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Which dumb phones have you considered using? I'm thinking of using an android phone without apps or a browser so I could still use it for photos, messaging(sign

by dmm 4y ago

Which dumb phones have you considered using? I'm thinking of using an android phone without apps or a browser so I could still use it for photos, messaging(signal and matrix), and music.

JohnFen 4y ago
I'm going dumber than that. I have a couple of $20 dumbphones sitting around that I've used as burners. I couldn't find any that didn't have apps at all, but these have minimal functionality in that department. I can't install any that didn't come with the phone, and those that are there are very basic. If I can find one that lets me tether, that would be ideal, but not a showstopper requirement. My intention is to separate computing from the phone, so I'll also carry a real pocket computer for my other needs. The key is that it will be a real computer that I have complete control over, and that doesn't have cell connectivity.
- dredmorbius 4y ago
  This: "My intention is to separate computing from the phone, so I'll also carry a real pocket computer for my other needs." I'm increasingly of the opinion that wedding comms, data storage, and compute within a single envelope, and specifically one controlled by third parties (known and otherwise) with intents adversarial to yourself ... was a cardinal error. A largely-featureless dumbphone (Light Phone ... seems about right), either capable itself of tethering or with an additional data-only tether (making burnering all the more viable), seems best. An Actual Compute Device of some description --- laptop, small-form-factor computer, very possibly a tablet or e-ink device (though most of these are effectively identical with smartphones, and share all their disadvantages, including short useful life) --- for Actual Compute Tasks, would round that out. I'm also increasingly of the view that using phones for voice comms is also a nonstarter given spam and privacy violations. Good alternatives are not immediately obvious, though F/OSS voice chat / meeting tools (e.g., Jitsi) seem promising.

by dmm 4y ago

Which dumb phones have you considered using? I'm thinking of using an android phone without apps or a browser so I could still use it for photos, messaging(signal and matrix), and music.

JohnFen 4y ago

I'm going dumber than that. I have a couple of $20 dumbphones sitting around that I've used as burners. I couldn't find any that didn't have apps at all, but these have minimal functionality in that department. I can't install any that didn't come with the phone, and those that are there are very basic. If I can find one that lets me tether, that would be ideal, but not a showstopper requirement. My intention is to separate computing from the phone, so I'll also carry a real pocket computer for my other needs. The key is that it will be a real computer that I have complete control over, and that doesn't have cell connectivity.

dredmorbius 4y ago
This: "My intention is to separate computing from the phone, so I'll also carry a real pocket computer for my other needs." I'm increasingly of the opinion that wedding comms, data storage, and compute within a single envelope, and specifically one controlled by third parties (known and otherwise) with intents adversarial to yourself ... was a cardinal error. A largely-featureless dumbphone (Light Phone ... seems about right), either capable itself of tethering or with an additional data-only tether (making burnering all the more viable), seems best. An Actual Compute Device of some description --- laptop, small-form-factor computer, very possibly a tablet or e-ink device (though most of these are effectively identical with smartphones, and share all their disadvantages, including short useful life) --- for Actual Compute Tasks, would round that out. I'm also increasingly of the view that using phones for voice comms is also a nonstarter given spam and privacy violations. Good alternatives are not immediately obvious, though F/OSS voice chat / meeting tools (e.g., Jitsi) seem promising.