Secure Phones Keep Appearing
October 31, 2024
The KDE community has developed an open source interface for mobile devices called Plasma Mobile. It allegedly turns any phone into a virtual fortress, promising a “privacy-respecting, open source and secure phone ecosystem.” This project is based on the original Plasma for desktops, an environment focused on security and flexibility. As with many open-source projects, Plasma Mobile is an imperfect work in progress. We learn:
“A pragmatic approach is taken that is inclusive to software regardless of toolkit, giving users the power to choose whichever software they want to use on their device. … Plasma Mobile is packaged in multiple distribution repositories, and so it can be installed on regular x86 based devices for testing. Have an old Android device? postmarketOS, is a project aiming to bring Linux to phones and offers Plasma Mobile as an available interface for the devices it supports. You can see the list of supported devices here, but on any device outside the main and community categories your mileage may vary. Some supported devices include the OnePlus 6, Pixel 3a and PinePhone. The interface is using KWin over Wayland and is now mostly stable, albeit a little rough around the edges in some areas. A subset of the normal KDE Plasma features are available, including widgets and activities, both of which are integrated into the Plasma Mobile UI. This makes it possible to use and develop for Plasma Mobile on your desktop/laptop. We aim to provide an experience (with both the shell and apps) that can provide a basic smartphone experience. This has mostly been accomplished, but we continue to work on improving shell stability and telephony support. You can find a list of mobile friendly KDE applications here. Of course, any Linux-based applications can also be used in Plasma Mobile.
KDE states its software is “for everyone, from kids to grandparents and from professionals to hobbyists.” However, it is clear that being an IT professional would certainly help. Is Plasma Mobile as secure as they claim? Time will tell.
Cynthia Murrell, October 31, 2024
Mobiles in Schools: No and a Partial Ban Is No Ban
October 25, 2024
No smart software but we may use image generators to add some modern spice to the dinobaby’s output.
Common sense appears to be in short supply in about one-third of the US population. I am assuming that the data from Pew Research’s “Most Americans Back Cellphone Bans during Class, but Fewer Support All-Day Restrictions” are reasonably accurate. The write up reports:
Less than half of adults under 30 (45%) say they support banning students from using cellphones during class. This share rises to 67% among those ages 30 to 49 and 80% among those ages 50 and older.
I know going to school, paying attention, and (hopefully) learning how to read, write, and do arithmetic is irrelevant in the Smart Software Era. Why have a person who can select groceries and keep a rough running tally of how much money is represented by the items in the cart? Why have a young person working at a retail outlet able to make change without puzzling over a point-of-sale screen.
My dream: A class of students handing over their mobile phones to the dinobaby instructor. He also has an extendible baton. This is the ideal device for rapping a student on the head. Nuns used rulers. Too old technology for today’s easily distracted youthful geniuses. Thanks, Mr. AI-Man, good enough.
The write up adds:
Our survey finds the public is far less supportive of a full-day ban on cellphone use than a classroom ban. About one-third (36%) support banning middle and high school students from using cellphones during the entire school day, including at lunch as well as during and between classes. By comparison, 53% oppose this more restrictive approach.
If I understand this information, out of 100 parents of school age children, only 64 percent of those allegedly responsible adults want their progeny to be able to use their mobile devices during the school day. I suppose if I were a parent terrified that an outside was going to enter a school and cause a disturbance, I would like to get a call or a text that says, “Daddy, I am scared.” Exactly what can that parent do about that message? Drive to the school, possibly breaking speed limits, and demand to talk to the administrative assistant. What if there were a serious issue? Would those swarming parents obstruct the officers and possibly contribute to the confusion and chaos swirling around such an event? On the other hand, maybe the parent is a trained special operations officer, capable of showing credentials and participating in the response to the intruder?
As a dinobaby, here’s my view:
- School is where students go to learn.
- Like certain government facilities, mobile devices are surrendered prior to admission. The devices are returned when the student exits the premises.
- The policy is posted and communicated to parents and students. The message is, “This is the rule. Period.”
- In the event of a problem, a school official or law enforcement officer will determine when and how to retrieve the secured devices.
I have a larger concern. School is for the purpose of education. My dinobaby common sense dictates that a student’s attention should be available to the instructors. Other students, general fooling around, and the craziness of controlling young people are difficult enough. Ensuring that a student can lose his or her attention in a mobile device is out of step with my opinion.
