6 ms·

The other day I bought a backpack at a skateboard shop and a girl working there said she didn't own a laptop -- just a smartphone. I can absolutely see this bec

by kenning 10y ago

The other day I bought a backpack at a skateboard shop and a girl working there said she didn't own a laptop -- just a smartphone. I can absolutely see this becoming common in the near future as phones become even more useful. With a chromecast you can even watch netflix without a laptop, which takes away the main use I have for one aside from coding.

Wofiel 10y ago
Or the Netflix app on their smart TV, things like that will only get more common.
dkersten 10y ago
I already do everything except for programming on an iPad and iPhone. I can program on the iPad (by sshing into a digital ocean droplet) but it's not quite good enough for me to use exclusively. I'd happily give up using a laptop if I could make programming work comfortably for me. If you don't need specialised tools, I personally think a tablet is much nicer than a laptop. A phone is basically just a smaller tablet.
- khedoros1 10y ago
  > If you don't need specialised tools, I personally think a tablet is much nicer than a laptop. That's an interesting perspective. I've always thought of phones and tablets as being mostly collections of tools that are either specialized or focused on remote access. Almost everything that I do on my touchscreen devices relies on network access, to some degree or another.
- z1mm32m4n 10y ago
  Until I can install arbitrary software on my phone myself from source, I will still have use for a laptop. What I wish I could have is a phone that I can copy an arbitrary python script to, then execute it. No "Android Studio" or "Xcode" monstrosity to create and load software. Just my text editor and a shell.
  - aianus 10y ago
    > What I wish I could have is a phone that I can copy an arbitrary python script to, then execute it. No "Android Studio" or "Xcode" monstrosity to create and load software. Just my text editor and a shell. You can already do this on Android no problem: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31564123/run-python-in-android-terminal https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31564123/run-python-in-a...
  - yjftsjthsd-h 10y ago
    If you're on Android, install Termux, then apt install python and an editor and you're done. The future is now :)
    - shubb 10y ago
      That's pretty much a Linux installation pretending to be an app. I'd see it as a workaround not a solution. The underlying problem with android, as touched on in the article, is that your hardware vendor is the administrator of your phone. Security on Android relies in the idea that who ever built the OS signs it, and any changes to system libraries, with a secret key. That's a lot of control. Couple that with lack of root and its not your phone. Termux is like saying... 'I wish I owned my flat so I could remodell it how I want " "it is possible to redecorated your rented flat if you only put plasterboard over the walls" Will solve thier problem, doesn't fix the insidious loss of power over our computerised lives these platforms (Android, Web applications) lead to.
digi_owl 10y ago
And then Google find some excuse to close down the account and its game over...
foepys 10y ago
I am currently in my bed because I am sick and can absolutely confirm this. I didn't even bother to get my laptop because my smartphone has the YouTube, Twitch, Netflix, and Amazon Video apps on it. Those are enough for me to keep me entertained without needing to have a heavy laptop on my knees, which would also require me to sit. And since Android 7 has a split screen feature I can have a YouTube video playing while I'm surfing the web. So multitasking isn't just a PC domain anymore.
snarfy 10y ago
As soon as I can do work on my phone, all other computers will be pointless. Imagine your phone with all of the computing power of your current desktop or laptop, with all of the same software too. If you want to work at a desktop, you could have a wireless keyboard, mouse, display, and power. This is all possible today, but the phones aren't quite there, yet.
- s369610 10y ago
  You might like continuum from Microsoft? https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/17280/windows-10-mobile-continuum https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/17280/windows-10-mo...
  - snarfy 10y ago
    Yes! If my phone could run Visual Studio and PC games I wouldn't need a desktop.
- marssaxman 10y ago
  I think I might rather switch careers. Phones are terrible. They're sort of mostly tolerable when I'm just trying to kill time reading stuff on the web, or type very short messages where correct spelling is unimportant, but try to get any actual work done with a phone and it's an exercise in frustration. In order to fix all the problems with a smartphone that make it such a bad experience, you'd end up with a device that looks pretty much the same as a laptop.
OkGoDoIt 10y ago
I know plenty of people in their mid to late 20's who don't own real computers and just do everything from their phones. Some of them use a real computer at work but many of them don't. And this is in San Francisco, no less.

