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> They demand always-on Internet to connect to the cloud. It's interesting, you're talking about a syncing system (syncing requires connectivity) and have an i

by Osmium 9y ago

> They demand always-on Internet to connect to the cloud. It's interesting, you're talking about a syncing system (syncing requires connectivity) and have an issue with requiring access to one of the most convenient sources of connectivity, which is the internet. We're in a transition time right now. Access to the internet is not always available. It is not always fast. But this time will pass. It makes sense, to me, to design for this future. > I'm trying to rewrite my own ecosystem one app at a time [...] I must make my own. I sympathize with this (and good luck!). But I could spend a lot of effort organizing my digital life, but (for me) it feels like I would be a slave to this effort, and what does it get me, really? I spent a long time organizing my digital movie collection; now most films I want to watch are on streaming services. I spent a long time organizing music; now Apple Music and Spotify are much more convenient. There was an essay from a while back floating around online about the ever-increasing burden of organizing our digital lives. I wish I could find it now, but it really summarized a lot of what I feel about this.

Broken_Hippo 9y ago
We're in a transition time right now. Access to the internet is not always available. It is not always fast. But this time will pass. It makes sense, to me, to design for this future. Sometimes, internet is also expensive and metered. It might be where things are going, sure, and I'm all for that. But I think forcing this stuff with no other option is either elitist or disconnected from reality.
- Osmium 9y ago
  I agree with you, but I think syncing is itself a 'first-world problem', in that you need to be able to own multiple devices in the first place to even worry about syncing. If you have metered/expensive internet, modern smartphones are going to present all kinds of problems, syncing aside (e.g. app download sizes for one).
- PopsiclePete 9y ago
  Having an internet connection as a requirement is "disconnected from reality"? In 2017? I travel the world quite a bit and it's quite difficult to be offline, in any populated area of non-trivial size. Whether it's South-East Asia or Europe or South America, I'm never far from some kind of WiFi access point. Where the heck do you live ???
amigoingtodie 9y ago
What country do you live in and where?
- Osmium 9y ago
  At the moment, in a country with much worse/more expensive internet than what I'm used to, though still very good by global standards. In seriousness though, I'm optimistic for fast worldwide internet. There are new solutions for low-population density areas on the horizon. If you look at current stats, about 47% of the world are online now, up from 16% a decade ago. In the developing world it's 40% up from 8%. I actually think in some ways it's an easier problem to solve than, for example, access to clean water. I wouldn't be surprised if this reaches 90% in a decade. I imagine bigger problems will be variance in speed and latency, and artificial restrictions on supply/metering, and product design not accounting for this. Which we're already seeing in e.g. app sizes, webpage sizes.
- peterburkimsher 9y ago
  I live in Taiwan. Mobile phone companies require a monthly payment to offer 3G/4G services. Prepaid doesn't provide Internet access. There is a lot of free WiFi, so I use that + SMS when I need to communicate. On a hike to a waterfall, my friend Lenard asked if someone can play music on a Bluetooth speaker. There was no phone signal so he couldn't get Apple Music. More seriously, he couldn't even get a map to find his way home. This wasn't a problem for me. There are many popular posts on HN complaining about Facebook these days. I don't have a problem, because I only check FB when I'm online. It can interrupt my work in the office, but not dates. I can enjoy mealtimes without disruption. I have offline Wikipedia (10GB of text on a 64GB phone) if I need to check any facts. Internet access is only needed for real-time communication, and the telephone can do that.
  - quadhome 9y ago
    Every carrier in Taiwan offers prepaid voice, text and data. In both 3G and 4G. If you need help getting setup, give me an email at me@drsr.me.

by Osmium 9y ago

Broken_Hippo 9y ago

We're in a transition time right now. Access to the internet is not always available. It is not always fast. But this time will pass. It makes sense, to me, to design for this future. Sometimes, internet is also expensive and metered. It might be where things are going, sure, and I'm all for that. But I think forcing this stuff with no other option is either elitist or disconnected from reality.

Osmium 9y ago
I agree with you, but I think syncing is itself a 'first-world problem', in that you need to be able to own multiple devices in the first place to even worry about syncing. If you have metered/expensive internet, modern smartphones are going to present all kinds of problems, syncing aside (e.g. app download sizes for one).
PopsiclePete 9y ago
Having an internet connection as a requirement is "disconnected from reality"? In 2017? I travel the world quite a bit and it's quite difficult to be offline, in any populated area of non-trivial size. Whether it's South-East Asia or Europe or South America, I'm never far from some kind of WiFi access point. Where the heck do you live ???

amigoingtodie 9y ago

What country do you live in and where?

Osmium 9y ago
At the moment, in a country with much worse/more expensive internet than what I'm used to, though still very good by global standards. In seriousness though, I'm optimistic for fast worldwide internet. There are new solutions for low-population density areas on the horizon. If you look at current stats, about 47% of the world are online now, up from 16% a decade ago. In the developing world it's 40% up from 8%. I actually think in some ways it's an easier problem to solve than, for example, access to clean water. I wouldn't be surprised if this reaches 90% in a decade. I imagine bigger problems will be variance in speed and latency, and artificial restrictions on supply/metering, and product design not accounting for this. Which we're already seeing in e.g. app sizes, webpage sizes.
peterburkimsher 9y ago
I live in Taiwan. Mobile phone companies require a monthly payment to offer 3G/4G services. Prepaid doesn't provide Internet access. There is a lot of free WiFi, so I use that + SMS when I need to communicate. On a hike to a waterfall, my friend Lenard asked if someone can play music on a Bluetooth speaker. There was no phone signal so he couldn't get Apple Music. More seriously, he couldn't even get a map to find his way home. This wasn't a problem for me. There are many popular posts on HN complaining about Facebook these days. I don't have a problem, because I only check FB when I'm online. It can interrupt my work in the office, but not dates. I can enjoy mealtimes without disruption. I have offline Wikipedia (10GB of text on a 64GB phone) if I need to check any facts. Internet access is only needed for real-time communication, and the telephone can do that.
- quadhome 9y ago
  Every carrier in Taiwan offers prepaid voice, text and data. In both 3G and 4G. If you need help getting setup, give me an email at me@drsr.me.