Falling test scores, the desire of some parents to get their children into high-demand schools, and use of tutors tells me that some parents have their ducks in a row. The idea that one can sort of have mobile devices in schools is the opposite of a tidy row of ducks. Imagine the problems that will result if a mobile device with software specifically engineered to capture and retain attention were not allowed in a school. The horror! Jim or Jane might actually learn to read and do sums. But, hey, TikTok-type services and selfies are just more fun.
Check out Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Is that required reading in some high school classes? Probably not.
Stephen E Arnold, October 25, 2024
Four Years of Research Proves What a Teacher Knows in Five Minutes
October 22, 2024
Just a humanoid processing information related to online services and information access.
The write up “The Phone Ban Has Had a Big Impact on School Work.” No kidding. The article reports a study in Iceland after schools told students, “No mobiles.” The write up says:
A phone ban has been in place at Öldutún School since the beginning of 2019, and according to the principal, it has worked well. The school’s atmosphere and culture have changed for the better, and there is more peace in the classroom.
I assume “peace” means students sort of paying attention, not scrolling TikTok and firing off Snapchats of total coolness. (I imagine a nice looking codfish on the school cafeteria food line. But young people may have different ideas about what’s cool. But I’ve been to Iceland, and to some, fish are quite fetching.)
A typical classroom somewhere in Kentucky. Thanks, MSFT Copilot. The “new and improved version” is a struggle. But so are MSFT security and Windows updates. How is Sam AI-Man these days?
Unfortunately the school without mobiles has not been able to point to newly sprouted genius level performance since the 2019 ban. I am okay with the idea of peace in the classroom.
The write up points out:
It has been reported in Morgunblaðið that students who spend more time on smartphones are less interested in reading than those who use their phones little or not at all. The interest in reading is waning faster and faster as students spend more time on their smart devices. These are the results of research by Kristján Ketill Stefánsson, assistant professor of pedagogy at the University of Iceland’s Faculty of Education. The research is based on data from more than fifteen thousand students in grades 6 to 10 in 120 elementary schools across the country.
I noted this surprising statement:
Both students and parents have welcomed the phone ban, as it was prepared for a whole year in collaboration with the board of the student association, school council and parents, according to Víðisson.
Would this type of ban on mobiles in the classroom work in the expensive private schools in some cities? What about schools in what might be called less salubrious geographic areas? Iceland is one culture; rural Kentucky is another.
My reaction to the write up is positive. The conclusions seem obvious to me and no study was needed. My instincts are that mobile devices are not appropriate for any learning environment. That includes college classrooms and lecture rooms for continuing education credits. But I am a dinobaby. (I look like the little orange dinosaur. What do I know?)
Stephen E Arnold, October 22, 2024
Solana: Emulating Telegram after a Multi-Year Delay
September 27, 2024
This essay is the work of a dumb dinobaby. No smart software required.
I spotted an interesting example of Telegram emulation. My experience is that most online centric professionals have a general awareness of Telegram. Its more than 125 features and functions are lost in the haze of social media posts, podcasts, and “real” news generated by some humanoids and a growing number of gradient descent based software.
I think the information in “What Is the Solana Seeker Web3 Mobile Device” is worth noting. Why? I will list several reasons at the end of this short write up about a new must have device for some crypto sensitive professionals.
The Solana Seeker is a gizmo that embodies Web3 goodness. Solana was set up to enable the Solana blockchain platform. The wizards behind the firm were Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal. The duo set up Solana Labs and then shaped what is becoming the go-to organization Lego block for assorted crypto plays: The Solana Foundation. This non-profit organization has made its Proof of History technology into the fires heating the boilers of another coin or currency or New Age financial revolution. I am never sure what emerges from these plays. The idea is to make smart contracts work and enable decentralized finance. The goals include making money, creating new digital experiences to make money, and cash in on those to whom click-based games are a slick way to make money. Did I mention money as a motivator?
A hypothetical conversation between two crypto currency and blockchain experts. What could go wrong? Thanks, MSFT Copilot. Good enough.
How can you interact with the Solana environment? The answer is to purchase an Android-based digital device. The Seeker allows anyone to have the Solana ecosystem in one’s pocket. From my dinobaby’s point of view, we have another device designed to obfuscate certain activities. I assume Solana will disagree with my assessment, but things crypto evoke things at odds with some countries’ rules and regulations.
