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Author Topic:   Things I Wish a Smartphone Could Do
Percy
Member
Posts: 22388
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 1 of 35 (774344)
12-16-2015 1:54 PM


For anyone wanting to get technical about it the smartphone's origins trace back to the 1990's, but for me and many people the smartphone was born in 2007 when Apple introduced the first iPhone. From that beginning I never had any interest in smartphones and still don't. I don't want to peck away on a tiny screen, track my friends' Facebook status, follow Twitterers, play meaningless games, or charge my phone every day.
Before smartphones I led what was, at least to me, a very interesting and busy life, and I still do. There was no time for additional diversions, and there still isn't. No smartphone features interest me. Even some of the unintended features of smartphones don't interest me, such as thumbing your nose at everyone else around the table by erecting a "smartphone zone of immersion" around yourself. This is the modern equivalent of the "loudmouth on a cellphone in a restaurant." They're both bores, but interestingly I find the former much more irritating, even though they're far less distracting.
I've written before about smartphone features that would interest me, but only when they happened to occur to me while writing a message in a thread about something else, but where describing the feature still made sense. Now a potential smartphone feature has occurred to when I wasn't writing a message, so I'm opening this thread. I may redescribe those other features in future posts, but for now I'll just mention this one.
By way of example: Using my smartphone, I call my insurance company about an auto accident. Much information is exchanged. I tell them about the accident and give them the other driver's information, and they give me a claim number, maybe another number to call for existing claims, maybe a URL, whatever.
I'd like the smartphone to digest the conversation and put all the relevant information in a useful place for later easy recall. If there were action items for me they should be put on lists or calendars or both.
--Percy

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Jon, posted 12-16-2015 2:11 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 3 by Tangle, posted 12-16-2015 3:31 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 4 by caffeine, posted 12-16-2015 3:53 PM Percy has replied
 Message 6 by RAZD, posted 12-16-2015 4:39 PM Percy has replied
 Message 7 by 1.61803, posted 12-16-2015 5:03 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 16 by petrophysics1, posted 12-17-2015 3:49 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Jon
Inactive Member


Message 2 of 35 (774346)
12-16-2015 2:11 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
12-16-2015 1:54 PM


I imagine an app could accomplish this. But there might be legal obstacles to implementing it.

Love your enemies!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 1:54 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Tangle
Member
Posts: 9489
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
Member Rating: 4.9


Message 3 of 35 (774352)
12-16-2015 3:31 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
12-16-2015 1:54 PM


Battery life of at least 2 days. At least.

Je suis Charlie. Je suis Ahmed. Je suis Juif. Je suis Parisien.
Life, don't talk to me about life - Marvin the Paranoid Android
"Science adjusts it's views based on what's observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved."
- Tim Minchin, in his beat poem, Storm.

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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caffeine
Member (Idle past 1024 days)
Posts: 1800
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Joined: 10-22-2008


(1)
Message 4 of 35 (774358)
12-16-2015 3:53 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
12-16-2015 1:54 PM


I am one of the few people I know who doesn't own a smartphone, but even I have difficulty grasping your near pathological hatred of the devices. Did a smartphone break your heart?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 1:54 PM Percy has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 8 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 5:13 PM caffeine has not replied

  
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 5 of 35 (774369)
12-16-2015 4:36 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by Tangle
12-16-2015 3:31 PM


Tesla's wireless power
Battery life of at least 2 days. At least.
No recharging ever because Tesla and energy taken from existing radio waves surrounding you:
Wireless power transfer - Wikipedia
Also use for indoor lighting with no power cords running to wall sockets ...
Enjoy
Edited by RAZD, : .

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmerican☆Zen☯Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

This message is a reply to:
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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 6 of 35 (774370)
12-16-2015 4:39 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
12-16-2015 1:54 PM


Current record keeping
I'd like the smartphone to digest the conversation and put all the relevant information in a useful place for later easy recall.
Either e-mail or text will keep a record of the conversation for later reference. Smart phones allow you to use either. With voice-recognition you can avoid the tiny screen poking and just have to ensure that the transcribed text is what you intended to say.
Enjoy

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmerican☆Zen☯Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 1:54 PM Percy has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 9 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 5:28 PM RAZD has not replied

  
1.61803
Member (Idle past 1503 days)
Posts: 2928
From: Lone Star State USA
Joined: 02-19-2004


(1)
Message 7 of 35 (774371)
12-16-2015 5:03 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
12-16-2015 1:54 PM


Hi Percy,
Percy writes:
I'd like the smartphone to digest the conversation and put all the relevant information in a useful place for later easy recall.

