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March 02, 2005

Ringtones

Ringtones in the office are the new Donald Duck ties.

In the 80s, if you worked in an office, you wore a suit and tie. Most people wore a sober colour, and the tie was striped, spotted, paisley, or plain.

Some bright sparks wanted to show their individuality, and especially in the weeks following Christmas there would be many 'amusing' ties with bright Donald Ducks or Mickey Mouses beaming out at you on the morning tube.

Nowadays, this practice has largely disappeared (thank deity), and even the suit is an endangered species (unless you're an estate agent, lawer or other pond scum). So how do people assert their boyish credentials when every other person is also wearing chinos and a polo shirt? Yes, it's the jokey ringtone.

In the beginning, mobile phones just rang, and this was pretty much restricted to a couple of different kinds of beeps. One from Ericsson was so much used it became ridiculed by Dom Joly in his Trigger Happy TV shop - "Hello, yes, I'm on the train, it's rubbish!!"

Now mobile phones don't just ring, they sing too. They'll play anything you like. You can hold them up to a flushing toilet, press record, and have that sound filling your cubicle when your mum calls to tell you you've forgotten your sandwiches.

Today, I've been assaulted by Bob the Builder, The A Team and Thunderbirds. It's just not amusing the first time, never mind the twenty first. And they are called 'mobile' phones, so why don't you take them with you instead of leaving them on your desk when you go to a meeting. And just when you've gotten tired of their phone ringing, you realise that the person probably left a message - and sure enough 60 seconds later the automated answering service calls so you can 'enjoy' the tone all over again. And then, there's more. Your significant other really really wants you not to forget to buy some milk on the way home, so it's time for a text message, and an alternative tone for your abandoned phone to broadcast, accompanied by a loud thumping sound as it vibrates across the desk.

Ringtones aren't amusing, and like Disney themed ties, I really hope they die out soon. If you really were an amusing life and soul of the party type, you wouldn't be sitting in an office staring at a computer for eight hours a day. Turn your phone to silent vibrate, keep it in your pocket, get a life, and get out of mine!

(apologies to John Gaunt off BBC London for that last bit, couldn't resist)

Posted by se71 at March 2, 2005 02:29 PM

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