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Dumber phone

nomasters.io

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Re: Dumber phone

#271

Post by rashkov »

innocentoldguy wrote: post #33
josefresco wrote: post #29

Does anyone with an Apple watch (or other smartwatch ) feel it helps them leave their smartphone behind and/or reduce their smartphone usage?

I do. I have an Apple Watch with a SIM chip in it and I leave my phone at home all the time. I still get text messages and emails, so I know if something urgent is going on, but it is also a bit of a pain to reply, so I find, more often than not, I don't. It helps me to plan my responses to specific times during the day.

I’ve been thinking of doing the same. Are you able to do google maps and uber?

Re: Dumber phone

#272

Post by bluecat22 »

I think the idea of dumber phone introduces with it another notion, since the phone is seen more as a utilitarian tool(not for entertainment), then it should not have to be replaced frequently.

With the above concept the entire discussion then hinges on how updatable the phone software is? Because if the phone software is not updatable, even the minimum number of apps needed on the phone will stagnate and you'll have to buy a new phone anyhow.

The single biggest point of failure in the updatability of a phone is the devices drivers for the SOC. Linux fails in this regard because the driver ABI is not stable, so you can't run drivers that the vendor launched with the launch kernel. It is this problem of updatable drivers for SOC components that needs to be solved before any idea of a long lasting utility phone becomes practical.

Re: Dumber phone

#273

Post by tomrod »

bluecat22 wrote: post #272

I think the idea of dumber phone introduces with it another notion, since the phone is seen more as a utilitarian tool(not for entertainment), then it should not have to be replaced frequently. With the above concept the entire discussion then hinges on how updatable the phone software is? Because if the phone software is not updatable, even the minimum number of apps needed on the phone will stagnate and you'll have…

Why can't it be solved?

Re: Dumber phone

#274

Post by BuckRogers »

komali2 wrote: post #62
prophesi wrote: post #35

I just got a Pixel the other day after being phone-less for about 3 months. I only need it to do ARCore development, so I keep it powered-off. * I had to print out directions to get to new places, which had me learn my way around. * People were much less flaky since they couldn't text me at the last minute to cancel our plans. * I no longer had a crutch in difficult social situations, which helped me actually get to…

I respect what you're doing, but I noticed it's the friends like you (off Facebook, never answers texts) that stopped getting invited to stuff. Scenario 1: housewarming party 3 weeks away. My phoneless friend doesn't get the Facebook invite used to corrall the other 30 people coming. She also doesn't get the group FB message (nobody uses group SMS anymore in my friend group). A fluke of busyness means I don't see her…

I use my phone as utility only, I put the details on how in another post here. I would also miss out on scenario 1, because while I don't have FB on my phone, I do have an account, opened only in a Firefox Container on my desktop. I also don't receive emails from invites/messages or anything FB related. It waits for me.

I wouldn't miss out on scenario 2, because my phone notifies me of texts and calls (and nothing else).

I dislike the 1st scenario just off the basis of giving FB so much credit, friends should reach out via traditional methods that most of us have like SMS. Then you're not benefiting Facebook Corp so much by designing your life around it. Just distasteful, in my view. It also allows people to communicate & live a modern life with just a basic phone, which should be more than enough.

Re: Dumber phone

#275

Post by interfixus »

e40 wrote: post #229
peacetreefrog wrote: post #125

There are a lot of "hacks" in this thread (put your phone in grayscale, put variable reward apps in a folder, turn off fingerprint sensor) but in my experience the mindset is by far the most important part. What's worked for me (and the article talks about this too) is viewing my phone as a tool with a limited set of functionality. For me, that functionality is: calls, texts, Google maps, Spotify, Audible, podcasts,…

I'm older than most of you here. I'm constantly amazed at the lack of self control related to phones. I do exactly as you said, use my phone as a tool. Walking to work and think of something I don't want to forget? Whip out the phone and write myself an email. At home on a weekend and I'm in offline mode? DnD turned on until the alarm on my phone the next morning. I never feel like my phone is controlling my behavior…

Same. I have email, sms, Signal etc. on my phone. I use it for som utility stuff like banking (getting around a braindead token-based two factor thing in the web-version). Even HN, if I'm far away from home and bored. And all that really only amounts to 15-20 minutes in a day. And then navgation, and the occasional book I read on it. And snaphot photos. It's all nicely under control.

