It Keeps Getting Better

I don't usually like to complain, but something has been bothering me. The cost of phone calls overseas has dropped dramatically. Everyone in almost every part of the world can now call other countries for very little. We are one big interconnected family. But, I have noticed that along with the reduction in the price of calls, call quality has just gone out the window. Its ridiculous. Yesterday I was unfortunate enough to have to join in on a conference call with some people in the US. I got maybe two words of each sentence. I had to sit there and try channel the people on the other side. At some point you stop asking people to repeat themselves because you begin to sound like a half-wit. More and more calls seem like vague outlines of a conversation and if there is not a horrid echo, then you get that terrible word clipping that leaves you with one word out of ten. I have an idea for a startup. Seeing as we are used to the idea that while calling is cheap, you can't really communicate, lets take it a step further. You pay very little and we'll not connect you at all (sounds a bit like Skype actually).

This concept of making things cheaper and then getting the world used to shoddy service is a growing trend. I got a shiny new cellphone a few weeks back. It has every bell and whistle you could imagine. The only problem is the battery does not last longer than one day and you need to recharge every night. A few years back my cell phone could go a whole week without recharging. That's progress I suppose.