Harvester on 21/7/2023 at 13:11
Quote Posted by Cipheron
Apple & Co don't want the phone to be fixable, they want you to throw it away and get a new one. Being able to replace the battery at all, even with only an official one, is an improvement.
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I agree Apple often behaves unethically, but you can just send your phone to them through a reseller and they will install a new battery for you for a price, unless the model is really, really old. I considered this with my previous iPhone, but got a new one instead after using the old one for 6 years. Even at the end the old phone still received OS updates, this is something that Apple does better than Android manufacturers, the OS support is usually shorter on Samsung phones and the like.
Also, while liking their products I don't want to be an Apple apologist, but I'd wager that making batteries replaceable by end users might have effect on the level of waterproofness of a phone. This is one of the reasons they stopped with the detachable back panels, because it's hard to make such a phone waterproof.
I also agree with not packing chargers with phones, people have all kinds of chargers nowadays, it's wasteful to pack a possibly unneeded one with a phone. I do agree with the decision to force USB-C for charging phones.
Azaran on 21/7/2023 at 14:18
Quote Posted by Harvester
I agree Apple often behaves unethically, but you can just send your phone to them through a reseller and they will install a new battery for you for a price, unless the model is really, really old.
Sure, but for the price of that battery, you could buy an Android phone - not the best mind you, but still a decent basic phone.
Granted, Apple is a luxury company, but considering the influence they have in the industry, they need to be scrutinized
Quote Posted by Harvester
Also, while liking their products I don't want to be an Apple apologist, but I'd wager that making batteries replaceable by end users might have effect on the level of waterproofness of a phone. This is one of the reasons they stopped with the detachable back panels, because it's hard to make such a phone waterproof.
Maybe, but they also deliberately slowed down older Iphones via updates, obviously to force people to buy new ones. When they got caught, they claimed it was to protect the phones from depleting too quick (LOL), like 'we could send customers low cost replacement batteries as a courtesy, but let's just mess with their phones instead'
Harvester on 21/7/2023 at 15:05
Still think an iPhone will last you longer than the average Android phone, except maybe the flagship models which cost almost as much as an iPhone. Once I’ve made the mistake of buying a budget Android phone and I’ll surely never do that again, what a worthless PoS that was.
And I think these budget phones with only a few years of OS updates which have slowed down to the point of becoming unusable at that time anyway are a waste of resources.
Azaran on 21/7/2023 at 15:31
Quote Posted by Harvester
Still think an iPhone will last you longer than the average Android phone, except maybe the flagship models which cost almost as much as an iPhone. Once I've made the mistake of buying a budget Android phone and I'll surely never do that again, what a worthless PoS that was.
And I think these budget phones with only a few years of OS updates which have slowed down to the point of becoming unusable at that time anyway are a waste of resources.
That really depends on the brand. I still have my old Samsung A8 and A71 as backup phones, and they work as good as new (the A8 battery depletes faster but that's normal). I use Xiaomi now because of better value for money.
Oh and I don't do updates for the exact opposite reason. A coworker of mine also had an A8, and when he installed one of the updates, it slowed his phone down (Samsung was also suspected of pulling off that stunt). The first thing I do when I get a new phone is disable updates in the developer options, I've heard more than a few bad stories about updates besides that one and the Apple fiasco: phones slowing down (whether deliberate or not), bugs, crashes, etc. Anyway, updates are only useful if you want latest features. If you get a phone today, its existing system version will probably work fine with any new apps over the next 5 years or so.
As far as security, there's plenty of antimalware apps you can use.
Harvester on 21/7/2023 at 17:01
My previous girlfriend's mother had a nasty porn pop-up virus on her Android phone. She did only old lady things with it and no weird stuff whatsoever like sideloading apps but was still stuck with this malware. It was probably one of the many background processes I saw in the task manager but I couldn't figure out which one so I was unable to help her. The availability of virus scanners and antimalware apps is not a positive thing, I know of no iPhone users who use any of those, they hardly exist because they aren't needed on iOS. The EU wants to force Apple to enable third-party app stores. That's fine with me but I won't be using any of those third-party app stores, because I don't want to have to use virus scanners and antimalware apps like Android users do. You can call the Apple thing a fiasco but Android products often slow down by themselves without any malice involved, but the result is the same. My father has a budget Android tablet for less than a year and has had to wipe it clean several times to make it fast(ish) again (not to mention it overheats in the protective case my father bought for it), while my iPad which I've had since 2020 is still as fast as when I bought it.
