Ask HN: Is technology creating a great divide in working opportunity

5 points by mehta_rohan 5 years ago | 17 comments

Every one is running towards creating high end mobile apps, organising the unorganised. The ones who are not able to use the high end apps due to various reason, are not able to take advantages of this advancements. What are your views?

austincheney 5 years ago |

I think this is an incorrect view of the problem. It isn't so much the perceived access to technology but rather theoretical familiarity of required concepts. For example a librarian or literary scholar would have a much greater understanding of computer science concepts, even without access to technology, than many children who tap a touch screen all day.

rvz 5 years ago |

If you're talking about 'apps' and 'technology' then you should blame Apple and the app developers, as they are uninterested in backwards compatibility.

In iOS, Apple wants devs to use the latest hardware features (AR, Face ID, Neural Engines) in their apps, meaning new features may raise the minimum supported version and also locks devs onto higher iOS versions (Building an entire app in SwiftUI for example) - meaning users must purchase a new device if it isn't supported. This happens on Android but it is not as enforced as it is on Apple devices.

So on mobile, yes it happens more with apps. But on the desktop users go for the web instead.

jamil7 5 years ago | |

You're able to run a SwiftUI app on an iPhone 6s which is 5 years old at this point. Most people I speak to in the industry are supporting iOS12 at least. SwiftUI isn't widespread at all yet and most are using UIKit and likely will for a number of years. Also placing the blame entirely on app developers isn't especially fair since web developers don't seem that interested either, fire up an old tablet and see how well some modern SPAs run on it.

emteycz 5 years ago |

Who is not able to use these apps? I thought even the cheapest phones and computers of today were very powerful. And you can get a second hand few years old laptop from brand like Lenovo Thinkpad for $50.

mehta_rohan 5 years ago | |

are you talking about US? where everyone is able to buy and use mobile devices? I am talking about India.

emteycz 5 years ago | | |

Yes indeed, in India there are extremely cheap and powerful devices available to a huge lot of the population.

cblconfederate 5 years ago |

What app you have in mind? Most people use android phones and windows laptops. Designey apps appeal provide marginal productivity gains and are mostly sold as luxury items.

mehta_rohan 5 years ago | |

no specific app or technology.

cblconfederate 5 years ago | | |

well then how is there a divide?

TimSchumann 5 years ago |

It may be I’m ignorant, or not interpreting your intentions properly, but how does this argument not devolve into ‘But inequality is bad, and everything should be fair!?!?’ ?

You’re casually asking for an answer to a very complex problem and, to me at least, it betrays a lack of understanding of what you’re actually asking and the implications thereof.

Then again, maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about.

mehta_rohan 5 years ago | |

If a very skilled worker who is best at what he is doing but not so tech-savvy that he can not register himself with online businesses,missed out from today's mainstream business channels. I am talking about that inequality.

st1x7 5 years ago |

Is it unclear to anyone else what the original post is asking? I have no idea what high end mobile apps are being referred to, what's being "organised", what this has to do with working opportunity.

mehta_rohan 5 years ago | |

High end mobile apps means Apps used for doing business, selling service and commodities.

Organised means bringing together all those who are educated and fortunate enough to use mobile devices and buy sell daily commodities and services.

Those who are not able to use above stuff are not able to get the work and suffer. The missed out ones.

LUmBULtERA 5 years ago | | |

Most everyone I know, myself included, who are professionals working from home are doing little to no work in "high end mobile apps". We are working on either desktops or laptops in applications like Microsoft Office and websites. If one doesn't know how to use technology in general, they will miss out, but no one in my industry is missing out if they are not using "high end mobile apps".

st1x7 5 years ago | | |

Can you give some examples instead of repeating yourself?