The camera is only one of the ways you can use your phone to record the world around you. Voice recorders and note-taking apps are great to quickly capture your ideas when they are still fresh.
Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
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Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
#62Try making some art. You can use art apps to remix old photos and also to generate completely new pieces. Not sure about iOS, but on Android there are fantastic apps like Glitch Lab, Mirror Lab, and so on. Here is a link to art made on Android using Mirror Lab: https://www.instagram.com/mirror_lab/
Yes! This is the kind of stuff I'm looking for. There appear to be some interesting fractal apps as well. Any other suggestions?
Heavypaint is a fantastic abstract drawing tool that's fun to do while you're killing time. Here's a great example of how easy it is to get into: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL3ho4Vc7Ng)
Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
#63You could use shells.com to turn your mobile phone into a desktop.
Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
#64This is a great question! I think other commenters miss the basic point that mobile is frictionless and can be used anywhere. I think OP is thinking along the following lines: I’m on the bus / in the loo / waiting for my lunch to heat in the microwave. How can I use these moments to produce creatively? I already have a great tool that I know can deliver content efficiently and accessibly to me in these situations—I u…
I "write" a lot on my phone using a simple voice recorder app. It's a great way to put together intros, conclusions, and other "explainers" (obviously not so good for technical parts with equations or code). I usually make a small point-form plan on a piece of paper, then go for a walk with the voice recorder. The act of walking seems to help a lot (see related [1] about that).
I've tried text-to-speech options, but what I find works best is to transcribe the audio myself (usually playback at 0.7x), since during the transcription process I can cleanup and improve the thoughts.
Honestly, without this trick I could have never been able to write books. The technical details and explanations are pretty standard (math books all have to cover the same topics), but the extra, intuition, context, intros, and "lead out" text in conclusion/discussion sections are super important to tie it all together, and these parts specifically come out much better when created using the spoken-then-transcribed since the tone comes out more conversational.
Try writing your next blog post through diction, you will see it's great!
Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
#65A lot of the comments are looking to find ways to get around the fact that entering text on a phone is a pain. Others have suggested creating 'art' but, personally I find a phone screen far too small for drawing on. If you want to 'create' with your phone, why not use the feature it has which is actually as good as [and in some aspects better than] the equivalent 'proper' equipment. ie. the camera. I'm a keen amateur…
This scene comes to mind.
Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
#66I think what you may be looking for is a device that allows you to type in text without requiring a surface on which to place it (while seated on a bus, lying down in bed). I've always wanted something similar myself, but mobile keyboards don't make it easy for you to type without having to focus your gaze directly on the keyboard. Perhaps someone could invent a device where your hands rest on a keyboard while the sc…
Or try Stephen Wolfram's setup:
https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/data/uploads/2019/02/07-...
Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
#67Definitely check out shells.com!
Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
#68If I could find a FOSS notepad with integrated voice recognition/translation in multiple languages (English is not my mother tongue) the phone would be the perfect creativity tool for me!
Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
#69[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?
#70I still don't get the motivation behind this. If you want to consume less stuff on your phone, you can reduce the consumption without replacing it with anything - you don't have a phone time quota that you need to meet on any given day, just cut down on the things you don't like. When you're creating anything, it makes sense to do it in the best possible environment that you have for it - I would rather write code on…
So much this. To get real work done (creative or not), you want a desktop OS and a big screen, keyboard and mouse.