Jeffrey Veen

And yes, I fully realize that standing at your front door with a stopwatch and cameraphone while cursing at the doorbell may not be considered "normal" behavior. But that is why, in part, I choose to live in San Francisco.

Hint: To shortcut the time it takes, put a laminated list of what number to push to get the proper unit. I have seen that done a lot.

Comment: Technology, options, choice, and preference are out of sync. Technology advances allow us not to have to have a land line. There are many options these days. We believe we are free to choose the options. We have a preference and move in that direction, until a technology from 1992 (about the first time I saw the same electronic door gate technoloy -- then thinking it was cool) messes with out options 13 years later.

Arg. Can't everybody live in the same future?

"Previous: Doing it first versus doing it right"

I invented the door. But I never get credit for it. ;0

Vanderwal makes, perhaps unintentionally, a very good point.

If people who designed these things actually saw them used in 'the wild' I'm sure they'd learn some lessons.

The case here is a perfect example. A whizzy new entry system and someone goes and sticks a list of extensions underneath it? Why would they do that? etc etc.

I've seen this same system at the entrance to a few gated apartment communities and it always takes me forever to get in. I can see where there MIGHT be a bit more security with this type of system. Before, somebody could have walked up and pressed all the buttons in hope that somebody would ring them in. ...but this is a case where the time cost is too significant. I hate those things.

It could be worse. What if such a technology were your only option and you had to pay a subscription for it?

Personally, I like the option I see in NYC all the time: Guy on the street yells up at a 3rd or 4th story window until someone hears him and drops a set of keys out the window for guy on street to catch. Lazy landlords who don't fix broken buzzers are far too numerous in this city.

I remember when they installed something similar in a building for old folks not to far from me. Most of the people in the building couldn't figure it out. If any of them were near the front door and saw you trying to get in, they would just open the door for you weather they knew you or not because they didn't expect you, or anyone else, to figure it out. So much for security. The old lady we used to visit (before she died) never did figure out how to use the phone on her end. We had to buzz (call?) her neighbor (who also knew us) and he would let us in.

Anyway, I was thinking about your not being able to cancel you landline service. It occurred to me that as the system hooks into the building phone wiring it may still work if your phone isn't hooked up to the outside world. If so, the phone would only ring when someone was at the door, and all the added variables you mention would no longer be an issue. Of course, I wouldn't suggest canceling your service just to find out, but it might be worth looking into. On the other hand, I could be way off base. I really don't know anything about those systems, but its worth a shot.

Wow, I'm long winded when I type. If only I could talk like that.

We have the exact same system. We have a habit of not answering the phone during certain hours of the day (direct marketing anyone?). Because there is no distinction between a phone call and the doorbell, we've had friends trying to visit us in vain. There are also over 100 units in our building, making scrolling through the directory a 15 minute event.

had the same phone problem. didn't risk disconnecting the phone. not sure i'd want to try it. we also had a balcony, so we could go outside, look down and let people in when they hollered up. worked much better than the interface like yours, which our building had.

Simply change your surname to !!!Veen to save most of the 19 seconds. Of course, this will trigger a war amongst geeky residents, ending up with you just being Jeffrey !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (or possibly !, depending on how it searches). Maybe you could get a BEL character recognized as part of your name, so you could tell your friends to scroll until the beep.

Over 350 units in our building, and like you, my last name is near the bottom of the list.

The big frustration with this technology is that more often than not, the screen stops working, and nobody can buzz in unless they know your buzzer number beforehand.

That, and I hate picking up the phone not knowing who it is.

Ugh! That's no fun.

I like the suggestion of posting a list of codes (... and after doing that you should send the manufacturer a close-up photo and an invitation to visit in-person).

I'm surprised you can't enter the (last first) name to narrow down the list of choices. This technique has been used to good effect for a while now - AUDIX, mobile/cordless phones, my MP3 jukebox ... Google Suggest. (Perhaps the engineers don't get out much?)

Wait - let me guess, "Q" and "Z" are missing from the keypad too. (Sigh.)

">>Newer isn't better by default."

Indeed. This seems true far too often, especially in technology. PSION3c to PSION5 (UI/chrome bloatage on a small screen handheld device). MacOS9 to MacOSX (dramatically reduced speed and functionality initially, functionality catching up with latest versions, but speed slowdown still there). QuickTime (when an upgrade years ago resulted in loss of features like full screen display). Etc.

A good reason to avoid the "upgrade impulse" that so many of us in the technology industry seem to have. The upgrade seems far too often to be a downgrade marketed as an upgrade.

Thanks for bringing up this counter-intuitive truism.

In my last building in San Francisco, the landlords swore up and down that I would have to have a landline in order to buzz people in. I asked them nicely to check the manual. Sure enough, with an extra code programmed in, most of these doorbell systems will ring a mobile phone. I rang myself, and then saved the number as "Downstairs" so I'd know when someone was at the door. Might work for you, too.

I hate these systems. Not just because they're inconvenient (as that's sometimes unavoidable) but because monkeys flinging poo can think of better solutions. I mean, if we know the name we're looking for, why can't we just type it into the keypad rather than scrolling through one at a time? Or make the apartment number and the number you have to enter the same freakin' number, so a little bit of knowledge means you don't have to scroll through anything at all?

Incidentally, I bet it would work fine with VoIP as long as you can send the correct tone over the line. I've never really used VoIP before, but they have to allow that capability of you could never use an automated assistance system with it.

I'd like to second what Richard said. My girlfriend lived in a place in the Tendorloin with a similar system. She was able to have it ring her mobile.

Even without replacing this fucked up system you could make it a whole lot easier by just upgrading the firmware.

They have a two-line display, that means they could easily display (having the bottom line be a marquee)

"Enter Name
# for directory * for extension"

Given that the visitor knows your name, he can just type away, 8336 (for "VEEN"). If he knows the extension (e.g. 215) he hits *215. If he has no clue what's goint on, he hits # and follows the directory.