Discussion
THE LASTQUIET THING
altairprime: This post says, “22% dismiss notifications”. Why do people allow this? I see people with phones that have 3 new notifications per 5 minutes and none of them are human being messages or human being event reminders.Turn off every notification that isn’t actionable or joyful to you. The news isn’t actionable. Stop letting the news task you. Your social feeds aren’t actionable. Stop letting your feeds task you.(And, yes, I’ll concede that Duo push is valid, because either I initiated that, or I have a problem to solve. Being employed brings some of us joy, after all!)Notifications are not meant to fill the silences in your life. Your thoughts are. Not all the random drivel that phones opportunistically shovel into our faces.I don’t really like this post because it rabble-rouses rather than owning up to the major failure of the author up top. Maybe it’ll help someone regardless, but it could have been a lot more direct with no less effectiveness. Missed opportunity, I suppose.
zxlk21e: Managing these notifications (which are on by default most of the time) is a form of what I'm writing at here, isn't it?
eykanal: There's a great essay hiding in that page, but oh my goodness that is a frustrating format and layout.
zxlk21e: Sorry, I try to keep both camps in mind as I build these things. There's a text version linked at the top, but the link is here: https://www.terrygodier.com/the-last-quiet-thing/ascii
itmitica: Ha. Ha. Ha. He expects to still find a battery fit for the Casio watch 7 years from now! Good luck with that buddy!
zxlk21e: Essay author here - they're readily available! It's just a CR2016.ref: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Casio+F-91W+Battery+Replacement...
itmitica: Just a humorous jab :)
mbgerring: My smart watch has become an invaluable digital prosthetic to help me backfill cognitive challenges that I’ve learned are related to ADHD.“It dings all the time!” Yes, exactly, having a buzzer attached to my person at all times ensures I don’t miss appointments and that I leave to things on time.Your thermostat that bothers you? It would be great if we lived in a world where energy was free, and there were no consequences for using as much energy as you want. That’s not the world we live in. And you probably don’t want to live in a world where the power company decides when you can and can’t turn on your AC. This is the compromise. I’m sorry you’re bothered by it — the consequences of other solutions to this problem are likely much worse.It’s easy to forget that these things exist, and people buy them, to solve real problems. But writing a whole essay and just eliding that fact strikes me as lazy.
AlotOfReading: The larger point of the article is that these new devices are dependent on your continued labor to keep them running usefully. Moreover, this is a choice in how they're designed.The article isn't saying they don't do other things, it's just not relevant.
hmokiguess: Ironically, casio, the company behind the prime example is now doing these kinds of things: https://www.casio.com/us/moflin/
Animats: The article (with its doom-scrolling) suggests some stats phones should have: Dismissing a notification ...... 22% Intentional use ................ 20% Checking something that pinged . 18% Replying to a person ........... 15% Updating/configuring/fixing .... 12% Unlocking, forgetting why ...... 8% Managing a subscription ........ 5% That would be kind of cool.The real headache is that everything with a network connection needs system administration.
airza: Some of these fonts and transitions I like a lot, but sometimes it feels like there are a few too many fonts on screen.
mghackerlady: I love this. Maybe it's because I've always subconsciously realised this (I do prefer my flip phone and my iPhone stays in a drawer at home) but I've never seen something put words to my thoughts more accurately than this has
strict9: This is an interesting and more apt way to frame smart features.One way I've found to avoid objects that come alive is to buy the commercial version.- TVs aimed at commercial hospitality businesses let you avoid a lot of the bloatware and smart features that come bundled with it- Commercial washer/dryers let you avoid bluetooth and wifi and other junk not needed to wash your clothes. These are available without the coin operated featuresCommercial versions of consumer products are usually simpler, more durable, and don't have advertising and smart features.
globular-toast: I'm getting into woodwork. I just bought a vice made in the 1940s, the same one my grandfather used. It's finished. As are my chisels, and my cast iron cookware. It's definitely refreshing.
delichon: > Screen Time is a blame shift dressed in a soft font.The alternative to giving you the responsibility is for the phone to take it, to tell you when you should and shouldn't use it and what for. That's not better.
gchamonlive: They are also likely to cost more and aren't normally directly available to regular customers, like you need either a business license of some sort and to contact a representative.
strict9: It is true commercial versions are slightly more expensive. But this is the tradeoff of buying something more durable and meant to be used continuously.But it's not true that they are difficult to buy.For my two examples: Commercial washer/dryer sets available through any appliance dealer. Commercial hospitality TVs and other commercial electronics are available via Grainger.
qbane: The watch is interactive! Nice detail
RuoqiJin: Oh my god this site is so cool. I just want to say — how much time did you pour into the typography and animations on the frontend? I absolutely love it.You picked the right way to show each paragraph — what to expand, what to keep short, what to highlight. I couldn't stop scrolling. UR an artist! maybe AI can help style every line of text, but it can't make something feel this good to read.
zxlk21e: A lot! The Casio up top is fully functional (click the buttons!)
encom: prefers-reduced-motion == 1 quiets that nonsense in a lot of cases, but many sites don't respect it. I wish this gratuitous animation fad would just die already. It adds nothing.
forinti: But they keep churning out the classic watches and they are everywhere and cheap.
