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Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

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Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#101

Post by ajuc »

boterock wrote: post #44
prolikewh0a wrote: post #17

I obliterated one of my smartphones last year after dropping it on concrete while getting off the bus. I freaked out, had no clue what to do since I was low income and couldn't afford anything for quite awhile. For a few days it was like I was an addict, constantly feeling my back pocket vibrating, constantly reaching to check my phone. After a few more days, I felt very liberated. I felt very free. I started enjoyin…

that reminded me of how I decided to play Zelda BoTW. Zelda has a 'Pro' mode where it hides all UI but the health. I was fully decided on using it through the whole game and I think it is the best way to play the game. The absence of minimap is the biggest change. When you have your minimap is like when you drive with gps. You only wait til the map says you to turn, and after some turns staring at the minimap you get…

That's the only good way of playing The Witcher 3. They put lots of ui customization, but the defaults are overbearing, you watch ui not the world.

At least disable the "?" signs on unexplored areas and the path to next quest objective, game is much more enjoyable without them and not too inconvenient.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#102

Post by dmortin »

pavanred wrote: post #48
squiggleblaz wrote: post #10

Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone. It's hard to realise how recently they came around. I've probably only had the internet on my phone for five years (I've had a smart phone for longer, but I couldn't get the data to work and data was expensive enough at the time I didn't care). I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). I ca…

Its about 10PM here. I got back from work 3-4 hours ago and my phone just beeped and I could read the email with simply a flick of a finger and saw that it was a work related email though I was having dinner at that time. Now, though I am at home that's running on a thread at the background in my head since then. This is perhaps just one use case but it's hardly surprising that people now want to go back to way it wa…

I have work email notifications off when I don't work. If they don't pay me to be available anytime then of course I won't check my work email after work.

So this is not a reason not to have a smartphone it's only a matter of setting up the phone properly, so notifications reach me only when they should be checked.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#103

Post by krageon »

gambiting wrote: post #91
krageon wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Email across the planet has been around since day one. It has been present around the globe for ages, if you could find an internet cafe on holiday. Reading email on your phone also needs a smartphone. > Mass transit has had posted schedules for many years. It is nice to see an updated one with up to the minute tracking but it wasn’t that inconvenient either. You must be one of the blessed multitudes that live in a…

>>Reading email on your phone also needs a smartphone. Nokia 6310 could both read and send emails, and I'm sure the functionality arrived slightly earlier too. >>second point I mean, if I'm in some 3rd world country without a reliable public transport system, then I'm not sure how internet access or a smartphone for that matter helps at all. In my experience in those places the bus/train just turns up when it does, n…

I didn't know a 6310 could read and send email, thank you. I stopped having Nokia phones after the 3310i (which I did love dearly).

There are numerous first world countries that have unreliable public transport. This is the US and also in the EU, I can't imagine you've never encountered what I mean unless you don't travel very much (there is nothing wrong with that, but then why do you discuss it like this). Sure in the situations that you talk about a smartphone would not matter, but in the ones I talk about (and that I actually meant originally) a smartphone will tell you why there is a delay (suddenly, generally) and what you can do to mitigate it. Something no PA system will tell you with any amount of reliability.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#104

Post by Broken_Hippo »

maccard wrote: post #87
jordigh wrote: post #59

I don't have a phone. At all. Whenever government things or banks ask me for a phone number, I just say none. Persistent computer forms that won't take no for an answer are fed the phone number of the company that is asking for a phone. Most people find this utterly unthinkable and seem to project their anxiety of not having a phone on to me. What about emergencies? How do you do this? How do you do that? What if thi…

Do you have any family? My parents live in a different country, a phone is a particularly good way of keeping in touch. Ever been ill? How do you get in touch with your GP? Ever had an accident, or witnessed an accident? Ever been a victim of bank fraud, or had to contact the police? I can understand dodging a smartphone, but a phone (cell or landline) of some sort is pretty much a requirement these days.

I have a phone for practical reasons (I rarely need to use a phone). But I can clearly see that most of these are solvable by the internet or by old-fashioned solutions.

Getting in touch with a GP? I can use the internet. Bank fraud? Same, or just go to a branch.

As far as accidents and emergencies are concerned, these are no different than the solutions pre-smart phone or when your phone has broken, out of power, or if you forgot it elsewhere. You go to the nearest house. Landlines wouldn't call 911 for you if you dind't have phone service. Besides, folks can keep a cheap non-smartphone with no service in their house which allows you to call 911 in an emergency. Everything else can be worked around.

All it would really take is a knock on the neighbor's door and ask them to call the cops for you. The vast majority of folks won't turn you down. If all else fails, go to the nearest gas station or fast food establishment. Chances are they'll happily call for you.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#105

Post by paavoova »

squiggleblaz wrote: post #10

Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone. It's hard to realise how recently they came around. I've probably only had the internet on my phone for five years (I've had a smart phone for longer, but I couldn't get the data to work and data was expensive enough at the time I didn't care). I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). I ca…

> Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone.