The cited article points out that the device is a YAAP (yet another Android phone). The big feature seems to be the Seed Vault wallet. In addition to the usual razzle dazzle about security, the Seeker lets a crypto holder participate in transactions with a couple of taps. The Seeker interface is to make crypto activities smoother and easier. Solana has like other mobile vendors created its own online store. When you buy a Seeker, you get a special token. The description I am referencing descends into crypto babble very similar to the lingo used by the Telegram One Network Foundation. The problem is that Telegram has about a billion users and is in the news because French authorities took action to corral the cowboy Russian-born Pavel Durov for some of his behaviors France found objectionable.
Can anyone get into the generic Android device business, do some fiddling, and deploy a specialized device? The answer is, “Yep.” If you are curious, just navigate to Alibaba.com and search for generic cell phones. You have to buy 3,000 or more, but the price is right: About US$70 per piece. Tip: Life is easier if you have an intermediary based in Bangkok or Singapore.
Let’s address the reasons this announcement is important to a dinobaby like me:
- Solana, like Meta (Facebook) is following in Telegram’s footprints. Granted, it has taken these two example companies years to catch on to the Telegram “play”, but movement is underway. If you are a cyber investigator, this emulation of Telegram will have significant implications in 2025 and beyond.
- The more off-brand devices there are, the easier it becomes for intelligence professionals to modify some of these gizmos. The reports of pagers, solar panels, and answering machines behaving in an unexpected manner goes from surprise to someone asking, “Do you know what’s in your digital wallet?”
- The notion of a baked in, super secret enclave for the digital cash provides an ideal way to add secure messaging or software to enable a network in a network in the manner of some military communication services. The patents are publicly available, and they make replication in the realm of possibility.
Net net: Whether the Seeker flies or flops is irrelevant. Monkey see, monkey do. A Telegram technology road map makes interesting reading, and it presages the future of some crypto activities. If you want to know more about our Telegram Road Map, write benkent2020 at yahoo.com.
Stephen E Arnold, September 27, 2024
Mobile Secrecy? Maybe Not
September 9, 2024
This essay is the work of a dumb dinobaby. No smart software required.
No, you are not imagining it. The Daily Mail reports, “Shocking Leak Suggests Your Phone Really Is Listening in on Your Conversations” to create targeted ads. A pitch deck reportedly made by marketing firm Cox Media Group (CMG) was leaked to 404 Media. The presentation proudly claims Facebook, Google, and Amazon are clients and suggests they all use its “Active-Listening” AI software to pluck actionable marketing intel from users’ conversations. Writer Ellyn Lapointe tells us:
“The slideshow details the six-step process that CMG’s Active-Listening software uses to collect consumer’s voice data through seemingly any microphone-equipped device, including your smartphone, laptop or home assistant. It’s unclear from the slideshow whether the Active-Listening software is eavesdropping constantly, or only at specific times when the phone mic is activated, such as during a call. Advertisers then use these insights to target ‘in-market consumers,’ which are people actively considering buying a particular product or service. If your voice or behavioral data suggests you are considering buying something, they will serve you advertisements for that item. For example, talking about or searching for Toyota cars could prompt you to start seeing ads for their newest models. ‘Once launched, the technology automatically analyzes your site traffic and customers to fuel audience targeting on an ongoing basis,’ the deck states. So, if you feel like you see more ads for a particular product after talking about it with a friend, or searching for it online, this may be the reason why. For years, smart-device users have speculated that their phones or tablets are listening to what they say. But most tech companies have flat-out denied these claims.”
In fact, Google was so eager to distance itself from this pitch deck it promptly removed CMG from its “Partners Program” website. Meta says it will prod CMG to clarify Active-Listening does not feed on Facebook or Instagram data. And Amazon flat out denied ever working with CMG. On this particular software, anyway.
404 Media has been pulling this thread for some time. It first reported the existence of Active-Listening in December 2023. The next day, it called out small AI firm MindSift for bragging it used smart-device speakers to target ads. Lapointe notes CMG claimed in November 2023, in a since-deleted blog post, that its surveillance is entirely legal. Naturally, the secret is literally in the fine print—of multi-page user agreements. Because of course it is.
