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Re:On Digital Minimalism by miguelrochefort on Sunday December 18, 2016 @11:30AM (#13206338)
I'm obsessed with minimalism. I want all my possessions to fit inside my backpack. I own one pair of socks. I sleep on the floor.

I still struggle with digital minimalism. The current state of software is unbelievably fragmented. I have literally created over 500 accounts in my life. I have more than 100 apps on my phone. This so-called software diversity makes my life miserable.

I've been attempting to solve this problem for the past 10 years. I came to the conclusion that we need to create a single app that does 80% of things. Somehow, people still don't believe this is desirable or possible. I can't grasp why.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by habitue on Sunday December 18, 2016 @02:24PM (#13207125)
> I came to the conclusion that we need to create a single app that does 80% of things

This is called a web browser

Re:On Digital Minimalism by crististm on Sunday December 18, 2016 @05:18PM (#13208046)
Nope... A browser is just a HAL.
Re:On Digital Minimalism by galfarragem on Sunday December 18, 2016 @12:05PM (#13206502)
> I'm obsessed with minimalism. I want all my possessions to fit inside my backpack. I own one pair of socks. I sleep on the floor.

Like everything in life the answer is in moderation. I do also tend towards minimalism but as a way to increase my freedom, not the opposite.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by miguelrochefort on Sunday December 18, 2016 @12:08PM (#13206519)
> I do also tend towards minimalism but as a way to increase my freedom, not the opposite.

These things increases my freedom.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by wott on Sunday December 18, 2016 @05:01PM (#13207939)
You binge on traditional physical possessions deprivation and then you binge on gadgets. This doesn't sound like freedom to me, but like 2 constraints, and not the kind of constraints which frees (and you wouldn't use this possible freedom, because you are eager to live a modern tech life with a modern tech job and all the constraints that go together with those once more). Just listen to the way you speak of it: I need, I cannot do without, etc.
Re:On Digital Minimalism by Eduard on Sunday December 18, 2016 @04:44PM (#13207835)
I find a single pair of socks would make my life more complicated.
Re:On Digital Minimalism by miguelrochefort on Sunday December 18, 2016 @08:05PM (#13208747)
I wear them every day. I wash them weekly. Not complicated.
Re:On Digital Minimalism by Davidp00 on Sunday December 18, 2016 @11:37AM (#13206366)
Being able to fit all my possessions in a backpack is something I think about.

Can you go in to more detail on the stuff you own?

In what kind of climate do you live in? It seems a lot easier to not have a lot of stuff when you don't have to have cloths for multiple seasons.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by throw9383412 on Sunday December 18, 2016 @02:08PM (#13207067)
I live in western Canada, a pair of long johns, jeans and a coat are enough to spend an hour in -25 °C. I own a few things that I don't mind getting rid of when I move like a snowboard and a mattress, otherwise my clothes + toiletries + laptop/phone is it.
Re:On Digital Minimalism by miguelrochefort on Sunday December 18, 2016 @01:05PM (#13206791)
I have not reached that goal yet. I still own more things than I should.

If you want inspiration, you can find it there: https://www.reddit.com/r/onebag/

Here's a good example: http://tynan.com/gear2017

I live in Canada, so it's not going to be as easy as if I lived in California.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by chickenfries on Sunday December 18, 2016 @11:53AM (#13206437)
I find having substantially less than 100 apps very easy, but I would find living without most of my possessions (the things I cook with, the clothes I wear to work) incredibly difficult. Do you feel like having a second pair of socks would really weigh you down? How is sleeping on the floor acceptable but having less than 100 apps hard?
Re:On Digital Minimalism by miguelrochefort on Sunday December 18, 2016 @01:02PM (#13206776)
> I find having substantially less than 100 apps very easy, but I would find living without most of my possessions (the things I cook with, the clothes I wear to work) incredibly difficult.

You need to embrace the fact that delegating is ultimately more efficient than the alternative. You can focus a lot more on what matters when you let others cook for you, drive you around, repair your stuff, wash your stuff, etc. Once you realize that, owning a washing machine, a oven, a car, a house, power tools, makes very little sense. Unfortunately, these services tend to be expensive, but hopefully this will change once more people migrate to a similar lifestyle.

Regarding apps, you can't avoid them anymore. I have apps for door locks, alarms, parking meters, taxi, food, pressure cooker, time sheets, messaging (10), etc.

> Do you feel like having a second pair of socks would really weigh you down?

I agree that one pair is extreme, but it taught me that I really don't need more, which is the key here. I will mots likely add a second pair for convenience at some point.

> How is sleeping on the floor acceptable but having less than 100 apps hard?

I sleep on the floor by choice. I happen to sleep next to my bed.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by k-mcgrady on Sunday December 18, 2016 @01:47PM (#13206983)
>> "Regarding apps, you can't avoid them anymore. I have apps for door locks, alarms, parking meters, taxi, food, pressure cooker, time sheets, messaging (10), etc."

How is this minimalist by any definition? None of those things need an app and work perfectly fine without one. It sounds like you are adding things in the digital sphere that you don't need and removing things from the physical sphere that you do need (for example a bed). Also - you have a bed, how is sleeping on the floor next to it 'minimalist'?

I've slept on a floor for 6 months - it is terrible for your back. We are not designed to live like that anymore.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by miguelrochefort on Sunday December 18, 2016 @03:14PM (#13207381)
> How is this minimalist by any definition? None of those things need an app and work perfectly fine without one.

- Without the door lock app, I need to carry keys.

- Without the workplace alarm app, I can't go to work early or leave late.

