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Am I the only one who sees the hypocrisy in the ranter and general sympathy from HN code towards them. "Normal Land Line" wasn't something that came from natur

Am I the only one who sees the hypocrisy in the ranter and general sympathy from HN code towards them. "Normal Land Line" wasn't something that came from nature. It is a sophisticated technology invented by humans with the same User Interface flaws and Laggard-Ranting that every generation goes through. When Mixed-Reality becomes popular, I'm sure there will be many complaining "why can't I just have simple smartphone" and there will probably some Gen Zers sympathizing with them and reminiscing about the simple days of smartphone. Newsflash: Adaption and Evolution is the name of the game. I can understand if a disabled person complains inability to use gadgets(although smartphones have better accessibility features), but you can bet your bottom dollar, most of these people whine because they aren't curious about the world and stubbornly refuse to adapt and the rest of the world has to bend over backwards to accommodate them?

macintux 4y ago
A phone book and a touchtone (or even rotary) phone is exponentially cheaper, simpler and easier to maintain than a smartphone. Yes, it’s also exponentially more powerful, but it leaves a lot of people behind.
ketralnis 4y ago
I'd be with you if these devices weren't hundreds of dollars with obsolescence lifetime treadmills measured in the ones of years and bound to a duopoly of corporate-controlled ecosystems that require opting in to onerous contract terms. Just a few of those factors might not be so bad but with all of them it could become impossible to do legally-required things like buying car insurance without being effectively legally required to look at Google ads. Or renewing your passport without agreeing to a software EULA that forbids you from ever suing Apple for leaking your private data. All of this "it's just opting in to societal progress" crap is why Experian even ever had your data to leak[1] it in the first place, and why Google and Braze and every other tech company has it too. 0: https://i.imgur.com/dgGvgKF.png https://i.imgur.com/dgGvgKF.png 1: https://threatpost.com/experian-api-leaks-american-credit-scores/165731/ https://threatpost.com/experian-api-leaks-american-credit-sc...
- warkdarrior 4y ago
  You can buy a pair of shoes and a smartphone for about the same amount of money (pick your number!) and they'll wear out in about the same amount of time.
  - rendang 4y ago
    I usually buy $20-$50 shoes, not a lot of new smartphones in that price range
    - bombcar 4y ago
      And if you’re poor you can find workable shoes at a thrift store for a few bucks. Finding a workable cellphone cheap is more difficult.
      - ketralnis 4y ago
        that will be supported for security updates too
      - scarface74 4y ago
        You can buy an unlocked Android phone for $50 unsubsidized. There are plenty of places that offer cheap phones for the poor https://www.reviews.org/mobile/how-to-get-free-government-cell-phones/ https://www.reviews.org/mobile/how-to-get-free-government-ce...
        LtWorf 4y ago
        If it doesn't get security updates, you really can't do online paying/banking with it.
        scarface74 4y ago
        That’s mostly true for any Android phone after a year or two - or sometimes never. All Android phones have shitty long term support - even the Pixels. Of course iPhones are a different story with Apple releasing a security update for the 2013 iPhone 5s as recently as June of this year. But I’m not going to suggest an iPhone as an alternative. On the other hand, developing countries manage with $30 unsubsidized phones and people use them for banking.
dfg4456ds7 4y ago
I'm happy to learn and adapt, the point is, I shouldn't have to. Any system which creates a history of who, was where, and when, aggregated in a single data source is incredibly dangerous and the primary reason I use cash transactions for everything. Cash has worked just fine as a form of legal tender for over 3000 years. I have a really hard time passing the reasons cited for deprecating it through Hanlon's razor.
- deltree7 4y ago
  A lot of things have worked out for thousands of years. If you can use a computer, you can use a smartphone. It's just a form factor. The amount of mental gymnastics some people go through to justify their irrational decisions is always mind-boggling --- and these are some of the smartest people
  - john_the_writer 4y ago
    I'm a software dev, and I leave my phone at home as often as I can. I know how to use it. I've been contracted to write apps for both droid and iphone. Still I'd rather leave all tech at home. I'm not justifying it. I don't like being distracted. I don't install apps because I 100% don't trust the devs who write apps. Or well I don't trust their bosses. Corners are cut and security and UX typically takes a back seat to "the funnel" My gym (located right across the street from my house) requires me to check in via an app. I have no issues walking across the street and getting the clerk to manually do it for me. NO I didn't bring a phone to my workout.
  - LtWorf 4y ago
    Just subscribe to security advisory and similar and the "irrational decision" will suddenly become a completely rational one. Your ignorance about other people's thought process doesn't imply they don't have a thought process.

