20 Must-Have Geek Ringtones and Text Message Alerts (And 10 to Avoid!)
Posted 07/11/08 at 11:04:23 AM | by Norman Chan
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Forget the lessons of Tyler Durden. The things you own define who you are. And nothing makes a bigger statement than your cell phone ringtone. Your ringtone gives valuable insight for everyone within earshot about your preferences and personality -- information with which they'll use to judge you (and yes, you're always being judged). You don't want to be the guy sitting in a quiet lecture hall when your phone suddenly starts blasting the latest Fallout Boy single. That tells neighbors that you have poor taste and probably cry yourself to sleep at night. No, you want to be the guy who has Europe's The Final Countdown chime in at opportune moments, letting that cute hipster girl nearby know that yes, you too are a fan of Arrested Development.
For geeks and techies who want to attract like-minded compatriots, we've compiled a list of the top 10 must-have ringtones to own. Any respectable tech/gadget/sci-fi aficionado should have these tones stored on their phones at all times, alternating the chimes in a daily rotation to prevent them from getting stale. We've also included a definitive list of the 10 coolest text-message alert sounds, as well as the most clichéd and obnoxious ringtones and alerts that must be avoided at all cost.
10. Dial-Up Modem Sequence
Retro is in, and there's nothing more old school than the familiar sequence of a dial-up modem. All technies born before 1990 have it memorized by heart, and can duplicate the entire string of beeps and buzzes with their vocal chords. "What's that sound? Oh, it's just the internet calling me."
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?2zebltdcelz
9. Futurama Theme
Cancelled before it had an opportunity to jump the shark, Futurama is three parts space drama and five parts pure genius. The catchy theme was inspired by a 1967 song called Psyche Rock, and contrary to popular belief, was not written by Danny Elfman. But you knew that, of course.
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?z0hsjxjrvj4
8. Hiphopopotomas (Flight of the Conchords)
Flight of the Conchords are the epitome of geek cool, and nothing says "I like both offbeat humor and mad beats" like the second verse of Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenocerous.
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?bmvjzg9wtln
7. Windows 95 Startup Tone
All PC users should recognize this classic arpeggio, which greeted you at the Windows 95 splash screen. This six-second chime ushered in the modern PC computing era, and was appropriately composed by ambient music master Brian Eno.
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?mymydyuydym
6. R2D2
Before Wall-E strolled into the hearts of moviegoers, R2D2 was the little robot charged with charming a generation of science fiction buffs. As your ringtone, R2D2 becomes your personal co-pilot and starship mechanic. Just don’t tell his life partner, C-3PO.
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?tzejxwmtxkx
5. TIE Fighter Theme
Who needs shields or life support? TIE fighters are agile and speedy starfighters, powered by large solar panels and armed with rebel-toasting lasers. Use their theme as a ringtone to let Jedi-fanboys know that your loyalty lies with the empire.
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?2mcgtljvzwe
4. Kill Bill Theme
Sure, Tarantino’s two-part revenge epic would’ve worked better as one long movie (we’re partial to part one), but Kill Bill is packed with enough memorable scenes to fuel its own subset of popular culture. One of our favorites? The tense showdown between Uma Thurman’s Bride and Lucy Liu’s O-Ren Ishii, set this awesome music clip.
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?b1jfi9xbxzw
3. Ralph WIggum
"I bent my wookie." "My cat's breath smells like cat food." "Mrs. Krabappel and Principal Skinner were in the closet making babies and I saw one of the babies and the baby looked at me!" Classic.
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?jjbny1elyts
2.Code Monkey (Jonathan Coulton)
This nerd anthem by impresario Jonathan Coulton quickly captured the souls of legions of hard-working, warm-hearted code monkeys everywhere. Coulton, the quintessential geek singer-songwriter, releases his music under the Creative Commons license, and has inspired fan videos, dances, remixes, and even machinima. Show ‘em you’ve got excellent taste and hidden depths!
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?sffuyphrltm
1. CTU Phone Ring
The distinctive chime that rings on all CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) telephones is serious business – calls made to CTU are a matter of life and death. Nothing gets between us and Jack Bauer power hour (except maybe ridiculous plot twists).
