One invention that most older people have been forced to adapt to is the cellular phone. Nearly everyone has one. And yet in the 10-15 years that cell phones have been around, another shift has come: texting.

I read an article in the most recent Wired Magazine called, “The Phone Call Is Dead – How text messaging is threatening (and preserving) the telephone conversation.” In it the author noticed a trend in his cell phone bills in recent years that many of us have probably seen as well. He found that his mobile phone minutes have been steadily decreasing while his text messaging usage was increasing.

According to Nielson, the average number of mobile phone calls we make is dropping every year after hitting a peak in 2007. And our calls are getting shorter: In 2005 they averaged 3 minutes in length; now they’re almost half that. We’re moving, in other words, towards a fascinating cultural transition: the death of the telephone call. This shift is particularly stark among the young. Some college students I know go days without talking into their smartphones at all. This generation doesn’t make phone calls, because everyone is in constant, lightweight contact in so many other ways: texting, chatting, and social-network messaging. And we don’t have just more options than we used to. We have better ones: These new forms of communication have exposed the fact that the voice call is badly designed. It deserves to die.

The author goes on to say how our culture chose to adapt to the text message because it’s a better method of communication. When we call someone, we’re interrupting them. It’s the phone equivalent of showing up at someone’s home unannounced and ringing their doorbell. We have no way of knowing if this is a good time to talk for them or not. The text message is less intrusive and more polite. Using our illustration above, it would be akin to slipping a note under someone’s door. They can read it and reply when it’s convenient to do so.

Alas, for those poor couples at the restaurant table across from me the other night, their world just keeps changing. Just about the time they get used to talking on cell phones in the car, along comes texting, DMs and Facebook. What’s next?

Just for fun, I put together a little poll to find out how you prefer to communicate. Choose one of the answers and then, if you want, let me know your thoughts on the future of communication in the comments below.

Reception and death-grip aside, there are some pretty amazing things you can do with this phone. I’m going to share some of my favorite apps and accessories in a series of “iPhone Essentials” posts. Today’s list features some great apps for cycling.

DailyMile (Free)

Although technically not an iPhone app, I use this site all the time to track my cycling workouts and connect with other cyclists (you can find and follow me at www.dailymile.com/people/bradruggles).

DailyMile is a social media tool for runners, cyclists and swimmers. It’s been a great way for me to track and view my rides over time. They have pretty good mobile version of their site that you can pull up on your iPhone but some of the key functionality is missing. There is hopefully an iPhone app in the works (fingers crossed).

Even though this isn’t an app I just had to mention it since it has become the main tool I’ve used to track my cycling workouts and routes. Even if you don’t have an iPhone you can still take advantage of this great site.

Cyclemeter ($4.99)

I’ve tried several apps for tracking my cycling while I’m on the bike and this one has been the best I’ve used so far. Cyclemeter (www.cyclemeter.com) gives you the ability to track your workouts using GPS, visualize your routes and stats with helpful graphs, and share your workouts using popular social media sites. I’ve used Cyclemeter alongside my trip computer on my bike and have found it to be only marginally accurate. If you’re going for complete to-the-minute and to-the-mile precision you’ll want to invest in an actual trip computer. For the average user though this app isn’t bad. I really like the ability to see my routes as well as view my elevation and speed graphs.

view this app in iTunes

RunKeeper (free or $9.99)

I’ve tried RunKeeper a couple of times but the jury is still out. Despite the name, this app can be used to track both runs and bike rides. It has the standard GPS map tools along with a few extras like the ability to link specific iPod playlists with your workout and handy graphs while your activity is in progress. You can also take geo-tagged photos along your route if you want to remember a specific landmark. There is a very functional free version of the app and a fairly high-priced Pro version for $9.99 (I’ve only tried the free version so far). Like I said, I haven’t used this app enough to be hooked but I have heard pretty good things from people who use it all the time. It was also ranked #8 in TIME Magazine’s Top Ten iPhone Apps of 2009.

view this app in iTunes

iMapMyRide (free or $4.99)

