Technological Dark Ages

There’s nothing quite like living in small town, rural United States.  There are many things that feel backwards and out of date, but there’s one thing above all that makes me feel truly out of touch with society.

There is a telecommunications company here that has a monopoly of the rural areas here.  It’s a small place, and they overcharge for everything.   But what gets me is the cell phones.  Most of the civilized world now has cell phones, and the market for them is an unbelievable place.  New phones come out every week it seems, and the competition forces phones to just get better and better.




But here in the rural sections we get little companies like the one we have here.  The cell services for AT&T and Verizon to not reach here, so the only option is this small company, and the phones they offer...are laughable.

Last year Lisa was told about them getting a brand new, top of the line phone.  One woman waited outside the doors for them to open so she could get hers.  So Lisa, knowing she needed another phone, because her’s was screwing up pretty bad after only a year, was ready to upgrade.  Before she did, I looked up this latest and greatest phone they offered.

I found that this phone was 2 years old, and had been pulled from the shelves of Verizon because it was out of date.  The software was a year and a half out of date, and there were several technical problems with it listed on several review sites.  They even changed the box of it to hide exactly what it was.

This phone has not only completely colored my view of the telecommunications company we have to deal with, it colored my view of the Android OS.  I do not see how ANYONE puts up with the crap that Lisa has to deal with on her phone.  Being billed as the best phone they have, and how it has to be disassembled every 3 days to removed the battery because it locks up is absurd.



But the most absurd issue with this whole drama?  They are the only company that services this area.  SO.  I needed a phone, and got the only free one they had.  I have never, ever, owned such a crap phone.  My very first cell phone was light years ahead of this cheap hunk of plastic.

I feel like I’m in the Dark Ages with technology here.  How can there still be places like this in the US that is devoid of the simple technologies we take for granted?  I’m stunned and stupefied about this, and I have no clue what to do.  I hope one day things change, because watching TV, seeing new technologies being advertised, and shown in tv shows, is depressing.

Anyways, I apologize for my rant, I had to get that off my chest.  At least I have a cell phone that can send txts and call.  At least I have an iPhone 3gs that functions as an iPod because it can’t get service....  Shame that I have to carry around so many devices to connect the way I want, when people out there have iPhone 5 and can talk to it and it talks back.  Main thing is, don’t take your technological gadgets for granted.  Enjoy them as best you can, because there’s people living in the United States that can’t get them, no matter how much money they are willing to pay for them....

--Dan