Smart?

[carum carvi]

I never joined the smart hype. And I will resist as long as I live. Since friends started using "smart" phones I only started losing messages more often between friends. Often the sender had forgotten to send the message at all, because he or she was to busy with trillion other things asking for his /her attention.

I love my DUMB nokia phone. Bought it for 10 euro's. No camera. No nothing. It does one thing good though, I can phone anybody with it for days on 1 battery and whoever I am calling with has my undivided attention.

My brother has bought a "smart" washing machine. He could start and stop it with his "smart" phone. Unfortunately he couldnt stop the washing machine from flooding his house from a distance with a smartphone.

[absque fenestris]

Are you a consumption denier?
Attention: The main commandment is consumption!
The stupider, the more. Don't ask - buy.
Your anarchistic point of view could possibly be interpreted as politically incorrect.

[carum carvi]

I am more of a purist. I wanna buy the best and most durable product. Suisse clockwork quality! You should be aqauinted with that quality looking at your avatar flag...

[absque fenestris]

I am more of a purist. I wanna buy the best and most durable product. Suisse clockwork quality! You should be aqauinted with that quality looking at your avatar flag...

Do you know where Swiss watches are made?
o tempora o ... ohh

[carum carvi]

Well, that's an interesting point, coming from a swiss citizen. But even IF my quality nokia phone was made in UmpaLumpa ( and not in Switzerland) I still would enjoy that phone most if it just could do one thing properly. When I talk on the phone, I wanna talk and not worry about messages that my washing machine is flooding 100 miles away.

Too many choices are tempting at first, but most people stop thinking when offered more than 3 choices. I do. Let alone the trillion things one can do with a "smart"phone. I can imagine though that it is very addictive and fun. It must be otherwise millions of people wouldnt be using them... But when I was travelling by train recently I prefer to be bored at moments. Boredom is underrated. Boredom can be quite relaxing and peaceful. Boredom is ZEN.

[Arch_Enemy]

I never joined the smart hype. And I will resist as long as I live. Since friends started using "smart" phones I only started losing messages more often between friends. Often the sender had forgotten to send the message at all, because he or she was to busy with trillion other things asking for his /her attention.

I love my DUMB nokia phone. Bought it for 10 euro's. No camera. No nothing. It does one thing good though, I can phone anybody with it for days on 1 battery and whoever I am calling with has my undivided attention.

My brother has bought a "smart" washing machine. He could start and stop it with his "smart" phone. Unfortunately he couldnt stop the washing machine from flooding his house from a distance with a smartphone.

I still have a BlackBerry. No, I can't stream video. But I can listen to music, a +++ at work, and I can get texts, and it is a GREAT phone, the reason I have it in the first place! "we have an app for you!" to which my response is, You have an app for BlackBerry?!?!?

[Arch_Enemy]

Well, that's an interesting point, coming from a swiss citizen. But even IF my quality nokia phone was made in UmpaLumpa ( and not in Switzerland) I still would enjoy that phone most if it just could do one thing properly. When I talk on the phone, I wanna talk and not worry about messages that my washing machine is flooding 100 miles away.

Too many choices are tempting at first, but most people stop thinking when offered more than 3 choices. I do. Let alone the trillion things one can do with a "smart"phone. I can imagine though that it is very addictive and fun. It must be otherwise millions of people wouldnt be using them... But when I was travelling by train recently I prefer to be bored at moments. Boredom is underrated. Boredom can be quite relaxing and peaceful. Boredom is ZEN.

I have an E61. I gave up on it and bought a BlackBerry. Th reception on the E61 was severely disappointing. Nokias used to have GREAT reception!

[carum carvi]

I must confess that I am a grumpy old man, who longs back to the days when there werent any mobile phones at all. My girlfriend wants a smartphone too! Untill now I have succeeded in preventing her from buying one, frightening her with all kind of horror stories about hacks etc. But I have failed. She wants one too. I refuse to help her out however. I will gladly help her with her LinuxMInt pc, but I refuse to join the smartphone masses.

[absque fenestris]

Dear carum carvi, you old caraway seed...
Just at the moment when I wanted to let go of a rather disrespectful sentence about Swiss craftsmanship, my system crashed.
Coincidence?
Or did a certain Federal Councillor herself interfere with what was happening ("...I want to know at any time what a Swiss citizen is doing on the Internet...")
Questions about questions... and has something to do with "smart"

[Pjotr]

I use a Nokia dumb phone for all calling, indoors and outdoors.

Indoors, I also have a smart phone that has no SIM card (so can't call) and never leaves the house. That I only use for Whatsapp and Netflix by means of a Chromecast. By Wifi only, of course.

For navigation I use a dedicated TomTom device.

This combination suits my needs fine, while still preserving my privacy to some degree....

[HaveaMint]

while still preserving my privacy to some degree....

Nope I found you!

001.jpg

[carum carvi]

Just at the moment when I wanted to let go of a rather disrespectful sentence about Swiss craftsmanship, my system crashed.

Even "without windows" you are not safe from crashes. But please let me not stop you from critizing your own country. I love citizens who like to denounce myths about their country. I have heard that one can check if somebody is truly Swiss when your train arrives three minutes late and the entire train station complains about it. In Japan the railway staff gives commuters to work an excuse in paperform for their bosses to explain why they are 5 minutes late. Trains in Japan are really smart. It seems they are too in Switzerland. I do prefer travelling by train in Switzerland though because of the magnificent vistas. Never been there, only seen it on the telly, but it is mighty gorgeous. One thing I can presume with a certainty though is that one doesnt need a smartphone to tell WHEN the trains will arrive in Switzerland, because they are as punktlich as can be....