I’m least familiar with this app out of the three I have listed but I know it’s been around for a while which means they have had plenty of time to improve each version. I also know that there is a pretty active membership-based online community at mapmyride.com. This app has most of the same standard features as the two above with the added ability to post and share specific routes via the MapMyRide web site. You can download the free ad-supported app or purchase iMapMyRIDE + for $4.99.

view this app in iTunes

Tigra iPhone Bike Mount ($44.95)

If you’re going to be using your iPhone to track your bike rides you’re going to need a decent case. I researched bike-mounted cases online and discovered the Tigra iPhone Weather Resistant Bike Mount for $45. The BikeConsole features a weather resistant housing that allows for touch screen operation. It fits any size handle bar and allows for a rotation of 360 degrees. It also features a shock resistant silicon lining that allows for rugged usage on mountain bikes, motorcycles and golf carts. As an added bonus, even though it is advertised as an iPhone 3G/3GS case it fits the iPhone 4 as well! I’ve used this particular case for about a week now and have been very happy with it.

Have you tried any of these apps? Which do you like best? Got any others cycling apps or tools you recommend?

Ever wonder where the term SPAM came from? I mean, we all know that there’s a canned meat with the same name but what’s the connection? According to the Internet Society and other sources, the term spam is derived from the 1970 SPAM sketch on the comedy series “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”

The sketch is set in a cafe where nearly every item on the menu includes SPAM canned luncheon meat. As the waiter recites the SPAM-filled menu, a chorus of Viking patrons drowns out all conversations with a song repeating “SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM… lovely SPAM! wonderful SPAM!”, hence “SPAMming” the dialogue. The basic concept of being “spammed” (receiving tons of unwanted email) owes it’s origin to the couple in the cafe who couldn’t order anything on the menu without getting varying amounts of the unwanted canned meat along with their order.

The 1970 Monty Python SPAM Sketch

So the next time you open your inbox and see 239 emails you didn’t ask for, you’ll be hearing those Vikings singing their spam song as you delete away.

How much spam do you get in your email inbox on an average day?

That’s something Amanda Bonnen is discovering the hard way. In May, the Chicago resident did what many of Twitter’s millions of users do – she tweeted a complaint. Specifically, she tweeted THIS complaint:

Today, Horizon Group Management filed a $50,000 lawsuit against her, alleging that her statement damaged the company’s business reputation. According to the complaint filed today, Bonnen “maliciously and wrongfully published the false and defamatory Tweet on Twitter, thereby allowing the Tweet to be distributed throughout the world.” Bonnen had 20 followers on Twitter at the time (her account is now shut down)

First of all, the legal wording they used is priceless, “false and defamatory Tweet on Twitter.” I wonder how long it took them to come up with that wording (defamatory Twittering? Tweeting a defamatory Twitter?).

Second and more importantly, the precedent this court case will set represents the new age we’re in. While some companies like Comcast are resolving their customer’s complaints through Twitter, others like Horizon Group seem to think it’s better to sue them.

What do you think? Should people be held liable for defamation because of what they say in 140 characters?

But there is one part of my industry that I’m ashamed of. Photoshop retouch artists have redefined the standards of beauty, health and physical appearance through what has come to be known as the ‘Photoshop Effect.’

Just because we have the tools to completely change the look of a person’s body in Photoshop doesn’t mean we have the right to do that. Especially when what we’re altering distorts the image of what and what isn’t the definition of a perfect body. With so much falsehood in fashion advertising, just how much are we affecting the minds of the younger generation?

70 percent of girls report that images of models in magazines influence their definition of a perfect female body.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Most of you have seen the popular Dove Evolution commercial that shows in detail how easy it is to completely adjust an image to reflect something that isn’t even realistic.

Many celebrities have dedicated retouchers on commission and won’t let a single photo be released until it passes through them. For an interactive look at exactly what goes into a Photoshop magazine cover retouch, click here.