macintux 4y ago

A phone book and a touchtone (or even rotary) phone is exponentially cheaper, simpler and easier to maintain than a smartphone. Yes, it’s also exponentially more powerful, but it leaves a lot of people behind.

ketralnis 4y ago

I'd be with you if these devices weren't hundreds of dollars with obsolescence lifetime treadmills measured in the ones of years and bound to a duopoly of corporate-controlled ecosystems that require opting in to onerous contract terms. Just a few of those factors might not be so bad but with all of them it could become impossible to do legally-required things like buying car insurance without being effectively legally required to look at Google ads. Or renewing your passport without agreeing to a software EULA that forbids you from ever suing Apple for leaking your private data. All of this "it's just opting in to societal progress" crap is why Experian even ever had your data to leak[1] it in the first place, and why Google and Braze and every other tech company has it too. 0: https://i.imgur.com/dgGvgKF.png https://i.imgur.com/dgGvgKF.png 1: https://threatpost.com/experian-api-leaks-american-credit-scores/165731/ https://threatpost.com/experian-api-leaks-american-credit-sc...

warkdarrior 4y ago
You can buy a pair of shoes and a smartphone for about the same amount of money (pick your number!) and they'll wear out in about the same amount of time.
- rendang 4y ago
  I usually buy $20-$50 shoes, not a lot of new smartphones in that price range
  - bombcar 4y ago
    And if you’re poor you can find workable shoes at a thrift store for a few bucks. Finding a workable cellphone cheap is more difficult.
    - ketralnis 4y ago
      that will be supported for security updates too
    - scarface74 4y ago
      You can buy an unlocked Android phone for $50 unsubsidized. There are plenty of places that offer cheap phones for the poor https://www.reviews.org/mobile/how-to-get-free-government-cell-phones/ https://www.reviews.org/mobile/how-to-get-free-government-ce...
      - LtWorf 4y ago
        If it doesn't get security updates, you really can't do online paying/banking with it.
        scarface74 4y ago
        That’s mostly true for any Android phone after a year or two - or sometimes never. All Android phones have shitty long term support - even the Pixels. Of course iPhones are a different story with Apple releasing a security update for the 2013 iPhone 5s as recently as June of this year. But I’m not going to suggest an iPhone as an alternative. On the other hand, developing countries manage with $30 unsubsidized phones and people use them for banking.

dfg4456ds7 4y ago

I'm happy to learn and adapt, the point is, I shouldn't have to. Any system which creates a history of who, was where, and when, aggregated in a single data source is incredibly dangerous and the primary reason I use cash transactions for everything. Cash has worked just fine as a form of legal tender for over 3000 years. I have a really hard time passing the reasons cited for deprecating it through Hanlon's razor.

deltree7 4y ago
A lot of things have worked out for thousands of years. If you can use a computer, you can use a smartphone. It's just a form factor. The amount of mental gymnastics some people go through to justify their irrational decisions is always mind-boggling --- and these are some of the smartest people
- john_the_writer 4y ago
  I'm a software dev, and I leave my phone at home as often as I can. I know how to use it. I've been contracted to write apps for both droid and iphone. Still I'd rather leave all tech at home. I'm not justifying it. I don't like being distracted. I don't install apps because I 100% don't trust the devs who write apps. Or well I don't trust their bosses. Corners are cut and security and UX typically takes a back seat to "the funnel" My gym (located right across the street from my house) requires me to check in via an app. I have no issues walking across the street and getting the clerk to manually do it for me. NO I didn't bring a phone to my workout.
- LtWorf 4y ago
  Just subscribe to security advisory and similar and the "irrational decision" will suddenly become a completely rational one. Your ignorance about other people's thought process doesn't imply they don't have a thought process.