"You were not there for the beginning. You will not be there for the end. Your knowledge of what is going on can only be superficial and relative" William S. Burroughs

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 1:54 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22388
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 8 of 35 (774372)
12-16-2015 5:13 PM
Reply to: Message 4 by caffeine
12-16-2015 3:53 PM


caffeine writes:
I am one of the few people I know who doesn't own a smartphone, but even I have difficulty grasping your near pathological hatred of the devices. Did a smartphone break your heart?
I don't hate the devices, but I can't think of much positive to say about them, either. At the heart of our cellphone madness and fixation is the part of our brain that seeks novelty, newness and change. Satisfying this urge causes a surge of pleasure, and so we are driven to seek it out. Giving up a smartphone is like giving up an addiction.
It's only a minor problem that the smartphone label is a significant exaggeration, but it's an easy weakness to pick on. If it had instead been named a "miniature internet browser/apptool/gameboy" then I would be less motivated to keep pointing out how dumb they are. They *are* more capable than a regular cell phone, but not of most laptops or home computers, and they're certainly not smart. In fact, it's too kind to say they're not smart. The reality is that they're dumb, just as dumb as the most powerful computer in the world.
Maybe I keep pointing out how dumb these things are because of the blissful unawareness of nearly everyone around me of how dumb these things are. Walking around with noses buried in smartphones checking their email and text messages and Facebook updates and Twitter feeds and news feeds and on and on is just senseless "gerbil on a treadmill" activity. It is not the case that people have found a new hobby or pastime that is replacing some other hobby or pastime. Incessantly checking your smartphone is not a hobby or pastime. It's a waste of time that leaves people with less time for the things that are truly meaningful.
If more people demanded that these so-called smart devices actually be smart, then maybe companies like Apple and Google and Samsung would put more effort into making them smart, instead of just making them better game/text/browser/app machines.
--Percy
Edited by Percy, : Grammar.
Edited by Percy, : Improve first para.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 4 by caffeine, posted 12-16-2015 3:53 PM caffeine has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 10 by NoNukes, posted 12-16-2015 7:04 PM Percy has replied
 Message 11 by Genomicus, posted 12-16-2015 7:47 PM Percy has replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22388
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 9 of 35 (774373)
12-16-2015 5:28 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by RAZD
12-16-2015 4:39 PM


Re: Current record keeping
RAZD writes:
I'd like the smartphone to digest the conversation and put all the relevant information in a useful place for later easy recall.
Either e-mail or text will keep a record of the conversation for later reference.
Of course, but it doesn't take a smart device to do that. My dumbphone can already do that with text messages just like a smartphone.
Smart is when it breaks it all down for you, puts it on lists and on your calendar, automatically provides reminders. That won't be happening anytime soon. Even after all the decades that email has been available, computers still aren't close to understanding their content. The progress made by IBM's Watson is encouraging, though.
With voice-recognition you can avoid the tiny screen poking and just have to ensure that the transcribed text is what you intended to say.
I think the current state of voice recognition is amazing, and also that it has a long way to go. Here's my wife dictating a text message to her smartphone: "I'll be there at 4 period. Tomorrow we can pick it up period." It doesn't take a genius, not even someone who is smart, to recognize the end of a sentence.
--Percy
Edited by Percy, : Grammar.

