Given the current development when it comes to trustworthiness of governments as well as (especially) big companies - how do you all handle the topic technology & privacy?
Given you are using a banking app and/or other apps that won't work on a modified phone - which potential "evil” did you choose and why? (iOS, Android, something completely different)
#apple #google #privacy #phone
Reposts are welcome - thanks!
John Siracusa
boosted
Ran @siracusa 's Hyperspace utility on a volume that backs up my primary “online" video editing volume.
Reclaimed 1.64TB of space. Took a long while.
Yes it's a spinning drive with APFS. Don't @ me.
Ran @siracusa 's Hyperspace utility on a volume that backs up my primary “online" video editing volume.
Reclaimed 1.64TB of space. Took a long while.
Yes it's a spinning drive with APFS. Don't @ me.
Apple drops trailer for "The Last Frontier", series looks great, def on my list.
Starts October 10th.
Jeff Sikes 🍎
boosted
The new smart glasses by #Meta is actually some cool tech, and pretty close to what I've always envisioned and wanted since about a decade ago.. but no way should you be buying that type of shit, anything with cameras or mics really, from Meta lmao. Gotta wait for that sort of tech to trickle down into products from #Apple or maybe even #Valve?? (that'd be REALLY cool - if they'd like to expand their hw offerings beyond gaming).
🔗 https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/meta-ray-ban-display
The new smart glasses by #Meta is actually some cool tech, and pretty close to what I've always envisioned and wanted since about a decade ago.. but no way should you be buying that type of shit, anything with cameras or mics really, from Meta lmao. Gotta wait for that sort of tech to trickle down into products from #Apple or maybe even #Valve?? (that'd be REALLY cool - if they'd like to expand their hw offerings beyond gaming).
🔗 https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/meta-ray-ban-display
King Charles III called for the defense of Ukraine and the environment as he welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump and top tech and finance executives for a lavish state dinner at Windsor Castle. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/18/world/apple-citi-trump-king-charles/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #kingcharlesiii #apple #timcook #citi #janefraser #nvidia #jensenhuang #blackstone #steveschwarzman #arm #renehaas #rupertmurdoch #us #donaldtrump #uk
Beardy Star Stuff
boosted
The whole iOS 26 discourse is interesting as very few people seem to realize that the problem is that they "bought" devices that they don't own.
#apple owns it.
Computing doesn't have to be this way.
John Siracusa
boosted
Another rejection for my app.
Reason: “Your app includes content or features from LG TVs, or is marketed to control external hardware from LG TVs, without the necessary authorization”
I included a chat with LG explaining I had express permission to control their TVs via their API.
I’m honestly at a loss with what to do now. I guess I don’t release it and it’s just an app for me. Incredibly frustrated and disheartened.
Another rejection for my app.
Reason: “Your app includes content or features from LG TVs, or is marketed to control external hardware from LG TVs, without the necessary authorization”
I included a chat with LG explaining I had express permission to control their TVs via their API.
I’m honestly at a loss with what to do now. I guess I don’t release it and it’s just an app for me. Incredibly frustrated and disheartened.
Charlie Stross
boosted
Upgraded to Liquid Ass™️ iOS update. Honestly, looks great (for now) but now there is the return ONCE AGAIN of “noise level” notifications, reminding me that I really should lower the volume in order to protect my hearing and save the children (probably). There’s no way to turn these off currently, it seems.
I would of course protect my hearing…IF I HAD SOME
Context: am profoundly deaf and wear hearing aids
The whole iOS 26 discourse is interesting as very few people seem to realize that the problem is that they "bought" devices that they don't own.
#apple owns it.
Computing doesn't have to be this way.
Upgraded to Liquid Ass™️ iOS update. Honestly, looks great (for now) but now there is the return ONCE AGAIN of “noise level” notifications, reminding me that I really should lower the volume in order to protect my hearing and save the children (probably). There’s no way to turn these off currently, it seems.
I would of course protect my hearing…IF I HAD SOME
Context: am profoundly deaf and wear hearing aids
decryption
boosted
After 4–5 years, my MacBook Air M1 16GB has met its match: macOS Tahoe is slow on it. Double screen with 5K external monitor.
Partly a story as old as old operating systems: "visual treats" slow the computer down. Partly: feels bloated. Hopefully some is "new install" settling.
Liquid Glass is nice on iPad and iPhone, but weird on Mac. I sometimes cannot see which Safari window is active as the title bars look so different (depending on Safari window content). Crazy.
Third party apps seem to work quite well, including "background" stuff like Keyboard Maestro etc.