- Without the taxi app, I need to call a taxi.

- Without the pressure cooker app, I can't use half of the functions.

- Without the time sheets app, I need to use the website which is unusable on mobile.

- Without the messaging apps, there are people I can't easily communicate with.

These were just few examples, but I use a lot more apps. With everything now becoming "smart", we'll soon need a lot more apps (roughly 1 app per item in your house). That is, if we don't solve the app problem first.

> I've slept on a floor for 6 months - it is terrible for your back. We are not designed to live like that anymore.

I've read the opposite. I sleep very well on the floor, better than on a bed. Note that I don't sleep directly on the floor, but on a blanket.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by k-mcgrady on Monday December 19, 2016 @02:55PM (#13214498)
This is interesting. My counter point to the door lock app for example would be that although you're reducing the things you have to carry you are introducing complexity where it is not necessary. At least that is my experience when it comes to 'smart' products.

Regarding sleeping on the floor - are you just folding up a blanking or are you using a sleeping mat? Also, is the floor concrete or wood and what material is it covered with (carpet, wood, tile, etc.)? My experience was pretty horrendous on a carpet covered concrete floor with a blanket to lie on and a sleeping bag to lie in. Have you noticed any positives from the experience?

Re:On Digital Minimalism by miguelrochefort on Tuesday December 20, 2016 @08:49AM (#13219690)
> This is interesting. My counter point to the door lock app for example would be that although you're reducing the things you have to carry you are introducing complexity where it is not necessary. At least that is my experience when it comes to 'smart' products.

Even if it only works 99% of the time, I consider it an improvement. If it doesn't work, I can use the garage door (with a PIN), or get the hidden key. I understand that not everyone have these options, but in my case it works out fine.

> Regarding sleeping on the floor - are you just folding up a blanking or are you using a sleeping mat? Also, is the floor concrete or wood and what material is it covered with (carpet, wood, tile, etc.)?

The floor is wood. Second floor. The blanket is currently an unzipped sleeping bag (cotton interior).

> Have you noticed any positives from the experience?

I was looking at alternative sleeping surfaces. I read about memory foam, air beds, water beds, futons, etc. Then I read about floor sleeping, and I liked the simplicity of it. Imagine not depending on a soft surface to sleep comfortably? I decided to give it a try.

At first my body would hurt, but after a week the pain was gone. I did not notice any big difference between sleeping on the floor and sleep on a bed, which surprised me (I thought it would be more difficult). I don't tend to linger as much as I did with a bed, and getting up tends to be easier.

Ultimately, I'll go with what is more convenient, whether that's the floor, a futon, or a full bed. I'm happy to know that I have this option, but I'm not religious about it.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by wott on Sunday December 18, 2016 @04:43PM (#13207829)
I fail to understand how this:

> I'm obsessed with minimalism. I want all my possessions to fit inside my backpack. I own one pair of socks. I sleep on the floor.

is compatible with that:

> I have literally created over 500 accounts in my life. I have more than 100 apps on my phone. This so-called software diversity makes my life miserable. I came to the conclusion that we need to create a single app that does 80% of things.

I guess the problem lies in "100 applications that do things". What do they actually do? What are the 100 things they do? I don't have any app. I don't have any smartphone. Nobody had a few years ago. What problem do they solve that you cannot solve otherwise?

Re:On Digital Minimalism by icebraining on Sunday December 18, 2016 @07:33PM (#13208618)
I can't speak for miguelrochefort, but I'd say the problem is that doing those things without a smartphone is often even worse. For example, I dislike having Uber on my tablet, but it still beats having to call a cab.
Re:On Digital Minimalism by miguelrochefort on Sunday December 18, 2016 @08:06PM (#13208755)
This.
Re:On Digital Minimalism by GuiA on Sunday December 18, 2016 @12:15PM (#13206546)
Maybe there's a niche there for a very very pared down computer. Like a typewriter with a monochrome screen that lets you minimally browse a subset of the web (e.g. Wikipedia), do email, word processing, play mp3s, open PDFs, and that's it.

Maybe you want a color screen for YouTube/photos, but that's it.

If this feels more like a microwave or radio than full computer, this is something that someone like my grandparents would be very content with.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by miguelrochefort on Sunday December 18, 2016 @01:08PM (#13206807)
I don't want to pare down anything. If anything, I believe that computers are not powerful (in a UI sense) enough. I want to do more with my computer, and I have no problem depending on it.

What I have a problem with, is walled gardens and UIs designed by hand. It makes no sense that the UI for hailing a cab, ordering a pizza or reviewing a movie should be different. What we really need, is a better language, a new communication paradigm.

Re:On Digital Minimalism by icebraining on Sunday December 18, 2016 @07:24PM (#13208577)
I agree with you, and it reminds me of Mozilla Ubiquity, and particularly this post: https://jonoscript.wordpress.com/2008/07/26/why-verbs/
Re:On Digital Minimalism by rokhayakebe on Sunday December 18, 2016 @01:42PM (#13206957)
Chromebook?
Re:On Digital Minimalism by jasonkostempski on Sunday December 18, 2016 @01:40PM (#13206950)
We don't need to do anything, you need to learn self control :) So do I, but I've gotten much better in the past 2 years. Start deleting accounts and apps, all of them, it's an amazing feeling. Note: HN won't let you delete your account, something that wouldn't have bothered me if I hadn't used my real name, but since I did, it drives me nuts. Looks like you might have the same problem.
Re:On Digital Minimalism by 0xCMP on Sunday December 18, 2016 @11:36AM (#13206361)
I agree, have been trying to attain this as well for the longest time.