I know a number of people who their ONLY connection is using their phone. They don't even own a 'real' computer.  

I also know a number of people that use 5G hotspots for their only home connection.

Sun Mar 15 2026 22:47:36 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

Seriously, I really don't understand what people are doing with >1Gbps mobile speeds.

Isn't that the norm now? No one is good. No one.  We just have to pick 'less bad'.

Sat Mar 14 2026 02:25:41 EDT from ParanoidDelusions

At some point, Verizon actually became a "Do Less Evil," brand. 

Telsa did...  That was 1/2 the reason for Wardencliff..  Planet wide wireless transmission of data ( the other 1/2 was sharing what was in essence free power, which of course got him shut down and blacklisted, in effect.. )

Not sure id set the bar for "a real computer" as being able to recursively develop its own system as that does require a bit 'more' resources than many need, but to me 'real' is something that isn't 'tied' to external resources just to function. It may access 'cloud' to increase functions, but it should be optional to 'function', not be a core requirement or its a door stop..

And yes, more and more people only have a phone these days, they are so locked into that ecosystem its not even funny anymore. But, i suspect 90% of them, never had a 'computer' before..  Some may have had game consoles, but not an actual 'PC', except perhaps at the office. 

Sat May 16 2026 14:35:10 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

 can you imagine someone making that prediction 30 years ago? 

 

*snip*

Lots of people don't own a "real" computer -- if your definition of "real" is "something with a keyboard and an upright screen." My mom has a phone and a tablet. Some people don't even have a tablet, but I can't imagine living the modern digital life on only a 5" screen ... but yes, people do it.

(Last time we had the "real computer" discussion here, the majority opinion seemed to be that a "real computer" is one that can be self-hosting, on which one could use the device to develop its own system software. So that excludes phones, most tablets, video game consoles, and even the original 1984 Macintosh.)

Depends on the phone i guess.   A PinePhone Pro is a RK3399.. .and we both know that is a computer..  And it runs Linux ( among other things ), and has USBC so you can have keyboards, mice, monitors, network. ( they even ship with a dongle, has usb, ethernet, hdmi...

My older "regular" PinePhone, same deal tho a generation back on CPU.

Some newer tablets, have more power than a generation or 2 older desktop.. And same thing, they sport USBC so it can 'do all the peripherals'

Wed May 20 2026 14:13:03 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

I think we can all agree that a phone is not a real computer, and a tablet probably isn't either.

So, we have a house phone, based on VoIP, via our fiber company, as they were able to transfer our land-line number when we signed up for fiber  ( long story.. wasn't my idea to keep it in the 'cell phone era', but it is what it is ) As mentioned a bit ago, they were recently bought out by T-mobile. ( still waiting on the bill to skyrocket, its the way of things )

Today we get a notice "as of June 30 we are discontinuing international calls on consumer lines". Now, while it does not effect me directly, i find this strange, and somewhat disconcerting. 

In effect, that is what i have too, no copper here except the tiny bit from my phone to the box ( modem has 2 phone ports, but same idea ). But you cant dial it via IP. its gotta go via the 'registered number' via whatever network that it goes on once it leaves your site. I am sure many are in the same boat. And i bet over seas, lots of copper still being used too, unlike here. But yes, i do agree the need for 'direct numbers' is fading, but even my cell phone, technically you cant dial it direct via IP... its gotta go thru whatever back end network for the client you use. ( gvoice, teams, random 3rd party voip, bla bla even FB, it goes thru their servers first. )

Not needing to use 'phone' overseas for anything, even business, is that how they bill business lines now? Just a flat rate?  Seems odd if they did.

Fri May 29 2026 00:23:58 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

 If you want a landline from Verizon you have to order fiber, or they can send you a little adapter 

My Samsung Galaxy S25+ whatever can emulate EVERY computer I ever owned up to about a 486. 

If that isn't a "real" computer? What is? 

It would be slow, but im sure you can 'do all the work' on it. Of course you would want a 2nd to do actual testing on..  Don't want to brick your only device :) 

With the hooking it to a monitor and such, while i do think that stuff is sort of cool ( not new tho, i did that long ago with something i had.. i forget what it was now. A Note3 perhaps? and of course the pinephone does it too, native ) it wouldn't appeal to those of us who do 'local work'. But if all our stuff is online.. its a wash what you use, so could be useful for them.  And, they do make 'laptop terminal' things that use USBC so one does not have to be tied to a desk monitor/keyboard to do that sort of thing.  I was tempted to get one when i was still at the office instead of carrying my tablet. but figured it would be a wash.. im carrying my phone anyway, and my last tablet was about the same size screen and had a flip over keyboard.  So other than the cool factor, no real gain.

Sat Jun 27 2026 11:42:10 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

My Samsung Galaxy S25+ whatever can emulate EVERY computer I ever owned
up to about a 486. 

If that isn't a "real" computer? What is? 

Hey, I never said it was a perfect model :)

Can you build, run, and install the operating system for the Galaxy S25+ on the S25+ itself? That's sort of where I was going with the idea. Speaking of which, have you ever tried Samsung DEX with a big screen and keyboard?
I've always been curious. Is it any good, or would I be reaching for my laptop pretty quickly?