d-RLY?

It would be cool if they (or any of the modular OEMs) could figure out a way to have an option to add one if someone wants it. Like have a blank that can be removed and have the part be like an “upgrade” board with the jack (and a good DAC since it would be an “upgrade” option).

That way they could keep cost for the base phone slightly lower for the majority of users that don’t care, and allow them (the OEM) to make smaller batches. Would also be great for pushing the idea of making long-term usefulness (could also apply to stuff like cameras since that is a big reason for getting whole new devices). I am very aware it is not some simple task, but a lot of these devices need to find ways to get solid fan-bases since the traditional major brands are so established. The things tried by the major brands have been just gimmicks. And didn’t allow users to get into the devices the way these smaller OEMs do.

Since the overall physical profiles of phones don’t really change much, the small OEMs could keep the frames the same between releases and make the replacement parts work between generations. Which would be great for general costs even if not going for the idea of the devices being “upgradable.”

Thank you for seeing that (was skimming and was sure I was just missing it)! I am glad they have at least that much protection. Would be dumb for a phone at that price to not handle the most common accidents.

While I don’t have the internet go down super often. I do love that I can just keep watching, listening, or reading stuff when those moments happen (or if services pull them or physical options don’t exist). I have gone back to getting random things physically where possible as I find them (and have money at the time). It has been kind of fun to relearn how to rip things again.

Also like to joke with friends that those things (and pr0n) are basically currency if massive outages happen. Can trade media for help with small things if needed (and if the person wants something I have) and if I don’t have cash. lol

Looks nice, and good to learn about more phones that are repairable. Since they don’t mention it (or at least I didn’t see it), I am guessing they don’t have an IP protection for liquid/dust.

I already don’t like to trust my Galaxy S24 (or previous models that have had submersion ratings) enough to just jump into a pool or tubing. Though I do like knowing it would likely be fine if I get pushed/fall in (recently went to a GWAR show and didn’t have to worry every time I got sprayed). But wouldn’t mind some amount of adhesive (some versions aren’t very hard to deal with) to handle sudden heavy rain or a large drink/pitcher gets knocked over (or getting sprayed like the show above) onto my phone.

Would also be cool if they had an aux jack with a good DAC to at least be a solid option for a audio player. I got an LG V30 last year after seeing how much love they have by users, and have been using it solely as an offline music/audiobook/podcast player. All the physical kill switches and being able to easily remove stuff like cameras or other bits I don’t need would be kind of cool.

My second job was a bagger at a grocery store, which included getting carts. I tend to just collect them if I pass by some just sitting in parking lots on my way into grocery stores and bring them in. On my way back to my car, if I have a cart but notice the corral is just a mess from people just half-ass pushing them in at just whatever angle. I can’t stop from just un-fucking all of them so they are able to be brought back in by workers, or at least so that more will fit correctly. Just really bothers me to see them all tangled up and possibly roll back into the lot to hit cars.

One of my other jobs a while ago was doing lab billing information corrections so we could bill insurance (would take the stuff that was missing random stuff like part of the insurance, diag codes used, and like missing parts of addresses). When I started they said that we would likely see so many insurance numbers/prefixes that we would start seeing prefixes on things like license plates. This was very true (would see the letters at the beginning and be like “UHC” or whatever), and took a long time to not see them.

Though in a personal life going into my professional life (I work on people’s computers). I have an OCD kind of habit to just disable all the easy anti-user stuff in Windows settings and add uBO to browsers. Might not even be why the stuff was brought in, but most users don’t know to ask (or if things can be done) and either just go through using their PCs without all the random shit, or are just so happy that things run much better. I make a point to note that an adblocker was added so they can ask about it, or remind my peers that do the check-ins and outs to mention them and show them how to turn it off if a site doesn’t load something. Also means that I notice when settings get moved around or more anti-user options show up. Which keeps me sharp in both professional and personal life.

I might end up looking at newer stuff, but… how tf am I going to avoid shitty touchscreens, spyware, LED headlights, and all that garbage?

And going to get harder to avoid a lot of that stuff once enough of them eventually get into the much cheaper levels of the used market. Though by then (and even currently in the higher priced used levels) most of the stuff will no longer even be supported to use (even if you for some reason did find a need to use them and be okay paying).

