It’s also not just about photos. If you want to do automatic backup of your phone you can only do that with iCloud. Otherwise you have to connect your phone to a computer and do a manual backup with iTunes/Finder. Apple even killed off automatic wifi backups by forcing you to enter your unlock code every time you trigger a backup via iTunes/Finder.

Whoops, I thought it said “not opt out”. Too early in the day apparently 😅

Allow third-party app stores for Android, and let those app stores distribute all the same apps as are available in Google Play (app developers can opt out of this);

Developers should definitely be able to pick with AppStores their apps are distributed in. This seems strange they can’t opt out.

Pretty sure Fdroid doesn’t want PlayStore spyware apps.

At the moment there is no end-to-end encryption as part of RCS. Google created a proprietary add-on for their app. Apple is working with the standards committee to add end-to-end encryption.

RCS on android has only two supported apps, one by Google and one by Samsung. Google is actively blocking phones with custom Roms from using their RCS app.

Google also provides/hosts the RCS backend software used by most telecoms. They can host their own implementation, and most did at the start. But now a lot switched to Google to provide their RCS service.

You can’t get around Big Tech spyware if you want to use RCS.

Yes I think we this in addition to be able to unlock the boot loader. This allows the community to continue to provide security updates after the company abandoned the product through planned obsolescence.

That didn’t force Value to lock down the Steam Deck.

The question was “What is the primary operating system in which you work?”

I’m not for sure I understand the stats. Taking Personal Use stats, adding up the percentages for each OS quickly exceeds 100%.

This should be a right of the consumer that purchased the hardware. Same goes for gaming consoles. You used to be able to officially install Linux on a PlayStation.

Windows is malware now.

I have had a similar idea. Basically some third party that is trusted to be the escrow for all the source code and documentation would basically release it once the company stops supporting it.

You can still do this with physical console games.

Steam also has the family sharing support where you can burrow games from people.

I (originally from the US) moved to Germany with a Swiss girlfriend, so we visit Switzerland frequently and know the cultural/politics.

I find Germany to have much better social policies than Switzerland, such as better worker rights/conditions, public health insurance. The Swiss people voted against having minimum 5 weeks vacation and also just rejected caps on the private insurance minimum costs. The politics are much more conservative/individualistic compared to Germany. On a positive side, Switzerland probably has the best public transport system in Europe.

They are openly racist. This was an ad of theirs depicting foreigners as black sheep and kicking them out of Switzerland.

https://qz.com/617050/switzerlands-largest-political-party-insists-on-depicting-foreigners-as-black-sheep

Apple is the one holding back the user experience on their operating systems, not third party developers.

Funny how we are moving back to bicycles, as cars aren’t scalable solution.

The Bluetooth issue also happens on iOS, so I think it is an explicit choice, as Apple wants as many devices contributing to their Find My Network. It’s also the reason they changed control center on iOS to no longer turn off Wifi and Bluetooth, but to disconnect the current connections.

They are definitely are starting to trash it with ads for their own services, user hostile behavior/dark patterns (try turning off Bluetooth and applying a software update, it will be magically back on), and have ruined the UI slowly turning it in to iOS.

Even if companies were replacing existing hardware, the existing hardware uses less power. So whether it is additional hardware or not, there will be an increase in energy demand, which is bad for climate change.

I have been enjoying Tech Won’t Save Us. It mainly focuses on the politics and unethical behavior of Big Tech/Silicon Valley. It has been an eye opener.

https://www.techwontsave.us/