Will smartphone ownership become a de facto requirement?

[GaryV]

Our college choir stayed with families while on tour. In small-town Iowa, they didn't lock the house doors. In fact one time when they were going on vacation for a while and thought it might be a good idea to lock up, they had to search for the keys.

[kalvado]

A novel called CyberStorm by Matthew Mather presents an interesting take on the problems that can occur when you rely too much on technology for mundane things. Somewhat interesting read, though the characters were mostly just the vehicle for the author to get his point across (similar in that respect to Shuttle Down by Lee Correy, which tells the story of what happens when Atlantis makes an emergency landing on Easter Island). If you're interested in the issue of needing a "Plan B" or similar, you might find it an interesting read.

Oh, wow, in response to this post I discovered on Wikipedia that Easter Island really was an alternate landing site for the Shuttle, and NASA paid to lengthen their runway so it would be usable with the Shuttle orbiters' dead-stick landings.  That also made the airport usable by jumbo jets, which have greatly increased the island's tourism.

I wonder what kind of trajectory would bring the shuttle to easter island.  Was that for California polar launches? Also given paranoiac rules for available runway...   Scheduling effects would be non-trivial.   

Correct. NASA and the Air Force planned to launch the shuttle (Discovery was to be the one primary dedicated to Defense Department use) from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Typical launches would have been southbound over the Pacific Ocean, which would have meant Easter Island would have been one of the only landing sites available in case of an emergency. Southbound launches from Florida were deemed unacceptable due both to the need to overfly heavily populated areas of South Florida and the political problem of the solid rocket boosters potentially coming down within Cuban territory.

No Vandenberg launches ever took place, of course. STS-62-A was planned for 1986 but was delayed and, ultimately, cancelled after the Challenger accident. It's unclear whether a Vandenberg launch would have succeeded, either. A polar-orbit launch doesn't get a gravity assist, so the shuttle's payload capacity would have been reduced. To make up for that, NASA and the Defense Department planned to use filament-wound solid rocket boosters that would have been lighter than the normal ones. There was also concern about vibrations from the surrounding mountains and increased icing due to the cold weather. One analysis estimated a 25% chance of catastrophic failure on any given West Coast shuttle launch.

The book I mentioned, Shuttle Down, was written by a NASA employee under a pen name as what Piers Anthony once called a "message novel." He was concerned that NASA wasn't taking all sorts of issues related to the potential for emergency landings seriously and he wanted to show what sort of problems they'd face if they didn't shape up.

The potential for polar-orbit launches, incidentally, was the reason for the shuttle having the winged design it used. The Air Force wanted to be able to launch a shuttle to retrieve a satellite (or steal a Soviet satellite) and then land back at its launch site within a single orbit or two. But the Earth's rotation meant the shuttle needed sufficient cross-range to do that because the landing site would have moved some distance to the east by the time the shuttle completed an orbit. Makes me wonder to what extent the Columbia accident was due, in part, to the unrealized plans for polar-orbit missions–might the wings not have been needed, or at least not in the same configuration, had polar launches not been planned?

Intercepting satellite on a single orbit flight is  a joke at best.
As for wings, runway landing requires wings no matter what. Shuttle flaring capability already was somewhere  between those of  steam iron and a brick. And turbine engines were ditched pretty early in development process.
Landing without wings... Parachutes is pretty much the only option.  And without flare aiming at a landing site is pretty difficult, if possible at all.

Where DoD actually destroyed the shuttle was in payload requirements (15 tons at 104% and 30 tons at 109% IIRC). That shaped entire program into a monstrous thing.

What I think I recall reading was that it was the particular delta-wing design they used that was necessitated by Defense Department requirements and that some other design (I do not know the details) had been proposed prior to various specification changes. It certainly seems like some form of delta wing was needed given the hypersonic velocities achieved. The Boeing 2707 studies show why a swing-wing design would have been impractical (recognizing that was to have been a passenger aircraft, of course, but the issue of the weight penalty that proved unacceptable for the 2707 would surely have been a significant issue).

Looks like delta wing was the baseline pretty early in the program

[kphoger]

Our college choir stayed with families while on tour. In small-town Iowa, they didn't lock the house doors. In fact one time when they were going on vacation for a while and thought it might be a good idea to lock up, they had to search for the keys.

