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I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

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Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#141

Post by whstl »

Gecko4072 wrote: post #23

From my experience modified iPhones make the perfect dumb phones that you will actually end up sticking with and it's free if you already have one. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45171200 I use this method ^ which lets you keep essential apps but otherwise have dumb phone (no browser, no App Store). Highly recommend. On the other hand, I have turned my laptop into a dumb computer using cold turkey blocker. I've…

I have been using my Apple Watch as a dumb phone from time to time.

It's like 4-5 years old and still kicking.

It has Music, Maps and Telephone.

Also my significant other can follow me on Find My Friends to know when I'll arrive.

Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#142

Post by osicjsfjhdhf »

warkdarrior wrote: post #46
HelloUsername wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Every time my son needs a few bucks in his account, my wife has to do it if we're out So the burden is on her?

Of course, privacy seeking is a selfish personality trait. I'm protecting myself, everyone else be damned.

> I’m protecting by myself

From… what?

Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#143

Post by atrus »

ddj231 wrote: post #136
stronglikedan wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The word "requirements" is doing a lot of work there. I've never met a QR code where scanning it was required of me.

a bit off topic but the construction of the phrase: some word + "doing a lot of work" sounds so much like a claudism

Well, yeah, people have been using that phrase for years, if not decades. I'm not sure if you were aware, but they actually trained Claude on human text, so it naturally sounds like the human text it trained off of.

Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#144

Post by XorNot »

Gecko4072 wrote: post #23

From my experience modified iPhones make the perfect dumb phones that you will actually end up sticking with and it's free if you already have one. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45171200 I use this method ^ which lets you keep essential apps but otherwise have dumb phone (no browser, no App Store). Highly recommend. On the other hand, I have turned my laptop into a dumb computer using cold turkey blocker. I've…

Whereas I just don't go to websites I don't like. It has a very low maintenance overhead.

Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#145

Post by eigencoder »

HelloUsername wrote: post #36
burningChrome wrote: post #18

I have a motorola smartphone. I don't have google play installed. I mainly use obtainium for app installation. Its a bare bones phone and it drives my business partner crazy. "Just log into our instagram account and. . .right, you don't have insta installed on your phone." "Can you log into our scheduling app and. . . right, you don't have that installed on your phone either." Some of the more painful things you have…

> Every time my son needs a few bucks in his account, my wife has to do it if we're out So the burden is on her?

I mean, that is the nature of marriage. You both shoulder burdens for each other

Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#146

Post by NewJazz »

snazz wrote: post #103
MisterTea wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Not having any banking apps on my phone. Every time my son needs a few bucks in his account, my wife has to do it if we're out. This is the most tyrannical things about smart phones -- banking apps. I get it, the bank wants to ensure the platform is not a liability. But it forces most of us to use one of the only two "trusted" mobile providers on earth: Google or Apple, both of which are American (and I'm an Amer…

In my experience in the U.S., I can manage my accounts at various banks and brokerages just as well from the website as from a mobile app. I’m ok with them restricting how their apps can be used as long as the browser remains an option. The requirement to use an app for all account management (or for authenticating to a website) seems to be mostly a European phenomenon.

Mobile check deposit is usually app only. I think Ally lets you use their website, but they are an outlier.

I don't need to deposit checks often, but I'd rather not have to mail it in when I do.

Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#147

Post by bgregs »

bufordsharkley wrote: post #56

I've still never had a smartphone (technically my flip phone, a Kyocera Dura, is an android device, but it can't install apps so I'll consider it suitably "dumb") Occasionally I need to tote along a tablet because several places (some MLB venues, for one thing) will either require a smartphone, or impose a severe surcharge for the convenience of not using it. Anyway, I really regret that we didn't impose dumbphone pr…

> technically my flip phone, a Kyocera Dura, is an android device, but it can't install apps so I'll consider it suitably "dumb"

You can actually still sideload app stores (F-Droid, Aurora, etc.) on the Kyocera Dura. I bought mine specifically so I could still put my company-mandated pager app on it. Turns out I was able to get a physical pager instead, so I never had to go the sideloading route.

Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#148

Post by FigurativeVoid »

rtkwe wrote: post #118
FigurativeVoid wrote: post #41

As a T1 diabetic, I wish that we weren't tying things like medical devices to smart phones. It's just one more failure point.

The traditional finger stick readers are still very available though right? I see them still at pharmacies.

True, but that tech is bad.

My current GCM uses NFC and my phone to connect with my pump. I would like to remove my phone from the loop. Just use the pump to connect to the sensor directly.

Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#149

Post by omoikane »

bufordsharkley wrote: post #56

I've still never had a smartphone (technically my flip phone, a Kyocera Dura, is an android device, but it can't install apps so I'll consider it suitably "dumb") Occasionally I need to tote along a tablet because several places (some MLB venues, for one thing) will either require a smartphone, or impose a severe surcharge for the convenience of not using it. Anyway, I really regret that we didn't impose dumbphone pr…

I also have been using a flip phone ever since I got a cell phone. I had to upgrade it once because the old phone only supports up to 3G network or whatever, and my carrier just silently dropped all calls on that network a few years back, so I had to upgrade to one with 4G. My current phone is Alcatel 4051S.

But I also have an Android phone without any data plan attached, which I use only for recording GPS coordinates when I am taking pictures outdoors. I have mostly managed to avoid places that require scanning some code or installing some app.

Re: I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't

#150

Post by what-the-grump »

MostlyStable wrote: post #28
eddieroger wrote: post #9

I do have a smartphone, but I don't seem to feel the pain the author feels about being inundated by QR codes and apps. Maybe I have all the apps I need already? Maybe I just don't mind having an app on my phone because I know that I can set it to basically never bother me. Most of my apps have notifications silenced. My home screen is empty, save the handful of apps I do want. And for the little bit of effort I put f…

I don't think he's complaining about having a lot of apps, or the ability to have a lot of apps. He's complaining about being required to use apps for hundreds of small interactions every day that don't, or shouldn't, require an app. And he's correct. Companies are doing this not because they think it's better, but because they believe that if they can worm their way onto your device, and insert their cloud service (…

We’ve had smartphones for a decade and I don’t think I have 100 apps on my phone even if you included the ones that came with my phone.

And daily I maybe use 4-6 apps at most.

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