This message is a reply to:
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NoNukes
Inactive Member


(1)
Message 10 of 35 (774376)
12-16-2015 7:04 PM
Reply to: Message 8 by Percy
12-16-2015 5:13 PM


I don't hate the devices, but I can't think of much positive to say about them, either.
It seems that much of your critique is about what smartphones cannot do. Yes it is the case that smartphones do not push the envelop on what computers can do. The accident reporting app you used as an example is probably not easily within the realm of what can be handled on your desktop with even more computing power, so is the fact that smartphones cannot accomplish that any kind of indictment?
I'll admit that my smartphone is not loaded up with 1000s of apps from the appstore, but on the other hand, unlike 99% of users, I do program my iPad and my android phone myself. My smartphone and iPads have an index of all of my music, movies, and comics, includes an astronomy program of my own making that allows you to display the sky, phases of the moon at any location time I choose. I can actually do software development on my iPad and smartphone (Yeah, my iPad is jailbroken) except that I don't like typing on an on screen keypad enough to do more than some quick fixes.
As a programming geek, I find those features irresistible. I would not expect that everybody else is as enthralled with the features I've mentioned. I also use my iPad for storing traveling media (audio/movies) and for doing remote tutoring via one or more conferencing applications. I've actually made a bit of money doing this. I also have an application that allows me to remotely access my desktop computer via my iPad.
No, a smartphone is not a tri-corder. You cannot set it up to do automated accident reporting. But an insurance agent could use a tablet to collect information onsite including any audio he wants to record, and have that stuff transcribed and processed by humans to produce a final result that accomplishes nearly what you want an app to do. Why isn't that enough reason to exist?

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams

This message is a reply to:
 Message 8 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 5:13 PM Percy has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 12 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 9:18 PM NoNukes has replied
 Message 13 by AZPaul3, posted 12-16-2015 9:25 PM NoNukes has seen this message but not replied

  
Genomicus
Member (Idle past 1941 days)
Posts: 852
Joined: 02-15-2012


(2)
Message 11 of 35 (774379)
12-16-2015 7:47 PM
Reply to: Message 8 by Percy
12-16-2015 5:13 PM


A Millennial Perspective
My smartphone is smart. As a millennial, the memory of the time when everyone had flip phones is rather distant. Compared to these relics of telecommunication, smartphones are really, really advanced. With a flip phone, you could make calls and send text messages (and carry it in your pocket), play a few games, and very clumsily browse a limited part of the web. Want to take a picture with your flip phone? It's going to come out rather grainy -- it makes much more sense to use an actual, you know, camera.
Now then, smartphones are a whole other world. It's like Apple et al. took the laptop computer and shrunk it into a palm-sized device. I can instantly tell my phone to call someone or send a text message. I don't even have to touch it to make that happen. Face-tracking technology on the camera makes snapping a good picture a breeze.
I can quickly take a video of anything going on around me. I can tell it to wake me up from a nap in 20 minutes. With a few taps on the screen, all my emails are before me and I can get stuff done any time, anywhere. My world moves faster than ever because -- well, my phone is kinda smart and is an enabler of that rapidity.
Instead of carrying a legal pad and pen around with me, I can quickly type out a note whenever a novel idea crosses my mind.
Its apps allow me to read PDF books on the fly, so I have a library in my pocket. If I have a question about nearly anything known to humankind, it'll spit out an approximately correct answer.
Does my brain seek novelty and newness? Absolutely -- I have a constant, relentless thirst for new information and new knowledge that I can apply to tackle specific problems or simply enrich my imagination and intellect. Satisfying my curiosity certainly does cause a surge of pleasure. Isn't that part of the wonder and delight of doing science?
My nose is buried in my smartphone as I'm waiting in line at the cafe? Sure, but I'm learning faster about more than ever before (and to those who only "skim" scientific papers, books, and so on -- this is an activity that can be justifiably critiqued, as "skimming" isn't deep learning). Or maybe I'm using my time to send an email -- or I'm checking the results of that latest multiple sequence alignment, allowing me to have a better idea on how to structure a research project.
My smartphone is smart, and arguably makes me smarter.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go charge my smartphone.
Edited by Genomicus, : No reason given.
Edited by Genomicus, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 8 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 5:13 PM Percy has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 14 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 9:38 PM Genomicus has not replied
 Message 32 by ramoss, posted 12-18-2015 1:15 PM Genomicus has replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22388
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 12 of 35 (774382)
12-16-2015 9:18 PM
Reply to: Message 10 by NoNukes
12-16-2015 7:04 PM


