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Guests on cell phones

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bobheck

bobheck

Disco still sucks.
With all due respect (I love The Paracast), is it too much to ask that guests call on a land line and not a cell phone? The fuzziness of the cell phones sometimes is just really annoying.

I know, I know, I should just look past it and enjoy the content. But it annoys the hell out of me sometimes.

I'll take my licks now (I'm sure they are coming).
 
bobheck said:
With all due respect (I love The Paracast), is it too much to ask that guests call on a land line and not a cell phone? The fuzziness of the cell phones sometimes is just really annoying.

I know, I know, I should just look past it and enjoy the content. But it annoys the hell out of me sometimes.

I'll take my licks now (I'm sure they are coming).
Click to expand...

Some people have portable phones and nothing wired. Others only use cell phones. We try to encourage them to use Skype, but on occasion their headsets aren't any better.

We do what we can. :D
 
Coast To Coast will only talk to guests via land line and if you don't have one, recommend booking a hotel room for one.

:)
 
So they won't pay for the hotel room. Big deal.

If you're such an asshat that you have to hit a Cockroach Inn to get on a land line than why should someone else pick up that cost?
 
MotorCity said:
So they won't pay for the hotel room. Big deal.

If you're such an asshat that you have to hit a Cockroach Inn to get on a land line than why should someone else pick up that cost?
Click to expand...

To be nice.
 
bobheck said:
I'll take my licks now (I'm sure they are coming).
Click to expand...

lol i posted to soon before i read all of your post :p
i dont know i just got a kick out of this part of your post hehe you're expecting to be teased hehe nice :p
 
banning said:
wow... i thought that 90's were like 8 or so years ago... doesn't everyone use cell phones and debit cards now?
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Pretty much. Yet they still haven't figured out a way to make cell phones sound good.
 
Gene Steinberg said:
banning said:
wow... i thought that 90's were like 8 or so years ago... doesn't everyone use cell phones and debit cards now?
Click to expand...

Pretty much. Yet they still haven't figured out a way to make cell phones sound good.
Click to expand...

hehe i think the only thing i need now is how they got some places set up in europe from what i've read... you can use your cell phone AS your debit card, then id only have to carry one thing lol.
 
bobheck said:
With all due respect (I love The Paracast), is it too much to ask that guests call on a land line and not a cell phone? The fuzziness of the cell phones sometimes is just really annoying.

I know, I know, I should just look past it and enjoy the content. But it annoys the hell out of me sometimes.

I'll take my licks now (I'm sure they are coming).
Click to expand...

I never lick on the first date! :D

I do agree with you. I found the interview with Jacques Vallee disappointing because his voice was unclear. Yes, he also has a French accent which is a bit hard to understand to an untrained ear (I am very family with Spanish accents in Los Angeles). But when a really special guest is on, it is a real disappointment when he sounds like he is talking through a soup can. :mad:
 
I wonder if im the only person who isn't bothered by the quality... i really don't notice... well the only time i noticed was at the x-conference i believe it was when db was interviewing ppl in public lol. but at the same time is was the paracast live so naturally it was to be expected.
 
banning said:
wow... i thought that 90's were like 8 or so years ago... doesn't everyone use cell phones and debit cards now?
Click to expand...

Yes, most people have them now and they are very convenient. I have two, but I am also on a lot of conference calls for business and I would not dream of calling a conference call on a cell phone if at all possible. It's just rude and discourteous to the others on the call. But sometimes that is unavoidable because meetings can be called on short notice.

Now, if I were given the honor of being asked to be a participant in an internet/radio discussion like The Paracast, I would have the decency to make arrangements to call on a regular analog land line -- not a cell phone or that VOIP crap (same issues with it). That way, the line would be much more clear and the listeners would not have to put up with the scratchy, tinny sound and occasional cut-outs that are all-too common with cell phones and VOIP.

It is not entirely the technology of cell phones that make them sound bad. A lot of it is because the cell companies throttle the bandwidth to the phones to squeeze the most bucks out of the transmission facilities. Until the technology and bandwidth issues are overcome though, audio quality on mobile phones is and will continue to be quite inferior to traditional phone lines.
 
We use whatever they have available. More and more people have given up on their landlines, millions in fact every single year. The reason mobile providers don't fix their networks is because the customers aren't complaining enough. I suppose if they get fewer dropped calls, they're happy.
 
Gene Steinberg said:
We use whatever they have available. More and more people have given up on their landlines, millions in fact every single year. The reason mobile providers don't fix their networks is because the customers aren't complaining enough. I suppose if they get fewer dropped calls, they're happy.
Click to expand...

Oh, I do understand from The Paracast point of view -- "Please be a guest, we prefer landlines, but call any way you can. Thanks!" Totally understand that.

I was just saying that I would think a guest would take it upon themselves to call on a landline just to make their appearance come across better and to show some respect for the listeners.

Maybe I just hear differently than most people. But, I can tell immediately when someone is on a cell phone as opposed to a landline (another poster said he did not notice the difference - just can't believe that). Quality just takes a nosedive on a cell. When the landline/cell quality gets about even, then it probably would not matter. Not there yet.

Ok, with all that, just keep the shows coming. Great stuff!
 
I don't find any issues with sound quality at all. Some podcasts I refuse to listen to, because of hideous sound quality. But I've never had problems with the Paracast.
 
hehe see like if was a guest and i had to use a landline id have to call up my grandma and goto her house :p

i suppose if i wanted to be cool though i could install skype i mean it cant be that monstrous of download.
 
It's 21MB. It's a no-brainer install. It can be used easily with a Web Cam. Invest in good-quality headphones, though. You can't really use speakers because it creates a feedback loop through the microphone. It's pretty good quality. I have a slower DSL connection. Not as good as a land line, but better than most cell phones.
 
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