by kenning 10y ago

Wofiel 10y ago

Or the Netflix app on their smart TV, things like that will only get more common.

dkersten 10y ago

I already do everything except for programming on an iPad and iPhone. I can program on the iPad (by sshing into a digital ocean droplet) but it's not quite good enough for me to use exclusively. I'd happily give up using a laptop if I could make programming work comfortably for me. If you don't need specialised tools, I personally think a tablet is much nicer than a laptop. A phone is basically just a smaller tablet.

khedoros1 10y ago
> If you don't need specialised tools, I personally think a tablet is much nicer than a laptop. That's an interesting perspective. I've always thought of phones and tablets as being mostly collections of tools that are either specialized or focused on remote access. Almost everything that I do on my touchscreen devices relies on network access, to some degree or another.
z1mm32m4n 10y ago
Until I can install arbitrary software on my phone myself from source, I will still have use for a laptop. What I wish I could have is a phone that I can copy an arbitrary python script to, then execute it. No "Android Studio" or "Xcode" monstrosity to create and load software. Just my text editor and a shell.
- aianus 10y ago
  > What I wish I could have is a phone that I can copy an arbitrary python script to, then execute it. No "Android Studio" or "Xcode" monstrosity to create and load software. Just my text editor and a shell. You can already do this on Android no problem: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31564123/run-python-in-android-terminal https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31564123/run-python-in-a...
- yjftsjthsd-h 10y ago
  If you're on Android, install Termux, then apt install python and an editor and you're done. The future is now :)
  - shubb 10y ago
    That's pretty much a Linux installation pretending to be an app. I'd see it as a workaround not a solution. The underlying problem with android, as touched on in the article, is that your hardware vendor is the administrator of your phone. Security on Android relies in the idea that who ever built the OS signs it, and any changes to system libraries, with a secret key. That's a lot of control. Couple that with lack of root and its not your phone. Termux is like saying... 'I wish I owned my flat so I could remodell it how I want " "it is possible to redecorated your rented flat if you only put plasterboard over the walls" Will solve thier problem, doesn't fix the insidious loss of power over our computerised lives these platforms (Android, Web applications) lead to.

digi_owl 10y ago

And then Google find some excuse to close down the account and its game over...

foepys 10y ago

I am currently in my bed because I am sick and can absolutely confirm this. I didn't even bother to get my laptop because my smartphone has the YouTube, Twitch, Netflix, and Amazon Video apps on it. Those are enough for me to keep me entertained without needing to have a heavy laptop on my knees, which would also require me to sit. And since Android 7 has a split screen feature I can have a YouTube video playing while I'm surfing the web. So multitasking isn't just a PC domain anymore.

snarfy 10y ago

As soon as I can do work on my phone, all other computers will be pointless. Imagine your phone with all of the computing power of your current desktop or laptop, with all of the same software too. If you want to work at a desktop, you could have a wireless keyboard, mouse, display, and power. This is all possible today, but the phones aren't quite there, yet.

s369610 10y ago
You might like continuum from Microsoft? https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/17280/windows-10-mobile-continuum https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/17280/windows-10-mo...
- snarfy 10y ago
  Yes! If my phone could run Visual Studio and PC games I wouldn't need a desktop.
marssaxman 10y ago
I think I might rather switch careers. Phones are terrible. They're sort of mostly tolerable when I'm just trying to kill time reading stuff on the web, or type very short messages where correct spelling is unimportant, but try to get any actual work done with a phone and it's an exercise in frustration. In order to fix all the problems with a smartphone that make it such a bad experience, you'd end up with a device that looks pretty much the same as a laptop.

OkGoDoIt 10y ago

I know plenty of people in their mid to late 20's who don't own real computers and just do everything from their phones. Some of them use a real computer at work but many of them don't. And this is in San Francisco, no less.