[Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones

[mark at buttery.org (Shirley Márquez Dúlcey)]

> New ways of doing things don't work well unless, and until, a major fraction
> of the affected population adopts them. Cellphones and other mobile
> computing devices aren't in that zone yet: they are a /tool/, but not the
> only one.
>
> Bill Horne

Your choice to stick with older methods is fine if it works for you.
But I have to disagree with this statement; I feel that mobile
computing devices ARE in that zone now, especially for younger parts
of the population. A teenager without a text-capable cellphone, for
example, would be cut off from the major communication channel of his
or her peers.

Mobile access to maps, schedules, and real-time data on train and bus
arrivals has changed my relationship with public transit sufficiently
that I would say that anybody who lacks that access is getting a
second class experience. Saving 15 minutes of standing out in the cold
and rain to wait for a bus is life changing; with real time data I
don't have to go out to the bus stop until the bus is about to arrive.