You don't want those nice features ? That's too bad... (Two rants in one.)

[Rust]

First thread in Rants, woohoo !

This will seem like I've made two different rants in this post, but actually both relate to the same general thing.

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RANT #1
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So I went to buy a new cell phone today because my (very) old was starting to not work properly. Well, actually, that was the old one of my sister, which I used to replace my even older one, because its battery wasn't charging anymore (good memories, transferring all my data from the phone to its memory card in paces of 30 seconds because the battery was empty :lol:).

Well anyways, this one started to not work properly either ; people couldn't hear me talking from times to times, which was blatantly annoying.
That's at that very moment my rant takes in effect. I had to get through four shops before I got to find a cellphone corresponding to what I was looking for : a simple cellphone.

Seriously, why is that hard to find a cellphone with the simple calling and texting features they had back in the days ?
Now, you're almost compelled to buy a phone which can store music, have internet access, take photos, allows you to play crappy video games and lets you watch videos on it. What the Hell ? I have gaming systems for games, mp3 player with better storage for music, the photo quality of a cellphone with a decent prize are crap, not to add I can do without the internet when I don't have access to my computer and I will certainly watch videos on a stamp-sized screen...

But no, if I didn't have searched harder, I would have had to spend extra cash for 'cool' features I don't even care about. Duh...

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RANT #2
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I always hear here and there Steam is an awesome program, with awesome features and possibilities and such.
I keep thinking since day one Steam is the worst gaming crap I have ever seen.

OK, being able to buy your game and having it installed and ready to play from the same program is indeed nice.
Where it fails is when you're actually bound to use the said program for games that wouldn't even need it, especially when that program is full of bugs like only a program in beta-test (or a Bethesda game :wacko:) would be.

Some time ago, in a totally random fashion, Steam decided all of my games were now unavailable. I'll have to pass on Left4Dead and Black Mesa : Source because of that, not to add old HL games such as HL, HL : Opposing Force or Gunman Chronicles, which were released prior to Steam launch, are now automatically launching through it (in other words, I can't play those games anymore either).
I know there is a way to fix the error I'm having, tons of people got it ; though, the way to do so on the official site works for less than 25% of the people having that error. For the rest, each got his very own way of fixing the issue through tries and retries. I don't have the time nor the motivation to go through install and re-installs for hours just for a stupid error.

So yeah, at least, when those games were still under WON, you didn't have to cope with a shitty commercial program (because that's what Steam is) going on and off, in order to play games you had bought separately.

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CONCLUSION
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This rant is about all those things for which you are proposed a ton of services, which aren't actually optional most of the time like they should be.
I hate being almost forced to get features I don't give a crap about on a product when I could have it for cheaper without said features.

I know that's just a matter of marketing and that I can't do anything about it, but that's actually why I feel like ranting, doesn't it make sense ?


(Sidenote)

I just needed to evacuate that somewhere, I don't think I will ever reply to any post made in that thread. I pretty much said all I had to say already (which isn't much, I can give that).

[Aisha379]

Don't even get me started on cellphones. My family has a prepaid plan with alltell that is just horrendous...often when we're on vacation our phones don't work, and even though their minutes rollover, mine will completely vanish unless I put a bit of money on it every month or so.

And once, I was trying to call my mom while I was out somewhere to let her know I'd be a little late coming home, and the phone said I didn't have enough money to make a call. But then I dial #369 to check my balance, and it says I have $10. Tried again to call, same thing. Argh.

And thats just a few of the problems I've had with them.

I agree about cellphone features though. Games and such are stupid. I wouldn't mind too much having internet access, but really, all I'd want it for is comparing prices of something I see while I'm out, or checking how much some collectible item could go for on eBay, or the like.



As with Steam, I cannot relate. Even when I had my previous PC, which was total crap, I never had any trouble with Steam. I do admit you shouldn't be FORCED to launch it or have it linked to ALL the games though. Thats a bit overboard, but since I have no issues with Steam anyway it really doesn't bother me too bad =X

[EphekZ]

you know, you could just buy the phone with access to the gadgets but not use it? :???:
No one is forcing you to buy the plan for it. In the end if you buy some shitty old phone, or a phone that's been around for a while but has " cool features" you're going to buy them for the same price. You're kinda making yourself extra hard for no reason. :disapprove:

as for Steam, like Aisha, Steam has been pretty great with me and everyone I know.

For both of these, you're really in the minority

[CrimsomWolf]

Today's cellphones are a...a...a... I don't know.

Multipurpose multi tools. As they say in my parts: butterly butter.

Soon enough, Star Trek's trickoders will be outdated, considering all things they do...

Of course, a lot of them is crap when you actually have to send a message or phone...

[KodiaX987]

Cellphone-wise, I'm using a Samsung M300. It's simple, small and cheap. Rather barebones for a cellphone, at least by today's standards.

