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Beyond BlackBerry Thumb

REBECCA DUBE

From Monday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 10:37 PM EST 16/07/08

Neck pain, phantom vibrations and bulging bellies are afflicting hand-held device addicts. The omnipresent technology may be creating a host of problems ...Read the full article

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  1. fortunate one from Oh!MeMeMe!, Canada writes: I myself prefer to text while reclining on a chaise longue, wine and grapes at hand, on the terrace of my seaside villa. This doesn't leave me much time otherwise to engage in lock-picking, but my back, my thumb and my neck still feel just wonderful.



  2. Gordon Murray from Canada writes: Long ago, the phone rang and someone always had intent.
    Has it really changed?
    Certainly there can't be such electronic pulses through a system that has a single staccato "text alert" and/or single part of a ring that does not include a number for caller ID.
    Perhaps someone will write something about it being an insidious plot.
    Just as parents at times create "hungry wolves" on a horizon to try to encourage children to return home before dark and stay out of danger, perhaps the creators of cell phones, parents of a sort, use GPS now so inexpensive, to
    1) calculate distances from other cell users
    2) assign a weight/multiplier to reflect population density and
    3) run a program so that
    those that aren't 'sociable' enough get a little 'zap' of small dimension towards 'getting' busy.
    "What? Another beep this close to co-workers?
    That long since my last cell call?
    No offset for long duration of last call?
    No offset for that last call being to a person of importance?
    No offset for it being during prime cell rate hours???"
  3. Rain Couver from Canada writes: Let us not forget the other casualty of texting, grammar and spelling.
  4. bill k from Canada writes: Blackberry injuries? Office people/upper management/CEO are all lazy people who are under workered and over paided to complain about how little work they do. I would cut 80% of white collar jobs in NA.
  5. Terry Quinn from Canada writes: This brings up the obvious need for more advanced voice activated technology so one can dictate the text w/o use of those body parts.
  6. Allan Hewitson from Kitimat, B.C., Canada writes: Two neatly conjoined posts. After Bill K Rain Couver can rest his case!
  7. Not 4 Harper from Canada writes: Does anyone remember the predictions 20 years ago that we would be working 4 day weeks and have lots of leisure time by the year 2000? If you can sit by the pool and send a message once in a while , great. You are acccessible and you can relax but if you are the type that gets tensed up worrying about the next message or call, then technology is not helping you out.
  8. City Pig from Toronto, Canada writes: Blackberry injuries, OMG! Just the other day I was reading a story in the G&M about obese people have poor sperm. Maybe it's time to put down the blackberry and go for a walk.
  9. Anon Cow from GTA, Canada writes: Considering that the Apple iPhone2 appeared last week and that many other smartphones have been available for years, I can't help but wonder why only the blackberry is named (vs "smartphone") and who's asking these questions?
  10. No Name Economist With Different Ideas from Rings too short, Canada writes: What used to drive me nuts were the missed calls on my BB so I reverted to text. Every time the phone would ring I would rush to answer it before it went to voicemail but I was always too late. The default was like two vibrations and one ring. As a result, I started texting more because I could not change the default rings to more rings. Turns out it was not my BB it was my service provider limits the rings by default. If you think about it this is brilliant way to drive up service charges. I get charged for the call coming in, the call I make to my voicemail and then the call I make to the person who called me. I did some research on the net and found out that many BB users had a problem with their Ringtones. Seems they would not play the whole tune only a few notes before going to voicemail. One fellow that commented that he worked for a service provider in the states. He said call your service provider and have them extend the number of rings on their voicemail system. Well I called my service provider, Bell, and told him my problem and he said he’d gladly take care of that for free. He asked if I was calling from a landline, I said no so he said I could do it myself by simply dialing STAR 947 in phone mode. (don't use the alt key just hit 'A' for the star). You will hear a couple of signals and then your all set. Simple. STAR 947 will give you five or six rings before it goes to voicemail. If you want maximum number of rings dial *949. You can adjust it to what you want by changing the last number. This is a top secret code so don’t share it with anyone, ok?
  11. Darcy D from Ottawa, Canada writes: I think berries are for eatin' and pies!
  12. Leslie Erdosy from Canada writes: As far as I am concerned, these busybodies deserve it. Whatever happened to the idea of being out of reach? Why does anyone need to be accessible at any time? Is anyone that important? I think our priorities have been kyboshed. The day the office gives my a BB is the day I will quit. Sorry, but I do not want to be at the "beck and call" of anyone, period. I may be a Neanderthal, but I simply place more value on my sanity. My cellphone is a utilitarian device. I have it only because I am away from home. The day I retire is the day that I will ditch the thing, well maybe. That is too far to contemplate right now. I fail to see what it is that is driving people to buy the newest toys, IPhones, BB, Treos etc.. Why are we trying to kill ourselves? Don't people have better things to do? Are we that fixated on these electronic gadgets? Like Darcy, the only berries I have are the edible kind. Oops, I have to go to my IP address.
  13. Hugh Draper from Vancouver, Canada writes: So with voice activated technology, wouldn't you just have an office of people shouting to be heard by their machines?
  14. Frank Yue from Toronto, Canada writes: Simple, effective exercise/remedy for arthritic hands, painful finger joints, BB thumb, etc: "Clapping Hands" (aka "10 Dexterous Hands"): it worked and healed my painful swelling bone spur, a small bone outgrowth due to aging/degneration, at my thumb joint. Only 10 forms. Do each form 36 times (don't have to count exactly, min. no. is 20 for each form. If you do less than 20 time for each form there's no enough stimulation.). 1. Clap both index fingers together (palms facing downwards). 2. Clap pinkies together (palms facing upwards). 3. Clap centre points of inner wrists together (palms facing each other, hands looking like a blooming flower). 4. Clap webs between index fingers and thumbs together (palms facing downwards). 5. Clap the webs of the remaining 4 fingers together with both hands (palms facing self). 6. Hammer-strike centre of left palm with bottom of right fist. 7. Hammer-strike right palm with left fist. 8. Slap-strike centre of outer left wrist with centre of right palm. 9. Slap-strike centre of outer right wrist with left palm. 10. Clap both hands in prayer-hand style (palms facing each other). This hand exercise is several hundred years old and is now practised daily at virtually all the Chinese homes for the aged in Toronto. It is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine principles: our hands are connected to our internal organs, and regularly stimulating the acupoints on the hands improves circulation and promotes self-healing. After the exercise you'll feel your hands are full of pulsating energy: don't forget to massage all your hand joints individually with your R and L hand respectively. Do this 10-form exercise, lasting only 2 to 3 minutes, at least 3 times a day for self-healthcare/healing/ameliation of painful symptoms of the hand/leg. Please DO give this a try -- you have nothing to loose but your pain. No ill side-effects. A-sante!
  15. City Pig from Toronto, Canada writes: I have a great idea, put down the damn blackberry and go for a run, walk, bike ride or something other than work.

    Losers.
  16. Shaemas Lal from Canada writes: i experience phantom vibrations all the time...its definatly a weird feeling.

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