I got a 2015 Rogue SV that stuff like nav or whatever other stuff doesn’t even have access to the apps from Nissan to set them up. And was like one or two years behind Android Auto or even Apple’s stuff. So can’t just have the main screen just cast my phone’s maps. Really only irritates me when I need to go into settings and see stuff for features I can’t use if I wanted to do so. But the backup camera and phone pairing over blutooth for calls and music works, so that is nice to have and useful daily.

I am torn on replacing the head-unit like I did with my much older cars in the past. But those were so much more easy and “normal” to replace. I mostly worry that since it is much more integrated, that beyond just not flowing with the design, that there would be more problematic issues caused with the electrics (especially after seeing how much just replacing headlights with LEDs messed up a lot of cars when they were not a standard part) and the main computer.

Had really randomly bad issues with my last car’s computer towards the last four or five years that I never had with much older cars before. But is also possible that aside from my much more abusive driving while being younger, that I just hadn’t had something with any computer element (just the main one as it wasn’t anything built-in with lots of features.

I think all of these also have Chrome versions, but still better on FF due to being able to install (or side-load if not listed or not whitelisted for mobile) onto the mobile version. The day I learned how to get non-whitelisted ones to install and install from xpi was game over for bothering with other mobile browsers.

• FastStream for downloading videos from YT and a lot of other sites (I daily use it for grabbing stuff on Twitter)
• Bypass Paywalls Clean for the obvious (this one is to the dev’s not github but same kind of site site as it has to be installed via xpi)
• Watch on Odysee for seeing if a YT channel also uploads to Odysee to go watch there if possible and at least give my view there
• SponsorBlock for being able to skip hard-coded ads from the uploads and other sections of YT videos
• DeArrow for being able to view titles for YT videos that are more reflective of content
• Wayback Machine for saving pages to Archive.org along with saving them to my account on there.
• Privacy Possum for more aggressive blocking of tracking (though it does require remembering it is on if a site breaks as it will block things that uBO isn’t the cause of the issue)

I really want to have them be a real option to consider whenever I get to needing a new phone. I can deal with lack of wireless charging (I haven’t used it a lot on my current and last phones). But the downgrade of USB to 2.0 seems really odd. Would be less of an issue if they made parts like that able to use ones from older ones to get both more options for modding and for not wasting parts already made. Would also be great if they had some of the sandboxing that I hear Graphene folks talk about for being able to have Play Store apps but not give up being able to sideload apps that won’t be enrolled in Google’s BS new system (wishful thinking).

Not currently needing a new phone (hoping to get two more years minimum from my S24 Ultra I had to get to replace my broken S23 Ultra in January). So there is plenty of time to see what they release over the coming years. Would love to see if they can manage to get options for higher IP ratings while still being able to have self-repair. Even if they have to be really really clear about not being able to guaranty the rating if opened. I already tell people that even with iPhones that I fix using Apple’s official/certified process, that they shouldn’t trust the water resistance is 100% the same as out of the box (even then I get freaked out if my phone or my friends just jump into water lol).

In the end I just really want to see them and other OEMs that go out of their way to support real open bootloaders and self-repair be real options. My Samsung phones over the past 8 years have been great for at least useful features and at least being able to sideload apps (like all Android devices). But I haven’t been able to try custom ROMs since their efuse tripping would mean I couldn’t use Samsung Pay if I wanted to go back to their stock if I didn’t like (or needed to revert back from) the custom ones.

It is annoying seeing the more hardcore GrapheneOS users that only ever answer people that ask about using a custom ROM act like it is an actual option for people who can’t justify getting a whole new phone (though I want to say that I am not saying that is what you are doing, just so many comments on other threads). I am waiting for Google’s anti-user stuff to eventually hit Pixel phones. If Graphene only bothers with Pixel and doesn’t try to help with getting other devices working. Then all their effort will be made pointless whenever Google further locks things down.

Though if the Graphene folks do somehow make a major deal with an OEM (and keeps all the user control on the devices). Then I will be more than happy to eat my crow. At that point, I just hope that the devices are as flagship as the current Pixel phones. Having mid to low tier phones will be nice too, but I want to get something that doesn’t feel like a downgrade out of the box (or a few months later). But I will need to look more into their efforts to partner with OEM(s) to see how that comes along.