Cynthia Murrell, September 9, 2024
Moving Quickly: School Cell Phone Bans
August 21, 2024
In a victory for common sense, 9to5Mac reports, “More Schools Banning Students from Using Smartphones During Class Time.” Proponents of bans argue they improve learning outcomes and reduce classroom disruption. To which we reply: well, duh. They also claim bans protect children from cyberbullying. Maybe. Writer Ben Lovejoy states:
“More schools are banning students from using smartphones in classes, with calls for a federal ban rather than the current mix of state laws. Apple’s home state of California is expected to be the next state to introduce a ban. Orlando has so far taken the toughest line, banning smartphone use during the entire day, and blocking access to social media networks on the school Wi-Fi. Worldwide, around one in four countries has implemented bans or restrictions on the use of smartphones in schools. A 9to5Mac poll conducted a year ago found strong support for the same happening in the US, with 73% in favor and only 21% opposed. … Within the US, four states have already implemented bans, or are in the process of doing so: Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Exact policies vary. Some schools allow phones to used during breaks, while the strictest insist that they are placed in lockers or other safe places at the beginning of the school day, and not retrieved until the end of the day.
“Cellphone-free education” laws in Minnesota and Ohio will go into effect next year. The governors of California, Virginia, and New York indicate their states may soon follow suit. Meanwhile, according to a survey by the National Parents Union, 70% of parents support bans. But most want students to have access to their phones during lunchtime and other official breaks. Whether just during class times or all day, it can be expensive to implement these policies.
“Pennsylvania recently allotted millions of dollars in grants for schools to purchase lockable bags to store pupils’ phones while Delaware recently allocated $250,000 for schools to test lockable phone pouches.”
Leaving phones at home is not an option—today’s parents would never stand for it. The days of being unable to reach one’s offspring for hours at a time are long gone. How did parents manage to live with that for thousands of years?
Cynthia Murrell, August 21, 2024
Large Dictators. Name the Largest
June 6, 2024
This essay is the work of a dinobaby. Unlike some folks, no smart software improved my native ineptness.
I read “Social Media Bosses Are the Largest Dictators, Says Nobel Peace Prize Winner.” I immediately thought of “fat” dictators; for example, Benito Mussolini, but I may have him mixed up with Charles Laughton in “Mutiny on the Bounty.”
A mother is trying to implement the “keep your kids off social media” recommendation. Thanks, MSFT Copilot. Good enough.
I think the idea intended is something along the lines of “unregulated companies and their CEOs have more money and power than some countries. These CEOs act like dictators on a par with Julius Caesar. Brutus and friends took out Julius, but the heads of technopolies are indifferent to laws, social norms, and the limp limbs of ethical behavior.”
That’s a lot of words. Ergo: Largest dictators is close enough for horseshoes. It is 2024, and no one wants old-fashioned ideas like appropriate business activities to get in the way of making money and selling online advertising.
The write up shares the quaint ideas of a Noble Peace Prize winner. Here are the main points about social media and technology by someone who is interested in peace:
- Tech bros are dictators with considerable power over information and ideas
- Tech bros manipulate culture, language, and behavior
- The companies these dictators runs “change the way we feel” and “change the way we see the world and change the way we act”
I found this statement from the article suggestive:
“In the Philippines, it was rich versus poor. In the United States, it’s race,” she said. “Black Lives Matter … was bombarded on both sides by Russian propaganda. And the goal was not to make people believe one thing. The goal was to burst this wide open to create chaos.” The way tech companies are “inciting polarization, inciting fear and anger and hatred” changes us “at a personal level, a societal level”, she said.
What’s the fix? A speech? Two actions are needed:
- Dump the protection afforded the dictators by the 1996 Communications Decency Act
- Prevent children from using social media.
Now it is time for a reality check. Changing the Communications Decency Act will take some time. Some advocates have been chasing this legal Loch Ness monster for years. The US system is sensitive to “laws” and lobbyists. Change is slow and regulations are often drafted by lobbyists. Therefore, don’t hold your breath on revising the CDA by the end of the week.
Second, go to a family-oriented restaurant in the US. How many of the children have mobile phones? Now, be a change expert, and try to get the kids at a nearby table to give you their mobile devices. Let me know how that works out, please.
Net net: The Peace Prize winner’s ideas are interesting. That’s about it. And the fat dictators? Keto diets and chemicals do the trick.
Stephen E Arnold, June 6, 2024
Guarantees? Sure … Just Like Unlimited Data Plans
May 30, 2024
This essay is the work of a dinobaby. Unlike some folks, no smart software improved my native ineptness.
I loved this story: “T-Mobile’s Rate Hike Raises Ire over Price Lock Guarantees.” The idea that something is guaranteed today is a hoot. Remember “unlimited data plans”? I think some legal process determined that unlimited did not mean without limits. This is not just wordsmithing; it is probably a behavior which, if attempted in certain areas of Sicily, would result in something quite painful. Maybe a beating, a knife in the ribs, or something more colorful? But today, are you kidding me?