Download the ringtone here: http://www.mediafire.com/?90dcjinb2mu
Read on for the top 10 text message alerts for geeks!
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This is probably on the "Avoid" list...
Submitted by Merciful Poseidon on Thu, 2008-08-07 08:33
but I can't help myself. And frankly, everyone that hears it loves it.
For my SMS, I currently have "Mail, m..f..!" from Eurotrip.
I'm as big a Zelda, Futurama, Firefly and Star Wars fan as anyone (well, maybe not Star Wars). But that one makes me giggle every time. And I've had the damn ringtone for 2 years and on 3 different HTC phones. I thought I'd get tired of it after 6 months but every time I consider changing it, I can't find a suitable alternative.
As for my current ringtone; it's from the brilliant but underrated Boondocks: "Homies Over Hoes" by Gangstalicious. The problem is that no one gets it because way too few of my friends actually watch this show. It needs some primetime TV love.
Ringtones
Submitted by chumley1013 on Tue, 2008-08-05 20:39
Currently rocking the following:
Standard Ring:
'Still Alive' from Portal
Close Friends and Family
Teen Titans theme...in Japanese!
Text Message:
"Master Wayne...it's been a long time..." Alfred from Batman Begins.
Submitted by kerrang31 on Tue, 2008-08-05 08:19
Does anyone know where i can dload the ringtone that cruises' phone uses in the mission impossible films. I've been looking for months! I'm not sure which MI (1,2 or 3) ,there was just this groovy electronic ringtone.thanks
Super Mario Bros. FTW!
Submitted by vodomustng2000 on Fri, 2008-08-01 06:27
I currently have the opening song from The Super Mario Bros. =)
"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever."
Tie Fighter
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 2008-07-22 00:47
Anybody know where I could find a ringtone of a Tie Fighter shooting it's dual laser canons?
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 2008-07-21 15:04
1. Apple startup chime
Can't you read? We're Maximum PC.
Wow it's about time somebody at MaxPC make this statement. I've been wondering over the past month or so.
And where is the PODCAST? You guys are just getting lazy. I have nothing to listen to as I lounge around the house all day. I actually have to listen to my kids. Please get up and get us a podcast for the love of god.
Just for that, we're not
Submitted by willsmith on Wed, 2008-07-23 15:45
Just for that, we're not doing a podcast this week either.
Also, the Apple Chime was in the list of tones to be avoided... AVOIDED!
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Fri, 2008-07-25 02:56
8
Submitted by watuzi on Thu, 2008-07-17 16:20
That ringtone will work great when my mom calls me.
Submitted by anonuser on Wed, 2008-07-16 07:37
http://worldcourses.com.au/Caribou/Images/waves.zip
Submitted by proudcanadianeh on Mon, 2008-07-14 10:56
I actually just had to register just to post this. THE ultimate ringtone, the one that I am using is...
The midi sound from the legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time when you open up a treasure chest.
http://dsrpg.ca/files/TresureOpen.wma
Submitted by luisengard on Thu, 2008-07-17 02:33
Argh!
The link does not work!!
Could you please upload it again?!
I've been looking for this sound for years, I even tried to get it recording it directly from the TV
Thanks a lot, my friend!
Submitted by proudcanadianeh on Fri, 2008-08-01 13:37
Sorry about that, I re-uploaded it. Enjoy, I also have the boss battle for when I get a call from work. You want that one also?
Firefly?
Submitted by fake gordon mah ung on Mon, 2008-07-14 10:16
What about the theme from Firefly?
Submitted by willsmith on Sun, 2008-07-13 16:42
In retrospect, we should have added Peanut-butter jelly time to the list somewhere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8MDNFaGfT4
Submitted by groot01 on Fri, 2008-07-11 20:44
but this list really needs to include Peter Griffin "singing" Axel F!
Nice article
Submitted by HR Paperstacks on Fri, 2008-07-11 13:24
I was looking for the CTU ringtone to put on my Sony W810i -- I had it on a previous phone but it broke down. The Gem in this article was the Price is Right (fail horn) ringtone. . . That'll be my personalized ringtone for certain individuals on my phonebook. I was kinda bummed out that the Transformation sound effect from Transformers (80s cartoon) didn't make the cut. It has been my text message alert for a while now.
