A few of my regular news outlets reported that today was the 40th anniversary of the first cell phone call
ever.
Of course the reporters marveled at how the world has changed, and some even took a few snarky pot shots at our current culture of constant connectivity. (To paraphrase Brian Williams: It's hard to imagine how we ever got along without them, although somehow we managed to win World War II and put a man on the moon.)
To me, the best observation was made by the man who made that first call, Martin Cooper. He noted that the mobile phone shifted our entire conception of the telephone: we used to call a place, but now we call a person.
Wow. It doesn't seem like it will be too long before the phrase, May I speak to... is obsolete.
Cooper also pointed out that every phone has an on/off switch, and that we should all remember who controls who. And he's right, because you may not always be home, but you are always you.
ever.
Of course the reporters marveled at how the world has changed, and some even took a few snarky pot shots at our current culture of constant connectivity. (To paraphrase Brian Williams: It's hard to imagine how we ever got along without them, although somehow we managed to win World War II and put a man on the moon.)
To me, the best observation was made by the man who made that first call, Martin Cooper. He noted that the mobile phone shifted our entire conception of the telephone: we used to call a place, but now we call a person.
Wow. It doesn't seem like it will be too long before the phrase, May I speak to... is obsolete.
Cooper also pointed out that every phone has an on/off switch, and that we should all remember who controls who. And he's right, because you may not always be home, but you are always you.
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