Comment by busymom0
20 days ago
What if people stopped buying brand new Android phones and instead bought used ones and then installed alternative Android versions and app stores.
20 days ago
What if people stopped buying brand new Android phones and instead bought used ones and then installed alternative Android versions and app stores.
Can't access banks, ticket systems etc. unfortunately we are in the era of tightened screws, the freedom is running out :(
Lol all these things work via the web. You just log on via the browswer. Not everything needs an app.
In your country, maybe. Over here you're dead in the water without a smartphone — can't access banking except by going to the branch and standing in the queue for an hour or two, can't access most government services. Limit your selection of goods (like electronics, but not only that) by something like 90% (and also increase prices by 30-50%) because brick and mortar shops sell old crap at much higher cost than it was ever worth, and the only real solution is buying from a major marketplace which is only available as a mobile application.
This concept originated in China and is spreading. Beware.
1 reply →
@achrono (I cannot reply to the other post, I don't know why). Yes, you can use just a web browser.
> Mobile Payments They work with a card, no smartphone required. Moreover, cash didn't cease to exist.
> Navigation Again, physical maps are a thing. Google Maps or OpenStreetMap are accessible by browser. Having a physical map and having to follow road signs can be a beautiful experience. If one is addicted to a machine that tells them where to go, navigators are still a thing (no smartphone required)
>All manner of IoT devices
Don't put an IoT device in your house if you don't know what it does and how it works. If the only way to interface to it is via an app... then you don't know what it does and how it works. Don't put it in your house.
>Wearables
I don't even know what are wearables: if I write it on Firefox it underlines it in red. By doing a quick search, I can see images of watches. Watches can work without an app. Moreover, watches that work without an app are usually less expensive than the other kind.
>Digital versions of ID (Mobile Passport Control)
Don't. I know that some governments are pushing this crap thinking it's the future. Simply don't. Imagine you're at the airport and you accidentally drop your passport. You pick it up, nothing lost. Imagine you drop your phone and it stops working. You lost:
- Your documents - Your money (if you rely on your phone for paying and don't have cash with you, which seems a growing trend among people I know) - All your ways to contact people for help
Instead:
- Your wallet is stolen: you lost all your money and your cards, but you have your documents (at least the passport because it surely does not fit a wallet). - Your phone is stolen: you lost all the ways to contact people, but you can buy another one - Your passport is stolen: you can contact your embassy.
Smartphones are becoming a SPOF (Single Point Of Failure) for our lives.
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Other than banks & ticketing, there is a whole host of things that do in fact need an app.
* Mobile payments
* Navigation
* All manner of IoT devices
* Wearables!
* Digital versions of ID (Mobile Passport Control)
etc.
So no, you can't just use the web.
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Aren't there attestation frameworks under development that they could start using too?
The 2FAs require their mobile app sometimes.
you can usually just use the web-interfaces for those services. less convenient, sure, but the options are there.
What types of tickets are you referring to here? I’m not familiar with that restriction.
He's talking about concert tickets and similar entertainment events, where several of the major providers no longer provide PDF tickets and instead only send them to a phone app. It is possible to make enough of a stink and collect tickets on the day, but that option is increasingly difficult to find.