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Nothing. (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a land line.
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
Ah the good ol' days* when you had to stay at home in order to get a phone call.
*bad ol' days
Re:Nothing. (Score:5, Insightful)
Ah the good ol' days* when you didn't wear an electronic leash everywhere you went.
*no really
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
Ha! Only if you let it be!
Re:Nothing. (Score:5, Insightful)
While not the original poster, I also refuse to have a cellphone.
While there are valid resons to have one, I live in a densly populated area and I don't think I'm further then a 10 minute walk to the nearest phone, but that's not why I won't have one.
Once you have a cellphone other people's attitudes towards you change. They expect you to always be availabe to communicate with, and if you're not they get upset. Screw them. When I don't want to talk to people I don't even answer my home phone. It's much simpler just to not have a cellphone then deal with other peoples inabillity to realize that whatever utterings come out of their mouths isn't my highest priority.
That, and I need a land line for ADSL.
"It is my heart-warmed and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us, the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage (every man and brother of us all throughout the whole earth), may eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss, except the inventor of the telephone." ~Mark Twain, Christmas greeting, 1890
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Nothing. (Score:5, Interesting)
For everyone else, there's caller ID. If its disabled, don't expect me to answer.
-=Geoskd
My Cell Phone (and probably most at this point) allows you to set a custom ring tone per contact. What I do is Set a ring tone for my contacts (even if most of them use the same one) but set the "Default tone" for "No ring". This way, if you're in my list I'll hear it and can decide if I answer, but if it's someone I don't know they get voice mail and I can check it later at my convenience.
Re:Nothing. (Score:4, Insightful)
Once you have a cellphone other people's attitudes towards you change. They expect you to always be availabe to communicate with, and if you're not they get upset. Screw them.
Really? Do you have really crappy friends or something? The only thing that changed when i got a cellphone is i started getting invited to more spontaneous gatherings. They don't _expect_ me to hang out, but they want to give me the option and about half the time i take them up on it (and the other half of the time there are no hard feelings.) Actually, i'm not even sure i'm actually being invited more often, or i just started getting those calls in time to go have fun instead of getting home and finding a message on my answering machine too late.
Of course given how useful my smartphone has turned out for everything other than talking to people, even if i wanted to avoid getting called i'd be tempted to get a smartphone and just not get a plan or not give anyone the phone number.
Re:Nothing. (Score:3)
fuck phones
I bet there's an app for that.
Re:Nothing. (Score:5, Funny)
I don't think I'm further then a 10 minute walk to the nearest phone
These "phones" you speak of will get less common in the next few years. But don't worry, as someone will write a smartphone app to help you locate the few that remain.
Re:Nothing. (Score:3)
If you actually have to talk to someone and it's important and can't risk the call being dropped you need to know where a pay phone is, which happens a lot for students trying to get work. Calls you absolutely cannot have dropped.
Naturally calls get dropped a lot on a university campus because it's a big place with very uneven and bursty load on the cell towers and all sorts of buildings and signals messing everything up. Not all campuses will have the problem either, depends on the buildings layouts and materials and where they can put cell towers.
I used to live in one of the largest cities in the US. Now,
I'm in the 7th largest (last time I checked)... I cannot at
all remember the last time I had a call dropped here.
Last time that I can remember I had a call dropped was
about 8 years ago, this one stretch of the 101 in Cali,
it really didn't like to hand off calls. Was pretty consistent
til Verizon put up a palm antenna right in the middle of
the handoff zone. Problem was gone.
I feel those that live with dropped calls in anything that
resembles a city, need to change providers.
Verizon, since 1998. Virtually 0 complaints for the last 10.
-AI
Re:Nothing. (Score:4)
While not the original poster, I also refuse to have a cellphone.
snip
Once you have a cellphone other people's attitudes towards you change. They expect you to always be availabe to communicate with, and if you're not they get upset.
Same here, it's nearly 20 years ago I bought a 2nd. hand cell phone and used it occasionally when working at a client who at a remote location did not allow private use of their phones.
After about 6 months, on a day off and around 11 at night my supervisor calls to tell me I had to see a client next morning 06:00.
I asked him where he got the number from and he had been chasing it up calling my family and friends at that time of the night.
The next day I sold the mobile and told him he can as before reach me on my home voice mail (that since 2005 is forwarded to my E-mail)
A couple of years ago I bought a N900 and have a data-only plan with it, I can read and answer my E-mail when convenient.
So back on topic, I use Maemo.
Re:Nothing. (Score:3)
While not the original poster, I also refuse to have a cellphone.
I have a cellphone, I just refuse to answer it if I don't want to.
I guess you give casino's and dessert bars a wide berth too?
Don't forget whores and crack dealers!
-AI
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
Ah the good old days when you didn't have to concern yourself with cell coverage dead spots (which our house happens to be).
