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542 sats \ 13 replies \ @mudbloodvonfrei 13 Jun 2023 \ on: Maybe I’m drunk…. But… bitcoin
Smartphone OSs are walled gardens because the two companies behind them learned from the "mistakes" of early PC operating systems that were intended for hackers and builders. The challenge in building an alternative today isn't technical. Google and Apple have very powerful network effects on their side, at least for now.
So I'll suggest an alternative that I might get a lot of flack for (and it's an ideal I strive for but have not yet achieved): avoid smartphones altogether. Get a simple KaiOS dumbphone (they still hasve GPS and some other conveniences), and just use a laptop with a hotspot from the dumbphone if needed. If you really need Android, use an emulator.
I read Digital Minimalism and have been "smartphone free" for six months and am loving it. However, I pulled it off using an Apple Watch with LTE (which still requires an iPhone). I don't use the iPhone to read Nostr or SN - I use a laptop instead. So for me, Apple products are fine as I just want a watch that has GPS, calls, and texting. Admittedly, it's a really expensive way to be a digital minimalist, but is has gotten me to avoid wasting as much time online.
I'm hoping that Apple makes the Watch more of a standalone device as I really have no use for the iPhone anymore. I wish the company that makes the Light Phone would make a watch.
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I bought a Nokia flip phone during the covid lockdowns. I figured I could make everything work; the only irreplaceable app was WhatsApp, but I mostly use the web version which only requires the phone app to authenticate, and KaiOS had it pre-installed. I thought I was finally free, but sure enough, the KaiOS version of WhatsApp doesn't support authenticating the web app.
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I don't use WhatsApp but most chat apps don't work stand alone on Watch, which is a bummer, but hasn't been a deal breaker for me.
My favorite thing about the watch is that I put it on and I'm good to rush out the door at any time and I also enjoy not having a phone taking up space in my pocket.
I've thought about a flip phone since it'd be much cheaper, but I really dig having a phone in my watch (super convenient). Just wish there were more smart watches with LTE as options out there.
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AOSP is not a company tho. Its just a linux fork. No reason you can't have an android phone with just f-droid installed. In fact, that's what I do.
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I run CalyxOS. They did a great job and I have mad respect for them. But certain apps, like bank apps, don't work. (And yes, I use bank apps.) Most of the apps that justify using a smartphone in the first place require a lot of effort to use on a de-googled phone, if they work at all.
When my coworkers see me frantically reinstalling Aurora Store because it can't connect ans I need a specific app right now they laugh and tell me to get an iPhone. And I work in tech so these are people that could handle Calyx.
The point is, the smartphone ecosystem does not serve my needs so I would love to kick the habit as soon as is practical. I make an effort in this direction at least twice a year.
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Calyx was too much of a compromise for me. I moved off Apple to a GrapheneOS phone, and my banking apps work fine.
There's a lot of small things about android that are frustratingly worse than ios, but I'm sick of the privacy LARPing from Apple.
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Why was Calyx too much of a compromise? Isn't Graphene even more locked down?
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I'd read that Calyx doesnt work well with gapps, including banking apps. Graphene and Calyx have a different approach to wrapping Google services. Don't know the details, but I haven't had a single app not work on graphene, and I don't think the same can be said about Calyx
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Maybe I'll give it a shot.
Thanks!
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As someone who has never used an ios device, I have no idea what you're talking about.
Yeah, I use GrapheneOS too, no google play store tho.
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I log in to my banks website rather than using the app. I use obtainium to install apps from the github repo. I forced myself to learn to drive with OSM& instead of google maps.
I changed the way I lived my life, because I knew the way I lived my life was not good for me.
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Well I sorta agree on the last point. The way I live my life is sub-optimal. But if I'm reexamining it, maybe I should go all the way. Does a smartphone with only apps benefit me? Maybe I'll be happier with a dumb phone and occasionally running not open apps in an emulator.
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Only open* apps
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