[Ketchup345]

you know, you could just buy the phone with access to the gadgets but not use it? :???:
No one is forcing you to buy the plan for it. In the end if you buy some shitty old phone, or a phone that's been around for a while but has " cool features" you're going to buy them for the same price. You're kinda making yourself extra hard for no reason. :disapprove:Problem: some building limit what extras your phone can have. Example: my local court has a no cameras/no camera phone policy. No mention of restricting normal phones. This impacts many people, though some more than others. Decent phones without a camera are very, very hard to find, at least from my provider.

Other features, yeah, probably aren't horrible and with enough work could be removed or disabled with some modification (though bet on voiding your warranty). Also, many features (a few games or game demos, camera, ability to text) are now in the "free category" (minus texting, photo sending, and internet plans).

[Kylie]

I just find the best deal for what I want, and there's usually a large enough selection to avoid spending money on useless extras. If it's a good deal with the extras, woohoo.

[Outrider]

Problem: some building limit what extras your phone can have. Example: my local court has a no cameras/no camera phone policy. No mention of restricting normal phones. This impacts many people, though some more than others. Decent phones without a camera are very, very hard to find, at least from my provider.

Other features, yeah, probably aren't horrible and with enough work could be removed or disabled with some modification (though bet on voiding your warranty). Also, many features (a few games or game demos, camera, ability to text) are now in the "free category" (minus texting, photo sending, and internet plans).

Well, that's one thing. It doesn't sound like that's the issue with the OP, though. I didn't see any mention of needing a simpler phone, but simply wanting one.

Which, again, seems silly, as even baseline phones have cameras & such included for free, so...

As for Steam, I hear somebody complaining about it every once in a while, but I've never had any serious trouble with it. It's crashed a few times here or there, but that's mostly due to my old pc than anything else. Definitely seems like a vocal minority thing here.

[HAYABUSA-FMW-]

Sprint usually has the barebones ones, flip phone styles. I forgot the name of that one company, Nextel maybe that usually has more expensive, bare bones regular phones, but built for work use with more heavy duty-thicker plastics for one. Is that company still around? Could be merged into something else now.

Also going online to those ZDNet PCMag or whatever sites for reviews, you can usually get pointed to the best of the bare bones ones too, not just the newest iPhone/competitor with all the fluff.

And just simply re-iterating, yeah possibly easier updates and patching, but all the new problems with digital distribution and all the problems that come along with that and not buying the game in a package with box and all.

[Firocket1690]

I got my first phone ... about two years ago. Samsung x495. It was grandma's phone, and she left for HK, so I took over it. Made friends, and etc. everyone knows me by that number. It's a fairly primitive phone that serves its basic functions. For about a year and a half, I stuck with it. It was old as hell, and valid for free upgrade (past 2 year contract), but I stuck with it anyway, solely because.. well. it did what i needed. [restate OP's argument]. Phones run on flash memory, and 8 or 16gb at most these days; I'll do without the music. I have a 160gb iPod for that. My DS plays my games. My cell phone makes my calls. I grew up in a generation where each device served a single purpose, and did it damned well. If you google Samsung x495 now, it's not even available now.

I eventually lost it this past august, and father took me to get a replacement. Parents want me to have a phone more than I do. We went to a few TMobile stores, and like I said, the x495 has been discontinued. I was eligable for a upgraded phone anyway, so ... I eventually stumbled upon the Nokia 5310. It's not a top tier smartphone, but it's not a cheap 'free with plan' phone, either. It works. I've been using this thing for two months now, and I've gotten used to it. Moore's law is still in effect, and isn't slowing down anytime soon. So what if you don't need all the features? they're there. Chances are, a newer phone would hold more memory, contacts, and information, which is never a bad thing. Change happens. I dare you to try something new.

Similarly, I only got acquainted with Steam recently. I'm baffled I didn't find out about this sooner. It works seamlessly, and organises everything so well. The store makes it convenient that people don't need to worry about losing discs and such. They recently had a update not that long ago, so perhaps un/re installing would fix a few things? try it.

[Kent]

"I don't want a camera, or something on which to play games, or something that plays music. I want a phone."

"Hey, guess what! It's a phone, too."

Generally, "cellphones" are small PCs now; small PCs with telephony services. Generally, people realize this when they're shopping for one... Sometimes, they also just adapt to modern times and move on.

The concept of a a simple cellphone that has only the basic features of telephony and messaging is about akin to shopping for a desktop computer with a CD-ROM drive and serial ports. It's obsolete, and duly so. Far, far more often than not, a cellphone needs these features because it's either a requirement for the modern userbase or it's a feature that is so commonly a selling-point that it becomes standard.

[Nitro Vordex]

Wait until they turn into one of these.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/70/Wiki-original-pet.jpg/150px-Wiki-original-pet.jpg