Besides, a land line is a *household* resource, which all members of the family, young and old, have access to.
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
Then again it could be the good very old days when radio were valve technology and it took two minutes from turning it on to getting any sound and parental permission was required before making a phone call. Transistor radios did exist but they were rare and expensive. We got a tv before we got a transistor radio. it was the first tv on our block and also valve and it took about four minutes to show a picture after turning it on.
I don't much like this modern electronic leash I've tied myself to, but I do remember that things can be much more awkward. For me these truly are the real good days, except for the loss of freedom that children experience now but that's another story. My children ran free in the afternoons.
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
repeated hour long phone calls every day - generally just when I was waiting for an important call.
That's what texting is for... :)
Anyway, why weren't your parents saying, "45 minute time limit!"
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
Or perhaps the good old days when there was one phone in the house for everyone and I had three sisters and whenever one of them got a new boyfriend there would be repeated hour long phone calls every day - generally just when I was waiting for an important call.
Or the good old days when you answered the phone only when you heard your ring pattern, and you never knew if the neighbors were listening in on your calls.
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
Or the good old days when you answered the phone only when you heard your ring pattern, and you never knew if the neighbors were listening in on your calls.
Yes, it's easier today when that niggling uncertainty is gone. Now we know that the government is listening in.
Re:Nothing. (Score:3)
The good old days when the only internet access you had at home was dial-up and you had to fight with your sister whether her calling her boyfriend or me being able to check /. was more important. (This was back in 1998/1999.)
Boy, do I not miss them.
Re:Nothing. (Score:2, Interesting)
It is interesting how the engineers at Google don't seem to understand that. I imagine none of them have home phones. For example, on Android, if you have two contacts that share a home phone (like say my Mom and Dad), if I choose the one that comes second on the contact list and have the phone call them - the picture and name for the one that comes alphabetically first in the contact list shows up on the dialer screen. Inexcusable.
Likewise, for awhile Google Voice wouldn't let two people who were both using GV have the same home phone number. It would tell you it was already in use.
A home phone is a shared resource. Why some folks don't get that I just don't understand.
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
Young, hip, childless geeks have different priorities than old, fogeyish, married-with-children geeks.
The phone companies take a similar view as Google, though. It sure would be useful to (a) be able to share data xfer cap like we share minutes, and (b) have a common "family" cell phone number in addition to our personal numbers.
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
The good ol' days when all you had to do to get a phone call was to be at home. No worrying about signal strength, battery life, paying to take the call, straining to make out what the other person was saying....
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
Say what you will but I used to like hiking two towns over to the nearest telegraph office to receive electronic communications.
Re:Nothing. (Score:4, Insightful)
You don't have to worry about that in the UK. All inbound cell calls are free, at the originating parties expense
Why are you limiting this statement to that island of Great Britain?
Such is standard in all other European countries and the EU is working on also getting rid of roaming charges between the EU member states.
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
When I saw primary phone I said IOS, but it's not my primary phone! My land line is! WOW, thanks for helping me think again. I feel so much more connected not my reality now. Which is so pathetic, because it's true.
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
Ditto. I don't own a mobile phone. I rarely go out too since I am disabled. I have Internet including dial-up as a backup. :)
Re:For Our Safety, Land-Line. (Score:2)
Where I live, Southern California Edison has far too many unplanned power outages. Sometimes, there is only a flicker; sometimes, it lasts a few hours; once it lasted three days. No, we don't get blizzards or tornadoes. These outages are usually caused by underground transformers failing.
A power outage can disable all local cell towers. It definitely disables the cable TV amplifiers that are also used for Internet and VoIP. However, land-line phone service has its own power source. When Edison fails, I can call them on my land-line phone to report the failure. When Edison fails, I can still contact the sheriff and fire department. This makes our land-line phone service a safety necessity.
In any case, I am not a slave to a phone. I can indeed get away from it. Those persons who cannot be away from a phone for more than 2 minutes are pathetic. See my http://www.rossde.com/editorials/edtl_chatterbox.html [rossde.com].
Re:Nothing. (Score:2)
It's a land line.
People who complain about website tracking probably carry a phone around all day and use a Visa or Mastercard to buy stuff. Land lines are good for not being tracked :)
Small correction (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Small correction (Score:3)
The official Maemo thread!
n900 = greatest phone ever!
Dumb phone (Score:2)
While I'm seeing the benefits of having what now counts as a "smartphone" in my pocket, I'm not interested in any of the data plans yet, until I see something that's a plain pre-paid $/GB plan.
Since I'm behind a computer most of the time, I expect to use it only in small bursts, and I'm fine without "always on me" net access so it's not a huge priority. Most of the prepaid data plans I've seen involve spending $10-20 for 24 hours of data access, which isn't a good fit.
