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I'm tired of being on the network

144 points · 160 comments · sagacity

  1. cjpearson · · focus · HN ↗
    The emotions are relatable, but the examples are strange and don't back up his argument. It is true that there are many situations in modern life where a smartphone has become effectively mandatory.

    But Ali Express is not one of those. It's very feasible to delete the app, or at least turn off the notifications. The quality of TV writing may have taken a nosedive but nobody is forcing you to watch TikTok Empire. If you long for the golden age of television, you can find disc versions of The Wire, Mad Men, The Sopranos etc. Often they're free to borrow at your local library. The App Store is indeed garbage, but I open it a handful of times per year and probably spend less than a minute to search for the app I want and install it.

    The argument about losing control to devices would be much more effective if the examples weren't mainly cases where the user clearly has control.

    1. dwedge · · focus · HN ↗
      I don't think you can track a package now without the app on aliexpress. It might be another website but expect it to become more common
      1. breuleux · · focus · HN ↗
        I mean, you don't really need to track the package usually, it'll get there when it gets there like in the good old days.
        1. dwedge · · focus · HN ↗
          This is true for almost everything. The bank is still open for 2 hours a day if you want to check your balance. The point is that this anti-pattern is being pushed for more and more functionality.
          1. goodmythical · · focus · HN ↗
            Why aren't you keeping track of your balance yourself?
            1. dwedge · · focus · HN ↗
              What's with the strawman? Why don't you verify the balance you keep track of is correct periodically?
            2. mitxela · · focus · HN ↗
              Do you track your bank balance yourself?
          2. breuleux · · focus · HN ↗
            The package tracking will literally come to your front door, which is definitely not true for almost everything. Maybe it is true of your bank balance, if you still receive that by mail.
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