Why Video Calling Is a Wasted Feature In the UK 232
An anonymous reader writes "Technology affects the way we live but sociocultural influences also dictate what technology we absorb into our day-to-day lives. Take video calling on the iPhone 4 for example; it was pitched as an impressive feature, but will people adopt it? According to one British writer, the UK is unlikely to start making lots of video calls because it's awkward and, well, not very British. 'It's not the way we look when we say them, but the way we say them in order to inject the most bile into a negative statement. Or, on our more enthusiastic days, finding the most wryly witty way to say something while indicating that you couldn't really care less about it. This is the reason we've taken so well to Twitter and are better at watching than creating YouTube videos, to put it in sweepingly generic Internet terms.'"
All in the marketing (Score:1, Funny)
But apple have "invented" video calling, its an awesome new and unique feature that all the iSheep will be using.
Re:Maybe they can invent avatars for your teeth? (Score:5, Funny)
The way you see British teeth is how the rest of the world sees US health. Yanks will need whole body avatars to hide their many untreated diseases and morbid obesity.
Re:face for radio (Score:3, Funny)
I swear my first thought when reading this summary was "Of course, NHS dentistry!"
Re:Proximity and usability (Score:1, Funny)
One thing I like about voice-only on phone calls is that I can imagine the other person naked, and there's nothing to prove me wrong.
The same goes for Internet forums.
Re:face for radio (Score:3, Funny)
How can you blame something which, essentialy, doesn't exist?
Re:British Teeth (Score:1, Funny)
Yeah, but they charge money, so we tend not to bother until we have a toothache.
Re:Toilets, Cars, etc. (Score:3, Funny)
It's a cell phone. Our law is pretty strict - you can not have it in your hands while driving. So you need to get a bluetooth, and use the earpiece to hang up.
$100 + 3 demerit points.
And this applies, even when the car is parked on the side of the road with the engine idling.