Anybody know of any fine-grained prepaid data plans in the USA?
Re:Dumb phone (Score:5, Interesting)
Regarding always on me net access: I can attest that I've had it for the last 7 years, and I'm 22 now, so about a third of my life.
When I lose service I honestly feel like I've had a stroke or been lobotomized in my hippocampus. I use it so often to look up general info that I feel quite disconnected from my whole knowledge base.
And I even did well in high school. Graduated w/ a 3.6 (w/ honors), and I'm great with trivia without the internet as long as it doesn't involve sports, history, or (shudder) sports history.
But I feel like the internet is just another part of my mind. A place that I know that holds all the specific information, and instead of keeping it in my brain, I learn things once and they fade quickly if I don't use them. But I can always look up the info again in a few seconds if the need arises.
My cat's breath smells of cat food (Score:3, Interesting)
And my phone makes phone calls. I think I can SND TXTS LOL; I'm not entirely sure.
The youngsters I know who have "smart" "phones" seem to use them almost exclusively as games devices. I'm not entirely clear on why they pay so much every month for that functionality, rather than spending a lot less on a DS and a basic PAYG phone. Can anyone clue me in?
Re:My cat's breath smells of cat food (Score:2)
Re:My cat's breath smells of cat food (Score:2)
There are plenty of other reasons (Score:3)
I have a smart phone, and I don't play games on it.
Top uses besides voice calls and texting (I have a limited text plan, but texting is useful when you or the other person is in a loud place, or for some reason you can't leave a voicemail): weather (I ride a motorcycle, so it's especially relevant to me), news, calendar and reminders, GPS and navigation, and quick checks of Google/Wikipedia. I also occasionally price check on Amazon when I'm in various stores.
The camera is nice for documenting your parking situation so you can contest tickets. I rooted the phone, so I can tether to my laptop and check e-mail, etc. when I need to and there's no WiFi around.
So yes, there are other uses for a smart phone besides games.
Re:My cat's breath smells of cat food (Score:2)
The youngsters I know who have "smart" "phones" seem to use them almost exclusively as games devices. I'm not entirely clear on why they pay so much every month for that functionality, rather than spending a lot less on a DS and a basic PAYG phone. Can anyone clue me in?
I know plenty of 40-, 50-, and 60-somethings who have iPhones. So to answer your question, we will need to know just how old you are.
Re:My cat's breath smells of cat food (Score:5, Insightful)
Most people stopped thinking of phones as just devices for making "phone calls". These days, they're just mini-computers with pretty much everything on them.
I've my work email, personal email, calendar, games, photos, camera, GPS, diary, ebook reader, media, and pretty much everything else on my phone. I count my calories very religiously, and I've an app that lets me scan what I eat, and watch my caloric and protein consumption. I have my company's VPN app installed, which lets me get on the company network. I can do my time & expense on my phone. My phone is my alarm clock, my timer, my emergency flashlight, and my calculator. It tells me the weather and the stock market. I shop on my phone, check-in for my flights on my phone, including the boarding passes. Going some place and one of us doesn't have cash? No worries, pull out your iSquare card reader on the phone and I can charge it in (carry one around in my bag at all times). Media? My music, movies, Netflix, YouTube are all on my phone. And of course, games. Everything from Angry Birds to Doom (yes, old school Doom).
So, nobody thinks of a phone as a "smart phone" anymore. It's expected to do these things. The other "phones" you talk about are just kludgy leftover remnants from back in the day. I'm sure people complained about cars with stereos and air conditioning because they weren't just "taking them some place" like a good old horse buggy.
Re:My cat's breath smells of cat food (Score:2)
Top ten things I can't do with a DS and PAYG phone:
- Maps, including GPS and satellite/aerial photography, which is some serious oh-my-God-I'm-living-in-the-future shit
- Very good camera
- Many options for taking notes, along with...
- Good calendar/reminders/alarms
- Weather
- Wikipedia
- Pretty much every other site on the Web
- Bank
- Good email
- Literally almost anything else you can imagine [appstorm.net]
Basically, it can probably do whatever's important to you. Guitar tuner, medical reference, advanced calculator... anything. I literally couldn't list it all here. That's what makes it so amazing.
And did I mention that, for all the Internet-related things, I can do them anywhere, not just when I'm on WiFi? 'Cause, that's handy.
Re:My cat's breath smells of cat food (Score:2)
My smart phone lets me use those otherwise wasted periods when I have nothing better to do for catching up on reading or arguing on Slashdot. I also keep lots of notes and useful information on there and an encrypted password database that is incredibly useful.
I use the maps and navigation functions a lot. No need to take a separate sat-nav in the car and it is useful for finding shops in unfamiliar towns. When I am abroad I use offline maps which are fantastically useful, as are apps that let me plan journeys on public transport. Sure, they have all this information on signs but in the local language (my Japanese reading skills could be better).
