5 ms·

Maybe it's just time to see phones as what they are - a phone. I don't really care what software is ran in my truck, as long as it works (And that's why I'll n

• goda90 6y ago
  Phones are the only pocket computers that see quick advances in performance and battery use. For someone who wants a pocket sized computer, it's just most convenient to combine it with your phone.
  • Aperocky 6y ago
    But they are horrible as production machines, at least until when our brain is no longer using our body as interfaces. For pure pocket sized computing, why not use RPi? It's both much cheaper, more customizable, and it runs Linux. With enough tweaking you can make it run completely headless, plug-and-run mini computer that you can ssh over local network. I think the biggest problem with the combining idea is that computing in general is about productivity, and phone is about phone stuff.
    • dividedbyzero 6y ago
      Phones are kinda too small, but iPads (which are, in essence, oversized phones) are just fine for production machines if you don't equate productivity with programming. With a Pencil and Procreate, it's really hard to beat for drawing and illustrating. With an external keyboard and some kind of stand writing is a joy, I like it better than on a proper computer because of a ton of little things that help me keep focused and because the device is so portable and doesn't have the laptop form factor with a permanently attached keyboard, with bluetooth periphery it's more like a wireless battery-powered external screen. Light to medium spreadsheet work is also totally doable, and I've build dozens of slide decks in various apps, with hand-drawn illustrations. I use a Pi as a mini server, but doing creative work on one, I can't imagine that to be as nice and slick as on the iPad. Last time I tried the PiOS desktop, it definitely wasn't.
      • Aperocky 6y ago
        You're absolutely right about drawing and other 2D renders. I may have overlooked this because I have not a bone for arts in my body and prefers the terminal to UI.
    • megous 6y ago
      It's not much cheaper if you want battery, LCD with CTP, and perhaps a LTE modem for non-wifi mobile internet. Also it would have a horrible form factor. Pinephone is basically a smarthpone shaped SBC, with much better software situation than rpi, and you can use it as such. I ssh into mine all the time. You can connect anything you like to it via USB hub, incl. the full keyboard and mouse. You can use bluetooth keyboard, and just do normal computing you'd do on your dekstop, etc. Except for small display and lower performance there's no differnece.
• kaibee 6y ago
  > I don't really care what software is ran in my truck, as long as it works I mean, exactly what recourse do you think you'll have once it stops working..? You'll sell your not working truck (to who?) and buy a new one (that is also soft-locked because it was the only way to stay competitive?)? Right to Repair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvVafMi0l68 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvVafMi0l68
  • Aperocky 6y ago
    That's a different topic though. Also, the software vended by traditional car companies are usually bound with hardware and readily replaceable if a reboot can't solve the problem.
• fmajid 6y ago
  > Maybe it's just time to see phones as what they are - a phone. Maybe it's time to call phones what they really are: pocket computers with a legacy voice call functionality that is increasingly irrelevant to anyone who isn't a Boomer. Now, regarding the locked-down of both iOS and Android ecosystems, I can see both points of view. The majority of ordinary users need to be protected from increasingly sophisticated malware stealing their online banking credentials or other mischief, but power users also need to do whatever they want to do once they've signed a disclaimer
  • badsectoracula 6y ago
    > with a legacy voice call functionality that is increasingly irrelevant to anyone who isn't a Boomer. Sadly this requires mobile Internet prices to at least match voice call prices, which is not the case in many (developed or not) parts of the world.
  • Aperocky 6y ago
    > pocket computers with a legacy voice call functionality I don't necessarily agree with this, because this is the direction that everything is moving towards. It is so much cheaper to embed an SOC into everything that needs some form of automated/assisted control. Not necessarily a good thing, but that's what is going to happen regardless. Your fridge can become a pocket computer with refrigerating capability - but you'll still see it as a fridge. It's really about how you see and utilize these items.
    • danans 6y ago
      > Your fridge can become a pocket computer with refrigerating capability - Only if you have huge pockets ;)
      • necovek 6y ago
        Or a tiny fridge! :)
        • 6y ago
• 2OEH8eoCRo0 6y ago
  I envy your chill. We all do need to take a deep breath at times and realize it's truly a first world problem. With that said your truck analogy isn't perfect. Your truck will last as long as you keep it going. That can be 20 years or more. It would be more like having a truck that the doors do not lock anymore after 2 years and you cannot fix that you must buy a new truck if you don't want thieves.
  • karlicoss 6y ago
    Also I think the analogy doesn't quite work because a truck is a truck. You can do some customization, you might (or not be) able to change some parts, or being a mechanical engineer you might even be able to repair it or enhance. But it will always fundamentally be a truck. The difference from phones is that a phone is a computer, and as such it has computer's endless potential. For some it can be just a phone, sure. But many people want to use it as an extension of their mind, as knowledge management tool, as a creative tool, etc. The frustrating bit is that is many aspects phones are much nicer and better suited for such tasks than regular desktop computers (think portability, having cameras & sensors etc), yet because of these walled gardens it's much harder for a knowledgeable person to leverage this potential.
    • 2OEH8eoCRo0 6y ago
      Exactly. You have almost complete control over it which is exactly why trucks can last so long IRL. If your radio stops working you don't need to buy a new truck.
