Ryan Shaw just posted a lovely quote about the effects of videophones in a hypothetical future onto the Keitai-L list; I believe it's taken from this book:

"...within a couple more sales-quarters most consumers were now using masks so undeniably better-looking on videophones than their real faces in person, transmitting to one another such horrendously skewed and enhanced masked images of themselves, that enormous psychosocial stress began to result, large numbers of phone-users suddenly reluctant to leave home and interface personally with people who, they feared, were now habituated to seeing their far-better-looking masked selves on the phone and would on seeing them in person suffer (so went the callers' phobia) the same illusion-shattering aesthetic disappointment that, e.g., certain women who always wear makeup give people the first time they ever see them without makeup."

Thinking of placing an order with Staples? Don't bother. In nearly 4 weeks since we ordered through their web site we've sat on hold on 6 occasions and sent in 4 emails, without ever hearing from a human being about the status of our order (or even that it's been confirmed).

And if you're in the Brighton area, I can so far recommend ODM: one phone call, and the items we're after are due to be delivered by lunchtime today.