Date: Sun, 05 Nov 2000 16:00:08 +0000
From: sdv <steve.devos-AT-krokodile.com>
Subject: Re: society and technology


darren,

Sorry but where did the master/slave continuum come from?


sdv

Darren Keast wrote:

> > The mobile phone allows not only for the imbalance
> > of master/slave
> > continuum
>
> Call me cynical, but I don't see this as realistic. To
> avoid jumping into ideologies right off the batt, I
> can offer a real world example....
>
> I have a friend who has always maintained he never
> wanted a cell phone...around here in San Francisco,
> they are the hideous accessory to the Starbucks-SUV
> tribe. Anyway, he got a job at a company that, after
> he worked there for a few months, REQUIRED every
> employee to not only have a company cell phone, but to
> carry it at all times. The reasoning, as it seems
> always to be, was for safety and efficiency. What if
> there's a system outage and we can't get a hold of
> you? What if you're out having fun when we need to ask
> you a question? What if you get out of monitoring
> distance? What if you have a life outside of work?
>
> Another friend, a gleeful salesmen for the new mobile
> service conglomerate (forgetting the name, they are
> competing with Verizon), told me recently, "Pretty
> soon the cell phone won't be a novelty. Everyone will
> have to have one." I don't see how this will lead to
> any liberation from the "master-slave relationship" at
> all....we'll all be buying the chance to "communicate"
> on the installment plan. One more bill to yoke us to
> the master...
>
> The best thing I can say about the establisment of any
> "necessary cell phone network" is that it will
> inevitably breed an network of non-cell phone users,
> people who enjoy their private time and having it not
> invaded by bosses, and soon, telemarketers.
>
> In terms of expanding communication, why are we always
> looking to the future for the "great remedy?" Look at
> CB technology--as in the "mobile phones" truckers use.
> They use public airwaves, accesible to anyone with a
> receiver, which allows for community discussion rather
> than private one-to-one communication. One-to-many
> communication and many-to-many. Not to mention, once
> you buy a receiver, you can use the thing for FREE.
> And let's not use the argument that cell phones are
> superior because they are private--anyone with a
> powerful scanner can hear everything you're saying....
>
> darren
>
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