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Technology

Low-Tech Cell Phone Blocking 770

Posted by timothy from the best-kind-of-sandwich dept.
nigelc writes: "This BBC story reports on Japanese work to come up with a low-tech solution to cell phones in cinemas! Hey, if it can stop the person next to me from going 'Hey, dude, guess where I am?,' I'm all in favor of it."
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Low-Tech Cell Phone Blocking More

Low-Tech Cell Phone Blocking

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  • But what if someone can't call 911 because of the blocker?

    I would fear installing these things because of liabilities. What's annoyance compared to the safety value of being able to use a phone anywhere.

    • Most theatres have pay phones. 911 is free.

    • what if someone can't call 911 because of the blocker

      Then they walk out to the lobby and use the phone just like anyone without a call phone would do.
    • This is a prime example of people taking convention for granted.

      Need I remind you that there was a time in which cellphones weren't present during a movie? Now do you seriously believe that there's been a massive decrease in theater related deaths? Isn't it possible that there might be more individuals being harmed because they had the nerve to talk on their cellphone during a movie, and a certain anger prone individual (seeking release by way of a respectively evil Disney film) went on a violent rampage?

  • another low-tech method (Score:5, Funny)

    by happyclam ( 564118 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @05:46PM (#3782607)
    I have found a lead pipe to work very well for discouraging cell phone usage in theaters. Or, failing that, a large Sprite also can do the trick. Just grab the phone, drop it in the sprite.
    • Or just say very loudly, "Hey Jackass! Hang up and watch the movie!" I did this to a guy and he immediately hung up and bailed as soon as the credits popped up once the movie was over. Guess he thought I was looking for a fight or something. I wasn't, but it was very effective. Odd though. With my luck I usually end up pulling a stunt like that on a person who turns out to be an 8'4" professional basketball player...

  • Wouldn't it just be simpler to reinstate beatings? (Score:5, Funny)

    by The Only Druid ( 587299 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @05:48PM (#3782618)
    When I saw Blade 2 this summer, someone's phone rang during the opening intro. The person next to him literally grabbed the phone and threw it at the screen...interestingly, the fellow didn't have the guts to go pick up the phone.

    In all seriousness, I support this wholeheartedly. Of course, isn't someone on this site going to complain that this limits free speech by limiting means of communication?

    (first?)

  • underworld uses (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Patrick13 ( 223909 )
    the sale of these panels will probably be outlawed in the US under the terrorism act, because the feds won't be able to bug rooms or have anyone on the inside wearing a 'wire'.

  • HELL NO! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by SkyLeach ( 188871 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @05:48PM (#3782626) Homepage
    I'm sorry, but like most of the /. posters I keep my cell phone on vibrate ALL THE TIME. I'm not going to be rude and talk in the theater, but I HAVE TO GET MY TEXT MESSAGES.

    "Dude, the servers are down" is the most important message I can get from mon!!!! If I can't get to one or the other data center things start going to shit fast.

    Note to owners: This is a great way to get me to stay way the fsck away from your theater if you install it.
    • Note to owners: This is a great way to get me to go to your theater if you install it. Hell, I'd pay another .50 cents a ticket for this capability.

      Of course, I'm good enough at what I do to be able to take time away without worrying the world will end.
    • Give me a break people. Many of you are saying your so good that you don't have to be on call all the time.

      I wasn't on call last night, but I still had to answer the page because the problem fell into my lap by default.

      Our security guy made changes to the firewall which altered the routing table without fully understanding what he was doing. (Don't get me started on this, I keep telling my boss that this guy can have as many degrees as a thermomiter in securty but still should be given user access to my firewall, much less root! :/).

      One commit on his config changes and my whole datacenter went down. Thanks to a quick check by me I told them to fix their own problem and went back to sleep. If they want to have a n00b in a position to kill the datacenters then it's not my problem.

      But this is the real world and I had to PROVE it wasn't my problem or my butt would've been fried.

      Wake up people, no data center is perfect and the sysadmin is ALWAYS responsible, reguardless of who's on call.

    • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:17PM (#3782899)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Sorry, but this is just ludicrous. If your employer doesn't have more than one person who can solve a problem, then he should pull his head out of his butt and hire another employee.

      Note to owners: If this keeps people like this out of your theatre, GO FOR IT. I agree with the other poster: I don't want to see the glow from your phone, either. Either watch the movie, or stay the hell out of the theatre.

  • Wooden solution to mobile chatter

    damn...I thought they meant baseball bats for a moment....

  • Think about legal reprecussions... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by laserjet ( 170008 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @05:49PM (#3782633) Homepage
    This would not happen in the US for one very simple reason:

    Money

    We are very sue-happy in America, and you can bet your bottom dollar that if something like this did take effect, there would be lawsuits pending.

    Say you are a doctor, an IT worker, etc. You are on call or pager duty, and you go see a movie. You miss /ignore the signs telling you your phone will not work in the theatre.

    Your employer calls/pages you, and you can not answer the phone because you never got the call. This translates to more downtime, costing your company big money.

    It's sad, but true. I wish I could go to some places with the damn phones turned off. If I can turn mine off/silent mode, why can't other people?

    are they too stupid, or forgetful? You be the judge.

    • that's your problem (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Trepidity ( 597 )
      If you're on call, it's your responsibility to ensure that you are available to answer phone calls.

      This includes taking such steps as:
      - Not leaving your phone at home
      - Not sleeping unless the ringer is set loud enough to wake you up
      - Not turning your phone's ringer off
      - Not entering areas where cell phones are jammed

      If the area wasn't clearly marked, that's one thing. But if it was, that's your problem.
      • I understand that, and I am not one who would even think about lawsuits. I am just saying that is what our society has been reduced to. I hate the bastards who will not be accountable for their own actions and instead see money.

        I agree with you completely, just stating what would probably happen.

    • Why?

      There's sooo many other places that post the ever present "Your shit won't work"/"If you have a heart condition..."/"Beware: HOT COFFEE" disclaimers to mitigate the lawsuit warning.

      Furthermore, the places could only outfit certain theatres, like a "no smoking" section of diners. That way you've no excuse, because you could've seen the movie in the theatre that allows cell phones...
    • Um, using your cell on private property is a privilege not a right. The company has no requirement to make sure your calls get through.

      As a side note I work for AMC and generally I find that the theater does a good enough job blocking most cell signals all on its own. Even if AMC had to allow cell calls [which they don't] I wouldn't expect to actually make/get a reliable call in the theater.

      If you are on call then what the heck are you doing at a movie anyways? On call means you can get to a terminal/jobsite fairly quickly.

      Also if you are on call just get a pager and set it to vibrate.

      Tom

    • Go to Las Vegas. Walk into a casino on the strip. Make a cell phone call. oops, you're jammed. No signal inside.

      I think the liability issues are minimal, and as the theater is not a public place, they can reserve the right to refuse service to you if you take in a cell phone. Thus, you would have to smuggle it in, and I doubt many juries would take your side in that case.

      Also, haven't you ever been inside San Jose Convention Center? Most people I've met can't use their phones in there because the signal strength is weak. Yet I doubt there's much liability in that. Businesses do not have an obligation to make your cell phone work on their premises.

  • Trouble (Score:2, Funny)

    by kilocomp ( 234607 )
    I think this will ultimately cause problems. What if all the doors got locked inside a theater and they continued to show Snow Dogs over and over. When normally a quick cell phone call could save you, instead you will be tortured to death. We should not allow Japanese to develop torture devices.
  • Hmm, let me think. Low tech solution...hmm...is just punching the guy in the mouth low tech enough?
  • If I had my way, I would create a small suit out of this (ok, it would probably end up being pretty hefty) and wear it everywhere. If people could just be courteous with their cell phones this wouldn't even be an issue.

