I think that's perfectly valid thinking. In a way, it's purely a matter of semantics. Most would probably agree that "SHTF" ranks somewhere between "disaster" and "mega disaster". Not sure though if that classification (albeit more politically correct) makes interpreting the severity of the situation any easier or more objective per se.

At the end of the day, it's the eye of the beholder. I'm sure that for a good number of people these days accidentally dunking their smartphone in the toilet would constitute a "giga disaster". I'm not sure though how those same individuals would rate something potentially more dangerous still, like a major natural disaster or civil war.

And that's not even getting into TEOTWAWKI fantasy territory. It's not survivalist fiction, "virtual reality" stuff like scavenging for ammo, taking guns off dead bad guys, saving the human race from extinction with the treasure of knowledge stored for posterity on your SD card etc.

9/11, Katrina, the Nepal earthquake, Syria - just a few familiar examples. Some of that stuff is actually happening as we speak. Just not to us (enjoying a quiet online discussion on our PCs, smartphones and WiFi gadgets) at this particular moment, but to real people somewhere far away.

But it could happen to anyone. So can one ever truly prepare oneself for a "mega disaster" (I think I'd actually prefer the term "SHTF" within that particular context)? Probably not, and in general you're absolutely right that it makes more sense in our given situation to focus primarily on minor emergencies that are easier to prepare for and more likely to happen.

As far as the tools best suited to dealing with a particular scale of disaster... I suspect it's a matter of force continuum more or less. The bigger the problem, the harder the solution. By the same token, if your problem can be solved with a smartphone app... It's probably not actual SHTF/TEOTWAWKI/end of days mega disaster.

I believe, that's indeed the ultimate goal of any true human being. The life on our planet is so fragile that it can become extinct any moment, even as we speak, without a prior warning (Supernova flash, decent asteroid impact...), and there is a very little we can do about it so far, especially with an egoistic approach to our personal survival.

Regarding the "the treasure of knowledge stored for posterity on your SD card". Thanks, I feel like a virtual Noah now, EDCing around 30Gb of precious survival knowledge... However, looking back at the "aluminum foil" discussion attempts above, I can tell for sure now that having some early grades schoolbooks stored on the phone was a smart decision on my part, for posterity or not In fact, the information you store on your PDA must have an immediate reference value (thus, by the way, the old Russian schoolbooks, which were made extremely to the point at that time, leaving lengthy explanations, examples, and exercises, typical for american schoolbooks, my son's using, to the teacher and in class work). Also, one should keep in mind, that books are good for deeper understanding of things, but dedicated apps are even better as they are providing ready to use tools, with the minimal learning curve required to use them, as any app is encapsulating not just many bits of diverse knowledge scattered in several books, but also proven scientific approach of applying them to the surrounding reality as well.



If you watch some real footage from around some of the most recent SHTF events, and observant enough, you would immediately notice, that almost all the refugees hold on their smartphones even when storming the barbed fences or throwing rocks. During the two civil wars in Russia with Chechnya, Chechen rebels were widely using smartphones while hiding in the woods, and were charging them daily with makeshift crank chargers made out of logs:



That's definitely nothing to do with your imaginary "couch wars". Chechens won that war, by the way, from Russia (contrary to the Russian official statements); and one of the major contributors to that was exactly the modern electronics technology, as the Russian army's personal communications and data mining technologies deployed on the battlefield were decades behind what rebels' supporters money could buy from the West at the time.


LOL. I thought that problems are solved by smart people, leveraging the common knowledge and resources available, not by any talking smart tools themselves...

I've run into how ancient the OS is several times already. IIRC at the time, current Android was up to maybe 3.0. How often have the manufacturers released upgrades though? By the time they get an upgrade ready, they will be releasing the next version anyway. This way they increase the benefit to getting a new device instead of upgrading.

I have no clue about iGadgets, but if you stick with Android, you can upgrade at minimum from 3.x OS to 5.X if your device is from the former top of the line general breed (e.g. Kindle is also Android but of a proprietary breed), as by now almost all of such Android smartphones have been rooted (rooting procedure is available) and have a dedicated developers community adapting new OS versions for them. You can rarely see any upgrades from cell providers, unless that's poses a well known security threat, as they obviously want you to buy again. However, I must admit, that Verizon has gradually upgraded my smartphone OS (Note 3) from 4.0 to 4.2, then to 4.4, and 5.0 officially.

When you root the device and upgrade, does the OS upgrade or replace the old one?

Usually, it will replace the old one (1). However, in most of the cases you can opt for either a "dual boot" (2), or the guest OS boot from the card (3). In the later case your original OS will stay intact. But if you are concerning with your current apps and settings - they will be gone in cases 1 and 2. The Google autosync is not 100% reliable (if you have many apps - they will be autorestoring from the cloud for many days, and still may stuck unfinished) so the manual backup is a must prior to the rooting and after, prior to the ROM upgrade (with the much more thorough root backup utilities).

Thanks. I'm debating root & upgrade verses new phone when my current contract is up.

What is your old phone model, OS version, and provider? I can help with the viability estimation of either path.

Samsung Convoy 2 flip phone and using the Media Player as a PDA/wi-fi tablet with Verizon. Current plan fits my usage @ 700min, unlimited text, and pay as you go data. Normal bill right now is ~$30. I like Verizon's service except the up-charge for a data plan. The must include data plan is the only reason I didn't go to a smart phone with the last upgrade.

I see. I cannot seem to find what the Verizon Media Player tablet is, though (Convoy is definitely not a smart phone). Can you provide a link to its specs? I'm with Verizon as well. Paying $99 total for 2 smart phones (one is on the lease still) and 500Mb of shared Data.