Discovering that my smartphone had infiltrated my life
23 points
2 hours ago
| 3 comments
| utcc.utoronto.ca
| HN
don-code
26 minutes ago
[-]
Much like the author, I consider myself to not use my phone too much. That said, it's probably just as far from the truth for me as it is for him.

Microsoft Authenticator is the biggest offender that comes to mind - without it, I cannot work. My company requires that we share our location to access systems (it's to enforce compliance controls that data stays in the country), so I can no longer use an offline MFA strategy like a U2F token or a TOTP key - I _have_ to use Microsoft Authenticator.

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adamwong246
1 hour ago
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When my phone died, I was helpless. Does anyone have even 1 phone number they can recall from memory? I couldn't, forcing me to travel home to get my laptop to access my contacts. So I make my way home but, oh wait, I can't use the Uber app without my phone. OK, I'll get a taxi! Oh wait, nothing to make a phone call with. I'll take the bus! Thank god I have a debit card on hand to pay, but how do I find a bus station and route home without my phone?! I guess I'll borrow a stranger's phone and call a friend to give me a ride? Oh crap, I can't remember a single phone number!

I am very close to giving up and buying 2 or more working phones at any time, for the same reason I keep a spare tire in the trunk. I would love to see google's Pixel program try this, where you get 2 phones, but are only charged if you activate the spare.

It's is troubling to see Steve Job's dream come to it's full realization- these phones are not a luxury, or even a commodity. Living without a smartphone today is basically impossible.

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walterbell
57 minutes ago
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In the Apple ecosystem, iPad Mini + LTE + VOIP for voice/SMS is a mobile backup device that can double as 2nd monitor for laptop, or dock with an external monitor and keyboard via USB-c. It does require avoiding sevices that mandate non-VOIP SMS 2FA. iPad cost is balanced by use or resale after several years.

Sadly, there is no Google Pixel Tablet Mini (or even Pixel Tablet 2). Hopefully the upcoming OEM release of a GrapheneOS-compatible phone will be successful.

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adamwong246
41 minutes ago
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This honestly seems like a hack? And I want to live Apple's garden even less than I want to live in Google's.

Smartphone technology has plateaued over the years, which has an unexpected benefit- You don't need the latest model. The older model is much cheaper and entirely sufficient. You can, in fact, go back several generations, to the point that you can get 2 old phones for less than 1 new phone.

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kkfx
59 minutes ago
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This is the result of a society that has evolved to serve the commercial interests of a few rather than the technical needs of many; indeed, most people are Lebonian cattle (cf. Gustave Le Bon, The Psychology of Crowds), not homo oeconomicus.

Digital identity should be a physical smart card, as has been the case for decades with mobile phone SIM cards, bank cards, etc every ID document and each of these, where issued by the public sector, should form part of a federated system of public administration ID that provides authentication services to citizens.

Digital signatures should be a key stored on the smart card, not a third-party guarantor using SMS OTP, scanned signatures, or other absurd analogues.

Yet this is not the case because most IT professionals know nothing and attempt to reconstruct with IT what they only understand through paper, thereby creating opportunities for a few to profit greatly from their ignorance, and nothing more.

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