Are smartphones worth it?

[codeyeti]

Smartphones are all the rage now, and I have quite a few friends who say they can't live without internet/gps/whatever else on their phones. Smartphones come with a huge price tag though with a lot of people I talk to paying over $80/month just on their phone! Personally, I'm happy with my normal boring phone that just makes calls. What do you? Are smartphones worth the extra money?

[trustno1]

Gee, isn't technology great!

Now you can practically put your entire "life" and "identity"
on a device the size of a cell phone. It is like having a laptop small enough to stick into your pocket or purse, allowing you to take it wherever you go!

It provides a wide range of services (telephone calls, text-messenging, pictures, video games, Internet connection, personal digital assistance, financial transactions
etc.), which will surely continue to expand in the future. (ability to lock/unlock your home and vehicle doors, start your car, access ATM's, bank and credit card accounts, verify
your identity etc.)

Gee, isn't that marvelous !?!

Or Is It??

The current cell phones allow both the government and the private sector to identify the precise location and track the exact movements of each and every cell-phone user, no matter where they go.
In the case of a PDA(SmartPhone, etc.) there is a bonus...you now have access to all of the user's personal data and accounts!

As cell-phones become increasingly relied upon to provide a wide range of services (telephone calls, text-messenging, pictures, video games, Internet connection, personal digital assistance, etc.), they will become increasingly attractive to thieves, who will see the value of both the device itself and the
information ("identity") contained within.

To guard against both kinds of theft, all cell-phone users will have to "prove" that they are indeed who they say they are (the rightful owners) before they can use their own phones.

The most popular method of authentication ("logging on") won't be typing in a 7-digit password or placing a digit on a device that can read and remember fingerprints, it will be letting the cute little cell-phone take a picture. This picture (of the user's face or eyeballs) will be analyzed by the
cell-phone's face recognition program, which either won't find a match ("Please try again") or will find a match and only then allow access.

It's possible that a user who fails to log on after 3 tries may find that his or her service has been temporarily suspended while the service provider tries to "determine the nature of the problem."
Because "an illegitimate user" might be a criminal (thief) or a terrorist every single attempt to log-on to a cell-phone will be "monitored" by Verizon/AOL-Time Warner/the FBI/theCIA.

We will see the day when ownership of a cell-phone("PDA" "SmartPhone") will be mandatory. A free cell-phone will
be given to each and every person, starting at birth.

Let's see, how does that little brain-washing ditty go? "Give up a little freedom for safety?", or "if you are not doing anything wrong..." Yeah, right...

As for me, I think I will pass on all of that "kewl" stuff, thank you...

just a thought...if anyone still "thinks" anymore...lol

HaveFun/BeHappy

[codeyeti]

Haha I think you might be just a little bit paranoid there . In the 80s this sort of dark thinking about the future of technology was very common - the government will know everything about you! But in reality, it's governments that have the most to fear from technology, not citizens.

Take for example camera phones. Sure, the government can "find you" or "listen to what you're saying" in theory, but in actuality it makes it very difficult for governments to abuse their power. Hell, even China can't seem to keep there from being some guy with a camera phone video taping every monk they beat in Tibet. It's a lot harder to commit crimes against humanity when there's going to photo and video footage put on the internet in minutes. Freedom of information means citizens can monitor the government much more effectively.

Furthermore, if there's one thing that has been proven by twitter and facebook it's that nobody cares if everyone knows what they're doing. Tell people the government knows everything about them and they get freaked out. But, give them twitter and they're more than happy to tell everyone in the world every mundane detail of everything they're doing.

[Ms. Ferret]

Originally Posted by codeyeti

Furthermore, if there's one thing that has been proven by twitter and facebook it's that nobody cares if everyone knows what they're doing. Tell people the government knows everything about them and they get freaked out. But, give them twitter and they're more than happy to tell everyone in the world every mundane detail of everything they're doing.

LOL.. I'm with you there. Terrorists should probably start using Twitter to coordinate their plans, since government monitors (assuming they do monitor Twitter) will be too busy hearing about what PuRrFeCtPaL's cat is doing every five minutes, or how many times cutegirl89 poops in one day.