NoNukes writes:
The accident reporting app you used as an example is probably not easily within the realm of what can be handled on your desktop with even more computing power, so is the fact that smartphones cannot accomplish that any kind of indictment?
No, not an indictment. In fact, I was attempting to make the same point when I said, "The reality is that they're dumb, just as dumb as the most powerful computer in the world." My example in Message 1 of something I wish smartphones could do wasn't meant to be taken as support for my response to Caffeine in Message 8 explaining that I don't hate smartphones.
No, a smartphone is not a tri-corder. You cannot set it up to do automated accident reporting. But an insurance agent could use a tablet to collect information onsite including any audio he wants to record, and have that stuff transcribed and processed by humans to produce a final result that accomplishes nearly what you want an app to do. Why isn't that enough reason to exist?
I wasn't arguing that there's insufficient justification for the existence of smartphones. I just don't think they're smart, and I lament the ubiquitous distraction that they've become.
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 10 by NoNukes, posted 12-16-2015 7:04 PM NoNukes has replied

Replies to this message:
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AZPaul3
Member
Posts: 8513
From: Phoenix
Joined: 11-06-2006
Member Rating: 5.2


(1)
Message 13 of 35 (774383)
12-16-2015 9:25 PM
Reply to: Message 10 by NoNukes
12-16-2015 7:04 PM


Why isn't that enough reason to exist?
Cuz it's not. We're human and what we have is always missing something.
Does anyone remember what a plug board is (er, was)? The bleeding edge to be sure. But it wasn't good enough. So we got 80 column punch cards and a machine to punch them. You could whip up an assembler program in just a few days. Then some navy gal came up with a ??? program compiler ??? with a pre-assembly syntax that was kinda almost English? Wow! We were swimming in the deep end with that new wiz-bang IBM360!
But it just wasn't good enough.
A CRT (green monochrome) with keyboard! Direct key-to-disk, then SPM! And instead of submitting your 1100 cards in a box for overnight processing, with the usual result of a debug report of several dozen pages of green-bar paper waiting for you the next morning, you could submit you program direct to queue and get your debug report in just an hour or so. If you were fast enough you could get in 3, 4, maybe even 5 debug runs all in the same day! And at the end of the year you could balance an entire bank in just an hour or so with this magic stuff.
But, somehow, there was something missing.
It was just not good enough.
Look at what we have now. A small pocket box with 10,000,000 times the power of the wiz-bang 360 that lets you send messages to anyone in the world, instantly, while you watch videos of international disasters as they're happening, research volumes from the Library of Congress as you put numbers into just about any physics/financial formula and have some other box somewhere else in the world show you the answer in seconds in a small window right next to one of the other small windows you use to take pictures of baby bunny rabbits and send them around the world in an instant, all while listening to one of the thousands of stored songs from a personal collection of your favorite music. And it can be a telephone, too. Talk to real people while you watch their real faces in real time.
But, somehow, there is something missing.
It is just not good enough.
We are human. What ever it is, what ever it does, there will always be something missing.
Doesn't matter how smart it is. It is just not smart enough.
Edited by AZPaul3, : No reason given.
Edited by AZPaul3, : No reason given.
Edited by AZPaul3, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
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Percy
Member
Posts: 22388
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 14 of 35 (774384)
12-16-2015 9:38 PM
Reply to: Message 11 by Genomicus
12-16-2015 7:47 PM


Re: A Millennial Perspective
Genomicus writes:
My smartphone is smart.
Well, we may just have to disagree about adjectives. The way I see it is that if your phone is smart then my laptop must be smart, and my desktop must be smart, and a server farm must be really smart. But for me none of these are smart.
I do agree that smartphones are amazing devices.
--Percy

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NoNukes
Inactive Member


(1)
Message 15 of 35 (774385)
12-16-2015 9:56 PM
Reply to: Message 12 by Percy
12-16-2015 9:18 PM


I just don't think they're smart
Seriously, Percy. The name...

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams

This message is a reply to:
 Message 12 by Percy, posted 12-16-2015 9:18 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
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