from organisation, the knowledge, context, and even the culture in which they were embodied, was lost.

ghaff 5y ago

>But modern businesses still have secretaries don't they Well, they have admins/assistants for seniorish execs but, no, they mostly don't even have a shared admin for anyone below that level

troyvit 5y ago

To me it's a pain while I'm on a call to pull the phone from my face, switch apps to contacts, read or otherwise ingest the data, then put my face back to the phone to relay what I learned. Compared holding the phone with one hand and flipping through an address book with the other it's much less flexible to me.

powersnail 5y ago
> Compared holding the phone with one hand and flipping through an address book with the other it's much less flexible to me My point was that we didn't replace address books with just smartphones. As address books disappeared from our desks, computers showed up. Emails showed up. It was a strange comparison between a single phone and a whole ecosystem of doing business. "I'll send/email/fax all the information to you in a second." largely replaced "I'm going to read this to you from this piece of paper." especially in a business setting. More efficient, formal, traceable methods have been invented and adopted.
silisili 5y ago
Am I the only one who typically just uses speakerphone at a low volume? Most calls I receive are at home, and I hate holding my phone to my head anyways. That or a headset solves the issue...
- gentleman11 5y ago
  I sometimes do, but it’s because smart phones are very poor phones. They are heavy, weirdly shaped, and the microphones don’t line up with your mouth because the phones have gotten too large. The Ux for making calls is bad too, I miss land lines but don’t want to pay for both land and cellular when a land line is so expensive
  - LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
    Funny. Over here it's almost impossible to get internet without included phone service. The ISP's, Cable-Co's and Telcos all try to bundle Voice, TV and Net into one big fat offer. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_play_(telecommunications) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_play_(telecommunication... That is for broadband, cable, fibre. Mobile is an additional thing, not standalone. Besides that you can always opt for VOIP via some SIP-service [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_Initiation_Protocol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_Initiation_Protocol register that number whereever you want to, [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIP_provider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIP_provider and pipe that into a [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoIP_phone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoIP_phone by whichever means. (second mobile/cell for instance)