Nothing wrong with finding small hopes here and there where you can. I too had briefly thought about Samsung’s store (I have an S24 Ultra, Tab S8+, and my old S20+) maybe being large and known enough by more users than F-Droid. But their lack of press releases pushing back on Google was what told me enough. If Samsung’s store was actively used more than the Play Store on their phones (and had enough really popular apps that weren’t also on the Play Store), then it would at least be something.

Sadly even if Samsung’s store is able to somehow get a pass by Google, I highly doubt that the devs of apps that are only on F-Droid would list them on there. And would still only help Samsung devices (though I know I would start using Samsung’s store a lot more if those devs did list them on there). Though I might find reasons to use my S20+ for some apps that I like having but don’t use daily, and my tablet is on Android 15 so it will be used for stuff I use more often (never thought I would be excited for it to not get major updates).

The main actively used daily app that I am dreading losing (due to the current dev not planning to ever list their active fork on Play Store) is SyncThing-Fork on my Android devices (use different SyncThing apps for PC/Steam Deck). It has been the only multi-platform sync program that actually works correctly for my password vault on my Android devices. Though it is possible that the dev might get it whitelisted, but I am not going to hold my breath. As the main dilemma on a per app level is that the more apps that fall in line ends up supporting Google’s actions, but at the same time not getting whitelisted means just going away (at least on fully updated Android 16+ devices).

Would be nice, but I imagine that Samsung would both need to actually be impacted in an meaningful way with their store, and find some way to prevent Play Services (which they have to meet requirements to be able to load on their devices) from just nope-ing non-registered apps. Both of which I seriously doubt would happen.

They have already been working pretty close with Google on things that removed their actual Tizen OS from stuff like their watches in favor of merging their code into Android Wear OS. Would also guess that they might just work something out to either force apps on their store to be signed by Samsung and cleared by Google. Or that they just require apps on their store to only be listed after registering with Google. Not like Samsung really cares about supporting side-loading if the apps aren’t in their (or Google’s) store.

Sadly I think only a OEM like Samsung would have the massive levels of hardware sales and money for making a real fight against Google. F-Droid and other alt-stores or projects lack both and are easy to ignore. If Samsung were to be actually concerned about this, then I think we would have already seen them filing lawsuits and pushing posts/news articles condemning Google’s plans like F-Droid keeps doing (aside from lawsuits due to money).

Sorry if my wording was bad. I meant installing Irfanview with WINE. Xnview having versions for the different platforms is a major good thing. If I can get myself to use it more than I do Irfanview, then I at least know any future jumps to daily using Linux or Mac OS will work fine (at least for image viewing lol).

I was so happy to learn about Libro.fm randomly. Makes things so much easier to just download and have on my dedicated audio player. No DRM to strip or having to use their player. Only thing that annoys me about them (along with other audiobook services) is that they list books that they can’t sell due to DRM. Most of the time if they don’t have a book you just don’t get a result, but for some reason they will show some books and I get excited to see them. Just to then load the page and see that they currently can’t offer it due to DRM. Would much rather not see the search result. Another mildly annoying thing with their search is that searching for books by authors will include other authors and show results for all their books. Both are just annoyances that aren’t deal breakers so long as everything else is kept the same.

Same here. Every time I have used Linux or MacOS for long periods of time as my main OS. I run into that moment when I need/want to look at images (or even just one), and all the other fun things go right out the door. It is such a weird problem that other viewers can’t manage to “feel correct,” Always amazes me at how this one program is the cause of such a specific emotional response from me. lol

I try out Xnview from time to time on Windows to try and adapt to it, but always run into just something (but it is a very good program and is why I make the effort to check-in on it at all). I think that in Xnview’s case, it is just waaaay too much going on and even with the massive amount of settings I can’t find the ones that “just work” for me. Just end up installing it through WINE and deal with the random weird things that come from using it that way (most tend to be the UI looking so different due to not matching the OS and presenting the fake C: when opening a file from the menu). And still “feels” much better.

