[microtonal]

The thing is, most people do want to have a smartphone. Either because living without requires an amount of effort they are not interested in or because they actually like using a smartphone for certain things. Personally, I like having the web and maps accessible from the palm of my hand everywhere I go.

So, the solution is not to suggest that people should not use a smartphone. That ship has sailed. I agree that it should still be possible to do things without for people that do not want to use one. But you are not going to convince more than a small percentage of the population to abandon smartphones.

Instead we should focus on making alternative smartphone ecosystems (AOSP can be a starting point) and getting technology that is used to shut out competition (e.g. Google Play Strong Integrity) banned.

[dangus]

Yeah, this whole discussion thread is essentially irrelevant to the underlying topic because of exactly what you said.

It’s just the typical HN humble brag thread about being present and owning no technology.

Awesome that these folks don’t own a phone and give their landline to businesses. I love that for them.

But I like my smartphone, GPS directions, digital wallets, streaming music, etc. I just don’t want it to be controlled by two companies. I want there to be a healthy market of multiple options including open source alternatives.

This for me has been achieved on my desktop and laptop but not yet on my smartphone.