I've now turned on a couple of Accessibility features:
- reduce motion, because I didn't like the "physics" of scrolling in Messages.app
- reduce transparency: after which some performance returns
Enjoying things belonging where they should:
- Journal.app on macOS (and iPadOS).
- folders have colours and symbols
- Spotlight (as Launchbar/Quiksilver/Butler etc) works much better.
After 4–5 years, my MacBook Air M1 16GB has met its match: macOS Tahoe is slow on it. Double screen with 5K external monitor.
Partly a story as old as old operating systems: "visual treats" slow the computer down. Partly: feels bloated. Hopefully some is "new install" settling.
Liquid Glass is nice on iPad and iPhone, but weird on Mac. I sometimes cannot see which Safari window is active as the title bars look so different (depending on Safari window content). Crazy.
Third party apps seem to work quite well, including "background" stuff like Keyboard Maestro etc.
I've now turned on a couple of Accessibility features:
- reduce motion, because I didn't like the "physics" of scrolling in Messages.app
- reduce transparency: after which some performance returns
Enjoying things belonging where they should:
- Journal.app on macOS (and iPadOS).
- folders have colours and symbols
- Spotlight (as Launchbar/Quiksilver/Butler etc) works much better.
I’m interested in the import/export as Markdown with Apple Notes. Am I correct that this is only on iOS and iPadOS 26? I can’t find it in Taho.
This is this script of my national radio report yesterday on why there isn't so much excitement about new smartphone introductions these days. As always there may have been minor wording variations from this script as I presented the report live on air.
- - -
So yeah, remember back when new smartphone introductions triggered fanfare and lines of people around the block waiting for hours or even days to get the latest iPhone? There was even a Simpson's episode that was a parody of Apple like that. Well, those days seem long gone now.
Sure, #Apple and #Google and others are in the midst of announcing new smartphones, but you don't really see the kind of excitement that there used to be. And there seems to be a bunch of reasons for this. First off, these phones, especially the incredibly expensive high-end models tend to be loaded down with so many features that the overwhelming vast majority of users never touch. The user interfaces keep changing and getting more complicated, so that even doing relatively simple tasks can be a chore. And this can be a problem even with many low-end smartphones now.
And the kinds of new features being touted don't necessarily inspire excitement either. The phone is even thinner! WOW! It's got #AI to feed you misinformation and claim to be helping you simplify your life, while actually making your life more complicated, and feeding it 24/7 to Big Tech. OH GOODIE!
One I had to chuckle over a bit when I heard it a few days ago was Apple announcing technical memory management improvements to help prevent app-based malware attacks. This is actually a good thing as far as it goes -- though there are lots of malware and phishing, etc. attack vectors still open. But I somehow doubt that "better memory partitioning and control" is really high up on most people's reasons for buying a new smartphone.
The firms keep announcing various camera improvements that sound technically advanced but then many people just use the phone cameras mainly for taking selfies anyway that would look about the same with far simpler phone camera systems. You have features now like selfies that can be modified by AI so that your selfie isn't even an actual image of yourself where you actually were, it's just an artificial creation. Interesting, but pointless, except for Big Tech who wants you hooked on their AI and ultimately willing to pay big bucks for it.
Now one of the actually useful features showing up on more phones is the ability to communicate with satellites for emergency texting or more general purpose texting, and eventually voice and data. This can be important if you're in areas without cell service, though due to satellite capacity issues terrestrial cell sites are likely to continue being the workhorse outside of rural areas. Thing is, you shouldn't need a high end ultra expensive smartphone for this kind of satellite capability, since essentially all these low orbit satellites are doing is emulating local ground-based cell sites.
The phone manufacturers REALLY want you buying their expensive models, or at least committing to mobile carrier contracts where they pay for some or all of the phone -- but then you're tied to that carrier for a year or more. The phone makers really enjoyed the era where it was more common for people to upgrade their phones every year or maybe two. But now more and more people are holding onto their phones much longer, and that changes the dynamics in all sorts of ways, including firmware updates and related security issues.
Another aspect of the situation is no matter what software tools are provided it can still be a confusing mess to migrate from an old phone to a new one including all the important app data, and of course many people have their lives utterly disrupted when they get locked out of their smartphones or they're lost or stolen.
For many people, smartphones have fallen from the amazing, wonderful tech category to in some ways the "necessary evil" category of tech, more like a set of shackles than a wondrous helper. So it's not surprising that when new smartphones are announced, so many people say "I'm not falling for it this time". And I agree.with them.
- - -
L