[PiggyBank]

for me its not worth it because all i really need in a phone is a bacis phone. as long as it makes calls im good.. But I know people who like to have lots of different capabilities with their phones

[trustno1]

Originally Posted by codeyeti

Haha I think you might be just a little bit paranoid there .

dark thinking ...

But in reality, it's governments that have the most to fear from technology, not citizens.

"listen to what you're saying" in theory, but in actuality it makes it very difficult for governments to abuse their power.

...has been proven by twitter and facebook it's that nobody cares if everyone knows what they're doing. .

Well, my follow-up response was apparently rejected since it did not appear in this thread after I submitted it. I find that to be a curious approach. But I am just a visitor playing in somebody else’s sandbox, so I will abide by their rules.

This is just one of those issues where we just agree to disagree, lol.

You choose to view this issue as "paranoia", "dark thinking" "in theory", "been proven by Face Book".

I choose to view this issue from a totally different perspective.
I am confident both of us have information/experiences that support our views, which happen to be opposing positions.

I am assuming the objective is to exchange interesting information and opinions…not try to prove which one of us is "right" or "wrong" (that is an objective reserved for discussions between marital spouses, hehehe).

Anyway,


FACTUAL information about FaceBook…
http://epic.org/privacy/facebook/
http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-we-can-do-anything-we-want-with-your-content-forever
more FACTUAL information specific to your other comments …http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us/29surveil.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=Surveillance%20Effort %20Draws%20Civil%20Liberties%20Concerns&st=cse
Smart phones, big worries
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08056/859794-407.stm
Snooping software threatens Blackberry users
http://pinewswire.blogspot.com/2009/10/blackberry-at-risk-from-snooping.html
Smart Cards can be hacked
http://www.govtech.com/gt/689811?topic=117671
Microsoft offers Law Enforcement a free tool to collect our live net activities
http://www.govtech.com/gt/731066?topic=117680
"Ghostnet" map to capture locations of thousands of computers
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/03/28/technology/20090329_SPY_GRAPHIC.html
July 2009 report on the presidents surveillance program (44 pages)
http://epic.org/privacy/nsa/foia/nsa_ig_report.pdf
DOJ and DHS Fusion Center Guidelines (105 pages)
http://epic.org/privacy/fusion/report.pdf
http://epic.org/security/DHS_CPO_Priv_Coal_Letter.pdf
http://epic.org/privacy/profiling/

[kaitlyn142]

I have found my blackberry to be invaluable. I travel pretty frequently, so having instant access to my email, google maps for directions, and my flight information is fantastic. I've been saved more than once by being able to retrieve and email. Plus, people my age (oh lord, as of tomorrow I'll be closer to 30 than 20), are used to nearly constant mental stimulation. I don't know what people used to do at work when there wasn't enough actual work to fill all the hours of the day, but I love unmonitored internet access, random games, facebook updates, etc. 20 minutes till you can be seated at a restaurant? Take out the iPod and play a game of TapTap revolution, dl a lecture from HowStuffWorks on how a touchscreen works (something I listened to the other day), or go to the project guttenburg website to read a book. trustno1, you have more to fear from the internet, if you are really worried about Big Brother. I was listening to a fascinating interview with one of the original creators of the internet about how he thinks that the next phase of technological integration will be computers that "recognize" you wherever you go. Any computer would automatically configure to your exact specs. Sounded fascinating to me, though likely very far off.

[trustno1]

Yes, I am aware of that prediction. There are lots of fascinating techno advances out there developing at an unbelievable pace.

I am not "against" or "worried" or "paranoid" about any tech stuff. Most of it is pretty cool stuff and I purchase, use, and even "hack" or "modify" some of it for specific uses.

I just sound "paranoid" at first, because I have been in the "security & counter-surveillance" business for 10 years, focusing on keeping people "safe" and their private interests "private".

Communication technology is great, but it requires some knowledge to keep yourself safe from those who choose to use it to compromise the safety of others. Most folks do not know how to "protect" themselves properly. It is just like a window in your house. They are great for air, light, visibility, etc. But it is also a good idea to have a lock on them...lol

It is funny how many people are quick to "kill the messenger", until of course, they get themselves in trouble or others bring it to them

...lol