SIM cards are used for authentication on the network. Using a dedicated encryption chip is this only way to ensure authentication, software keys are too easy to steal.
Today, any device with a sim card reader and GSM antenna may be used as a phone: computers, tablets, and so on. I don't know where you live, but, in many country, today, you can buy phone service without a phone, and with no lock-in period.
Here's a scenario. I need to make a call but my phone is out of charge. "Here use mine." you say as you hand me your handset. I login on your handset, make my call, logout and hand it back to you. The call came from my number, charged to me I just happened to use your handset.
This is the current system, but with "use this physical item, the SIM card, to login".
This does assumes that the replacement phone in question is unlocked so can work on the other SIM card, but is certainly something that many people do quite often.
Another scenario where this causes issues that a login equivalent can improve: imagine losing your phone including SIM card. This then causes a full interruption of all services tied to that phone number including actual phone service, and SMS, until the SIM is replaced. This usually takes hours/days depending on your location or carrier.
The other big difference in just swapping out sim cards is the need for a full phone reset and the interruption to the service of whomever you're borrowing the phone!
Yep, essentially lots of 'not quites' with the current system.
I want phone-as-easy-as-email. I logon and immediately calls are routed to that device and I can pick up voicemail, make calls and send texts. If I have another phone account I can use the same handset to log into that account at the same time and all calls to that number get routed to the device as well. If the device has radio hardware (such as phone handset) it uses the radio network otherwise it uses wifi or whatever other network comms that device has. When I logout it all stops.
As a customer that's the interface to 'phone' that I want. Phone is soft, not hard.
Imagine 2.9 Billion phones with a login of 'password'.
SIMs are secure(ish). Hand typed passwords are not (no one want to memorize and type a 20 character password formed from a mix of upper/lower/numbers/symbols).
(yes, sims are hacked and cost carriers billions. hacking sw passwords is a lot easier).
If the aim is to reduce cost, is it wise to split the drone and the camera ? In a comment to this one, the DIY drone is around 250$, the GoPro itself is 200$, the Bebop drone (whose camera actually use the same sensor than a GoPro) includes drone and camera (allowing to use flight information to improve video, and video to improve flight control), cost does not seem to be the right reason to make DIY drone. Technical interest may be relevant, as well as specific requirements, but cost is rarely a benefit from DIY.
My comment isn't neutral, as I work at Parrot, but I think it is honest. I also make my comparison with an expected price of 500$ for the Bebop drone, but I have truly no idea of what the actual price will be.
Why was this link put into hacker news ? It's old, it is also based on inaccurate understanding of git. Experienced git users don't need this(1). Is Hacker news designed to publish hints for beginners ?
Hacker news aimed at links that are deeply interesting.
> "A crap link is one that's only superficially interesting. Stories on HN don't have to be about hacking, because good hackers aren't only interested in hacking, but they do have to be deeply interesting."
In my opinion, this link is superficial, and does not go in the real topic : the workflow.
(1) In my opinion, an experienced git user should know what he need to fetch, and when he should have a merge instead of rebasing some commits, and should also know the commands to do so. It's more a matter of workflow than a matter of git command.
Today, any device with a sim card reader and GSM antenna may be used as a phone: computers, tablets, and so on. I don't know where you live, but, in many country, today, you can buy phone service without a phone, and with no lock-in period.