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Here's a story: I use a Blackberry 10 device, have for the past 6 years. So I'm half in/half out of smartphone ownership. I can browse websites in the browse

Here's a story: I use a Blackberry 10 device, have for the past 6 years. So I'm half in/half out of smartphone ownership. I can browse websites in the browser (the web's made this much harder to do of recent) but apps are out of the question. I was extolling the virtues of my ways to a friend on a business trip to Denver. I have everything I need, nothing I don't. I can call, text, browse some sites. I have balance, I have minimalism, I have peace. Then we decided to take a bus trip to Boulder. When we arrived at the station, there was no teller, and you had to install an app to buy a ticket. I sheepishly asked him to buy my ticket, and I paid him back in cash (no Venmo for BB10), and felt like a thorough and proper asshole. I still have my BB10 phone.

lubesGordi 6y ago
That sucks man. I'd actually love for this thread to document different situations where a smartphone was basically a necessity.
Cd00d 6y ago
Thank you. It's refreshing to see someone embrace humility. Good, sincere story.
jhbadger 6y ago
I know there are things like this, but I don't think they should be allowed. Not everyone has a smartphone. Many elderly people don't. Many poor people don't. Many disabled people don't. Yes, having the option to bypass human interaction using a phone should be allowed, but to make travel dependent on having a smartphone is insane. It's like those websites for signing up for the Covid vaccine ignoring that a lot of elderly people have no idea what that even means.
- calvinmorrison 6y ago
  I rented a U-Haul recently to pick up furniture. I reserved a 1/2 truck online. Upon arriving I entered the office and said I had a reservation. He then asked me to fill out a form on my phone. Then when I returned the vehicle I went in to drop off the keys. I had to take photos and fill out a form, again on a phone. The whole system was geared for 'easy' 'seamless' pickup, but it was much more difficult then renting a car a decade ago. They eliminated a cost of having more than one useless employee by making the customer do all the work. Totally infuriating and a horrible experience.
- fuball63 6y ago
  I agree, it shouldn't be like this. Unfortunately the reality is, if you decide to stick to the way things should be instead of how they are, you either 1) pay a heavy social tax of explaining to your friends/family/coworkers/strangers that no, you can't just install the app or 2) rely on other people to help you, forcing them into the situation you avoid. I do both of these regularly, sadly.
- burlesona 6y ago
  gsub/smartphone/car and you can see where society is headed. A lot of the world is going to just assume smartphones are mandatory and not give a bleep if you don't have one. Try walking around 90% of the US. I agree with you, by the way, that neither the status quo of car-dependency nor the inevitable smartphone dependency should be allowed... but here we are.
sidpatil 6y ago
> When we arrived at the station, there was no teller, and you had to install an app to buy a ticket. I sheepishly asked him to buy my ticket, and I paid him back in cash (no Venmo for BB10), and felt like a thorough and proper asshole. That sounds like incredibly poor design, exclusionary against people without smartphones. Why wouldn't they implement a Web interface for the ticket vending system?
- fuball63 6y ago
  Even if they did, it would likely be some bloated Javascript laden app that my phone couldn't load properly. And it isn't like the BB10 Browser was bad tech, when it came out I believe it was a more standards compliant browser than its counterparts on IOS or Android. It's just old. Apparently old is bad.
  - XCSme 6y ago
    Leave JavaScript out of it! I love you JS <3

lubesGordi 6y ago

That sucks man. I'd actually love for this thread to document different situations where a smartphone was basically a necessity.

Cd00d 6y ago

Thank you. It's refreshing to see someone embrace humility. Good, sincere story.

jhbadger 6y ago

I know there are things like this, but I don't think they should be allowed. Not everyone has a smartphone. Many elderly people don't. Many poor people don't. Many disabled people don't. Yes, having the option to bypass human interaction using a phone should be allowed, but to make travel dependent on having a smartphone is insane. It's like those websites for signing up for the Covid vaccine ignoring that a lot of elderly people have no idea what that even means.

calvinmorrison 6y ago
I rented a U-Haul recently to pick up furniture. I reserved a 1/2 truck online. Upon arriving I entered the office and said I had a reservation. He then asked me to fill out a form on my phone. Then when I returned the vehicle I went in to drop off the keys. I had to take photos and fill out a form, again on a phone. The whole system was geared for 'easy' 'seamless' pickup, but it was much more difficult then renting a car a decade ago. They eliminated a cost of having more than one useless employee by making the customer do all the work. Totally infuriating and a horrible experience.
fuball63 6y ago
I agree, it shouldn't be like this. Unfortunately the reality is, if you decide to stick to the way things should be instead of how they are, you either 1) pay a heavy social tax of explaining to your friends/family/coworkers/strangers that no, you can't just install the app or 2) rely on other people to help you, forcing them into the situation you avoid. I do both of these regularly, sadly.
burlesona 6y ago
gsub/smartphone/car and you can see where society is headed. A lot of the world is going to just assume smartphones are mandatory and not give a bleep if you don't have one. Try walking around 90% of the US. I agree with you, by the way, that neither the status quo of car-dependency nor the inevitable smartphone dependency should be allowed... but here we are.

sidpatil 6y ago

> When we arrived at the station, there was no teller, and you had to install an app to buy a ticket. I sheepishly asked him to buy my ticket, and I paid him back in cash (no Venmo for BB10), and felt like a thorough and proper asshole. That sounds like incredibly poor design, exclusionary against people without smartphones. Why wouldn't they implement a Web interface for the ticket vending system?

fuball63 6y ago
Even if they did, it would likely be some bloated Javascript laden app that my phone couldn't load properly. And it isn't like the BB10 Browser was bad tech, when it came out I believe it was a more standards compliant browser than its counterparts on IOS or Android. It's just old. Apparently old is bad.
- XCSme 6y ago
  Leave JavaScript out of it! I love you JS <3