Why? Mostly, so I can control it if an episode ends but also for max volume over the shower sounds. When I travel and don’t have a good place for it, I will use a nearby toilet or counter.

<raises hand>

I listen to The Daily podcast or audiobooks. The phone goes into a little 3D printed holder to keep it dry and redirect the sound. I’ve done this for years with multiple phones, never any issues.

Even though modern iPhones are “waterproof” I like to keep it as dry as possible. The touchscreen stops working reliably if it gets wet, and the speakers can get blocked by water droplets and reduces the volume.

It’s also worth noting that living in the PNW requires using the bathroom fan to keep the moisture down. The bathroom never gets that steamy, which I’m sure drastically changes the moisture exposure equation.

I’d expect the laptops would work similarly, you can either pay longer and keep it or trade it in earlier.

To be fair, there are millions of Americans who upgrade their phones with their cell carrier every year. Technically this is a 2-year loan that will pay off the device if you do nothing, or give you the option to trade in the device after 1 year of payments in exchange for a new device. This pays off the original loan, assuming the device is in good working order.

The details matter here, but this is also very similar in the end result as a lease. You pay every month for an installment, get to use the latest and greatest hardware, and can trade it in for a new model. This model works very well for phones. Why not apply a similar principle to a laptop, but amortize the upfront cost over 4 or 5 years with the option to trade-in and upgrade after two years?

It’s interesting enough for businesses that it may be a great model. The amount of older e-waste laptops filling closets and IT departments is staggering.

This.

You’d be surprised how much of a place’s physical infrastructure depends on a physical line. Automated fire alerts for high rises, security alarms, remote access for gates and doors, backup phone connections. A lot of this still uses old physical lines because it is easy to fix and highly reliable.

Now consider the infrastructure needed for specialized services like EMS, police, secure and classified buildings, federal agencies, embassies, smart traffic signals. Shutting down a network like that has massive implications for anything in society that relies on it, which is well beyond your cell phone plan.