Cipheron on 21/7/2023 at 17:28
Quote Posted by Harvester
My previous girlfriend's mother had a nasty porn pop-up virus on her Android phone. She did only old lady things with it and no weird stuff whatsoever like sideloading apps but was still stuck with this malware. It was probably one of the many background processes I saw in the task manager but I couldn't figure out which one so I was unable to help her.
That's pretty rare so I wouldn't use one anecdote to say all Android phones are prone to that.
I've had 3 android phones in 10 years, two tablets (lost the first one it didn't break or anything). Never seen anything like a virus or needed any malware protection. Viruses don't just pop up by themselves, you need to do something silly.
There are definitely a ton of iPhone viruses out there so it might be a false comfort thinking you're immune and don't need to take additional precautions because you have Apple devices:
(
https://macpaw.com/how-to/most-common-iphone-viruses)
Quote:
Pegasus has been around since 2016, but what makes it particularly dangerous is that all it takes is a simple text message to infect your phone. Typically, the hacker will text a link, and when you click on it, all you see is a blank website. But in the background of your browser, it's downloading the virus to install on your iPhone.
... this one infects you through a malware link in a text message, which is very likely the same way your girlfriend's mother was infected.
While it's more likely that you could be infected by side-loaded apps (some of the iPhone viruses work like that) the vast majority of Android users never do anything like that. Side-loading apks requires a fair amount more technical knowledge than just browsing the app store.
heywood on 21/7/2023 at 22:38
There are good design reasons for encapsulated batteries in phones. Consumer-removable batteries increase the cost of the device and the size & weight. Their packaging also impedes heat transfer from the batteries to the outside so you can't charge them as quickly. And making them waterproof requires seals. So far, technology advancement has made phones obsolete as fast or faster than their batteries, so I think it might be premature to force us all to compromise other features for the sake of battery replacement. If in 10 years time we're all still on 5G and using Android or iOS, I might change my mind.
Regarding Apple vs. Android, we could fill pages. I prefer Android over iOS. They've copied each other so much they both kind of suck, except that iOS still assumes you're in its walled garden, which unnecessarily complicates simple things like copying the pictures & vids you took off your phone. But Apple makes good hardware and continues to provide security updates for their phones longer than others.
Believe it or not, I miss Windows 10 Mobile. The Lumia 950 was my last phone with a replaceable battery. It lasted about 4 years before the battery gave up, and by then the replacement battery part number was discontinued. I bought a supposedly new replacement from Amazon and it lasted a week. Then I bought a used replacement on eBay. That gave me a few more months before I had to throw in the towel on Windows Phone because I was wasting money and there was no replacement. The 950 turned out to be the end of line for Windows Phone and Nokia.
Azaran on 12/8/2023 at 20:35
Russia's
dictator president makes (
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-gender-affirming-care-ban-bill-signed-putin-1.6916122) gender reassignment surgery illegal
Quote:
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation Monday which marked the final step in outlawing gender-affirming procedures in the country — a crippling blow to Russia's already embattled LGBTQ community.
The bill, which was approved unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any "medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person," as well as changing one's gender in official documents and public records. The only exception will be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies.
It also annuls marriages in which one person has "changed gender" and bars transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents.
The ban is said to stem from the Kremlin's crusade to protect what it views as the country's "traditional values." Lawmakers say the legislation is to safeguard Russia against "Western anti-family ideology," with some describing gender-transitioning as "pure satanism."
Russia's crackdown on LGBTQ people started a decade ago when Putin first proclaimed a focus on "traditional family values," supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 2013, the Kremlin adopted legislation that banned any public endorsement of "non-traditional sexual relations" among minors. In 2020, Putin pushed through constitutional reform that outlawed same-sex marriage, and last year signed a law banning "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" among adults as well.
Pyrian on 12/8/2023 at 21:12
Pandering to Republicans, basically.
