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That's nice and all, but when I travel overseas having a universal translator with me is super cool. Being able to order a safe reliable taxi in most major cit

That's nice and all, but when I travel overseas having a universal translator with me is super cool. Being able to order a safe reliable taxi in most major cities, also super cool. If you don't want email on your phone, don't set it up. But having a map that redirects me around traffic accidents in real time saves me a lot of time. I'm not going to argue against smartphones being horrible little dopamine boxes, because they are, but you can get a smartphone and set it up as a purely utilitarian device rather easily.

nonrandomstring 4y ago
> purely utilitarian device You're absolutely right kid. Sincerely. I look forward to the day when the real utility shines through again. And I come from a time (as a now well bearded computer nerd) when it was all utility and coolness. But we're in some weird in-between days [1] where motivations have gotten distorted, ideals have got lost, and the utility just isn't enough any more to stave of the wrongness. FWIW I'm an optimist and beleieve we'll make it through and take back tech, but right now we need to take a long look at this. [1] The fancy word is "interregnum" - a period "caught between two times, one world that is already dead, and the other waiting to be born."
- sidpatil 4y ago
  I think this encapsulates your point: https://pics.onsizzle.com/born-too-late-to-explore-the-earth-borntoosoon-to-enplore-1250950.png https://pics.onsizzle.com/born-too-late-to-explore-the-earth...
  - nonrandomstring 4y ago
    Yes , wre're in the gold^H^H^H^H nicotine-yellow stained age of dankness :)
- com2kid 4y ago
  > You're absolutely right kid. Sincerely. I look forward to the day when the real utility shines through again. And I come from a time (as a now well bearded computer nerd) when it was all utility and coolness. Sure, my Palm was amazingly useful, a much better productivity tool than my smartphone is, minus the maps and real time data stuff. Having a button dedicated to "pull up my todo list" is a life changer. I wish I could buy a smartphone that did that, or even just let my lock screen be taken over by my todo list. Given modern tech, I wonder how thin a Palm like device could be made now days.

nonrandomstring 4y ago

> purely utilitarian device You're absolutely right kid. Sincerely. I look forward to the day when the real utility shines through again. And I come from a time (as a now well bearded computer nerd) when it was all utility and coolness. But we're in some weird in-between days [1] where motivations have gotten distorted, ideals have got lost, and the utility just isn't enough any more to stave of the wrongness. FWIW I'm an optimist and beleieve we'll make it through and take back tech, but right now we need to take a long look at this. [1] The fancy word is "interregnum" - a period "caught between two times, one world that is already dead, and the other waiting to be born."

sidpatil 4y ago
I think this encapsulates your point: https://pics.onsizzle.com/born-too-late-to-explore-the-earth-borntoosoon-to-enplore-1250950.png https://pics.onsizzle.com/born-too-late-to-explore-the-earth...
- nonrandomstring 4y ago
  Yes , wre're in the gold^H^H^H^H nicotine-yellow stained age of dankness :)
com2kid 4y ago
> You're absolutely right kid. Sincerely. I look forward to the day when the real utility shines through again. And I come from a time (as a now well bearded computer nerd) when it was all utility and coolness. Sure, my Palm was amazingly useful, a much better productivity tool than my smartphone is, minus the maps and real time data stuff. Having a button dedicated to "pull up my todo list" is a life changer. I wish I could buy a smartphone that did that, or even just let my lock screen be taken over by my todo list. Given modern tech, I wonder how thin a Palm like device could be made now days.