Japanese pagers to issue last beeps on Tuesday, ending 50-year run
I love pagers. Sometimes I carry three for three different hospitals.<p>There is no risk of malfunction due to automatic software updates when the software does not update. There is no chatty distraction of text platforms. Functionality is not affected by changes to volume or mute status as it might be on a heavily used phone. The wavelengths used reportedly have better penetration deep into buildings with shielded areas like around MR machines. They are bulky, and it would be hard to forget that one is on call when they are strapped to the waistband/belt.<p>When the pager goes off, it doesn't bother other people because they either don't know what it is or know it's a medical issue and is acceptable.<p>The major problem is that I constantly 'hear' my pager going off when other devices beep in a roughly-similar fashion even when I'm not wearing it and my heart starts racing, so I have to change the ringtone frequently to de-Pavlov myself.