The big news today is the move to regulate the internet as a utility.

-superboyac (February 05, 2015, 05:16 PM)

Apparently, no, it isn't so.

-eleman (February 06, 2015, 06:57 AM)

A good comment from the comments, that I agree with:

The overall message in this post is one that FCC official Gigi Sohn has urged "friendly bloggers"to echo; the same story appears on TechDirt and Public Knowledge. Here's a clue: if you impose universal service taxes, pole attachment rates, and price controls on interconnection (setting the price to zero is price control), you're in utility territory. Call it what it is.

They're just trying to head off opposition by saying, "no, no... we're not trying to classify it as a utility.  No matter what it looks like!"

-wraith808 (February 06, 2015, 08:06 AM)

Ohh... The quacks like a duck test... You may be right. I didn't look from that angle.

What could be the pros and cons of a utility treatment then? Most of the stuff I read on the matter is from techdirt, so I suspect I have a one-sided view.

Buy a new phone with a large enough screen. In 5+ inch screens the on screen keyboard is a bearable burden. Won't match a physical keyboard, but bearable. You can use bluetooth keyboards if that's a road you like to take.

The apps thingie: They are connected to your account, and not your phone. So you have a google account (for android phones) or apple account (if you have problems storing large amounts of money, so you have to dispose of it quickly), or microsoft account (if you are into crippled ecosystems), and all software belongs to it, not the phone.

Try to get a phone with a high battery capacity/screen size ratio, so that you won't run out of battery in the afternoon. When that phone gets old, get a new phone, and transfer all your apps to the new one.

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone. [John Maynard Keynes]