The soon-to-be-replaced-by-a-chatbot AI entity is reassuring a customer about a refund. Is the check in the mail? Will the sales professional take the person with whom he is talking to lunch? Absolutely. This is America, a trust outfit for sure. Thanks, MSFT Copilot. Working on security today?
The write up points out:
…in T-Mobile’s case, customers are seething because T-Mobile is raising prices on plans that were offered with “guarantees” they wouldn’t go up, such as T-Mobile One plans.
Unusual? No, visit a big time grocery store. Select 10 items at random. Do the prices match what was displayed on the shelves? Let me know. Our local outfit is batting 10 percent incorrect pricing per 10 items. Does the manager care? Sure, but does the pricing change or the database errors get adjusted. Ho ho ho.
The article reported:
“Clearly this is bad optics for T-Mobile since it won many people over as the ‘non-corporate’ un-carrier,” he [Eric Michelson, a social and digital media strategist] said.
Imagine a telecommunications company raising prices and refusing to provide specific information about which customers get the opportunity to pay more for service.
Several observations:
- Promises mean zero. Ask people trying to get reimbursed for medical expenses or for post-tornado house repairs
- Clever is more important that behaving in an ethical and responsible manner. Didn’t Google write a check to the US government to make annoying legal matters go away?
- The language warped by marketers and shape shifted by attorneys makes understanding exactly what’s afoot difficult. How about the wording in an omnibus bill crafted by lobbyists and US elected officials’ minions? Definitely crystal clear to some. To others, well, not too clear.
Net net: What’s up with the US government agencies charged with managing corporate behavior and protecting the rights of citizens? Answer: These folks are in meetings, on Zoom calls, or working from home. Please, leave a message.
Stephen E Arnold, May 30, 2024
Telegram: No Longer Just Mailing It In
May 29, 2024
This essay is the work of a dinobaby. Unlike some folks, no smart software improved my native ineptness.
Allegedly about 900 million people “use” Telegram. More are going to learn about the platform as the company comes under more European Union scrutiny, kicks the tires for next-generation obfuscation technology, and become a best friend of Microsoft… for now. “Telegram Gets an In-App Copilot Bot” reports:
Microsoft has added an official Copilot bot within the messaging app Telegram, which lets users search, ask questions, and converse with the AI chatbot. Copilot for Telegram is currently in beta but is free for Telegram users on mobile or desktop. People can chat with Copilot for Telegram like a regular conversation on the messaging app. Copilot for Telegram is an official Microsoft bot (make sure it’s the one with the checkmark and the username @CopilotOfficialBot).
You can “try it now.” Just navigate to Microsoft “Copilot for Telegram.” At this location, you can:
Meet your new everyday AI companion: Copilot, powered by GPT, now on Telegram. Engage in seamless conversations, access information, and enjoy a smarter chat experience, all within Telegram.
A dinobaby lecturer explains the Telegram APIs and its bot function for automating certain operations within the Telegram platform. Some in the class are looking at TikTok, scrolling Instagram, or reading about a breakthrough in counting large numbers of objects using a unique numerical recipe. But Telegram? WhatsApp and Signal are where the action is, right? Thanks, MSFT Copilot. You are into security and now Telegram. Keep your focus, please.
Next week, I will deliver a talk about Telegram and some related information about obfuscated messaging at the TechnoSecurity & Digital Forensics Conference. I no longer do too many lectures because I am an 80 year old dinobaby, and I hate flying and standing around talking to people 50 years younger than I. However, my team’s research into end-to-end encrypted messaging yielded some interesting findings. At the 2024 US National Cyber Crime Conference about 260 investigators listened to my 75 minute talk, and a number of them said, “We did not know that.” I will also do a Telegram-centric lecture at another US government event in September. But in this short post, I want to cover what the “deal” with Microsoft suggests.
Let’s get to it.
Telegram operates out of Dubai. The distributed team of engineers has been adding features and functions to what began as a messaging app in Russia. The “legend” of Telegram is an interesting story, but I remain skeptical about the company, its links with a certain country, and the direction in which the firm is headed. If you are not familiar with the service, it has morphed into a platform with numerous interesting capabilities. For some actors, Telegram can and has replaced the Dark Web with Telegram’s services. Note: Messages on Telegram are not encrypted by default as they are on some other E2EE messaging applications. Examples include contraband, “personal” services, and streaming video to thousands of people. Some Telegram users pay to get “special” programs. (Please, use your imagination.)