    The idea of shielding wireless networks with it is nice, but I'm not entirely sure how it would be used. Surrounding a wireless based room in it? Creating wooden "pipelines"? Someone help me out here and point out the obvious to me.
    • If I had my way, I would create a small suit out of this (ok, it would probably end up being pretty hefty) and wear it everywhere. If people could just be courteous with their cell phones this wouldn't even be an issue.

      It would only work if they were in your pants. The paneling must be between the sender and the receiver. Nearby doesn't count.

  • The last time I had (Score:3, Funny)

    by abolith ( 204863 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @05:52PM (#3782650) Homepage
    to deal with a cell phone talking fucker I got kicked out of the theatre because I grabbed his fucking phone right from his grip and sent it sailing down the isle at a high velocity. broke that fucking thing too :)

  • If it shields those on the inside from the signals on the outside, would it also be able to shield me from the guy with the tempest device across the street who keeps spying on my /. posts?

    Just because I'm paranoid...it doesn't mean they're not out to get me.
  • Sound Effect: Commuter's phone rings
    Commuter (shouting): HI! I'M ON THE PHONE SO I CAN'T TALK LONG. HELLO? ARE YOU STILL THERE? OH, GOOD, I JUST WENT UNDER A BRIDGE! HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO PATRICK? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO?
    <Commuter swears>
    Sound Effect: Commuter's phone rings again
    Commuter (shouting): HI! SORRY WE WENT THROUGH A BRIDGE. YES, I SAID HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO PATRICK? NO, I SAID WE WENT THROUGH A BRIDGE. HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO PATRICK OR NOT? NO, I'M ON THE TRAIN...

    Ad Nauseam

  • 802.11b network security (Score:4, Insightful)

    by happyclam ( 564118 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @05:54PM (#3782673)

    So if I read this right, this paneling also blocks 97% of Wi-Fi (802.11b) signal strength? So if I want to secure my wireless network, I panel the outside walls of my building with this type of paneling, making it so that the warchalkers of the world can't get the signal? And any time I need to go building-to-building, I wire it.

    (Yes, I realize this only works if you don't need access outside the building, but many applications wouldn't anyway.)

  • So let me see. If you're a doctor with a cell phone or pager that is to be used in an emergency, you can never go to a movie because the hospital will not be able to reach you. And this is a good thing?

    Everyone who wants to avoid cell phones will create "pockets" of "no-phone-zones" around public places, making the mobile nature of the phones useless. "Not in my theater", "not in my restaurant", "not in my pub", etc. That will also create interference for phones in "legit" areas. (Right outside that theater, restaurant, etc.)

    So the phone companies will, of course, modify their system with "new and improved, block-proof service!" Higher power, different frequency, more sensitive equipment, etc. All at a higher price for consumers. So we have buildings that make it difficult to use cell phones, and expensive phones that will work despite the buildings designed to keep them from working. And what have we gained, exactly?

    The solution is so much simplier. Tell the jerk next to you in the theater to get a phone with a vibrate mode and to actually use it, and to have some repect for those around him. Turn off your own phone in the theater. In general, use common sense and common courtesy.

    You can't solve a the problem of people being rude with technology. They'll find some way to be rude anyway.

    • The solution is so much simplier. Tell the jerk next to you in the theater to get a phone with a vibrate mode and to actually use it, and to have some repect for those around him. Turn off your own phone in the theater. In general, use common sense and common courtesy.
      If these are "common", how come nobody has them?
    • Blockpoth the quoster:
      You can't solve a the problem of people being rude with technology. They'll find some way to be rude anyway.

      I think you misspelt "You cannot fix a social problem with a technical solution"

      HTH, HAND.

      Ole
      (Not that you aren't 100% right, of course. I was just being persnickety.)
  • ...until now, there has been no way of enforcing silence.

    Ever heard a GSM phone, blasting at full power trying to reach a base station, interfere with a powerful amplifier?

    Better cover your ears if you're sitting close to the speakers.
  • Panel your interior with this stuff. It'll be crap for getting cell calls in the house, but hell for anyonetrying to get your data short of tapping your net feed. And mount an exterior antenna (something liek a cheapo repeater) to "pipe in" the signals you want. A real RF Firewall. Heh.

