“When she whipped out her iPhone, Erica Sadum could feel her husband’s eyes roll. But she had a point to prove. And in less than a minute, she was able to report to the skeptics around the dinner table that Menno Simons, whose followers are known as Mennonites, was in fact born in 1496,” Michelle Quinn reports for The Los Angeles Times.
Quinn reports, “Apple Inc.’s iPhone, which went on sale nine months ago, isn’t the only so-called smart phone that provides itinerant access to the Web. But its wide screen and top-quality browser make it easy to use and read, which means it can in seconds change a lighthearted conversation into the Pursuit of Truth.”
Quinn reports, “‘It’s turned me from a really annoying know-it-all into an incredibly annoying know-it-all, with the Internet to back me up,’ said Sadum, a technology writer in Denver. ‘”It’s not a social advantage.'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Jedicid,” “ChicagoPhotoGuy,” and “MacVicta” for the heads up.]
You know, it’s all about the social context. When people need info, the iPhone is great. When people are being challenged, then it’s not so great. I mean, say you are on a date with a beautiful woman. She says something that is cringe-worthy in its wrongness. Pre-iPhone, you say nothing and accept it as the cost of… you know what. Post-iPhone, well, only a true dork would pull out an iPhone to challenge something their dinner date said.
Here’s an analogy. In college, a good friend, Dawn, was complaining about a recent dinner date. The date, an engineering student had taken Dawn to the nicest restaurant in Baltimore, Tio Pepe’s. Anyway, the engineer had critiqued Dawn’s way of putting her fork in her mouth. Of course, Dawn, who was an expert at putting things in her mouth was not at all happy about the critique, and walked out on her dinner date. The moral of the story is to NEVER critique a woman about how she puts things in her mouth!
Hey Ampar, do you read Christopher Moore? Douchebaggery is right up there with fucktard. Unless you are Christopher Moore…
I DO know it all.
Seriously, I work in a sales environment where there is a lot of down time in the bullpen.
I am called upon at least half a dozen times a day to look up something on my “internet thingy”.
“Apple iPhone owners risk being turned into incredibly annoying know-it-alls”
I knew that….
@coolfactor
are you a PC user?
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” /> you missed the point…
not to conform ourselves but to prove to those who doubt us –that is, those who doubt me.
(c1… it’s always been love.)
@ichi
that’s “confirm”, not “conform”.
e.g., i will conform only when c1 confirms.
Huh? Does all this mean something?
@doubletree
Now that’s the kind of real stories these writers should be posting. Great story.
I should have said in .doc format. Like hell would Microsoft be using .pdf by default.
If knowing truth is annoying then I better be annoying rather than believing someone idiot
At last! A public apology from Afib to all of us here at MDN!
Now we just need one from the insufferable Scheduler and we are all set for a great year!
I was at a friends place and he is a dentist. He wanted a demo of what the iphone could do, so I hit location, then searched for dentists.
His office/home flag came up, I hit it and there was his phone number, web site etc.
Touched the telephone number and his phone started ringing.
He was amazed.
Another friend wanted to look at an ad for a car on Craigs List.
I found the ad, touched the phone number and passed the phone to him.
‘Here, talk to the guy’.
Afterwards he said ‘how did you do that?’
For those who havent used one, the iPhone is kinda like magic.
And yeah, we iPhoners know it all, baby.
Well, which would you rather be, a know-it-all or an opinionated dumbass?
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Well, which would you rather be, a know-it-all or an opinionated dumbass?
Let’s ask Rush Limbaugh.
Ha, ha, ha, sounds like me, I do that constantly to shut up my friends who think that they know it all.
It feels good.
Next step the iPhone goes into a “told you so.”
Having access to the internet is like having access to a huge library, and sometimes it really helps an intelligent conversation getting the proper fax.
I have had many a good conversation with a computer in the room so that we could access it. It doesn’t stop the socialization process, it can enhance it.
After all, isn’t this the information age, where information is indeed power and getting the facts straight are there to help us with our lives.
One thing I love about the net, is when you get these chain emails about this and that, and knowing some kewl sites where you can answer back and say “scam” or “out of date” or “total bs” if really shuts them up, or gets them to check stuff before sending it out.
Information at your fingertips. Use it.
Nice story about using the iPhone to assist someone. That is what is nice about a good portion of the world, having people help each other.
Well, which would you rather be, a know-it-all or an opinionated dumbass?
“Let’s ask Rush Limbaugh.”
Yeah, I’ll bet Rush has at least has dealt with some opinionated dumbass, he seems to know the Clintons.
Artist: “… Telephones were just fine when we had nothing but land lines, but now everybody has cell phones… There so so many rude people talking in places where they shouldn’t (cars, grocery stores, etc..)…taking that instant knowledge from the desktop to the palm of your hand will create it own set of annoyances.”
I found that people who need to feel they are the center of attention have problems with other people talking on phones. Sounds like “Artist” is annoyed at cell users because they are not paying attention to what “Artist” wants. Get over yourself- I bet you get annoyed when two people are talking while shopping together at the store too. Are you just shamed that you don’t have anyone who cares to talk to you?
Lets all have a day for good ole Artist. Next time you go shopping, DO NOT SPEAK TO ANYONE! Simply walk and listen to the canned music playing and to the sounds of the tuna cans bouncing around in the cart. It would make a perfect day for people like Artist.
@doubletrouble
that man you helped in the pouring rain on his way to work…. did you ask him if he lived under a rock that he didn’t know what an iphone was???
“Well, which would you rather be, a know-it-all or an opinionated dumbass?”
Give me an iPhone. I’d rather be a smartass than a dumbass any day!
@Road Warrior – in your second paragraph you typed “proper fax”. I’m sure you meant “proper facts”. But that gives me the idea –
The iPhone is a personal facts machine. That seems pretty handy.
I know some bullshitters. After whipping out the iPhone a few times, I happy to report the tone has quelled.
And that’s satisfying.
Anyone choosing an Apple product is already smarter than the average bear.