Sometimes I RDP in to my home server if I need to set something up (torrent etc). Google Drive and Dropbox access let me get at files I need and the phone itself has replaced my need for USB flash drives.
There are also utility apps like an alarm clock and world time clock, and the flash can be used as a handy torch.
Re:My cat's breath smells of cat food (Score:2)
you don't always need a data plan and you can be on PAYG as not every country has lousy mobile phone networks.
In Ireland I pay 20 euro a month get free skype an extra 10 euro call credit free weekend calls(3000) minutes, 3000 texts for anytime and unlimited Internet Access.
I paid 99 euro for a basic android phone but now it would cost 59 euro for the same model mostly it's other use is navigation but can do more it's bluetooth paired with my car radio so i get hands free as soon as I switch the car on and switches between modes automatically. The modem is 7.2 Meg as good as any USB mobile dongle and it tethers with wifi if i want access for my laptop or tablet. oh i get a bunch of free calls anytime within the network.
There are a few things which could be done better such as sending and receiving texts from my tablet (which also uses android ics( 10" display)) when tethered with my phone would be nice or even using the built in GPS with my netbook or similar. Streaming audio works and via bluetooth to my car radio providing the signal is strong enough.
It will also work as a remote for a dreambox satellite setup and let me use my tablet remotely while using hdmi to use a decent size display for movies.
with all that plus streaming from my nas why would I want just a phone?
To be frank the only way Americans will ever get anywhere getting a decent deal with their mobile phone providers is by switching to PAYG in sufficient numbers such that they have to provide first class service or lose a customer to a more competitive rival. Of course if you want to be tied to expensive contracts with expensive phones you will continue to get ripped off but its the operating system that matters not so much the handset which dictates what you can do with your phone.
The contract system sucks even here, with extra charges for some calls not covered by your allowance and every once in a while you get stiffed with out of bundle data charges. Even phone insurance is a nonsense when the worst that happens is someone uses your prepaid credit and you just buy another handset.
Primary phone? (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't have a phone, seriously. I used to have one but I hated people calling when I wanted no distractions. It was easier to tell people that I don't have a phone than to explain why it wasn't turned on.
Re:Primary phone? (Score:2)
Same here. It was never a source of freedom, always a chain.
Getting rid of the bone is one of the best thing I ever did. It sucked as a phone, sucked as a PDA, sucked at e-mail, sucked at games - not even mediocre quality of any of them. Yet it allowed people to think I was at their beck and (ehrm) call.
Also, last year, along with a lot of people here in New England, we had an over a week long power outage. Cell phones didn't work because the towers didn't work (and you couldn't charge them either), internet phones didn't work, but guess what - old fashioned wired phone service did. There's something to be said for ground cables.
Re:Primary phone? (Score:2)
Also, last year, along with a lot of people here in New England, we had an over a week long power outage. Cell phones didn't work because the towers didn't work (and you couldn't charge them either), internet phones didn't work, but guess what - old fashioned wired phone service did. There's something to be said for ground cables.
Irene, right? We had similar outages here in New York. The problem was this...after a while, there were fewer and fewer people to call.
Re:Primary phone? (Score:2)
I have an icon that enables flight mode in one click, and everyone knows that the signal in my area is really bad.
Re:Primary phone? (Score:2)
>submit computer data to the government they would require a 5" floppy disk in the post.
Not exactly. IRS eFile (which you can use directly, you don't have to go through a tax company) uses a format call MeF [irs.gov], which is XML.
Don't know, don't care (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Don't know, don't care (Score:2)
Mine's a Nokia that's about 6 years old now. I marvel that the battery still holds a charge so well. The screen gets dust in it,and it's all scratched up from being dropped. In fact, I dropped it just a few days ago. It. just. won't. die.
I too know that the day will come. BTW, it has the ability to take truly crappy pictures and video. I used the picture-taking a few times. It uses infrared transfer and it just so happens my laptop can pick it up (mini-USB cable was an option too; but I didn't want to buy one). Talk about a PiTA. You have to hold the thing right there and fiddle with it. T-mobile was actually expecting customers to pay to upload pictures they took with a device they control. I wonder how many people ever did that? Perhaps as many as paid $5 for 15 seconds of MIDI to make their phone... ring. Sheesh!
When it's time for a new phone, I'll just go with whatever's cheapest. I'd like to think it'd be as simple and reliable as what I have now; but I doubt it. I'll be wanting a dumb little radio. I'll be getting a box with 1000 times the computing power of a C-64.
Re:Don't know, don't care (Score:2)
Actually, my primary phone is a land-line, but I do have a Tracfone. I use it to make calls, and once in a while receive them. The alarm function is convenient when I need an alarm clock on the road, and the calculator comes in handy. I know it can do text messages, because I get them from Tracfone, but I've never seen the point of sending them, myself. I don't need to carry a miniture tablet computer around all the time, and when I do need a tablet, I've got a Nook.