  • External Blackspots (Score:5, Interesting)

    by twoshortplanks ( 124523 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @05:59PM (#3782725) Homepage
    The main trouble with this as I see it is that it won't only cause a problem for people inside the enclosed room, but for people in the "shadow" of these structures.

    Now, I understand that you get reflection and you can normally see more than one antenna, but this could cause whole other problems with people sheilding other areas as a side effect. I mean, what if I live next door to a cinema and they install this? Suddenly I can't receive mobile phone calls in my house because I'm in the shadow of the cinema!

    This raises all kinds of interesting issues. Can I force another property to stop blocking my radio waves? Does it devalue my property (probably, in today's modern soceity, yes.) I know whenever I've looked for places to live in the last few years one of the first things I do when I walk in is see if I can get mobile reception.

    • The main trouble with this as I see it is that it won't only cause a problem for people inside the enclosed room, but for people in the "shadow" of these structures.

      Agreed. I wonder why cell phones aren't designed in such a way that they react to a special signal by switching themselves off (or silent). Such a signal could be transmitted at the entrance of cinemas, theatres, hospitals, and airplains, and if it had a very short range of only a few meters, it would not cause any disruption for people outside the building.

      Of course, this system would only work if I'm correct in assuming that most people don't intentionally leave their cell phones on in the cinema, but forget to switch it off/silent.

  • All I want... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Have Blue ( 616 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:01PM (#3782753) Homepage
    ...is a personal cell-phone anesthetizer. So I can reach into my pocket and push a button, and every cell phone within 10 meters stops working for 30 seconds (or at least long enough to drop the current call). It doesn't completely solve the problem but it would be very, very satisfying :P

  • Don't block, mute. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by scotfl ( 312954 ) <scotfl@gmail.com> on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:02PM (#3782764) Homepage Journal
    The best solution to the problem (that I've seen) is a beacon that sets all cellphones in range to silent (vibrate) mode.

    The first place I saw the idea was AskTog, May, 2000 [asktog.com]. But he has an update saying the technology has been developed by a company called bluelinx [bluelinx.com].

  • Works for me (Score:4, Funny)

    by Seehund ( 86897 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:05PM (#3782791) Homepage Journal
    For cinemas, concerts et c. I prefer a low-tech solution like this [johnlangford.com].
  • is one I heard on NPR last evening. The reporter started carrying a microphone and tape recorder on the train/bus, and pointing it conspicuously at those who were talking away on their phones. Many became annoyed and eventually said "uh, I'll call you back". As the story ran, these tapes were played in the background . . . thought this was pretty cool.

  • Even Better: (Score:4, Funny)

    by mlknowle ( 175506 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:09PM (#3782827) Homepage Journal
    I have an even lower-tech solution:

    "Sir: Please turn your cell phone off or leave the cinema" - the usher

    or:

    "Turn that damn thing OFF!" - me

    I remember reading a story of about a man talking on a cell phone on a ski gondola at a resort in Aspen. Another man, sitting next to him, asked him quietly how much the phone (a new, state of the art model) had cost. When the first man replied "Four hundred dollars," the second snatched it, threw it out the window of the gondola, and calmly handed him four Ben Franklins.
    • I remember reading a story of about a man talking on a cell phone on a ski gondola at a resort in Aspen. Another man, sitting next to him, asked him quietly how much the phone (a new, state of the art model) had cost. When the first man replied "Four hundred dollars," the second snatched it, threw it out the window of the gondola, and calmly handed him four Ben Franklins.
      That's just rude--it's causing no more annoyance than if the person was talking to someone in person, just that only half the conversation can be eavesdropped on. Now, in a movie theater, you don't even have to give them a, uhh, refund.
  • It seems to me that active jamming would be much easier than having to repanel the entire room in this stuff. I think the real use could be for shielding RF sensitive equipment, acting like a low cost Faraday cage.

    Of course having magnetic wall around your sensitive equipment might not be a good idea either.

