August 18th, 2008

As a courtesy to performers and other audience members, please turn off blinking head-mounted devices

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

When a theater or concert performance begins, there is often an announcement asking audience members to silence their cell phones and similar devices. Some time ago, a light blinked near the ear of a gentleman a few rows in front of me throughout the entire performance. I couldn’t tell what it was for sure, but it appeared to be the indicator light of a Bluetooth headset.

Blink.

Five seconds later:

Blink.

Five seconds later:

Blink.

Repeat for two hours.

What I want to know is, was this guy expecting a call during the show? If his phone rang, would he answer it from his seat?

(Added: This was before Bluetooth headsets were in common use. It wasn’t until after the show that I was able to guess what it was.)

Category
Old New Thing
Topics
Non-Computer

Author

Raymond Chen

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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