Yep yep. (Score:2)
Blackberry (Score:2, Interesting)
I want to make calls, check my e-mail, and keep my schedule and contacts; in that order. My Blackberry does that exceptionally well.
Everyone I know with iPhones and Androids tells me about all of the "cool stuff"(tm) their phones will do. The awesome apps, amazing games, and wasted time. Other times they tell me about the dropped calls, crashes, and reboots. They never talk about these things in the same conversation.
I want a tool to communicate and make my job easier. I don't want a toy. Enjoy your toys if that's your thing. I have my Blackberry, and I like it.
BES 5, on the other hand, is a pile of steaming horse crap.
Re:Blackberry (Score:2)
Re:Blackberry (Score:2, Funny)
I've had 3 iPhones. I've never had an issue with dropped calls. I also make heavy use of maps, the camera, and the iPod.
I've had six Iphones, all given to me to repair by people who claim Iphones do anything wrong, all of them dead.
Re:Blackberry (Score:2)
Re:Blackberry (Score:2)
> A stock iphone without a ton of poorly written fartapps on it is as robust and stable as your BB.
That's true. In addition to that, the iphone does about twice as many things out of the box as BB.
The problem is that my friends with iphones complain of ending the call early and other unintentional actions because of the damned touch screen. Most of them also complain of poor interface design (functionality not appearance) preventing them from working as efficiently.
I'm glad to hear that it's working well for you though, and that you like it so much. I still don't want one.
> Dont kid yourself.
I constantly kid myself. It's how I deal with all of the Apple fanboys.
Re:Blackberry (Score:2)
Most of them also complain of poor interface design (functionality not appearance) preventing them from working as efficiently.
They must be holding it wrong.
Doesn't match what I'm seeing (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Doesn't match what I'm seeing (Score:4, Insightful)
People with like interests gravitate to one another. Most of your friends probably don't know many android users either.
Most android users only know a few lonely iphone users. It works both ways.
And even fewer of us know anyone still using a blackberry unless their company bought it for them.
Re:Doesn't match what I'm seeing (Score:5, Interesting)
You're probably in the US (or UK). Simple as that. Android overtook iPhone outide the US in 2011. Apple has very little market presence outside of english speaking coutries (which is why english language tech sites, like Slashdot, seem to non-english speakers to be hopelessly fixated on irrelevant little Apple ;-).
If you want to see how Android compares with Apple in real global market share, try a site like menea.me. Right now they have no Apple articles on the front page, 2 for Samsung, and 3 for Google. There was a world-war, Apple lost. The US missed it.
Re:Doesn't match what I'm seeing (Score:3)
There was a world-war ... The US missed it.
Dammit, not again. We swore after the last two that we'd never show up late to another war...
Re:Doesn't match what I'm seeing (Score:4, Insightful)
Simple, you personal experience is no indication of a general trend and the same is true for almost all situations. Just look at the Android vs. iPhone sales figures and it should be obvious that there are far, far more Android phones in circulation now. No wonder because ignoring the relative merits of the two platforms for a moment Android simply covers more of the market. The cheapest phones available for free on £10/month contracts run Android where has you have to pay a fair bit more to get an iPhone, so for anyone who doesn't want to spend a lot the latter isn't even an option.
Re:Doesn't match what I'm seeing (Score:3)
As a result, the international composition of the Slashdot readership will probably tilt the view towards other players, especially if you're comparing with your surroundings.
Re:Doesn't match what I'm seeing (Score:2)
Pauline Kael? Is that you? :) (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Kael#Alleged_Nixon_quote [wikipedia.org])
Harmattan on N9 (Score:2)
Noone has mentioned it yet: Harmattan on Nokia N9.
Fantastic OS on a fantastic phone.
Re:Harmattan on N9 (Score:2)
I wish I could upgrade to the n9.
But it has too many problems, the main ones being no keyboard and a capacitive touch screen with no stylus.
Also I rather prefer GTK--based Maemo to Hartman...QT is cool, but I feel that GTK/Gnome-related things are more in touch with the community of the underlying layers, while QT seems to distance itself. At least Hartman was still dpkg...
I don't havea smart phone (Score:2)
My primary phone (the one I give out to people who ask for my number) is a land line.
I do have a cell phone, but its an old dumb cellphone I use to make calls when I am out.
If I am not home there is usually someone that is, plus an answerphone.
BTW I do have an Android device - its a 10 inch Tablet, not a phone, it only has wifi .
Windows Phone? (Score:2)
What no Windows option? Oh wait, this is Slashdot. Nobody here's going to be running Windows Phone or Windows Mobile .