  • Won't happen in the US. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by surfcow ( 169572 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:12PM (#3782852) Homepage
    Japan has one lawyer for every 10,000 people. The US has one lawyer for every 300 people.

    "I didn't see the sign saying the theater was blocked and I missed my big interview / wife in labor / server going down / mother dying / stockmarket crashing / etc."

    US lawyers would have a field day. "Was the sign displayed properly? What font was it in? Was it also written in Swahili? What about the literacy impared?"

    I just can't see it.

    =brian
    • "What about the literacy impared?"

      What a great euphamism for "fucking morons"
    • Japan has one lawyer for every 10,000 people. The US has one lawyer for every 300 people


      Wrong! Those figures come from using different definitions for "lawyer" when counting.


      In the US, to get that number, they count everyone who basically has gone to law school and passed the bar exam and is practicing law. Prosecutors, defenders, tax lawyers, patent lawyers, real estate lawyers...all of them.


      The Japanese number comes from counting only one or two of those (the ones who prosecute and defend criminal cases, I believe).

  • A sign at the door reminding people to turn it off?

    I know the theaters I go to don't have them. I'm sure a lot of it is people forgetting to turn them off (happens at school during classes too)

  • Hell on the Fire Dept. too! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by isdnip ( 49656 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:22PM (#3782945)
    So let's say one of these theatres with RF-shielded walls caught fire. The firefighters rush in, with their VHF two-way radios. But they are now blocked! So if they have to radio warnings, like, "Get out of there, the roof is about to collaps!", they don't hear it, because the wood part of the walls may be on fire, but they are still standing, ferrite intact.

    Firefighters died in the World Trade Center *because* the building's construction (the shell had steel vertical beams very close together) blocked the signals from the command on the ground, telling them to evacuate. (This was written up in IEEE Spectrum, I think in April.) Now you want theatres to have this problem, just because some jerks are too tacky to put there phones on "vibrate" or go to the lobby when they get a call?

    I'm a parent, and as somebody else noted, we sometimes need to be reached on an emergency basis. I have had to leave a movie because my cell phone *vibrated* and the babysitter told me, while I was standing in the lobby, that there was a problem. I would be hard-pressed to patronize a theater that didn't allow me that luxury.

    Back in the sixties, my father was a physician who was often "on call" during his few hours of not actually working. He had an answering service that he checked in with all the time. I think he had occasion to leave them the phone number of the theatre (reserved seat stage, not movie), and his seat, so that an usher could fetch him. We don't do that nowadays; we expect radio waves to do the job. It can be done with minimum annoyance to fellow theatergoers. Blocking is a bad idea.

  • Will help my dating life... (Score:5, Funny)

    by svferris ( 519966 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:23PM (#3782951)
    This will really help my dating life. I always notice my date's cellphone rings in the middle of the date and then she "suddenly" has to go.

    But now their phones won't be able to ring... :-)
  • My wife and I always go to the movies (and dinner dates, and theaters, and concerts) with our cellphone set to vibrate simply so that if things go horribly wrong at home with the baby sitter and our children, we can be reached. Just because my wife and I are having a date out doesn't mean that everyone back at home (children and/or babysitter) need to have a miserable evening.

    Only once did the babysitter call during the theater. I got up, walked out, and took the call and told the babysitter that my daughter's teddy bear was probably under the couch (it was) and waited until they found it. Without a cell phone our daughter who was two and half would have been miserable. And there's no reason when we are a mere cellphone call away to help.

    Honestly, if they blocked our cellphone we wouldn't go there. We'd find something else to do on our rare dates and wait until it came out on video. I'm sensitive to the noise issue during public performances, and I would no more take a call during a movie than I would talk loudly to my wife during the same movie. But we need the phone if only to have the peace of mind that everything is ok at home.

