Personal question: How old is your computer?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

i miss the days when a phone would last more than 5 years nearly trouble-free. Those good old Nokias lasted almost forever...

When will someone release an OS for computers as streamlined as the KaiOS, yet capable to run the normal versions of some softwares such as Whatsapp which on a phone with KaiOS have fewer features?

[Xist]

I normally read the top 3 comments, but this time it was the responses to the first comment.

Someone mentioned a D&D GM, which was interesting, because one of the first things I asked it was to DM a dungeon for me.

No dice.

I still wanted to role-play, so I told it "You wake up loosely tied in a dark room. You hear water dripping. What do you do?"

Apparently mentioning being tied up, even loosely, was interpreted as the wrong kind of role play.

I finally played some WoW last night. The new expansion must be horribly unpopular because they gave us one free weekend to play it and apparently weeks on end currently.

It felt more like work than normal!

[Xist]

I bet the slim version of Windows I shared doesn't reboot randomly to install updates you don't want!

[JSH]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

i miss the days when a phone would last more than 5 years nearly trouble-free. Those good old Nokias lasted almost forever...

When will someone release an OS for computers as streamlined as the KaiOS, yet capable to run the normal versions of some softwares such as Whatsapp which on a phone with KaiOS have fewer features?

iPhones work fine for 5+ years. Apple supports their phones with a minimum of 5 years of OS updates. With iOS 16 they have gone back 6 years - still supporting the iPhone 8. They will still work after that - my father is using an iPhone SE from 2016 but security is an issue if you use your phone for things besides talk and text. (He only talks and uses the calculator)

While I'm a Pixel fan myself - iPhones are a better deal with lower cost per year if you actually keep them for the useful life instead of updating every year or 2. Most android phones get no updates. 2 years used to be the standard for high end phones, then Google started guaranteeing 3 years. With the Pixel 7 / 6a they extended that to 5 years. Maybe other manufacturers will get on board an stop treating phones as a disposable product.

[redpoint5]

I find smart phones last a long time. Only issue is they are extremely difficult to repair should you break something. Used to be able to open a phone up with jewelers screwdrivers, but now everything is glued together, requiring a heat gun and some talent. It's the price we pay for having waterproof phones that are feature packed, in a slim profile.

I've always purchased 2+ year old used phones for my wife, and they have all lasted years afterwards. Only recently did we buy a new phone, because Mint was selling the Pixel 7 for ~$200.

[freebeard]

I detect thread drift.

Cellular phones and desktop computers are different technology on a different network. The only thing they have in common is they occupy the same mental space of the users.

Can I run free and Open Source software on <$100 of hardware on the cellular network?

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Can I run free and Open Source software on <$100 of hardware on the cellular network?

Sure, configure a cell phone as a hotspot, and then tether the computer of your choice to it.

I almost never access this forum on my cell phone because I hate tiny touch screens. I'll tether my laptop before I subject myself to tiny text and vastly inferior input.

[freebeard]

...configure a cell phone as a hotspot...

Perhaps I could have phrased it more better. 'without the cellular network?'

I thought ignoring the [in my case] 20-year-old DSL modem was the weak point.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I detect thread drift.

Cellular phones and desktop computers are different technology on a different network. The only thing they have in common is they occupy the same mental space of the users.

Can I run free and Open Source software on <$100 of hardware on the cellular network?

Computers drifted from desktop to laptops to mobile years ago. Today the majority of people in the world primarily access the internet and do computing on a mobile phone or tablet.

[Xist]

I used my heat ray to open one of my S6es to replace the battery and the battery swelled up.

I was supposed to use much more heat and a great deal of prying to remove the backplate.

Ten years ago people always asked "Why aren't you doing that on your phone?!"

If I cannot do something on my computer I control my phone with my computer.

I almost never use my phone directly at home.