3 ms·

I am a similar age to Geohot and I have tried to escape smartphones to a dumb phone. It didn’t work. So many things that used to work without a smartphone don’t

I am a similar age to Geohot and I have tried to escape smartphones to a dumb phone. It didn’t work. So many things that used to work without a smartphone don’t anymore and people don’t realize it. • Surface parking in my city is all by QR code. Where there are machines, they are broken because no one cares. • Social groups are on iMessage or RCS. RCS is not nearly as backwards compatible with MMS as it seems and you WILL get dropped silently, eventually. • Some restaurants literally don’t have print menus (they’re expensive! QR codes are cheap!). • Rideshare, bike rentals, etc. are all dependent on apps. Taxis are not reliable or available. The list of tiny cuts goes on and on. When you have a smartphone you don’t realize the affordances that made it possible to be without them are disappearing. I’m sure you can do it in a smaller place but you have to be dedicated and willing to suffer in a city.

swiftcoder 3mo ago
Similar age as well, and damn, if I could actually convince my bank to let me approve transactions with a dumbphone... The reality is just that a significant part of the modern world is contingent on carrying around a brand-name smartphone
- sillyfluke 3mo ago
  Now imagine how poor people stress if their smartphone bricks or gets damaged or lost. Or if they're homeless, in which case the likelihood of their possesions getting damaged is probably much higher. It's weird that people are sleepwalking into this single point-of-failure dystopia instead of regulating it out existence and only realize it when their phone gets damaged or lost or is glitching in some deal-breaking way. Here's a tip, if you want people to help you out don't start with, "I don't have an smartphone..." Instead, say a variation of "Hey, my camera's broken/the app keeps crashing on my phone. Can you help me out?" People tend to be a lot more sympathetic. I've never had issues with the restaurant QR thing. me:"Hey, my camera doesn't work can you help me out?" waiter: "Sure you can take a look on my phone/use this tablet." Like, I have to fix my phone's camera before I can park in your city? are you kidding me?
- inigyou 3mo ago
  Go to your bank in person, say you're not going to have a smartphone, see what they say. If opening a new account, pretend not to have a phone.
fsflover 3mo ago
>So many things that used to work without a smartphone don’t anymore and people don’t realize it. Have you considered using a GNU/Linux phone (Librem 5 or Pinephone)? There is no dependence on a megacorp and QR codes work fine. Some services might redirect you to a web app if you show them such phone.
- handedness 3mo ago
  A committed Windows user who just noted they depend on iMessages probably isn't a great prospect for your proselytizing, anyway: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38855086 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38855086 I've previously tried living out of a PinePhone Pro, and if those web apps require much JS at all they're going to be in for a bad time. By benchmarks and your previous accounts, it sounds like the Librem 5 is only going to be worse from there. But you nod towards a useful point there at the end. I've found I don't need to present ancient hardware to get some entities to provide web apps or other means, I just say something handwavy about my phone being locked down by my employer's IT policy, neglecting to mention that I'm my employer. Bigger orgs aren't worth bothering with, though. You could show an airline an employee a flip phone and they aren't going to have any flexibility on the matter.
  - fsflover 3mo ago
    > A committed Windows user who just noted they depend on iMessages probably isn't a great prospect for your proselytizing, anyway Thank you for your advice, but if you've been following the recent trends, more and more committed Windows users are switching to Linux. Especially among the technical audience that comments on HN. Examples: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47548437 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47548437, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47614197 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47614197, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47995030 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47995030. Concerning the iMessage, there is nothing one can do here: It's a well-designed walled garden. You either embrace it or leave. Yes, JS-heavy websites are a nightmare for most non-recent hardware. Nobody promised you that you won't have to make any compromises to fight for your freedom though. > my phone being locked down by my employer's IT policy This is basically lying, whereas I truly own a legitimate smartphone which they do not support - and they have to respond somehow.
ButlerianJihad 3mo ago
For a long time, but not anymore, Consumer Cellular had this fantastic “Lyft Concierge” service, where you could call a human who could 100% arrange a Lyft ride for you, even with a feature phone. Of course it was designed for the elderly and disabled, but I loved it. There may still be third parties offering this type of service.

swiftcoder 3mo ago

Similar age as well, and damn, if I could actually convince my bank to let me approve transactions with a dumbphone... The reality is just that a significant part of the modern world is contingent on carrying around a brand-name smartphone

sillyfluke 3mo ago
Now imagine how poor people stress if their smartphone bricks or gets damaged or lost. Or if they're homeless, in which case the likelihood of their possesions getting damaged is probably much higher. It's weird that people are sleepwalking into this single point-of-failure dystopia instead of regulating it out existence and only realize it when their phone gets damaged or lost or is glitching in some deal-breaking way. Here's a tip, if you want people to help you out don't start with, "I don't have an smartphone..." Instead, say a variation of "Hey, my camera's broken/the app keeps crashing on my phone. Can you help me out?" People tend to be a lot more sympathetic. I've never had issues with the restaurant QR thing. me:"Hey, my camera doesn't work can you help me out?" waiter: "Sure you can take a look on my phone/use this tablet." Like, I have to fix my phone's camera before I can park in your city? are you kidding me?
inigyou 3mo ago
Go to your bank in person, say you're not going to have a smartphone, see what they say. If opening a new account, pretend not to have a phone.

fsflover 3mo ago

>So many things that used to work without a smartphone don’t anymore and people don’t realize it. Have you considered using a GNU/Linux phone (Librem 5 or Pinephone)? There is no dependence on a megacorp and QR codes work fine. Some services might redirect you to a web app if you show them such phone.

handedness 3mo ago
A committed Windows user who just noted they depend on iMessages probably isn't a great prospect for your proselytizing, anyway: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38855086 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38855086 I've previously tried living out of a PinePhone Pro, and if those web apps require much JS at all they're going to be in for a bad time. By benchmarks and your previous accounts, it sounds like the Librem 5 is only going to be worse from there. But you nod towards a useful point there at the end. I've found I don't need to present ancient hardware to get some entities to provide web apps or other means, I just say something handwavy about my phone being locked down by my employer's IT policy, neglecting to mention that I'm my employer. Bigger orgs aren't worth bothering with, though. You could show an airline an employee a flip phone and they aren't going to have any flexibility on the matter.
- fsflover 3mo ago
  > A committed Windows user who just noted they depend on iMessages probably isn't a great prospect for your proselytizing, anyway Thank you for your advice, but if you've been following the recent trends, more and more committed Windows users are switching to Linux. Especially among the technical audience that comments on HN. Examples: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47548437 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47548437, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47614197 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47614197, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47995030 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47995030. Concerning the iMessage, there is nothing one can do here: It's a well-designed walled garden. You either embrace it or leave. Yes, JS-heavy websites are a nightmare for most non-recent hardware. Nobody promised you that you won't have to make any compromises to fight for your freedom though. > my phone being locked down by my employer's IT policy This is basically lying, whereas I truly own a legitimate smartphone which they do not support - and they have to respond somehow.

ButlerianJihad 3mo ago

For a long time, but not anymore, Consumer Cellular had this fantastic “Lyft Concierge” service, where you could call a human who could 100% arrange a Lyft ride for you, even with a feature phone. Of course it was designed for the elderly and disabled, but I loved it. There may still be third parties offering this type of service.