"The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence"
Man I had been trying to get
Submitted by Strongbad536 on Fri, 2008-07-11 12:31
Man I had been trying to get the CTU ringtone for forever!!!! Thanks so much norm, now R2D2 can let me know when I get a text message! Great STuff
Submitted by dcrail on Fri, 2008-07-11 11:14
I have a LG VX8350, and wouldn't mind some tips.
lg x85crap
Submitted by icsmith on Sun, 2008-07-20 06:15
new phone -_-
Submitted by score master on Fri, 2008-07-11 10:31
I got them all saved, but how do i put them onto my phone, the only way i can think of to get them so i can use them as ringtones is to use the record on my phone while its playing and thats a pain, is there any way to just send them to my phone or I have a micro SD card and i can use it to transfer but i've never been able to get my stuff on it to use as a ringtone.
So anyone know how to put them on?
Submitted by marudd2002 on Fri, 2008-07-11 12:21
Bluetooth or USB. If your phone doesn't have bluetooth or USB capabilites, then there's not really any 'good' or easy way to transfer them to your phone from your computer.
----
Fanboys are annoying. I like to get the most performance per dollar possible and that's all there is to it. Why pay $600 or more for something that'll be $300 or less in 6-9 months? Doesn't make sense. Just be patient.
Submitted by score master on Fri, 2008-07-11 12:26
Bluetooth on my computer but it only works to hook things up and i haven't figured out how to send things to my phone from it, and my phone has bluetooth, but again i dont know how to connect the two, and i dont have a usb cable that fits into my phone, i know they have them and i could get one but i live in a small town and the only electronic place within 120 miles is a radio shack and they dont have it so i would have to buy one off line... is there anyway to use my microSD card?
Submitted by marudd2002 on Fri, 2008-07-11 12:44
Sorry about the lack of info. There are actually four ways I know of that should work (other than yours about the microSD card).
1.) Bluetooth (read manual for your bluetooth device on your computer an/or your phone for how transfers work)
2.) USB (should be super easy)
3.) Text Message/Email your phone from your computer (3rd party software may be required for either/both of these methods)
4.) Navigate to download link's url on your phone's (internet) browser
5.) microSD (or other flash memory standard). Use a card reader on your computer (if you have one) to transfer the files onto just like any other hard drive, mp3 player, etc. Phone should recognize the *.mp3 files once memory card is placed back into phone.
If any other methods work please reply. Thank you.
----
Fanboys are annoying. I like to get the most performance per dollar possible and that's all there is to it. Why pay $600 or more for something that'll be $300 or less in 6-9 months? Doesn't make sense. Just be patient.
What phone do you have?
Submitted by dreamreality on Fri, 2008-07-11 10:46
What phone do you have?
Submitted by score master on Fri, 2008-07-11 12:20
i have a samsung SCH-u740, i guess now they call it the allius, its the dual flip
Tie Fighter
Submitted by natehamill on Fri, 2008-07-11 10:06
The Tie Fighter link is the same as the R2-D2 link. Can you repost it?
"I make no promises, only sarcastic remarks."
Submitted by natehamill on Fri, 2008-07-11 10:30
Dang! dcrail beat me out by ten seconds.
"I make no promises, only sarcastic remarks."
Submitted by willsmith on Fri, 2008-07-11 10:18
Any relation to Mark, Nate?
Submitted by natehamill on Fri, 2008-07-11 10:29
Unfortunately, no, though I was named after his son Nathan (he was born about a year earlier than I). :-)
Dorothy is a distant 3rd cousing twice removed somthing or other, though I doubt she knows that.
"I make no promises, only sarcastic remarks."
Submitted by norman on Fri, 2008-07-11 10:08
fixed. thanks for catching.
-- Norm
Submitted by dcrail on Fri, 2008-07-11 09:56
I don't know if I should be proud or ashamed that I'm the first to point out that the Tie Fighter link goes to the R2D2 page.
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