We Live In A Virtual World

The plain and simple truth is that no one can live up to the images of beauty and physical appearance that we see in magazines these days. Research shows that these images negatively affect a girls self-image and yet magazines continue to push the boundaries of what they define as ‘beauty.’

These days, altered images are ubiquitous; the fairytale world threatens to engulf our own. The illusion is more complete, too — with digital technology it’s harder to see the smoothing. Stalin would have drooled at the possibilities.
More here on David Byrne’s Journal.

(Read more about Jezebel’s thoughts on this cover and Photoshop retouching)

Beautifully Unrealistic

Here are some examples of popular celebrity photos before and after Photoshop retouching. Observe the completely flawless skin, the reduced waist line, enlarged bust, lack of eye lines, and perfect hair.

There are many people who are advocating a new standard for magazines that will require them to clearly list in the credits for a photograph that it was retouched. I don’t think that will help to rebuild the self-image of countless girls who are trying to measure up to these false standards but it’s a start.

Magazine-retouching may not be a lie on par with, you know, “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction,” but in a world where girls as young as eight are going on the South Beach Diet, teenagers are getting breast implants as graduation gifts, professional women are almost required to fetishize handbags, and everyone is spending way too much d*** time figuring out how to pose in a way that will look as good as that friend with the really popular MySpace profile, it’s f*****g wrong.

- Anna, Photoshop of Horrors

What do you think?

Should magazines be required to label which photographs have been retouched? Or is this issue blown out of proportion?

Introducing the MacBook Wheel…

I don’t know about you but when this comes out, I am so buying it.

YAHTZEE Adventures

One of the first games I got was Yahtzee Adventures ($2.99). It’s still one of my favorites since it allows you to do multi-player with its pass-and-play. Even my 8-year-old daughter has picked up on it and kicked my butt a few times. If you’re into playing multi-player games with family or friends be sure to check out the fun Battle mode where everyone starts out with 100 points and you try to knock each player out until you’re the last one standing.

Fieldrunners

A few weeks ago, based on Ryan’s recommendation, I picked up the incredibly addicting Fieldrunners ($4.99) and have spent many hours on it. The $4.99 was the most I’ve dropped for an iPhone game so far but it’s been worth it. I’ve had to pry it out of the fingers of anyone I’ve let play it for even a couple minutes. Very addicting. So far, I’ve defeated the first two levels on the hardest setting (don’t even ask me how long it took) and am working on the last one.

WordFu

My new favorite game just released last week and is currently a steal of a deal for only $.99. It’s called WordFu. If you’re a fan of Scrabble, Boggle or any word games you’ll love this game. It’s not just the game that’s fun though. The game designers did an amazing job incorporating awesome sound effects, crisp 3d graphics and music into this fun little game. The MachDice technology it’s built on makes the best use of the iPhone’s/iPod Touch’s accelerometer out of any game I’ve seen. I was pretty happy with my high score of 1487 until my sister-in-law played and set a new high score of 1954. Grr…

(click here if you can’t see the video)

These are a few of my favorite games I’m playing on the iPhone/iPod Touch right now. What are you playing? Got any suggestions?

12,000 Objects In Orbit Around us

It looks like our final frontier is going to need a few traffic lights. On February 12, a communications satellite belonging to US company Iridium collided with a defunct Russian military satellite. Honestly, I’m surprised stuff like that doesn’t happen more often.

So…are you the kind of person who loves the advancement of communication technology and welcomes more satellites being sent up? Or are you the person who wonders how many of those 12,000 satellites are spying on you right now?

With the huge number of social networking sites out there it can be challenging to stay abreast of wha t’s new. Not every new site popping up is destined to be a Facebook or Twitter but some are very popular in niches like Vimeo, Plurk and Ning. And this map doesn’t even include sites like YouVersion, ROOV and my local favorite SmallerIndiana.com.

How Socially Connected Are You Online?

How many of these social media languages are you conversant in? Give yourself 1 point for each social media/networking site you have an account with (as of right now, no making a mad rush to sign up for a bunch of new accounts). The winner gets a $20 gift card to go out for dinner since they obviously don’t get out enough.