Pretty sure Bunnie named it “precursor” because the plan is to make the actual phone (with a cellular modem) next. If I had the cash to support him and buy a Precursor I would.
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.
@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.
Are you for real? I'm totally on board with using free and open alternatives, but if you're not going on a mountain trail then a physical map is going to be drastically worse than any navigation software.
Also FWIW I have a card-sized passport that I can easily get stolen with my wallet.
Ok, I admit I do not own any such passport (for now).
But for navigation... I use a mixture between physical maps and directions and online data. Specifically, before departure, I simply use OpenStreetMap to look at the route. If the route is very long I know I will be traveling by highways, so I rely on noting down only some keypoints. Then at the end of the route (near the destination), where I know I will get lost, I screenshot the map and I print it out (or have it on my laptop, it depends).
But, and I hesitate to point it out, because I am finding that people think it is somehow minimal entry stakes, one does not need any of those things..
You wouldn't get very far without WeChat and AliPay in China. Last time a good friend of mine was there, many merchants simply refused to accept cash. The few that did had made it known how much they were inconvenienced by doing that.
Same for basically every interaction with locals, for accessing government services, or even just using the public transportation.
It's pretty similar for locals AFAIK.
And before anyone replies that he didn't have to travel there — no, he did, unless he was willing to look for another job (which are very sparse here, you hold on to a good job for dear life).
So many folks bashing the author. The message is clear, most people are not willing to alter their lives to live more comfortably.
Whether that is giving up living in comfort or making small changes to their habits.
I think the relevant commentary here is to look at what happiness looks like for you. For a lot of folks they are just going to mentally masturbate to alternative ways in life. For the select few that make those changes content like this is critical.
Have used this technique a lot as a leader. I am fine sitting on a call together till the work is done. Yes it is HOURS out of the day, but the alternative is an endless supply of excuses why something is not done.
For some tasks it is trivial, just providing the motivation. Other tasks that are more complex benefit from the whole "two minds are better than one" situation.
Biggest downside to this is the fact that the modem is probably locked down. Without the ability to issue AT commands to the modem this router will have less features than a COTS router that contains a PCI-3 LTE modem.
