It is not a smartphone, it is your phone number most of the time. It is binded to the SIM-card. You may switch the card to another smartphone if yours is broken, or order a replacement SIM-card of you lost it. The latter is done by your cell provider with your identity confirmation.
Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
241–250 of 289 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
#242Earlier quoted context omitted.
So, a couple of companies did actually stockpile chips (Toyota was one IIRC), because it was a component whose manufacturing flexability is pretty minimal. It was financially lucrative for them, since they could sell vehicles at a time where no other manufacturers could.
> Toyota was one Iirc The irony runs deep with that tidbit.
For anyone wondering, just in time was first established by Toyota and other Japanese manufacturers in the 70s and 80s.
Re: Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
Everything? The only thing that goes wrong is being unable to travel internationally, but I think consulates often have a process for issuing emergency documents for even that case?
Try to present a foreign ID without your visa to a US police agent and let me know how it goes.
It's not like this is a common thing to need to do when you're traveling...
Re: Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
#244Your phone is leveraged so much because it provides companies with deeper tracking capabilities. Most laptops and PCs only geo locate based on their connection points, phones have accelerometers and more accurate location and ID info in them, so many app makers hobble browser-based app iterations to encourage mostly phone use. They also know users are engaged and focused on content more when they are on phones becaus…
As soon as you connect a phone to your home WiFi or log into a single account that device is instantly associated with you and tracks you forever. Phone numbers are just a convenient way for big tech to share your identity amongst themselves. Use a VPN and try to create all of the accounts you'd need to participate in society. It's impossible. You'll be lucky if you can get an email address. I can't imagine being un-…
Agreed, I've noticed a lot of issues in using home wi-fi across social media. There is also some sort of cross platform tracking occurring between Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok for sure, because I've frequently been shown the same topics and trends across those sites. I'm beginning to think there is a UUID that is associated with my home IP, because when I go off it (roaming on mobile), my (off home IP) Internet experience is not consistent with PC back at home.
Re: Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
#245I'm definitely not a fan of forcing anyone to use their (personal) phone for MFA for accessing company resources - I wouldn't really consider it a single point of failure though unless it was so poorly set up that there was literally no alternative log in method in the case of a lost/forgotten/broken phone.
And if that happens it's the company's loss not mine - yes I enjoy my work and don't like letting my team members down but I can happily find other things to do if I can't access the systems I need to work (and they're going to pay me either way).
Re: Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
#246I didn't have a cell phone until work issued me one around 2018 or so. (I never really liked the idea.) Generally, I don't have many single points of failure tied to the phone not tied to work...certainly nothing related to my banking. You can still live in 2022 without one, although the assumption that you have one gets more annoyingly entrenched year-by-year. I don't quite know what these single points of failure a…
> Generally, I don't have many single points of failure tied to the phone not tied to work
Agreed, this is the way to go. I've always found it amazing how easily people will create a fragile SPoF dependency on a phone, which can so easily be lost/broken/etc. And more importantly, it's a single point of centralized tracking, so the last thing you'd want is to have everything tied to it.
While I do have a phone, mostly for use as a hotspot, I pretend I don't. I'll always take the course of action of not having a phone.
Re: Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
How often are customers really given that choice, as opposed to companies making the decision on their behalf because customers are stupid (they just want a better horse after all). We can't buy what doesn't exist after all.
The choice is almost always there, but the overwhelming majority of people choose the cheap option. Seriously, for pretty much anything there's a cheap version and a more expensive, (usually) better quality version.
It's the "usually" that's the problem for me. Last time I bought a washing machine I was willing to pay 3x the cost of the cheapest model provided it came with a warrantee that was at least 3 times longer. But in fact all machines had the same pathetic 2-year warrantee, indicating to me the manufacturer didn't genuinely believe their more expensive machine was going to last any longer. So I went for a mid-range one that at least didn't look cheap and nasty, but probably will break down in a few years anyway (and then be more expensive to repair than replace).
Re: Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
#248Earlier quoted context omitted.
As soon as you connect a phone to your home WiFi or log into a single account that device is instantly associated with you and tracks you forever. Phone numbers are just a convenient way for big tech to share your identity amongst themselves. Use a VPN and try to create all of the accounts you'd need to participate in society. It's impossible. You'll be lucky if you can get an email address. I can't imagine being un-…
Agreed, I've noticed a lot of issues in using home wi-fi across social media. There is also some sort of cross platform tracking occurring between Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok for sure, because I've frequently been shown the same topics and trends across those sites. I'm beginning to think there is a UUID that is associated with my home IP, because when I go off it (roaming on mobile), my (off home IP) Internet exper…
That your IP address is used as part of delivery customization isn't surprising (though why it would make sense for platforms you need to log into I'm not sure). As far as YouTube/TikTok/Twitter sharing tracking info - unlikely, I'd say just the fact that you are the same person using all 3 services which all picked up on your personal preferences from your initial usage of each site would be enough to explain being shown similar content. I could perhaps accept both Twitter and YouTube have access to some other centralised source of personalised data if you've provided the same email address or phone number to both, though I'd think there'd be regulations around that.
Re: Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't eSIMs have an even worse failure mode? If the phone itself dies then there's no SIM for you to take out and put into a new phone immediately right? As I understand it you have to first find another phone (with a working line!) to call your provider with, hope that it's within their business hours, and wait on hold for who knows how long, until you finally get it set up? Because of course you don't have anything…
With Vodafone, I just login on the website and swap the esim. It’s ridiculously straight forward and you can set a sim pin that works across devices so even if someone were to steal the login and try to take your esim, they still need the pin to unlock the sim on the device.
That's better than what I've seen, but that still requires you to find a second phone with existing service? Everyone has 2 spare phones with 1 additional line of service lying around right? Or a computer with internet service I guess.
With a normal SIM all you need is the device you're going to put it into. And a needle/paperclip...
Re: Ask HN: Why did smartphones become a single point of failure?
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did not world survive the ATM, pin, card revolution? Yes. Did 100% population like them. No. Did people lose cards ? Yes. Yet we are here.
A phone is a lot more than an ATM or a plastic card. Some people don't want an expensive device that tracks you, potentially sucks you into distractions, and just flat out has a lot of undesired complexity. You shouldn't need one to do basic finances. Also ATM's and credit cards didn't replace traditional methods, they're modern alternatives.
Furthermore a phone is the single one thing whose loss will cut you out of tens of services —at best—.
Cards are one-per-service. So if lose one, you lose access to one service.
Cards, you don't take 'em out of your wallet unless you have to use 'em.
Your wallet too, you don't leave it out on the table all the time while eating.
You don't take it out willy nilly to take selfies and panoramas, or to check the stupid notifications that you get every 3 seconds.
And when you do, it's only because you have to do wallet-y things, which you do —carefully—, perhaps even looking out for possible pickpockets and thieves.
All of the above don't need to be charged twice a day... in fact, not at all... and will still work as new, after a trip into the toilet, a drop from any height, a full blown stampede, or even a few cycles in the washing machine.
Your phone? Not so much.
And those slabs of glass and metal are often eye watering expensive. Enough to be more interesting to a thief, than even your wallet... All this, while we're continuously waving them around, in front of everybody...
So, do you really need to know how may times people "lose" their phones nowadays?