Family vacations were the only times we locked the house when I was growing up.  We used to joke that a robber could tell we were out of town because the doors were locked.

As for the car, we only locked it during zucchini season, or else we'd come out from a store to find bags of them in our backseat that some kind fellow had decided we wanted.

[golden eagle]

I have to use my iPhone in order to access a security feature on my work computer.

[mgk920]

I'm also wondering if we'll be seeing an increase in demand for belt holsters for keeping and carrying cell phones as time passes. I normally use one for my cell phone and IMHO, it is much safer and more secure than keeping it in a pocket.

Mike

[CtrlAltDel]

I'm also wondering if we'll be seeing an increase in demand for belt holsters for keeping and carrying cell phones as time passes. I normally use one for my cell phone and IMHO, it is much safer and more secure than keeping it in a pocket.

I would be surprised. They were kind of a thing for a while but they never really took off.

[JayhawkCO]

I'm also wondering if we'll be seeing an increase in demand for belt holsters for keeping and carrying cell phones as time passes. I normally use one for my cell phone and IMHO, it is much safer and more secure than keeping it in a pocket.

Mike

Out of curiosity, why safer and more secure than in a pocket? If anything, not having it in a pocket makes it more visible.

[jeffandnicole]

I'm also wondering if we'll be seeing an increase in demand for belt holsters for keeping and carrying cell phones as time passes. I normally use one for my cell phone and IMHO, it is much safer and more secure than keeping it in a pocket.

Mike

These were used in the 90s for pagers, often came with early versions of cell phones I'm the late 90s and early 00s, but never caught on. A lot of clothing, especially shirts in the summer, don't require belts to begin with.

[J N Winkler]

My last three phone cases have had snap-on covers with clips that could be used to secure them to a belt or waistband.  This allows the phone to be carried hands-free outside the pocket, which minimizes screen/camera lens scratching from pocket litter (like keys) and allows the use of more and better ballistic padding.  However, it makes it more difficult to bend over or to wear clothing (such as a shirt or blazer) that drapes over the waist.  If the phone is uncovered, it becomes more vulnerable to casual theft.  Wearing it on the waist also establishes the snap fitting or quick-release assembly as a critical point of failure--if the phone pops out or releases prematurely, it tends to be supported on only one end if at all, and thus is more likely to fall.

[dlsterner]

I'm also wondering if we'll be seeing an increase in demand for belt holsters for keeping and carrying cell phones as time passes. I normally use one for my cell phone and IMHO, it is much safer and more secure than keeping it in a pocket.

Mike

Out of curiosity, why safer and more secure than in a pocket? If anything, not having it in a pocket makes it more visible.

If you're talking about a shirt pocket, there's the danger of it slipping out when bending over.  Such as when flushing a toilet.  (No, that's never happened to me).

[kalvado]

I'm also wondering if we'll be seeing an increase in demand for belt holsters for keeping and carrying cell phones as time passes. I normally use one for my cell phone and IMHO, it is much safer and more secure than keeping it in a pocket.

Mike

Out of curiosity, why safer and more secure than in a pocket? If anything, not having it in a pocket makes it more visible.

If you're talking about a shirt pocket, there's the danger of it slipping out when bending over.  Such as when flushing a toilet.  (No, that's never happened to me).

Many pockets are not sized for modern phones. Either fashion has to adjust, or phone size trend to reverse. I would definitely be happy to have a smaller phone, if one would be available

[jeffandnicole]

I'm also wondering if we'll be seeing an increase in demand for belt holsters for keeping and carrying cell phones as time passes. I normally use one for my cell phone and IMHO, it is much safer and more secure than keeping it in a pocket.

Mike

Out of curiosity, why safer and more secure than in a pocket? If anything, not having it in a pocket makes it more visible.

If you're talking about a shirt pocket, there's the danger of it slipping out when bending over.  Such as when flushing a toilet.  (No, that's never happened to me).

The grand majority uses their pants pocket.

[oscar]

The grand majority uses their pants pocket.

Front or back? I use a front pocket. Seems many use a back pocket, at the risk of "butt-dials".

I have an older and smaller iPhone 8. Many of the newer models won't fit comfortably in my front pants pocket.

[jeffandnicole]

The grand majority uses their pants pocket.

Front or back? I use a front pocket. Seems many use a back pocket, at the risk of "butt-dials".

