Living in the Technological Past?

What ever happened to that “caller ID” craze that took the nation by storm back in the 1990s?  It was this fascinating technology that would show the name of the person calling whenever the phone rang.

Sure, telemarketers abused the system, either sending false information or simply hiding their number as “Out of Area” or “Unknown Name,” but for legitimate calls — the ones we wanted to answer anyway — it worked great!

Of course, when someone in my “Contacts” list calls my cell phone, I can see the person’s name and even their picture now, but what about people who haven’t called before?  I just get their number!

Now I have to turn to Google whenever my phone rings to figure out who’s calling.  Searching for a number works well when it’s a legitimate business calling, or an illegal telemarketer, but it fails entirely for personal calls.

So I ask again: what happened to that “caller ID” craze of the 1990s?  Have we just forgotten how it’s supposed to work?

3 thoughts on “Living in the Technological Past?

  1. just pixels says:

    Give ’em a break already! The cell phone system only has the capacity to send the phone number. Sending the name too will push it into total collapse. And it will be your fault.

    Anyway, if I understand how Verizon approaches issues like “who’s calling me”, we can expect to see the “Strangers and Scammers” plan (just $12.95/month) offered up soon enough.

    BTW: I believe a legitimate business will leave a message; telemarketers don’t bother. So don’t answer the unknowns, then see what happens next.

  2. Ben says:

    I usually do let it go to voice mail, but most of my telemarketers are persistent enough to leave messages, whereas some businesses aren’t.

    Plus, sometimes when a business is calling it would be much harder to return their call (e.g., to a support center) than to just answer.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *