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Arnomation
Citizen
Username: Arnomation
Post Number: 568
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 7:28 am: | 
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Have you heard about this new cell phone ring
Students are using a new ring tone to receive messages in class -- and many teachers can't even hear the ring.
Some students are downloading a ring tone off the Internet that is too high-pitched to be heard by most adults. With it, high schoolers can receive text message alerts on their cell phones without the teacher knowing.
As people age, many develop what's known as aging ear -- a loss of the ability to hear higher-frequency sounds.
The ring tone is a spin-off of technology that was originally meant to repel teenagers -- not help them. A Welsh security company developed the tone to help shopkeepers disperse young people loitering in front of their stores while leaving adults unaffected. The company called their product the "Mosquito."
Donna Lewis, a teacher in Manhattan, says her colleague played the ring for a classroom of first-graders -- and all of them could hear it, while the adults couldn't hear anything.
Old Folks Need Not Apply |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 14682
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 7:40 am: |
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That's hilarious. I remember reading about the teenager dispersal invention. I also remember when I was a kid, going crazy in museums and jewelry shops when I was a kid, because the alarm system emitted a constant high beep, and no one else could hear it.
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Arnomation
Citizen
Username: Arnomation
Post Number: 569
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 7:52 am: |
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The weird thing about this is that phones have a vibrate/etiquette mode that teachers can't hear anyway. So, they don't really need this. |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 3494
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 8:16 am: |
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I don't understand why more people don't use vibrate more of the time. There's just no excuse for phones ringing during performances, church services, etc.
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sportsnut
Citizen
Username: Sportsnut
Post Number: 2459
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 10:50 am: |
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sac - Actually there really is no reason that a person cannot turn their phone off for one or two hours during a performance or church service. |
ML
Supporter
Username: Ml1
Post Number: 3026
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 11:08 am: |
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what's weird is that I'm considerably past the age when I'm not supposed to be able to hear that tone, and I can definitely hear it. I also could hear it when Channel 4 did a story on it at 11 last night. I've always been able to perceive high frequency sounds that other people didn't seem to hear. It's actually kind of annoying to be able to hear those tones, and of all the quirky abilities I could have, I would never have chosen the ability to hear high frequency sounds. |
Scully
Citizen
Username: Scully
Post Number: 617
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 12:09 pm: |
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Well, ageing has at least done me one favor. Not that I'm a mall person under any scenario, but for the longest time that EXTREMELY high pitched whine that came out of elevators drove me NUTS. Sound as pain. It's gone. |
Lou
Citizen
Username: Flf
Post Number: 179
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 12:20 pm: |
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Around what age does a person usually stop hearing it?
I could hear the sound with no problem. |
Rick B
Citizen
Username: Ruck1977
Post Number: 1127
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 12:21 pm: |
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if they put it on vibrate they can't show off the new ringer they had to purchase from their online provider |
Rastro
Citizen
Username: Rastro
Post Number: 3365
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 12:24 pm: |
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I always thought the noise that Tom and Scully are talking about was from the lighting - I heard is most around large installations of florescent lights. I still hear it, though it's not as distracting as it was when I was younger.
This is such a non-story, it's amazing all theswe news outlets are talking about it. If a teacher can't see a student typing on their phone or can't see a student loking at their phone in class or during a test, there's a bigger problem. |
Scully
Citizen
Username: Scully
Post Number: 618
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 12:39 pm: |
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Lou:
I think they said that you start not being able to hear that tone in your 40's. I'm sure it varies widely since people's hearing abilities vary in the first place. |
red
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 5769
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 1:05 pm: |
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Well I am not in my 40's and I couldn't hear it.....nothing like feeling old  |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 14694
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 1:07 pm: |
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I can't hear it through my computer speakers, but I can hear it with headphones. It's possible your computer speakers and mine cannot produce that tone.
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red
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 5770
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 1:11 pm: |
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Thanks Tom |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 3496
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 1:34 pm: |
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"Actually there really is no reason that a person cannot turn their phone off for one or two hours during a performance or church service."
There is always a reason. Whether you agree that it is justified is another matter. (How about someone waiting for a donor heart or with a family member with a life-threatening health condition or ...)
My point is that there is a way to have it on that disturbs no one but many people choose not to take advantage of that or just don't bother to try.
When my spouse and I attend theater performances (or similar) and leave our children at home, we most certainly do keep a phone ON in vibrate mode. But we also tell the kids and/or sitter that they should only call if it is important and that we will not pick up immediately. We also tell them that they should call twice in quick succession if they need us to get back to them before the intermission or end of whatever it is. Then, if that does happen, we will exit gracefully and then check caller ID or voicemail outside of the theater and handle the situation then. I don't see how that could be objectionable to anyone. (It is certainly less disruptive than having them call the ushers and having an usher with a flashlight trying to find us in the dark.)
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Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2246
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 1:54 pm: |
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Headphones on, I heard it, and it hurt my ears. As soon as I took off my headphones, I began to notice all the buzzing around me from the computer fan, overhead lights and electronic devices. I don't have particularly good hearing either. I think that sound file just got me sensitive to the higher frequency tones, something I usually unconsciously block out as electronic white noise. |
Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 1769
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 4:59 pm: |
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I heard it too, and I'm a scuba diver. I mention this because apparently scuba diving over a period of time tends to mess up your hearing a bit.
Oh, I'm also old as the hills. |
Glock 17
Citizen
Username: Glock17
Post Number: 1125
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 5:18 pm: |
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I just put the phone on my desk and set it to silent during class. Makes no noise (or vibration) and i can just see as messages come in |
Nohero
Supporter
Username: Nohero
Post Number: 5500
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 10:43 pm: |
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We just had a little "family time", using the link provided by Arnomation at the top of this thread.
The parents heard nothing. The children did hear it. The younger one (17 years old) asked if I could turn it off, because it was getting annoying.
First, thank you for the laugh, because we all thought this was hilarious.
Second, thanks for nothing (for reminding some of us about how old we are). 
What better way to celebrate post number 5500. |
Strings
Supporter
Username: Blue_eyes
Post Number: 870
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 7:16 am: |
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It sounds exactly like when the TV/VCR is left on after a movie is over (yes, I mean tape, not DVD). |
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