I have an older and smaller iPhone 8. Many of the newer models won't fit comfortably in my front pants pocket.

I would venture to say back, although I've always used front, including my LG v10 which was quite a large phone.

[kkt]

I'm also wondering if we'll be seeing an increase in demand for belt holsters for keeping and carrying cell phones as time passes. I normally use one for my cell phone and IMHO, it is much safer and more secure than keeping it in a pocket.

Mike

Out of curiosity, why safer and more secure than in a pocket? If anything, not having it in a pocket makes it more visible.

If you're talking about a shirt pocket, there's the danger of it slipping out when bending over.  Such as when flushing a toilet.  (No, that's never happened to me).

The grand majority uses their pants pocket.

I see lots of people with their phone stuck in their back pants pocket.  The top of the phone sticks out in an invitation to fall out or get stolen.

[Rothman]

I have the large S22 Ultra.  I keep it in a front pants pocket and haven't had to worry about it falling out unless I'm headed to an amusement park to ride roller coasters.

[1995hoo]

I've always found it amusing that there has been talk for years about whether talking on a non-smartphone cellular phone (that's only sending or receiving when you're talking on it) runs a risk of brain damage due to radio waves, radiation, whatever, yet people don't seem to think twice about putting a mobile phone that constantly transmits and receives a cellular data signal in their front pants pocket.

I noted that to a colleague who had three kids. He used a belt clip for his phone. He immediately said, "Hmm, I have three kids," and moved his phone directly to the front and center of his belt (well, as close as the belt buckle would permit).

[JayhawkCO]

I have the large S22 Ultra.  I keep it in a front pants pocket and haven't had to worry about it falling out unless I'm headed to an amusement park to ride roller coasters.

Similar. S23+ here. No issues with it fitting in pockets. If I'm going hiking with it, I put it in a zippered pocket.

[hbelkins]

The grand majority uses their pants pocket.

Front or back? I use a front pocket. Seems many use a back pocket, at the risk of "butt-dials".

I have an older and smaller iPhone 8. Many of the newer models won't fit comfortably in my front pants pocket.

The iPhone 6 is more or less dead. I'm sure the 6s and 7 will be dead soon, which means the 8 doesn't have a lot of time left before it goes belly-up obsolete.

The iPhone SE is a good model to have. It links the smaller size of the 6/7/8 with modern design.

[Road Hog]

My iPhone 8 is on its last legs. The battery is going bad, and I made the mistake of dropping it last November and cracking the screen. Fortunately, AT&T is practically giving away newer iPhones at this point (not the 14, yet, but 13 and older, yes.)

[oscar]

My iPhone 8 is on its last legs. The battery is going bad, and I made the mistake of dropping it last November and cracking the screen. Fortunately, AT&T is practically giving away newer iPhones at this point (not the 14, yet, but 13 and older, yes.)

I got a quick and inexpensive replacement (under $50) for my iPhone 8's battery, so if it's just a battery problem it's non-fatal. That said, I'm probably going to upgrade anyway in the next few months.

[hotdogPi]

My iPhone SE (the first one, between 5 and 6) is still going strong except for battery life. I'm not getting any bugs, force restarts, or anything like that.

[hbelkins]

My iPhone SE (the first one, between 5 and 6) is still going strong except for battery life. I'm not getting any bugs, force restarts, or anything like that.

Yes, but how many apps will the phone not run now because you can't update the OS?

That's the only reason I updated my phone from the 6 to the SE 2020. A whole bunch of apps would no longer function.

[hotdogPi]

My iPhone SE (the first one, between 5 and 6) is still going strong except for battery life. I'm not getting any bugs, force restarts, or anything like that.

Yes, but how many apps will the phone not run now because you can't update the OS?

None so far, although I prefer using my laptop or the phone's Safari browser over installing apps.

[kalvado]

My iPhone SE (the first one, between 5 and 6) is still going strong except for battery life. I'm not getting any bugs, force restarts, or anything like that.

Yes, but how many apps will the phone not run now because you can't update the OS?

That's the only reason I updated my phone from the 6 to the SE 2020. A whole bunch of apps would no longer function.

I was forced into some action when LTE calls became mandatory in winter 2022. While I was able to find a workaround and use older phone until black friday, I still decided to upgrade on BF - for battery life if nothing else. Replacing  battery would cost about the same anyway.