Other more simple viewers also don’t “feel” right due to not having some of the additional settings/features Irfanview has for light editing. Would maybe help in the case of Xnview if someone was able to mod it to have Irfanview look (kind of like the various mods of GIMP to layout like Photoshop) and hide the tons of advanced stuff that Irfanview doesn’t have in sub menus or a toggle to switch to the normal setup. Though I can get it kind of close if I play around with moving stuff around on the main toolbar. So still like the best next option I have used.

You are very correct on how lots of sites have made RSS basically a method for just spamming you with crap. They just give a headline and link (not even a paragraph to know what the thing is about). But RSS itself still works the way it used to. It is the sites that enshittify the feeds.

True, especially the part about your mom and others that had to use PCs in the 90s and 80s. I suck with a lot of CMD/PowerShell/Terminal stuff and get really in my head about whatever I am doing. Though a lot of it is due to things like switches and formatting order. Can be very very frustrating if there are a lot of them and having to constantly look at what they mean since they aren’t just regular words (which would obviously make the amount of typing get out of hand). The other main issue for me is dealing with moving or copying things around. GUI is much easier to get due to being able to see it in the same way I would move/copy things IRL. Especially frustrating if using USB drives, since they don’t just auto-mount/assign a letter if only using something without a DE. That part is (for me) a headache to have to deal with since the same OS will just do that if a DE is used. But also not something I do every day (or very often as I mostly use Linux when messing with my Pi).

But your core point of just doing it is very true. The reason that folks in offices in the 90s and 80s were able to get used to it was because they had to, and that there was a reason to at least know the things to do what they needed. They didn’t have to get bogged down with all of it (or even need most commands). So it would be best to focus on the things that are needed to get daily things done. Then it makes a lot of other bits easier to handle later on. And a lot of common things can be printed/written on cheat sheets or getting stickers with common commands to put on the side of the case or stuck to a desk in easily glanced at locations.

If they are willing to torture you to get the data. Then there is also a very real chance that you would still get the same treatment or just killed even if you give the password.

That is a real problem which is why a smaller (or even a “mini”) version of phones does matter. Keyboards can be adapted to be smaller, which can be helpful (but gets clunky when I have tried using those options from one-hand typing to two-hand adding steps). It does seem like the options for folks like yourself are an afterthought that leads to having to pick between being comfortable or having all the features and uncomfortable. Apple is basically the only OEM that has real options in both smaller and larger sizes without losing as many (if any depending on the year) features.

I have been using Samsung phones since the S3 and while I personally like the larger ones, I do have a friend that has also had their phones about as long as me. And he always gets the non-plus version of whatever the S series is out when he upgrades due to liking the smaller size (similar to your experience). But I know he would love a small version of the Ultra for the extra features, but don’t see Samsung doing that anytime soon. Which sucks given how much they try to be the “Apple” of Android devices.

“disarming of Hamas” Non starter, never give-up arms. It just gives the oppressor complete control and will only mean that Israel will fully take all the land and murder the people much much easier. Settlers will be able to swarm in and murder even more Palestinians. If your murder is going to happen anyway, then take as many of them as you possibly can.

I personally like large screens due to being able to see more (do have to mess with scaling and font sizes to force browsers). Though I do find that I can only do “serious” work with actual PCs (even tablets don’t “feel” right). Some things make more sense as having a mouse and keyboard are easier to just do things. But other times I can only describe trying to use small screens (including my large phones and tablets) as kind of a digital “claustrophobia” of sorts. Though some of that is because of touch interfaces/UX can’t show as many options/menus and the keyboards take up more of the space.

Though I do hate that we don’t see more compact flagship level options for folks that like them or need them. Apple is like the best option as far as losing fewer functions, and Samsung does still make a point of having a non-plus version of their main yearly releases.

As far as the screen size impacting battery. I think that the opposite is seen from the times I have heard it brought up. The larger body allows for more battery space. I believe that when I was looking at smaller phones for a friend that was thinking that a small screen would help reduce his desire to distract himself from being always on his phone. That one thing I saw people/articles mention was how one down-side for smaller phones was literally how they needed to charge more often to make it through the day. I think the resolution and refresh rates make the most impact on battery. As I remember my S8+ could do like 2k resolution, but in the settings it would mention that battery life might be less than if I picked 1080p. Which would still be an issue if I had the non-plus version.