Re:Windows Phone? (Score:2)
What no Windows option? Oh wait, this is Slashdot. Nobody here's going to be running Windows Phone or Windows Mobile .
Oh wait, this is the world. Nobody here's going to be running Windows Phone.
If people who work in phone shops tell customers not to buy Windows Phones very few of them are going to get sold. I don't think I know a single person with a windows phone.
Re:Windows Phone? (Score:2)
Re:Windows Phone? (Score:2)
Probably a lot more Windows Phone uses than WebOS users, though. Granted, I live in Seattle (close to Microsoft) so I'm sure this is heavily skewed, but even in their heyday I hardly saw any WebOS phones, while on any given random bus ride and sometimes just in the elevator (of a building with no MS offices) I'll usually see a Windows phone some time during the day.
Some Samsung OS (Score:2)
Whatever OS runs on the Samsung B2710. It makes and receives phone calls, can send and receive SMS messages, and it can run J2ME applications (the only one I use is a OATH-compliant OTP generator). I like it that way as it follows the unix philosophy of doing one thing (being a basic phone) and doing it well.
Maemo - Nokia N900 (Score:5, Interesting)
Still have my N900. It has it's flaws, but unfortunately there is no real replacement. The repositories are full of interesting software, I can run even stuff like Wireshark and the like (which is kind of nice when you are a network engineer and occasionally need to debug stuff over mobile network).
N9 has no keyboard, and is pretty much a dead end since Meego is pretty much dead with Nokia going the way of Windows Mobile.
Anyway, one day the hardware is probably going to die - is there *any* phone that would come even close? With Android I need to pretty much tie myself to a google account - sure, I can root Android phone but then I pretty much have to start scaveging the net for software. It's been pointed to me that there are several alternates to Android market, but no one bothers to list examples.
From what I've seen on my wife's phone about software for Android - it looks like *everything* is adware. For Maemo everything seems to be based on common open source software. I can run stuff like Stellarium, Ur-Quan Masters, ScummVM, AbiWord, Gnumeric and stuff like that...Heck, N900 was the first phone where I could get IPSec VPN to work properly - I can just get the normal openVPN up and running. Oh, and sharing your 3G net connection over WLAN works too - there's of course Joikuspot, but for other systems it costs money, with N900 I could just set up ethernet bridging + ad-hoc WLAN like with a common Linux box.
It looks like I could get most of these functionalities on an Android phone, but I'd have to find ad-loaded alternatives, tie the phone to a Google account - including having to sync phonebook and calendar with Google...kinda feels like step backwards.
Re:Maemo - Nokia N900 (Score:2)
The N900 hardware item likely to die first is the micro-USB port, which eventually cracks loose from its internal mount and leaves you with no means of USB-based recharging or file transfer. Mine is already showing the symptoms after a few years of use, so I'll soon be having to charge the battery by swapping it into another phone. File transfers will still be possible by WiFi, microSD card, and/or Bluetooth.
As for Maemo5, only the occasional third party app gets updated anymore but I find most of the other stuff still quite satisfactory.
Re:Maemo - Nokia N900 (Score:3)
Re:Maemo - Nokia N900 (Score:2)
Bleh!
pah! (Score:2)
my phone has a cord and a rotary dial, you insensitive clod!
Windows phone for the ... small win (Score:2)
I have a windows phone, HTC Radar. Company picked it for me but I rather like it, actually. Would really like a 7 or 10" version of this HTC phone but I read somewhere they won't build such a thing. Let's see if the other 6 people who have WP7 also read slashdot. Judging from my train commute, there's about 30:1 between iPhones and Windows...
What OS is this? (Score:3)
If I open my phone, I find some copper wires and coils, a rotating dialer mechanism, a bell, some magnets, and some carbon microphone and speaker. I have no idea what OS is running on this! Anyone know?
Re:What OS is this? (Score:4, Funny)
If I open my phone, I find some copper wires and coils, a rotating dialer mechanism, a bell, some magnets, and some carbon microphone and speaker. I have no idea what OS is running on this! Anyone know?
Sounds like it was made by Bell, so the OS must be Plan 9. The numbers on the face only go up to 9, right?
Re:What OS is this? (Score:3)
the OS for that thing is in the cloud, probably a Bell Labs variant of Unix tailored for phone switching
No need for a smartphone (Score:2)
At work, no cell phone, smart or dumb. No exceptions, no excuses, can't bring it into the building (or camera, mp3 player, etc). If anyone needs to get me at work, email or the phone on my desk.
We don't go out a whole lot, so no need for that level of access when 'away from home'. The cell is used maybe a minute every 2 or 3 days ("Can you bring home milk? OK")
The wife talks a LOT on the phone at home, so the landline suffices. I've gamed out all the options and plans, and going cell only would at least double costs. Eventually that price schedule may change, but for now, we have no need for smartphones.