Why is Telegram undergoing this shift from humble messaging app to a platform? Our research suggests that there are three reasons. I want to point out that Pavel Durov does not have a public profile on the scale of a luminary like Elon Musk or Sam AI-Man, but he is out an about. He conducted an “exclusive” and possibly red-herring discussion with Tucker Carlson in April 2024. After the interview, Mr. Pavlov took direct action to block certain message flows from Ukraine into Russia. That may be one reason: Telegram is actively steering information about Ukraine’s view of Mr. Putin’s special operation. Yep, freedom.
Are there others? Let me highlight three:
- Mr. Pavlov and his brother who allegedly is like a person with two PhDs see an opportunity to make money. The Pavlovs, however, are not hurting for cash.
- American messaging apps have been fat and lazy. Mr. Pavlov is an innovator, and he wants to make darned sure that he rungs rings around Signal, WhatsApp, and a number of other outfits. Ego? My team thinks that is part of Mr. Pavlov’s motivation.
- Telegram is expanding because it may not be an independent, free-wheeling outfit. Several on my team think that Mr. Pavlov answers to a higher authority. Is that authority aligned with the US? Probably not.
Now the Microsoft deal?
Several questions may get you synapses in gear:
- Where are the data flowing through Telegram located / stored geographically? The service can regenerate some useful information for a user with a new device.
- Why tout freedom and free speech in April 2024 and several weeks later apply restrictions on data flow? Does this suggest a capability to monitor by user, by content type, and by other metadata?
- Why is Telegram exploring additional network enhancements? My team thinks that Mr. Pavlov has some innovations in obfuscation planned. If the company does implement certain technologies freely disclosed in US patents, what will that mean for analysts and investigators?
- Why a tie up with Microsoft? Whose idea was this? Who benefits from the metadata? What happens if Telegram has some clever ideas about smart software and the Telegram bot function?
Net net: Not too many people in Europe’s regulatory entities have paid much attention to Telegram. The entities of interest have been bigger fish. Now Telegram is growing faster than a Chernobyl boar stuffed on radioactive mushrooms. The EU is recalibrating for Telegram at this time. In the US, the “I did not know” reaction provides some insight into general knowledge about Telegram’s more interesting functions. Think pay-to-view streaming video about certain controversial subjects. Free storage and data transfer is provided by Telegram, a company which does not embrace the Netflix approach to entertainment. Telegram is, as I explain in my lectures, interesting, very interesting.
Stephen E Arnold, May 29, 2024
An Interesting Prediction about Mobile Phones
April 15, 2024
This essay is the work of a dumb dinobaby. No smart software required.
I have hated telephone calls for decades: Intrusive, phone tag baloney, crappy voice mail systems, and wacko dialing codes when in a country in which taxis are donkeys. No thanks. But the mobile phone revolution is here. Sure, I have a mobile phone. Plus, I have a Chinese job just to monitor data flows. And I have an iPhone which I cart around to LE trade shows to see if a vendor can reveal the bogus data we put on the device.
What’s the future? An implant? Yeah, that sounds like a Singularity thing or a big ear ring, a wire, and a battery pack which can power a pacemaker, an artificial kidney, and an AI processing unit. What about a device that is smart and replaces the metal candy bar, which has not manifested innovations in the last five or six years? I don’t care about a phone which is capable of producing TikToks.
The future of the phone has been revealed in the online publication Phone Arena. “AI Will Kill the Smartphone As We Know It. Here’s Why!” explains:
I know the idea may sound very radical at first glance, but if we look with a cold, objective eye at where the world is going with the software as a service model, it suddenly starts to sound less radical.
The idea is that the candy bar device will become a key fob, a decorative pin (maybe a big decorative pin), a medallion on a thick gold chain (rizz, right?), or maybe a shrinkflation candy bar?
My own sense of the future is skewed because I am a dinobaby. I have a cheapo credit card which is a semi-reliable touch-and-tap gizmo. Why not use a credit card form factor with a small screen (obviously unreadable by a dinobaby but designers don’t care about dinobabies in my experience). With ambient functionality, the card “just connects” and one can air talk and read answers on the unreadable screen. Alternatively, one’s wireless ear buds can handle audio duties.
Net net: The AI function is interesting. However, other technical functions will have to become available. Until then, keep upgrading those mobile phones. No, I won’t answer. No, I won’t click on texts from numbers I don’t have on a white list. No, I won’t read social media baloney. That’s a lot of no’s, isn’t it? Too bad. When you are a dinobaby, you will understand.
Stephen E Arnold, April 15, 2024
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