a little story
I have an I-phone they gave me at work. I'm too cheap to pay for one myself. My brother was on his way for a visit when he called me saying his truck had quit on him after cutting out several times. He was sitting near Durkee, Oregon, 7 pm on a Friday night, no cheap way to get services as the area is very rural. Powerstroke diesel, in a dually pickup. He figured it must be the fuel filter because it would start but wouldn't rev, then quit. So I get in the car, stop by the parts store for a filter and head up, a 100 mile drive. I get there, the filter swap is quick on those engines, engine fires up, takes the throttle, looks like we are good to go. But it quits when he puts it in gear. Still has the same problem. We are stumped, it is getting dark, and it is looking like an expensive tow, plus having to find a competent mechanic on the weekend in eastern Oregon, etc. I remembered I grabbed the I-phone on the way out of the house. Googled "powerstroke diesel cutting out" and got many hits, all saying bad cam position sensor, complete with directions showing where it is. Next step is google auto parts store Baker Or. Turns out they roll up the sidewalks in Baker after 6. So tried Ontario and found an O'Reilly's with one in stock, 25 bucks. They stay open until 10 pm and I can just make it. Went and got the part, put it in, problem solved, life is good. Long story short, as someone mentioned above, the smart phone is a tool, and a very useful one at times, as this is only one example. It saved us a lot of time and my brother a lot of money. So we can be stubborn and not accept advances in technology to our loss because it isn't the way we've always done it or we can take advantage of it to our benefit. I long ago figured out my take on it. I do feel sorry for those that have nothing better to do than have their nose buried in them all the time, though.