  • Or (Score:5, Funny)

    by BitHive ( 578094 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:29PM (#3782998) Homepage
    Theaters should just implement a spotlight system a-la the Movementarians' indoctrination video in The Simpsons. As soon as you pick up your phone, the movie stops, and you are nailed by a high-power spotlight until you hang up. This should serve as a nice deterrent. For added fun, intercept their signal and play their call over the sound system for everyone to hear. Hell, I'd pay extra for a seat if theaters around here did that!

    • Re:Or (Score:3, Funny)

      by Gordonjcp ( 186804 )
      Several of my friends work in theatre ("real" theatre, not cinema). One night someone's mobile went off in the stalls. Well, you know how far round you can swing a follow-spot? That was one very, very short phone call...
  • So this guy gets headlines (and /. coverage) for determining that RF doesn't get through sheets of conductive material very well? You know, I think there's a bit of prior art on this. I used to work in a TEMPEST [austinlinks.com]-rated lab; I watched a guard's walkie-talkie cut off in mid sentence as he walked in, and that was with the door still swinging shut behind him.

    Similarly, sheets or mesh screens of conductive material are routinely used to block unwanted RF interference generated by devices like computers and televisions which would otherwise create a great deal of "leakage".

    So I ask again: What's new here? Why is this guy getting attention? I think any electrical engineer could figure out how to wrap a Faraday cage [gla.ac.uk] around a theater; the question is whether theater owners want to do it.

  • The active part here is the metal, not the wood, which is just for decoration. Maybe you young folks don't remember "panelling" from the 70s, but if this technology takes off here, it won't be some clean natural-looking Japanese aesthetics, it'll be cheap-plastic-looking fake wood. Might as well stick to straight metal.

  • Hardly new (Score:3, Funny)

    by sparkz ( 146432 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @06:34PM (#3783054) Homepage
    As anybody who's tried to make a phone call in a metal-framed building will tell you.

    Very good idea, IMHO.

    Vibrating phones are no better if you're still going to answer the bloody thing and start talking into it.

    If you're on-call, part of that deal is that you've not just got the phone with you, but are capable of answering in. In a cinema, you are not capable of answering it - if you're sitting next to me, you'll be LARTed and unable to speak at all!

  • Cellphones already work badly inside many buildings, so people who need pagers and cellphones for life-threatening emergencies don't just have problems in electrically-shielded theaters, they have problems in lots of buildings with too much metal. Pagers put up with this kind of restriction better than cell phones; people who have cellphones work around the problem by stepping outside and YELLING A LOT SO THE OTHER PEOPLE CAN HEAR THEM, AND SHIELDING THAT MAKES MORE PEOPLE YELL MORE OFTEN IS JUST A BAD IDEA....
  • Faraday, Michael (1791-1867)

    Invented the concept of a metal box sheilding radio waves (Faraday Cage). All these guys did was add paneling (a 1960's technology, found in many basement family rooms). So what exactly in new 1867+1960=???

  • Shocking lack of knowldge on /. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Punchinello ( 303093 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @07:24PM (#3783466)
    I'm shocked that with all of these posts no /. readers have pointed out that use of such communication jamming devices isn't kosher with the old FCC. Any US theater trying to use this will find the feds knocking at their door... and that is a shame.

  • Automatic Voluntary Silence Zone Transmitters (Score:5, Interesting)

    by cosyne ( 324176 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @08:06PM (#3783712) Homepage
    What i'd like to see, and haven't seen mentioned yet, is a standard for cell phones to switch to vibrate/standby/whatever upon recieving a 'silence beacon' signal. The phone would just have a 3rd setting: ring, silent, or auto. If it comes in range of a silence beacon, it switches to silent. When it goes out of range, it can switch back to ring. It's voluntary, so if you're expecting life or death communications you can leave it on ring, but people are still free to take you phone and throw it. This, along with a ringer schedule to switch to vibrate during meetings and classes, should help a lot if people are willing to use them.

  • New Verizon commercial (Score:4, Funny)

    by IGnatius T Foobar ( 4328 ) on Thursday June 27, 2002 @09:15PM (#3784051) Homepage Journal
    "Can you hear me now?"

    (silence)

    "Damn!"

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