I Switched (Score:2)
I've been using smartphones for years. First Windows Mobile, then Android and now IOS. In the PDA world it was PalmOS then Windows CE.
I love Android! I could tweak and mod to my heart's content and it is deeply in bed with the Google services I use. I love that I'm not limited to curated apps from one source. The fact that I could write an app and load it on my phone without getting someone's permission (and paying $99 a year to be part of a developer network) was great.
My biggest complaint about Android was the instability. My Android phone is the HTC EVO 4G. With only 412MB of storage and only ~300MB usable (because when it drops below 100MB of free space, the phone starts reloading the UI when I exit an app) it became almost unusable. I resorted to trying other ROMs with other UIs and the problem continued. Ice Cream Sandwich looks like it fixes that problem. But of course it isn't available for MY Android phone. I'd have to buy a new Android phone, and granted, they are sweet and very drool-worthy.
Last year I needed a second phone line for business use. And since I wasn't pleased with the way Sprint was running their business, I chose to get it from Verizon and yes, I got an iPhone 4. Now, I need to point out that even though I run Windows and Linux desktops and servers, MY main machine is my 17" MacBook Pro. The only justification I'll give for it is that I LIKE OS X as besides being UNIX with a lovely interface I like the integration between apps, the cloud, etc. Thanks to virtualization, I can and do still run Windows and Linux on it at the same time, just as I could do with a Linux or Windows notebook.
While the iPhone isn't as tightly integrated into Google services as my Android phone, they aren't exactly battling each other. Instead of being married, it's more like friends with benefits. More important is the tight integration with the OS X apps I run on the notebook which actually renders many of the Google services moot.
My phone doesn't crash. The apps don't conflict and I get the benefits of ICS. Doing a restore after jail breaking the other night, I found that I have 277 apps installed. The apps and my data are using 15.4GB of the 28GB available for me to use.
Now that I've jail broken the phone, I was able to buy iBlacklist which performs the same functions as Mr. Number on Android, i.e. I can make a blacklist of numbers so that when they call, my phone doesn't even light up to tell me that they're calling. I also installed Dreamboard, so now I have a UI more like Android to where I don't see a minefield of icons on the phone.
So when my Sprint contract expired this month, I chose to cancel the line for my Android phone. With the Verizon number, Line 2 and Google Voice installed on the iPhone, I actually have three phone numbers (My friends, family and coworkers were always given only my GV number so this is all transparent to them) and no longer needed to pay an extra phone.
Since all that works on both IOS and Android, I could have gone either way. Since I still have a year left on the iPhone contract and the service is $10 a month cheaper than Sprint, I chose to switch to IOS.
I won't or can't say that Android is better than IOS, nor will I say that IOS is better than Android. Just like the *nix, Windows, OS X operating systems, each has their advantages and disadvantages. Competition is good for everyone and I've chosen what works best for me.
My primary phone (Score:3)
My primary phone runs right to the wall where the jack plugs in.
My cell phone runs whatever the hell a non-smartphone that's over 5 years old would run.
My lawn runs around my house. Get off it.
Pretty relevant webcomic... (Score:4, Funny)
Come on now.. (Score:3)
WebOS - for all intents and purposes a dead platform - has its own poll option, but Windows Phone 7.x doesn't? That's just ridiculous.
The Charlie Brown problem. (Score:3)
I had a blackberry. I hated it. So when my company offered me a either a new blackberry or an iPhone, I took the iPhone.
I REALLY hate it. It's better than the Blackberry in some ways, but that was really aiming low.
I'd like the chance to use an Android phone for a week or two. I'm reluctant to spend money on it, though, because I suspect I know how it's going to turn out.
A smartphone should be first and foremost a good phone. Your cheek shouldn't hang up on people. Pocket dialing should be almost impossible even if you forget to lock it. It should have buttons you can always find, even when you're not looking at it. It should have good voice recognition without being annoying.
Then it should give you the ability to run little apps and it should be easy to move data from one app to another. It should make it easy for you to select text and paste it somewhere else. (Actually easy, not just "way better than a Blackberry but still a colossal pain in the butt compared to a mouse-based system".)
Haven't played with WebOS or had enough time with a modern version of Android. Here's to hoping.
But I suspect I won't really like anything until I have a glasses-based system, with a MUCH bigger theoretical screen (when you interact with the virtual image 2 feet from your head) and good, constant voice rec. It should have a little mute button right on the side of the glasses, along with a little sleep button.
My wife uses a dumb phone, with number buttons. If I could use only that, I know I'd miss stuff I have using iPhone, but on some levels it'd be less agravating.
