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Solving the multiple phone problem by forcing yourself to have only one phone is like solving a rubik's cube by painting all the squares one color. It kind of

Solving the multiple phone problem by forcing yourself to have only one phone is like solving a rubik's cube by painting all the squares one color. It kind of misses the point. Also: if this were a story about the ipod in 2001, would your comment have been 'I already have that. It's called a cd player'?

jorgeortiz85 18y ago
No, on all counts. Phone numbers used to be a problem because phone numbers were tied to phone lines which in turn were tied to copper. If you wanted to be reached at home or at work you had to take different copper and thus different phone numbers. Phone lines are no longer tied to copper, and phone numbers are (sort of) no longer tied to phone lines. My cellphone takes my phone line with me anywhere I go, and if I switch cellphone providers I can take my phone number with me. I haven't had a home landline for almost 6 years now (granted, four of those were spent in college) and most people I know that are my age (I'm 24) also do not have landlines. The first thing I do to any work phone is to put it on permanent call forward to my cellphone. There really is no longer a need for multiple phones. Thinking multiple phones is still a problem in the age of cellphones is like saying, "How do I solve the problem of needing to carry around hundreds of CDs and a CD player to listen to the music I want?" in the age of the iPod. The sibling comments that argue for multiple phone numbers, on the other hand, have a point. But they should all still go to my cellphone. To be fair to Grand Central, they partially support this feature. It's just layered on with a bunch of other crap I don't care for.
- calambrac 18y ago
  Are you seriously saying you think there aren't any legitimate situations where a person would want more than a single physical phone? You've never lived or worked in a building with terrible cell phone reception, had a dead battery but still really needed people to be able to get a hold of you, had your phone stolen, or had your simcard go bad? But the multiple phone number management thing, that's really just a marketing hook, the easiest possible sell for the mass market right now, isn't it? This service provides all of the features you could want when managing voice communications, completely independent from a physical device. I mean, really, why even have a phone at all? Just plug into your voice service however you damn well please, that's the actual story here.
  - jorgeortiz85 18y ago
    Are you seriously saying you think there aren't any legitimate situations where a person would want more than a single physical phone? I'm saying there are no situations in which I'd want more than a single physical phone. I've used more than a single physical phone, like when I'm outside the US and want a local cellphone number but don't want to lose my US number, but in every situation I'd prefer to keep a single physical phone. You've never lived or worked in a building with terrible cell phone reception Switch providers. Though, ideally, I should be able to get calls through VoIP on my WiFi. had a dead battery but still really needed people to be able to get a hold of you It's easier to find/carry a charger than it is to notify everyone that needs to be able to get a hold of me of the new number. had your phone stolen, or had your simcard go bad? These are exceptional situations. I can get a phone replaced within a day in such a scenario. If it's urgent I can borrow a friend's cellphone.
    - calambrac 18y ago
      If it's urgent, you can borrow a friend's cellphone, that's true. But, wait, crap, now you need to notify everyone that needs to get a hold of you of your new number, which we've already established is something we want to avoid. If only there was a service that let you configure which physical device your calls were being routed to...
- jmtulloss 18y ago
  I would put my work phone on permanent call forwarding, but I can't figure out these damn cisco phones. If it had a multi-touch screen and gestures, then maybe I could get it done.

jorgeortiz85 18y ago

No, on all counts. Phone numbers used to be a problem because phone numbers were tied to phone lines which in turn were tied to copper. If you wanted to be reached at home or at work you had to take different copper and thus different phone numbers. Phone lines are no longer tied to copper, and phone numbers are (sort of) no longer tied to phone lines. My cellphone takes my phone line with me anywhere I go, and if I switch cellphone providers I can take my phone number with me. I haven't had a home landline for almost 6 years now (granted, four of those were spent in college) and most people I know that are my age (I'm 24) also do not have landlines. The first thing I do to any work phone is to put it on permanent call forward to my cellphone. There really is no longer a need for multiple phones. Thinking multiple phones is still a problem in the age of cellphones is like saying, "How do I solve the problem of needing to carry around hundreds of CDs and a CD player to listen to the music I want?" in the age of the iPod. The sibling comments that argue for multiple phone numbers, on the other hand, have a point. But they should all still go to my cellphone. To be fair to Grand Central, they partially support this feature. It's just layered on with a bunch of other crap I don't care for.

calambrac 18y ago
Are you seriously saying you think there aren't any legitimate situations where a person would want more than a single physical phone? You've never lived or worked in a building with terrible cell phone reception, had a dead battery but still really needed people to be able to get a hold of you, had your phone stolen, or had your simcard go bad? But the multiple phone number management thing, that's really just a marketing hook, the easiest possible sell for the mass market right now, isn't it? This service provides all of the features you could want when managing voice communications, completely independent from a physical device. I mean, really, why even have a phone at all? Just plug into your voice service however you damn well please, that's the actual story here.
- jorgeortiz85 18y ago
  Are you seriously saying you think there aren't any legitimate situations where a person would want more than a single physical phone? I'm saying there are no situations in which I'd want more than a single physical phone. I've used more than a single physical phone, like when I'm outside the US and want a local cellphone number but don't want to lose my US number, but in every situation I'd prefer to keep a single physical phone. You've never lived or worked in a building with terrible cell phone reception Switch providers. Though, ideally, I should be able to get calls through VoIP on my WiFi. had a dead battery but still really needed people to be able to get a hold of you It's easier to find/carry a charger than it is to notify everyone that needs to be able to get a hold of me of the new number. had your phone stolen, or had your simcard go bad? These are exceptional situations. I can get a phone replaced within a day in such a scenario. If it's urgent I can borrow a friend's cellphone.
  - calambrac 18y ago
    If it's urgent, you can borrow a friend's cellphone, that's true. But, wait, crap, now you need to notify everyone that needs to get a hold of you of your new number, which we've already established is something we want to avoid. If only there was a service that let you configure which physical device your calls were being routed to...
jmtulloss 18y ago
I would put my work phone on permanent call forwarding, but I can't figure out these damn cisco phones. If it had a multi-touch screen and gestures, then maybe I could get it done.