I use a desktop or laptop computer almost daily in my personal life. Mobile devices are terrible for actual productivity. And security. And usability.
And security
Disagree.
Sure, privacy wise, you can say that they are terrible (freedom wise, they are not great either). But Security? Phones are probably the most secure devices (as long as you keep them updated). Verified Boot, Sanboxing for every app, Strict Permission Control, Default Encryptions, Limiting Password attempts per X amount of time, to make brute force difficult, and can even attempt to wipe itself if too many incorrect password entry. Even if an app is malicious, all you need to do is uninstall it and most of the time they do not persist.
Most desktop installations require admin or sudo permissions, one malicious program/package and you gotta wipe clean and reinstall.
Cameras and microphones that have no physical disconnect. Virtual keyboards. NSA subsidies for cheap phones sold in poor areas. Zero visibility or access to OS components without special steps.
Windows let users install and run any junk binary to their appdata folder by default. That’s why cryptolocker got real popular around 2010. Granted this isn’t supporting my point, but admin is not required in a lot of instances.
I guess I’m saying I disagree with your disagreement. Non-mobile is far more secure. My desktop and laptops do all of the stuff you listed as mobile capabilities.
Again, the government surveillance aspect is more of a privacy issue. Yea, I hate how intrusive the government is, but, from a purely security perspective, if your threat model isn’t targeted surveillance by the government (which for most people, that’s not their threat model), if you think about how much technical knowlege the average person has, a smart phone does a better job protecting them from the every day security threats than a computer.
NSA subsidies for cheap phones sold in poor areas.
Cheap smartphones are subsidized by the “recommended apps” screen that phone manufacturers add, that app developers/publishers paid for so that their app is listed during the phone’s set up process, that’s why they are so cheap.
Desktop computer mainly, sometimes a laptop. Tablets are painful to use IMO
I imagine Lemmy skews WAY to the side of PCs/computers. But the average consumer is almost exclusively using their phone for everything except work and taxes. I’m a digital native and I even find browsing Lemmy to be easier via app than browser.
People are responding personally in this thread, which does not answer the actual question being asked. Lemmizens are very far from most people.
I’d be shocked if most people had PCs any more - at best, an old laptop to lug out for “paperwork.”
Question: am I on the toilet?
Millennial in the US. These are my main devices: iPhone, gaming pc, steam deck, and an old MacBook Pro.
- iPhone - general phone use, killing time browsing Lemmy when I should be working, playing roms, and Pokémon GO.
- Gaming pc - primary. I prefer doing everything here including shopping because fuck shopping on a phone, I’m a millennial and for big purchases I have to use a big screen and a computer.
- Steam Deck - mobile PC gaming for couch and occasions I’m away from home for a long time.
- MacBook - secondary PC, only when I need a PC and don’t want or can’t be at my desk.
Honestly with how far right big tech has moved, along with the predatory tracking and telemetry, I’m considering giving up smart phones for good. Not sure I even want to bother switching to a Pixel with Graphene OS after my iPhone is done.
I miss simplicity, so I’m actively evaluating if a dumb phone (or even an e-ink dumb phone) is right for me. I’m also evaluating lugging my laptop around when I’m out and about because I can simply buy mobile service and plug in a USB cell modem if I need internet. My old 2012 MacBook Pro running Linux doesn’t track me and treat me like data cattle, so it may be worth carrying that around since I don’t get the same feeling of disgust compared to when I look at my smartphone.
Big tech ruined everything.
Edit: on mobile, fixed some typos
PC is for gaming and doing things I do on my phone but easier and faster
I have a high-end gaming computer, but it is headless(doesn’t have a monitor) I use a VR headset and Virtual desktop instead of a monitor. In Virtual desktop I have two 4k 120hz screens. I use my computer from a comfy recliner, or standing, or walking around. Whatever fits the use case. While in my home, or any home with decent wi-fi, I have access to my gaming PC. And I can live the augmented reality life.
Cell internet isn’t quite good enough for the same thing to be possible out and about yet. But it’s honestly not that far off. It’s good enough for a productivity desktop experience, but streaming a 4k game or video is not great on cell. Might be viable if I drop it to one 1080p monitor at 60hz and drop the bandwidth target to 1/8th or so. Haven’t tried. Assuming the consistency of bandwidth will be a concern. Too many sporadically dropped packets for unbuffered video to play smoothly.
But for the most part, the VR headset has replaced my computer monitor, my TV, and my phone while at home. It’s an android based headset, so I can load any phone games I play on it. And play them on a 6 foot wide “phone” using my hands as hyper accurate laser pointers instead of mashing the screen with fingers, covering up the very thing I need to poke.
Big purchases require big screen.
Idk man, pretty sure musk bought a major world power with the tiny screen
I’m a software/data engineer, so for work I obviously use a computer all the time. I also have a very nice personal computer but it doesn’t get as much use anymore as it used to. I play the occasional game on it, use it for tracking our budget/finances and stuff once a month, manage my plex server, and do the occasional random task on it that requires things like typing or photo editing. But it’s not been getting a lot of attention since I finished school, even less since having my daughter. Also I have automated a lot of my tasks so that I don’t need to manage it as much.
My phone is my main device for most of my entertainment, web surfing, news reading, banking, etc. plus it keeps my todos/shopping lists, my wife and I’s shared calendar, my alarms, digital coupons for groceries, GPS… all of my regular day to day task helpers. Not to mention is takes and stores my photos, allows me to call and text people, and gives me mobile access to my cloud files and services. It’s definitely my primary device.
But I still love my desktop and wish I had more time to do my own work on it.
Add me to the computer only at work club.
I only use my phone when not at home. At home, it’s about 50/50 tablet/desktop.
I have a laptop that I use for things that I find too cumbersome for a phone such as writing, things that require multiple tabs, anything official/formal. Oh and also for playing pokemon ROM hacks.
Other than that I find a phone satisfies my day to day needs.
Get a Samsung and have both in one haha. Kinda.
I work from home, so I have a decent setup in my office involving a MacBook Pro and two monitors.
I also have an iPad that I draw with and when I’m not drawing on it I hook it to my soundbar and play music and podcasts while I work.
Phone all of the rest of the time.