Here's my big annoyance with it all, really. You know how Charlie Brown sticks his tongue out when he's writing or drawing? Kids do that. Adults even do that sometimes. I know it's weird, but it's a human behavior thing. I have the urge to do that when I'm just trying to select something or hit a button on an iPhone. Because just selecting text is fine-detail work on these little things. That shouldn't happen. It should be easy to convey your desires to the device. That way, you can concentrate on what you want to do, not on the mechanics of doing it.
Re:Phone gangsters (Score:2)
Gangsters? Just remember, Bernie Rhodes Knows, don't argue!
Re:All of them but three run Android (Score:5, Funny)
I'm still giggling about the fact that the pollster didn't feel WP7 was worth its own category but WebOS was :P
Re:All of them but three run Android (Score:2)
With reason--as someone once said, "when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object..."
Re:All of them but three run Android (Score:5, Funny)
What did you expect? 98% of Slashdot religiously hate Microsoft with a fiery passion.
I must be one of the 2% who hate Microsoft but only with a dull weary passion.
Re:All of them but three run Android (Score:3)
Not very much.
They are quite popular with people who see them in stores, but if you want simple you want iphone, if you want cheap or technically sophisticated and open you have android. MS sort of ended up with the worst of both worlds. They should be selling you a small PC in your pocket that can run any OS, and make windows phone run any windows app, tie in to your desktop, your office productivity etc. and fuck the carriers on updates the way apple does. But no. They bow to the carriers on updates (which apple doesn't, but android does, unless you know how to hack your phone), and they don't have particularly compelling hardware.
Granted all of this *could* (but probably won't) change with WP8. Especially if they can get intel or AMD on board and sell x86/IA64 with full blown windows on your phone. (Intel has an x86 android you can buy in India already).
Re:All of them but three run Android (Score:5, Informative)
Please don't confuse the issue. Windows phones are excellent. But they're not particularly good at presenting what they offer to consumers. Consumers don't understand exchange support. Corporate IT understands exchange support.
What you do with windows phones, along with their xbox/handheld strategy could drive adoption from both ends of the spectrum. But they haven't managed to get that together.
When it comes to updates no one wants to be locked out by their carrier, and when it comes to software people want a big store, and if you are a hardcore hacker type and want a top end phone there isn't a windows phone option (think quad core 2 gigs of ram south korean imported galaxy SIII, or even a decent dual core phone). They don't really hit any of the major markets with a knockout punch. That doesn't mean they don't make a good product, but they could do better in a lot of ways.
Re:All of them but three run Android (Score:5, Interesting)
Heck, I loved my Windows Phones. I didn't switch to Android because of evil. I switched because people stopped developing for WinMo. I would have gone with iOS if Apple wasn't so far behind on the data side. Last to get 3G, last to get tethering, and last to get LTE 4G. I'm being optimistic on that last one.
I don't care what my phone is running if it's got the features and software that I want. Right now, that's Android.
Re:POTS (Score:2)
Main phone runs POTS. It is extremely reliable. I also have a Motorola phone that runs Symbian. But the service is not reliable - "Sorry, I can't hear you"
For those of us with truly deep voices this is true of any cell phone service, no matter how good the reception is. The audio is subjected to a high pass filter, which is so high that it discriminates against deep voices.
Similar with internet phone. It's not about "good enough for everyone" anymore, it's about "good enough for most".
Re:POTS (Score:2)
Use a network that uses AMR WB. Crazy difference in quality if (most people I know do by now) both handsets can do it. Like comparing AM to FM.
Or comparing highly compressed DAB to digital FM.
Unfortunately, we can't get wideband mobile coverage here in the US. We pay several times as much for less and worse service, and are years behind the rest of the world[*]. It's the free market at work.
[*]: I had better coverage in a less populated country back in the 90s than what I get here today in the US. At a fraction of the price, with free incoming - both voice and text.
Re:Win Mobile 6.1 (Score:2)
As a fellow WinMo user (6.5, but spent plenty of time in 6.1), I've found that the 'multiple alarms' feature works something like this:
1 alarm set at 6:00AM.
First alarm goes off at 4:27AM and takes three 'dismiss' presses to shut up.
Second alarm goes off at 7:17, long after I've missed any possibility of catching my train.
i.e. the alarm feature was never reliable enough for me to use with confidence. I used my old Nokia phone as an alarm clock until I got an Android phone from work that does the job consistently and reliably.
Re:Linux (Score:2)
Just so you know, Android phones run Linux too!
(I hope you're not confusing kernels & distros)
Re:Linux (Score:2)
Feh. Android is Android, or if you prefer, Java/Linux. I find GNU/Linux to be vastly superior.
My phone runs X and uses dpkg, and that's just the way I like it!
Re:iOS, but... (Score:2)
The n95 was released before the iPhone.
Good camera on that phone. Shat all over the original iPhone's nasty camera.
Re:Neo FreeRunner (Score:2)