    • Vrondi 6y ago
      You are displaying your ignorance of trucks. For decades now, all automobiles and trucks have included proprietary computer systems. Some are easy to hack and alter. Some are more expensive/challenging, but people do it. An EV is missing _most_ of the mechanical parts that defined a "truck" for a century, and is basically only four tiny motors, brakes, a computer system, and a battery with wheels. The sole characteristics of "truck" that still remain which Henry Ford would recognize are "has wheels" and "can carry cargo".
• marcus_holmes 6y ago
  I uninstalled all social media from my phone. I feel so much better. I use it for chat apps, phone calls (usually via chat apps), and occasionally wandering around Imgur when it would be socially awkward to not be on my phone. The rest of the time I've come to appreciate being present in the moment. So yeah, I'm looking at the new generation of Linux phones with interest. If I can run the chat apps in a browser OK, then I think it might work for me.
  • ficklepickle 6y ago
    In what kind of situations is it socially awkward to not be on your phone? Genuine question, I'm not great with social stuff.
    • ShroudedNight 6y ago
      When loitering, I've found that phones are a strong signal that distinguishes those uninterested in engaging with the strangers around them, from those that are. When trying to convey one's innocuousness to the wardens of a domain, it can be helpful to use your phone. Related, if in a group, everybody else disengages to be engrossed in their phone, it can be helpful to do the same if one does not want to demonstrate a vulnerable dependency on the generosity of their attention. A lot of awkwardness comes down to self-perception of vulnerability.
      • Vrondi 6y ago
        A paperback book or something can give the same social signal. :)
      • marcus_holmes 6y ago
        this, mainly. Though if everyone else is on their phone, and the crowd is large enough, I find it fascinating to people-watch.
    • marcus_holmes 6y ago
      I'm a middle-aged white guy. In situations where everyone else is 20 years younger and dressed in half the clothing I am, I come across as a total perv if I look at anything except my phone. Or at least that's how it plays out in my head. I do find it useful to sometimes be absorbed in my phone and not aware of what's going on around me. Or at least to have that impression.
• RHSeeger 6y ago
  But for many people, maybe even most people, they're not just "a phone". They're a multi-purpose tool that comes in the form factor of a mobile phone. Camera, chat, web browser, games, social media, music player, access to nearly the sum total of human knowledge... Treating such as tool as merely "a phone" doesn't make any sense.
  • SV_BubbleTime 6y ago
    It’s still a phone actually and colloquially even if I use the Phone App infrequently. The point isn’t what you call it. OP’s point was and I agree that you don’t need to have full control over every device that can possibly run code. Just let it be a device that does its thing. It’s the difference in people that want calm technology vs “power users”. I want the device to exist waiting on my input and even though I have deep knowledge of its internal systems and processes, I don’t care, I just want it to work, solve a problem for me, and I’ll put it away. Go ahead and root your phone to do whatever actively complex thing you need... it’s a tool for me and I personally want the walled garden to prevent it from possibly not working when I need it.
    • 3np 6y ago
      > you don’t need to have full control over every device that can possibly run code I argue that if the device sends data to third parties over radio/internet and/or the manufacturer can remotely push updates that changes the devices behavior then users must have full control. Something like that should become law. Then manufacturers can keep devices locked down as long as they stay out of the surveillance game.
    • RHSeeger 6y ago
      > The point isn’t what you call it. OP’s point was and I agree that you don’t need to have full control over every device that can possibly run code. Just let it be a device that does its thing. That's not how I read the op, who said "It's a phone, use it to call text and guide and browse some internet. That's it". The tone in that reads not like "you don't need to..." it reads like "you should not...", which I disagree with. I rarely use my phone to make calls. I use it as a multi-function tool of tremendous capability. If I wanted a simple flip phone, I would have bought one of those, instead.
• blimeymate 6y ago
  I don't have or need software in a truck, statist apologist.
• detaro 6y ago
  But that's not what vendors are selling, and what most people are buying.
• dcow 6y ago
  What’s wrong with Tesla software?
  • harrierpigeon 6y ago
    One thing that comes to mind is that the wiper functionality has to be accessed from the center console touchscreen, and generally when you need it on you need it right then.
    • dcow 6y ago
      Not on the Model 3,Y, it doesn't. You press the button on the left widget behind the steering wheel (the lever/knob you use for your turn signal).
  • Aperocky 6y ago
    The ratio of amount and significance of action it takes over my trust in it is too high.
    • dcow 6y ago
      You don't need to use any of the driver assistance features. It’s not doing any of that if you don’t explicitly engage it and sometimes even requires enabling settings toggles.
      • Aperocky 6y ago
        Here's the deal though, when I press the brake pedal in my truck the force is mechanically applied via a hydraulic system to brake pads in the wheels. I've read that Tesla abstracted all that with electric signals coming from a computer, now a proprietary software system sits between my legs input and the brake pads. What if it goes wrong? You can try to convince me that it is an RTOS where signals from the brake pedal have the highest priority. And it seems to be that way, but I'd rather not. I've dealt with enough computer problem to trust some onboard computer that can receive updates from the internet over how I brake.