OT: White Pages books - do we need them?

no especially if you have internet or ring 1223 for phone numbers

havent opened a set of yellow/white pages in years.. always toss em out.

Hi Mike,
I'd say I unwrap the previous years to fling it in the recycle bin when the new set arrive. I think I've been unwrapping the out of date ones now for about 5 years!

I guess the answer to your question is no we don't need a paper phone book.

You'll probably find gazetted in some ancient telecommunications statute applying to the Post Master Generals Department something stating they must supply paper phone books for the technological disadvantaged.

Having said that, I do like the paper Yellow Pages when I'm looking for something!

Geoff

Not very effective in our mobile world. Its either in my phone and email client or its 12456.
Regards
Shane

Ours have been going directly to the recycle bin for a couple of years now. Same with the yellow pages. Had my meeting with the rep from Sensis last week to finalise our advertising and when she asked to see our copy so she could point something out to me I had to show her that they were being used as a block under my computer monitor to raise it up - still in plastic wrap. We use only internet to search for things now intstead of looking up in the pages.

I think the majority of people use the internet nowadays, though of course not everybody has access or 'reliable access' - particuarly those in the bush. I would imagine that Sensis makes a great deal of money out of the the print versions though, so they'll need to be 'lent on' rather hard for them to do the right thing environmentally and stop printing them. As a mininium they should be made out of 100% renewable plantation timber, which they might be already - I don't know.

I use them under the computer screen. Leave them in thier wrapping to make it easier to handle. Very considerate of Telstra to provide me with a new screen stand every year.

Mike, when our new ones arrived a couple of days ago, I said much the same to my wife. ' What a wast of resources. Between paper, printing and distribution, I'd rather $10.00 off my phone bill any day.' Have not opened a phone book for years. All done via white or yellow pages online, or Google search for the company or product I want.

If they give the option of not getting the phone books, I bet there won't be $10.00 off the phoe bill though.

Norm C

I like them for 'evidence free' reprimanding of SWMBO...... ;)

Cheers Stefan

Well sorry folks, but I beg to differ.

Although I am a competent, professional, Information Technology technocrat and earn my living from the IT business, there are times at home and work, where grabbing the white pages, or yellow pages phone book to look up a local business, or individual is just......well.....better.....easier.....no fuss, via hard copy.

Of course, in little old Adelaide, the phone books are still of manageable size.

Some things one just has to do without the use of a computer.

Perhaps I'm "old fashioned"...........I like reading a book too:-))

Bloody computers don't quite rule my life.

Only advantage is that paper doesn't suffer from power failures. Also handy if your out looking for stuff you can throw a copy in the back seat. Bit hard to throw my puter in the car as I don't have an extension cord long enough.
Tend to agree though I do use online White Pages and Sensis more than the paper directory. Maybe Telstra should be asking us whether we want to receive the hard copies? Then maybe our bills will be less?????????????

Mike

Interestingly, my son signed up with Optus for a cable deal that gives him the phone. It was going to cost him extra to get in the phone book and to get phone books, so he did not bother. No problems people finding him - there is always a way.

My wife & I have the debate about which is faster - usually I have the phone number before she has gone through half the list, and the on line white pages are good at giving alternative spelling and addresses. Every now and then she wins though - but not enough to justify all those trees.

Max

Hi Mike,

We hardly ever use the books either but I think there are quite a large number of homes in the country without computer and internet access.

If my memory serves me correctly computer ownership in Australia accounts for around half of the population. Bureau of statistics figures are not up to date so that figure is ballpark only so I suppose to cater for those without computers we will have the hard copy for a while longer.

It's a pity Telstra couldn't make provision for people to indicate if they don't want the books any longer and if you do indicate this then the savings should also be passed on.

Have a good one.

Is it a 4wd or a 2wd?????

We have moved from the burbs to semi-rural ( not that 3/4 acre is a hobby farm, but we over look a river and we are at a dead end). We get no junk mail, apart from one of two local papers, which we use to find local people/business' for work that we need done, being that we have built a new house, with a five star sustainability certifcate Also don't both the white pages and the yellow pages both have CD ROMs? I know the whites used to.

Last year when the contractors were delivering the books at our old place, they were driving around throwing them like newspapers out of the cars, they were not delivered to the door, but left in the gutter, living near school, the rotters at the high school took great delight at ripping the books, page by page out and throwing them all over the place. The strong eastlies winds picked up and blew the pages everywhere. As the books got delivered, the more rubbish we picked up.

These books are suppose to be delivered to the door, not the gutter and people who delivered them like that could have been fined for littering.

BFN

Debbie