[PhilippeH]

I have a smartphone, mainly for the ability to synchronize my contacts. If I ever loose the phone or it stops working, I can get my address book back in a few minutes on any other machine. A dumbphone would not allow it.

I also use sometimes the GPS when I travel by car

For all of the other functions such as reading e-mails, watching movies, listening to music, I have a computer with Linux Mint on it, a decent screen with a mouse and keyboard, all these together being more comfortable than any smartphone would ever be.

[carum carvi]

I have a smartphone, mainly for the ability to synchronize my contacts. If I ever loose the phone or it stops working, I can get my address book back in a few minutes on any other machine. A dumbphone would not allow it.

I simply transfer my simcard from my dumb ancient nokia phone to any other phone and copy all the phone numbers in a few minutes as well. Although the amount of information one can store on an ancient nokia is rather limited to phone number and names. But I dont need anything else really.

I do use my trusted Linux Pc in the same way as you do by the way. But I even wouldnt have mind if I didnt have any internet at all. Lived without it for 10 years. As long as I have access to a big library I am one happy bunny.

[PhilippeH]

Although the amount of information one can store on an ancient nokia is rather limited to phone number and names.

I loved these first nokia cell phones, they were strongly build and with long lasting batteries. But my address book has become quite big, and I store phone numbers, postal and e-mail addresses, sometimes several for each person. All would not fit in a SIM card, unfortunately. It was the extensibility of my address book, and its ergonomics as well, that made me acquire my first smartphone, as soon as they ever existed.

As to Internet access, I would not easily live without it.

[DAMIEN1307]

when it comes to "smart" phones or "social" media, im a total ludite...i will NEVER buy or use a so-called "smart" phone...i like putting the K.I.S.S. on things (Keep It Simple Stupid)...my friends are always asking each other how to get a hold of me...such as, "he doesnt answer my "texts"...nope he doesnt text...where do i find him on "fakebook"...nope he doesnt do "fakebook"...how about "twitter" "instagram" "whatapp" etc ?...nope, he doesnt do anything except his "stupid" phones or old fashioned email, the LM forums, "snail mail" or a personal visit...those are the only ways that DAMIEN will communicate with anyone...as an addendum here, with the constant scourge of "robo" calls, sales calls, scam calls etc, i do not even like answering the phone any longer, just leave a voice mail message...ive come to the conclusion that "alexander graham bell should have been strangled in his cradle with his own telephone cable"...lol...DAMIEN

[carum carvi]

Damien1307 you are my kind of guy. I have exactly the same attitude. I use my ancient nokia phone for calling and often I have it turned off totally. I will listen to my voicemail later on. That gives me such a peace of mind.

So many people are constantly "connected", they will answer their phone, at any moment, yet immediately tell me that they cant talk right now, because they have a second caller on the line. In the eighties you would just get a busy signal when someone was in conversation with somebody else. Nowadays everyone is super connected but nobody has time to talk for longer than sound bites.

Even email I cant be bothered about really, just as you cant either Damien1307. I would like to think that people would be able to write emails that are more than 2 sentences long, but they dont. They could have just as well texted me with an sms. What's the point of email when my friends correspond in three sentences long messages?

Some people I only give my phonenumber and my postal adress of the street where I live. I really love people who take the time to write me a personal letter and post it on the regulare postal mail. I would rather like to receive one long letter than 10 phonecalls or emails...

Damien1307, I also do long back, now and then, to the days BEFORE the invention of the telephone. Postal pigeons or post via horse or boat. I would love to be born in that period...

[JerryF]

I'm so glad I read this thread and found that others think as I do.

I'm 54, have been using personal computers when they first were available. I'm a trained computer tech, but...

Because people come to me for advice/help/etc. about computers and other devices, I don't want another "smart" device to have to take care of. Plus, I see what a waste of time it is to have a "smart" phone. People texting---standing at the supermarket typing away.

I have an LG flip phone that does have a camera (which I hardly use), and I can text my sister if absolutely necessary.

I like having a phone that is---get this---a phone!

I do agree with Damien:

...as an addendum here, with the constant scourge of "robo" calls, sales calls, scam calls etc, i do not even like answering the phone any longer, just leave a voice mail message...ive come to the conclusion that "alexander graham bell should have been strangled in his cradle with his own telephone cable"...lol...DAMIEN

[DAMIEN1307]

hi carum carvi, hi jerryf....somehow, i just knew you guys were thinking the same as I...lol...DAMIEN

[Arch_Enemy]

I have a smartphone, mainly for the ability to synchronize my contacts. If I ever loose the phone or it stops working, I can get my address book back in a few minutes on any other machine. A dumbphone would not allow it.

I also use sometimes the GPS when I travel by car

For all of the other functions such as reading e-mails, watching movies, listening to music, I have a computer with Linux Mint on it, a decent screen with a mouse and keyboard, all these together being more comfortable than any smartphone would ever be.

Well, if you have a phone that requires a SIM card you can copy all of your contacts to the SIM and they will be available on any device that uses a SIM card.

If you're on a CDMA network, ie Verizon or TracFone, no such luck. Back it up regularly.