no, really

It occurred to me the other day, there *is* a way to deal with stupid ringing cell phones in public places. We just need to get manufacturers in on it.

You know Bluetooth, right? Most cell phones have it now. More will as time goes on. Bluetooth has these feature/profile things where different phones can do different things like “send file” or “send my number” or “stereo audio” or just “headset”. They need to make a new one “silent trigger.”

Here’s how it works. Your phone has bluetooth. You go to the library. When you walk through the door, there’s a very small, subtle device that sits in the entrance, and as you pass by, it pokes the bluetooth on your phone and goes “hey, quiet place, go silent!” The profile on your phone detects the signal, and goes “okay, silent mode!”

Turning the ringer back on is your own responsibility, but in the meantime, all those annoying forgetful people who are inconsiderate and have their phones on loud ringer in church or the movies or concerts… they’d be silenced without any hassle!

Isn’t it brill?!

Maybe it’s patented… gotta look it up.

Update: looked it up, it’s not very popular or anything, but Bluelinx makes something like this.