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Unread 13-04-2009, 18:41
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Re: Interesting speed test

The demonstration only proves that using a 12 key keypad is inefficient for encoding a text message. So what? I get annoyed with it when I just to had to enter a name into a phone list let alone try to do a 50 character message. When I gave in to texting for my teenagers we all got qwerty cellphones.

Best case scenario for the telegraph was to send telegrams; typically a customer would write down the message of 50 words or less and hand it off to the local telegraph operator that would send it electronically to a telegraph operator at the other end who would then write it down and hand it off to someone else. Both telegraph operators would make money on the deal.

The average person that likes texting has already switched over to a qwerty keyboard and easily does over 3 letters per second, and typically use text slang to dramatically reduce letter count.

If someone hands me a note with a message to get to someone else, then I typically snap a picture of it and send it to them because it takes less than 5 seconds of my mental energy to get it done. Unlike the telegraph operators, I usually don't make money on the deal.

I used to have to know how to toggle in binary machine language for the card reader program on to a IBM 1130.
http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/ex...130_intro.html
(I love the picture: I think the guy is wearing FIRST safety glasses).

So if we agree that Morris code is a technology whose applications still include the practical as well as the nostalgic: Can we make the same judgement about smoke signals?


I wonder if FIRST participants are more or less likely than the general public to have:
1) cellphones
2) texting on their cellphone (that they use)
3) picture capability on their cellphones (that they use)

My bet is "more likely".

If we limit it to the FIRST participants that practice Morris Code, then I wonder it the percentages would change. Should I start a poll?
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