I also hate the ergonomics. Screens are too small, and input methods are slow and error-prone.
Why I don't like smartphones
31–40 of 294 posts
Re: Why I don't like smartphones
#32Most people don't want or need root access to their smartphone but will complain (no matter how much you tell them security is their responsibility when acting as root) when installing random software they found on the internet results in their banking details being stolen followed swiftly by all their money. There are products you can buy in pretty much every category if you need a general purpose computing device,…
You can easily have a device with disabled root access and a curated store as a default and make gaining root access an added functionality (similarly how Android Nexus phones require you to issue a fastboot oem unlock command).
Where does this idea that the only alternative to not having some non-technical people install malware is to forbid root access to EVERYONE else?!
Re: Why I don't like smartphones
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "Mom I have told you thousands of times! Configure, make and make install, not configure and make install!" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11086290
If you running configure and make as root you could actually just invoke make install instead of make; make install. Also I wouldn't make install without a local prefix, something like ./configure --prefix=/home/$USER/usr/ or something along the lines. I mean common prefix is /usr/local, but still you shouldn't install anything globally without using your package manager.
Re: Why I don't like smartphones
#34The irony in this article is, due to the lack of a sensible line width, it is much easier to read on a phone than a PC
Re: Why I don't like smartphones
#35Re: Why I don't like smartphones
#36I'm not sure that this article is that contentious. Modern smartphones are unabashedly consumer devices made for the mass market and several of the criticisms in this article are features that most people don't want/need. What most people want/need from a smartphone is a device that lets them do things (e.g. send messages, keep up with friends, make phonecalls, browse the Internet) without getting in their way. They'…
> "Mom I have told you thousands of times! Configure, make and make install, not configure and make install!" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11086290
Re: Why I don't like smartphones
#37Re: Why I don't like smartphones
#38Re: Why I don't like smartphones
#39* AMD x86 CPUs
* Intel x86 CPUs
...leaving, ARM CPUs, I guess? Windows ARM machines are also on the list. (And surely ARMs should be blacklisted according to his reasoning; he is unhappy with Intel's secure enclave, while ARM has similar features).
Some people will never be happy.
Re: Why I don't like smartphones
#40> They have ruined web design. Ironically, the site itself looks super good on a smartphone. I didn't check the source (because I'm on a smartphone...), but it doesn't seem to have any CSS styling applied to it.
I had to resize my browser window in order to read this article in my PC. I don't get this kind of "geeky" designs, is there a technical reason why they don't even add basic CSS? I'm not talking about making the articles look "good", but making them readable.
If you cannot read across your screen, you are probably sitting too close to it. I'd rather have wider text that I have to turn my eyes slightly to see all of then narrower text that requires active scrolling.
And I don't know of a single OS that you cannot snap your browser window to half the width of your monitor on the edge, which would make this as presentable as anyone in this comment section wants without the site maintainer having to assume everyone wants narrow text.