Like the parent poster, I'm an old fart. But my daughter, in her early twenties, have much the same pattern, and most definitely no addiction to either phone or social media. For what it's worth, she's had pc and phone for about as long as she can remember. With internet and no control, but a lot of guidance.

Re: Dumber phone

#276

Post by bluecat22 »

tomrod wrote: post #273
bluecat22 wrote: post #272

I think the idea of dumber phone introduces with it another notion, since the phone is seen more as a utilitarian tool(not for entertainment), then it should not have to be replaced frequently. With the above concept the entire discussion then hinges on how updatable the phone software is? Because if the phone software is not updatable, even the minimum number of apps needed on the phone will stagnate and you'll have…

Why can't it be solved?

Because in the space of open source operating systems, we realistically only have Linux Kernel.

With each new release of Linux kernel, the internal kernel interfaces that device drivers use, change. So whatever binary kernel driver the vendor released with kernel version x is not going to run with next kernel version y.

You only have 2 options: 1. Either you get the source of device drivers, which the vendors don't release because they want to protect their hardware IP

2. or the kernel keeps its interfaces stable so that drivers released can be reused again.

Right now, both are not happening and that is the real reason Android phones have a life of at most 2 years.

Re: Dumber phone

#277

Post by superkuh »

Even better, try not taking your phone with you at all. They're essentially ankle bracelets that use the carrot instead of the stick. At least in the US your location is recorded and stored for at a minimum of 2 and usually more towards 5 years depending on telco.

Re: Dumber phone

#278

Post by Nition »

adhambadr wrote: post #149
david-cako wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am in love with this. The home screen design is so obvious it hurts -- flip phone UX for a smartphone. "Open and dial". What's the story with the display? Do you have an actual proof of concept where you have a black and white mode that largely decreases battery life? Is there anything special about it, or does it just play into how OLED displays are locally lit?

yes we initially used OLED and our phones after testing managed to use on average around 65% of the energy with our ui. We're dropping it unfortunately as its a supply-chain nightmare.. (for now). Black and white mainly increases your focus sharply, but u can always disable it to colours.

Your website plays up the greyscale reducing battery consumption. If that's not currently the case you really should to remove that info.

Re: Dumber phone

#279

Post by hawkice »

imwally wrote: post #266
cirgue wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best mindset change for me has been realizing on a fundamental and emotional level just how garbage most of the internet actually is, and how much happier I am to get an extra hour of sleep, reading a book instead of Reddit, or letting myself get bored enough to stimulate serious creativity.

> letting myself get bored enough to stimulate serious creativity. I think this is another key takeaway. We're so scared of being bored that we instantly reach for our phone as a means to fill this seemingly unwanted void. As if boredom has this negative connotation attached to it.

It is shockingly unpleasant.

But our lives should contain some unpleasantness, I think. Some difficulty.

Re: Dumber phone

#280

Post by eropple »

Nition wrote: post #211
mozzarella wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When my dad decided to quit smoking, he didn't throw out the pack of cigarettes he was currently in the middle of. Instead, he put them up on the shelf next to his work desk. The pack wasn't totally in his face, nor was it out of sight. Despite the visual reminder being present, he broke his years' long pack-a-day habit. Eventually - long after he stopped smoking - he threw the pack out, as part of his usual housekee…

Makes sense. Getting rid of something doesn't teach you not to use it when it's there. If you can not use it when it is there, you've really won.

This is perhaps the best reason why, unlike a very large proportion of my family, I've never had a problem with alcohol.

It's always around. I can have a drink whenever I want (and I mean, I have drinks socially, I usually end up playing bartender at parties, that sort of thing). But it is, and always has been, something that happens on my terms.

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