What's something people use the internet for that can be done just as easily offline?
For me it's calculating. Too many people put math into their search engines and not their calculator.
Writing documents
I am also guilty of this since i really like google docs
To turn off and on light bulbs
I do this on my intranet with home assistant, looks like I flew just under the radar
Oh, yeah, my Home Assistant setup is fucking monstrous but also, crucially, self-hosted. Why the fuck do I want my thermostat and radiators to be talking via a datacentre in another country?
But that would require getting up off my sofa and walking across the living room.
Remotes exist
Too many people put math into their search engines and not their calculator.
People are doing what now? fr? There's a whole ass app for that.
Search engine UI is better for it than most default calculators. I use Kubuntu and KCalc is usually pretty crap in comparison.
Say I want to calculate 220480*(1.0523-1.0522). Now I want to 220480*(1.0524-1.0523), doing that in KCalc requires awkwardly typing out the entire thing again. Doing it in duckduckgo I just change 23 and 22 to 24 and 23.
But I also don't use a calculator often enough to look for a better one to install.
If you type it the search bar, it pulls up a calculator with the answer on it. I do it all the time.
Asking what people use the internet for that can be done just as easily offline.
Searching the filesystem. There's no reason Windows Search needs to access the internet. Fucking Bing.
Convenient indexed search was the only real improvement Windows made since XP and now they've ruined it. Windows XP is once again superior.
It does what now? Why would it do that?
It's just a search bar located in the start menu and on the task bar, that combines local search with web results. For pro users it is pretty terrible, but I wouldn't be surprised if many regular users like it. You still have a normal local file search from within the file explorer.
it does what now
It's been doing it since Windows 8.
It helps use Microsoft's Windows monopoly to promote Bing.
I imagine that at some point the EU antitrust people might get grouchy about that.
That's not true, all my files are stored on onedrive nowadays, which is super fast and responsive. Oh wait... it's actually slow and laggy and randomly deletes stuff from your pc and you're not even allowed to give your files perfectly normal names like .aux files in a LaTeX project.
At least we have Everything for local search.
True story!
Reading- I am absolutely horrible at this. I'll read anything and everything online, but never make the time to read a physical book.
What's the problem with that? You're still reading, it's not like you aren't improving yourself.
I mean, even if you're reading smut, it's still good for you from a physical and mental health perspective because reading strengthens your mind, helps you empathize with others, and also reduces your stress.
Recently I was sitting in a bus for hours. My Steam Deck was already empty. Bravely, I decided to finally continue reading Dune. I was enjoying the experience (after the initial confusion from forgetting who everyone was). But somehow, despite being interested in what was written, my brain constantly wanted more stimulation. To grab the slate of glass that provides endless dopamine. To click buttons. To have a constant stream of simple information.
I'm kinda scared tbh. This shit is an addiction, and I'm addicted. But most other people around me seem just as much or even more addicted. What happened to just being able to do something for an hour without feeling the need for different stimulation. We're all poisoning or minds until we're incapable of paying attention for more than a few seconds.
I also do this. But I do not necessarily think it as a bad thing.
I do not need to finish the book in one sitting, it's fine to wander, I usually just just went on a tangent on a relevant topic though. Reading for an hour is fine, as is a 5 minute session.
Maybe immersing myself reading books just not that fun for me. But I can sit for hours studying music even without touching my instruments, just reading the chart and analysing the harmony and what not. I think reading like any other skill, needs training and I just haven't give it enough time.
I'm a late millennial, and like it or not I'm used to being able to access relevant context and information with just a click (like Wiki).
If your addiction is reading books on a device, that's not really a problem. You're still reading.
Reading online fanfiction is free. Sure, the quality varies, but I can quit any time I want. I just don't want to.
Reading anything online is free if you're slightly motivated.
Porn
Finding books. I have no idea why I do that, when there's a bookstore I really enjoy right across the lot from me, but i'll literally browse book reviews for 30 mins before wandering over there and just... buying whatever looks good.
Total waste of time, I didn't value the opinions of the reviewers in the first place, and the process is always inconclusive.
Note taking
Translating and dictionary, see the app Aard 2, you download Wiktionary in your preferred language (hoping it's available) and it's all in your phone.
For me it's ordering takeout. I never order takeout online, I always call up the place with my phone 🤷♀️ much easier to customize an order this way too
And often cheaper as they aren't getting gouged by apps. My local pizzeria happily said ' call us direct and you'll get a discount'
I hate the phone: wayyy too much telephone tech support early in my career.
So I walk up and talk to a human.
Store important telephone numbers on your phone. No need to do a google search everytime you call your doctor/dentist/mechanic/whoever.
But I might want to not use this doctor for my yearly specialty visits for the first time in over a decade!
Think.
Watch videos of OPs mom
Store passwords.
I gotta disagree. It's much harder to do this well offline. Losing access to a password database would be detrimental, so it's not something I recommend doing purely locally.
Whacking off
Analog masturbation just hits different. Or so I've been told
Personally I prefer the full range of motion offered by analogue.
How does one do that online?
Look up The Handy
You haven't seen the latest chatGPT update?
Chat
I can't shout loud enough for people 900 miles away to hear me
Not sure about 900 miles, but you can avoid shouting by..
learning sign language and lip reading and get a telescope.
learning morse code so you can use blinking light.
learning smoke signalling.
Get a pigeon or 2.
Practice, practice, practice.
Buy a plane ticket (but buying a ticket offline the day of is suspicious)