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'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

theguardian.com

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Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#421

Post by nicbou »

ComposedPattern wrote: post #245

It's funny how people in this thread keep saying "well if you're going to complain about people being penalized for not using apps, you might as well complain about people being penalized for not using telephones/cars/internet"... and yes, I am going to complain about all of those things. I imagine that many or most homeless people don't have reliable access to any of the above. I have an anxiety disorder that makes…

Immigrants are often left out for various reasons, such as not having the right documents, having an unsupported kind of passport, not having an address they can register as their home, not having an app store account in the right country, not having a local payment method, and a variety of other issues.

Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#422

Post by meristohm »

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK wrote: post #274
Henchman21 wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m gonna punt on the question of where the line is for hostile actions and use some past legal justification of “I know it when I see it” and I see it clearly here. The second part is the more interesting question to me: Appropriate reactions would seem to include: - finding a new doctor/practice/provider. Super hard in practice as they seem to be geographical monopolies a la the cable networks - providing appropria…

Is stupidity instead of hardship a legally valid claim? Are cognitively disabled people, unable to operate a smartphone, a protected class?

They are protected if we collectively-enough (laws, or culture, religion, ethics, or...?) agree to provide equitable access to people with disabilities. Human rights are made up (the local deer that spent the night in the woods near where I spend the night have no rights, they just exist in a mix of cooperation, reciprocity, and some competition. Actually, I don't know if they afford each other rights in the way we do that. Likewise, I don't know if deer focus on "productivity" as much as so many of us do...), and for good reasons (?). I wonder if rights were codified back when we were far less numerous and living so much closer to the land, amidst so much more abundant life.

Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#423

Post by ponector »

bee_rider wrote: post #407
jagged-chisel wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So many places in apps just wait for no reason. Let's take a hypothetical situation: Suppose you're doing gig delivery. You're delivering to two customers in the same neighborhood on the same run. You drop the first order, take your photo of the drop, and the app spins. It's waiting for the photo to be delivered before it moves on. You can't get directions to the next customer until the app moves along. Why can't it…

That’s bizarre. The whole point of having an app instead of a website is to have more processing occur locally, right?

Why is it so?

The whole point of app is to gather your info from the phone and to send you tons of notifications.

And don't forget mandatory updates, when you open an app and cannot use it without updating to the latest crappy version.

Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#424

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

cwoolfe wrote: post #296

Yes! I've often said "software engineers should be doomed to use what they create. Or at least watch others try to use it." One example is our local Costco parking garage. They replaced the old push-button ticketing kiosk (which had nothing wrong with it) with one that had a touchscreen. Many times the line is backed up and one day I saw why. The guy was pushing the touchscreen button as if it were physical, and it w…

Perhaps while wearing gloves, because it's really cold outside?

Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#425

Post by roughly »

bee_rider wrote: post #407
jagged-chisel wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So many places in apps just wait for no reason. Let's take a hypothetical situation: Suppose you're doing gig delivery. You're delivering to two customers in the same neighborhood on the same run. You drop the first order, take your photo of the drop, and the app spins. It's waiting for the photo to be delivered before it moves on. You can't get directions to the next customer until the app moves along. Why can't it…

That’s bizarre. The whole point of having an app instead of a website is to have more processing occur locally, right?

The whole point of having an app is to collect data, show ads, and “engage the customer with the brand.” Any additional capabilities beyond that are incidental.

Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#426

Post by mrweasel »

ryandrake wrote: post #163
pqtyw wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. Parking apps are worse than parking meters. I certainly don't agree with that one. I really don't miss having to pay for a fixed number of hours and then having to figure out what to do if I'm running late (or wasting money if I get back early). > 4. Airline apps that are worse than just printing a boarding pass. Unless the app is exceptionally horrible you can just export it to Apple/Android wallet which is muc…

Don’t people just print their boarding passes at home before they leave for the airport? Or worst case, use the kiosks at the airports which print passes? Very few of the passengers in line ahead of me are using their phones.

I don't trust apps, I don't mind using them for stuff that doesn't matter much, like parking og supermarket loyalty programs. For travel information, absolutly fucking not. I print everything. At the airport I mostly see people using their phones as boarding passes, I absolutely refuse to do that, I have zero trust that that will work as well as the paper boarding passes.

Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#427

Post by gxs »

Henchman21 wrote: post #412
kortilla wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

VOTE MOTHERFUCKER Local government politics work. State politics even kinda work. The fact that murder is on your list but not voting is mind boggling.

I vote. I am 50. I have voted in every election I was able to. In my life my preferred candidate has won exactly twice: Obama’s second term and Biden’s first. This includes local, state elections, and national. To quote George Carlin: “ If voting mattered, they wouldn’t let us do it ”. Trump lost in 2024 but took the win because his cronies disqualified enough voters in enough states to win. So, please, spare me. We’…

Don’t mean to be antagonistic here, but do you have a source for the claim that trump took the win?

Would be really curious to see how this could be proven or at the very least convincingly induced.

Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#428

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

wccrawford wrote: post #59
xandrius wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't say they are expensive anymore, you can get an updated android phone for less than $50 new or less second hand. Can't say about monthly plans, as that depends on the country. Privacy is a different matter and always dependent on the technical literacy as opposed to hard costs.

As I noted in my other comment, you don't even need a cell plan. You can just use wifi. Your own, your neighbor's, a nearby coffee shop, etc.

This isn't necessarily the case; many services will require a registered phone number.

Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#429

Post by nicbou »

cwoolfe wrote: post #296

Yes! I've often said "software engineers should be doomed to use what they create. Or at least watch others try to use it." One example is our local Costco parking garage. They replaced the old push-button ticketing kiosk (which had nothing wrong with it) with one that had a touchscreen. Many times the line is backed up and one day I saw why. The guy was pushing the touchscreen button as if it were physical, and it w…

They should be forced to use it from scratch on a cheap Android phone using spotty signal.

Re: 'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised

#430

Post by pqtyw »

cbozeman wrote: post #285
pqtyw wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. Parking apps are worse than parking meters. I certainly don't agree with that one. I really don't miss having to pay for a fixed number of hours and then having to figure out what to do if I'm running late (or wasting money if I get back early). > 4. Airline apps that are worse than just printing a boarding pass. Unless the app is exceptionally horrible you can just export it to Apple/Android wallet which is muc…

> > 1. Parking apps are worse than parking meters. > I certainly don't agree with that one. I really don't miss having to pay for a fixed number of hours and then having to figure out what to do if I'm running late (or wasting money if I get back early). Yeah... nothing more I love than having to scan a QR code to get an app from someone I don't know, then go through the signup process, then input a buncha personal i…

> Yeah... nothing more I love than having to scan a QR code to get an app from someone

True. I does suck when travelling. Locally I find it much more convenient though.

> dropping 10 quarters

You're always carrying a bag full of coins wherever you go? And even if I did I'd end up overpaying/underpaying half of the time.

> Looking to the left or right of your desk is how you should be finding your printer.

So I should waste space with a huge device that I use I mean I could bring it over from the other room or the attic or wherever it's lying around but why would I waste time and mental energy each time I'm travelling having to keep track of some piece of paper that I mustn't lose? Seems rather pointless...

Cheap Android phones aren't expensive either and can provide a lot more than a printer for most people these days.

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