So Bryan Lunduke doesn't have a cellphone

I’ve asked mariogrip to add it to the list of ubports , cheers.

Barely related story: I got the chance to hang out with Martin Cooper (the guy that ran the team that created the first cell phone back at Motorola) at a Start Trek convention in Seattle. This was… jeeze… many years back. Very cool guy. He had 3 different cell phones on him – each from a different carrier. He hated them all. He had very colorful words for what he thought of them. :slightly_smiling:

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I’m not sure it’s worth supporting. It’s a useful form-factor (I think), but Samsung stopped making new versions some time back. I don’t even think you can buy them new anymore.

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Call me old skool but ever since the iPhone, the mobile market has gone to scheisse. My last worthy phone was the Nokia N900 (as a Finn I’m biased though), an open(ish), Linux-based (could run Debian via chroot!) magic box that made also phone calls. With the modern line-up of uber-phones, with all dem pixels and snappy dragons, as mentioned on the EP, we’re still waiting for that f**king battery life!

Actually for the evening events at scale there were other ones with delays as well. I had someone running debian in a chroot on a phone did not know what it was and I got them to install xbill on their phone. It became much more diffcult though without a keyboard and mouse.

I think cell phones don’t cause me peace of mind really. All phones in general make me more nervous. Also if you have a young adult still living with your parents saying take this cell phone or I am kicking you out of the house does not really improve things much.

Right there with ya. The old, Maemo powered N900 was fantastic. The best phone I’ve ever used. I’ve had a few moments where I was tempted to buy a used N900 to have as a backup phone, music/podcast player, on the go Telnet client and such.

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I have a cell phone, but it’s a non-smartphone with a prepaid plan that I only use in emergencies. Most of the time, I follow a similar rig to that of Mr. Lunduke. Technically, my primary “phone” is Google Hangouts + iPod Touch + Mobile Hotspot, but I end up using other devices (I now also carry a tablet and computer most places) and communication services (primarily Telegram at the moment).

As Bryan said, it costs less and provides more flexibility (although it can be inconvenient at times), and there’s nothing that one absolutely can’t do with this setup (except, in Bryan’s case, legally make an emergency call).

This is the one drawback. Luckily my wife has a cell phone. And I have the local dispatch numbers in my address book so I can simply call them directly if I’m anywhere near home. So it’s sort of like living in a time before 911 existed as a catch-all number. :slightly_smiling:

I wish there were a non-iOS device like the iPod Touch still. I would love to have something in that form-factor to have with me on the go. The closest thing that’s currently shipping is the Samsung Galaxy Camera. Which is a good device… but I’d love, basically, an iPod Touch running Android (or something not so closed down).

Have you seen if you can text to 911 in your area? Of course, it doesn’t help much traveling!

That’s a good question! I should find out. Though having the local dispatch numbers in my address book does the job for the most part.

This is something I have noticed allot, lots of technical people (myself included) tend not to be massive got-to-have-the-latest-smartphone people.

When you work in IT you tend to have good knowledge of security and VENDOR LOCK IN

I have a laptop with me most of the time, and a full computer at work and a full computer at home etc, the only time when I’m without a computer is when I don’t want to see a screen.

I don’t think there is anything crazy about not owning a cell phone, just as long as you don’t become a recluse, and given Byan’s career I think that it is clear that it is possible to get by without one in this day and age. lol

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Right?

So much of the technology most of us use – all day, every day – is profoundly unnecessary. When I was coordinating the video cameos for the last Linux Sucks speech I spent some time talking with Piers Anthony via email. He was using an older machine, running an outdated (by my personal definition) Linux distro, and connecting to the Internet via dial-up.

Like. With a modem and a phone line.

And he’s a hugely successful author that publishes books faster than most people post tweets.

I’m not about to give up my broadband – but these sorts of things do cause me to pause and evaluate exactly what technology and services I actually derive real benefit from.

Over here in the Uk, I don’t know but, but, I guess ‘ee’ just got a whopping amount of info from users.

Wait, you have a cellular WiFi router, but you don’t want a cellular telephone? I confuse.

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That pic reminds me of an episode of Barney Miller, way back in the 70’s, where they were trying to convince this Amish man to use the telephone to call home for help. He finally relented, picked up the phone and asked “You know anyone else that has one of these?” :smile:

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Correct! What part is confusing? :slight_smile:

The part where you don’t seem to want a supercomputer in your hand, with multimegabit network access #thefuture

I have done the same thing over the past five years, and have ended up going a similar path recently. What tablets have you liked the most? I have always used a full size iPad, but I am looking to test out a cheaper 7" or 8" Android that I can root and install a Custom ROM. I have been looking at the Nexus 7 (2013) model, but I am open to suggestions.

I would recommend an iPad up and down every day of the week and twice on Sundays, but if you’re wanting to try out custom Android ROMs, the Nexus is probably your best bet. If you want to go for an iPad, but like the Nexus form factor, keep an eye out for iPads mini on Apple’s refurb store, but stay away from anything iOS with only 16GiB of storage.

I’m sure you got that backwards. Or do I just not get it?