We have these amazing little computers in our hands. What are some beneficial things we can do with them? Websites, apps, tinkering… anything you can think of or things you already do. I’m tired of doom scrolling.
Rejecting calls
Forgetting to reply to messages
Ignoring emails
Writing comments then deleting the text without posting
Unlocking your device only to immediately forget why you needed to check it.
Don’t forget the good ol’ classics:
- Forgetting to turn off airplane mode after good night sleep 'till lunch time.
- Letting the battery die during the day without proper means to recharge.
- Constantly fighting with backlight intensity, because its regulating sensor is PoS.
Please stop spying on my phone.
I started looking into cozy games on my phone so anytime I get the urge to doomscroll I turn to that instead.
Any suggestions? I used to play Solitaire but the app I was using at the time had ads and no option to pay. I also played cribbage but that was a long time ago.
I play solitaire with open source free polysolfc on f-droid. No ads and no bullshit
Fishing Life is pretty fun, and Seabeard (although this one does have ads.) If you like card games, maybe something like Hearthstone, which is a strategic card battle but you don’t have to take it too seriously.
Balatro, it’s like solitaire but more addictive than fentanyl.
Anything’s a dildo if your brave enough. Plus, it vibrates!
There’s no reception inside a person though, so you can’t call the phone to make it vibrate.
I’m wearing a 9G Wi-fi belt that Batman let me borrow. Can you hear me moan now?
I think you can get dildos that can be controlled by an app.
Bit hard to control an app if the phone’s up your bum, innit?
LOL! Some of us have skills and can achieve the challenge. OOps, someone’s calling…
Bluetooth earbuds, if you can use an app you can answer a call. Might need that mute button though
Easy. Mute is just a slight turn and one muscle contraction.
My phone turns on the flash light if you shame it intentionally. You know, the ole twerk for light
Theyre essentially the swiss army knife of tools:
- Flashlight
- Camera
- Level
- Calculator
- Phone
Also a mirror to check high/low places
deleted by creator
- Flashlight
this
I used an old phone one time as a light sensor in my grow tent. The sensor is close enough to tell me how bright the tent was.
That’s pretty cool. I’m still waiting for my tricorder.
I’m an independent contractor, and I basically run all of my business from my phone. Aside from making calls and sending texts, I have templates in Google Docs that I can edit and then email out as quotes and invoices. I keep spreadsheets of my inventory. I scan into Notes the repair slips so I can keep a copy. I use the navigation apps to route me to my stops during the day. I have a template that I edit to create my timesheet to submit and get paid.
I run almost my whole business off of a small handheld phone, something that was unimaginable just a few years ago.
I have a tuner app, drum machine, and recording apps on my phone. I like to pretend I can play trumpet, mandolin, piano, hammered dulcimer… which means I practice something nearly every day.
Calling your loved ones
Fractional calculator: TMC (Tape Measure Calculator). Invaluable for working out tape measure fraction math. Yes, I use metric when it makes sense. Not all materials are metric and this app makes division trivial.
Banking app. Fucking magic.
Airplane boarding passes. I only use a couple airlines, have both apps installed.
Personal news. I have recently discovered TTRSS which is a tiny RSS feed that you can selfhost and then the client on your phone shows you news from your computer
Bitwarden. All the passwords, all the time.
OpenStreetMap. Almost enough to replace google maps. I also use HereWeGo (TomTom corporation) when I need traffic data.
Transit apps for your (or any other) town. Can be pretty invasive, I recommend siloing them in the “work profile” all Android phones now include.
UnCiv. Wonderful time waster
Oh yeah, audio. I’ve been listening to news and narrative history podcasts for years. I finally put the Pimsleur files for learning Spanish on the phone, I don’t remember which app I’m using to play them back, maybe Rocket? It’s helping I think.
I would suggest CoMapps.app instead for better privacy. Can be downloaded with F-droid.
Was that the fork of OSM a couple months ago? Do they have gravity yet?
Fork of Organic maps, both are still OSM
CoMaps is a fork of Organic Maps, not a fork of OpenStreetMap. There are dozens if not hundreds of apps that use OpenStreetMap data.
An actual fork of OSM is FOSM which declined to switch from CC-BY-SA to ODbL.
It is, and I don’t know if they do.
Make phone calls.
Map your local area.
Use StreetComplete or SCEE to fix parts of OpenStreetMap data in your area. Fun to do when walking around areas you know.
Or use a higher level editor to add missing paths, services and buildings.
I agree. That app sadly eats battery like no other I have. So the walk isn’t too long.
The higher level editor: https://f-droid.org/packages/de.blau.android/
StreetComplere? I have 47 minutes running time with 5% battery use now, I think it’s okay
Play a compilation of song covers at exactly 135 BPM so I can do my treadmill without losing my center or my step.
Work the laundry machines, and set a separate timer because the app notifications are unreliable.
Text to check that my kids are alive and assure them that I and their dad are also not dead today.
Order grocery delivery.
Listen to birds and learn their names (Merlin)
Be part of the earthquake alert system (MyShake)
Wordle/ Quordle/ Waffle
You’re only missing Octordle!
I love emulating old Gameboy games on my phone. It can play things all the way up to Switch, but there’s sort of a nice mix of nostalgia and simplicity to just go monotone. No micro transactions, no server connecting, nothing. Just me and the bits.
I guess that’s not terribly beneficial, unless you count my mental health.
Where do you get the games from. I have a switch and an old gameboy carriage but I’m too out of it to bridge that gap
They’re called ROMs, can’t give you links because that’s naughty but if you use your reputable search engine of choice for Gameboy ROMs you can find them pretty easily.
Most people will download roms, which is technically illegal although with 30 year old games there usually isn’t much concern on enforcement (heck, even Switch games aren’t really enforced). The legal way is to dump the rom from the original cartridge, though, and there are tools for that. Honestly, as long as you own the original game I’m pretty sure you can just argue you have a license to play, though.
Generally you can’t share links to roms on communities, although I bet some communities are cool with it (/0 maybe?). Try not to go anywhere that looks suspicious, in any case. Most people don’t malware Gameboy games, though lol. They won’t be .exe in any case.
As for getting it to work, Android and iPhone have different emulator apps available on their respective stores. I tried MyBoy prior but tend to prefer Retroarch (which covers multiple systems, but is a like harder to setup). On Mobile, default has controls on screen so it’s pretty much plug and play though. It’s so much more convenient than digging up ancient systems, though!
Mine’s pretty great at reading a 1400-page manual for an 8-bit system. Whether or not my habit of reading a 1400-page manual for an 8-bit system is actually beneficial is up for debate.
