Date: February 12, 2009 @ 9:00 AM

Smart Phone

Why is a wine blog commenting on cell phones?

Winemakers use cell phones a lot. My first one was about the size of a big lunch box…(but it was cool!) Everyone knew you had a “cell phone” because you grunted so much trying to lug it around and your forearm got big enough that everyone thought you played tennis.

The novelty wore off. Phones got smaller. We didn’t hesitate to make short calls although the call from the back seat to Larry, who was in the front seat with Gil, may have been particularly childish given the serious nature of communications on these devices.

I have accused myself of being an anachronism – (I suspect it is true of anyone who uses the word anachronism.) Granted, winemaking has been around for about 5000 years so I may be in the right field. But, technology keeps gaining in winemaking, too.  Take cell phones…please.

Phones changed. The internet arrived and we were supposed to be able to do everything on our “mobile devices.” Check the weather, email, texting :) lol…omg! (those are courtesy of my kids), phone calls, calendars, photos and more.  Cell phones are everywhere.  We use them for everything. How did we handle all the winemaking before cell phones? We take it for granted that the things are supposed to work.

I “upgraded” (a trick tech word) to a “smart” phone. Smart phones aren’t. I don’t know if they were named by an optimist or by someone who has issues with the concept of truth in advertising.  My phone, I won’t name brands (TREO) turns itself off periodically...repeatedly...I suspect even maliciously. (For a while, I understood because I thought it was French so it had a 35-hour work week and qualified for six weeks of vacation.)  It turns itself off to rest for a few minutes after each call or email. This is understandably annoying because I had thought that the phone was there for my convenience. (Instead, I wait for those fleeting moments when it allows communications to occur.)

This could present problems but the bugs are supposed to be fixed before harvest and it is rumored to be coming with a new more “user-friendly interface.” Uhohhhh…

I tend to think that a user-friendly interface is better defined by sharing a bottle Far Niente Cabernet (with the cell phones turned off). 

Comments:

1. Get an iPhone, Dirk! :)

   Comment by Mike Duffy
   February 14, 2009 @ 11:10 am