But at what cost? The software and OS is a locked-down ecosystem for most consumers. The hardware even more so. Such mass adoption forces one to conform in order to participate, meaning even for the privacy-conscious, consumer trends dictate all. Just a couple months ago US carriers were found to be selling realtime customer location data. Whether or not they're selling, they can track your phone via cellular triangulation. The baseband is a proprietary black box that runs its own privileges OS, can read memory and disk, and basically transmits at all times (mandated by law in some countries, for emergency network connectivity) to whoever picks up the signal, and this includes a unique IMEI. No removable batteries, and no hardware switches means masses of phones are being tracked at all times from point A to B, whether or not for nefarious purposes. Add the ever-growing trend of cashless transactions, OS-level third-party GPS tracking, and the reality becomes a slippery slope nightmare.

I feel that sentiments like yours, one's where "life" and "phone" are nearly synonymous, are fostering a dangerous future where one is obligated to own a phone else be left in the dust. This is already nearly the case socially, and in some careers also. Literature classics warn of mass surveillance and control, of chip implants under the scalp, but why go there when the populace already wear a tracking device willingly of their own accord, and grow to depend on it ever more?

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#106

Post by archie35c »

squiggleblaz wrote: post #10

Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone. It's hard to realise how recently they came around. I've probably only had the internet on my phone for five years (I've had a smart phone for longer, but I couldn't get the data to work and data was expensive enough at the time I didn't care). I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). I ca…

> If you're not valuing your priorities with a phone, you won't value them without it.

Exactly right. I hear more and more people complaining about the internet, their smartphones or tech in general. If you listen to those people long enough you realize what they are actually talking about is social media and to a lesser degree gaming. I just don't get it. If you don't like those services, don't use them. Have some self restraint, for crying out loud.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#107

Post by mantas »

krageon wrote: post #103
gambiting wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Reading email on your phone also needs a smartphone. Nokia 6310 could both read and send emails, and I'm sure the functionality arrived slightly earlier too. >>second point I mean, if I'm in some 3rd world country without a reliable public transport system, then I'm not sure how internet access or a smartphone for that matter helps at all. In my experience in those places the bus/train just turns up when it does, n…

I didn't know a 6310 could read and send email, thank you. I stopped having Nokia phones after the 3310i (which I did love dearly). There are numerous first world countries that have unreliable public transport. This is the US and also in the EU, I can't imagine you've never encountered what I mean unless you don't travel very much (there is nothing wrong with that, but then why do you discuss it like this). Sure in…

I live in EU, but in not-so-reliable public transit country.

Outside of major towns, smart phone won't help you much to get most accurate time table. Paper timetable in the station is the only source of true information. You may find multiple contradicting timetables on the web and just hope they haven't been changed since then. Nobody cares to post emergency updates on the web. Sticker in the station it is. GPS live tracking is non existent.

We do have live tracking for public transit in 2 (maybe 3?) major towns. But that came before the era of smartphones - it was displayed in displays in stops. It's kinda cool to see your bus stuck in traffic one stop from you :)

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#108

Post by Broken_Hippo »

MisterOctober wrote: post #53

Dumbphone user since 2006 here. Non-Luddite. Main reasons for avoiding the switch : 1) When not using computers for work [or chess] purposes, I want to spend as little time as practical staring at a screen. I have lots of non-computer activities to attend to [gardening, studying, home maintenance, etc etc] and a family to look after. 2) I am a strong adherent to the notion that one is well-advised to maintain awarene…

I'm of the opinion that one can set a good example for their children and limit screen time while not regulating themselves to a dumbphone. It teaches your children self-control by example, after all.

I tend to keep internet turned off when I'm out in public, but that phone is still a tool. Clock, phone, notebook, grocery list, map, music, etc. I don't have to buy all those things or keep them on me any longer. That's worth the screen. I do tend to travel with a book or sketchpad, though - which honestly, gives the same distraction. So does daydreaming.

I live in a safe enough area to not worry about a lot of things, which probably helps.

Then again, I don't think I use the phone like most folks do either.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#109

Post by andai »

paavoova wrote: post #105
squiggleblaz wrote: post #10

Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone. It's hard to realise how recently they came around. I've probably only had the internet on my phone for five years (I've had a smart phone for longer, but I couldn't get the data to work and data was expensive enough at the time I didn't care). I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). I ca…

> Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone. But at what cost? The software and OS is a locked-down ecosystem for most consumers. The hardware even more so. Such mass adoption forces one to conform in order to participate, meaning even for the privacy-conscious, consumer trends dictate all. Just a couple months ago US carriers were found to be selling realtime customer location data. Wh…

What are you doing to combat this?

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#110

Post by wyclif »

maccard wrote: post #99
Maakuth wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Social media apps are easy to uninstall, and that's what I've done. For the occasional Facebook event / messenger use case I need (some people insist on communicating through these), I use mbasic.facebook.com, which I think is the mobile web FB for the developing world. It's very fast, very barebones, but has all the features you really need.

Facebook Twitter and linkedin came pre installed on my Samsung phone, and can't be removed (or even hidden as far as i can see)

That's terrible! What carrier is that evil?
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