On 09/09/2015 01:09 PM, Chris Markiewicz wrote:
My personal list of reasons I would keep my smartphone over going back to something I only have to charge once a week [...]
I don't think a "smartphone" is going to be a good replacement for much of your current technology, I don't think you want to start programming on something smaller than a notebook, rather I think it will let you do new stuff.
I have a smallish Android phone and a small Android tablet. Rarely do I talk on my phone but I never go a day without using both for something. I frequently go days without talking on the phone.
Both are "Nexus" models so bloatware is not really a problem, and out-of-the-box I only have to trust Google's software, I don't have to also trust add-ons from the manufacturer, plus add-ons from the carrier (and with some phones, it seems other middlemen who are pre-loading malware!). Unfortunately the current collection of Google Nexus models is very limited.
On a daily basis I mostly use my Androids for "Hangouts" (Google's texting program, etc.), Twitter (mostly as a customized hard news service), and listening to distant radio stations that stream on the internet (real radio stations for me, not subscription services). I also read news and e-books, but not that much. (My e-paper Kindle is much nicer for book reading, and my notebook is nicer for NYT reading.)
I use the camera occasionally as a way to "take notes". Amazing how often a trip to Home Depot starts with a photo detailing some aspect the problem I want to solve.
Google Maps might be nice on the desktop, but it is /particularly/ useful in a portable format. I also have an off-line map program that works when I am out of cell range.
Web searches are also nice on the desktop, but when out and about they take on a new usefulness. Similarly, we like Open Table for finding restaurants that are appealing, near, open now (or when we want to eat), and have room for us.
Very nice to occasionally use my phone as a network connection for other devices. (My tablet only has wifi, no cell data.)
A couple weeks ago we went to DC on Amtrak for a very quick trip. From referring to maps, to searching maps, to ordinary web searches, to finding a restaurant, to being a wifi hotspot, my "phone" and tablet were so useful. But I don't know that I ever /talked/ on my so-called phone that weekend.
-kb, the Kent who also brought his Linux notebook, for trying to get some programming done on the train.
P.S. I don't use my Android devices for banking or brokerage accounts. These enormous, new OSs are too big a target, too scary. I'll stick with my Linux notebook for that; I run far less "interesting" software there. Also I don't use any password managers on my daily phone or tablet for the same reason that I don't trust them, rather I have a very cheap little brand-x Chinese Android phone dedicated to being a password safe, with nearly no software is installed on it, and I never let it connect to the internet nor to any cell systems--I don't need to trust it that much if I keep it incommunicado. (More likely I will use my Linux notebook to look up passwords. Good passphrases are hard to enter on a little touch screen.)
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