Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

joreteg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

471–480 of 524 posts

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#471

Post by drewg123 »

spacehome wrote: post #453
babuskov wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't buy a Nexus. I have and it's a huge disappointment. I had a perfect Nexus 10 device running KitKat. And then it keeps nagging to upgrade to Lollipop, so I did. Ever since that, it runs every application slow as hell. If you allow the battery to run out, prepare for pain. Once you fill up the battery and it restarts it will start "optimizing" all installed applications. I have about 80 applications and this take…

Does anybody know what it's doing when it's "optimizing" applications?

It is pre-compiling apps from java to native executables. This comes from the ART runtime which is the default in Lollipop and newer. Google for "android ART"

I think this is a HUGE problem, and that somebody is going to die because they're unable to call 911 while the phone is "optimizing"

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#472

Post by soylentcola »

taesu wrote: post #78
_kp6z wrote: post #70

I did the opposite and can't believe how much better my life had gotten because my iPhone is just a simple tool that I use for communications and don't think about it as a project. With Android, I always wanted to tweak silly things and run Cyanogenmod because the handset firmware was always so bad and vulnerable. On several occasions I'd bricked my phone requiring hours of recovery, or had transient failures of cell…

These things that you mentioned, you didn't really have to do. Buy a nexus, and it's as clean as it gets. What you're saying is that you left the freedom of your device to jail yourself into simple interface...? I do agree though, that those samsung/lg/etc phone have lots crapwares + carrier crapwares.

That's how it's always come across to me. I buy Nexus or Nexus-like devices (the 2014 Moto X being an example of the latter) and just like iPhones, they work just fine for me out of the box.

In general, even the devices I don't personally like with OEM skins and addons work just as well out of the box for typical uses like web, email, phone, calendar, nav, and your average smattering of entertainment and communication apps.

In that regard, there's not a lot of difference and both platforms succeed well. It's more about how well they "fail". When I use my iPad and it doesn't do something I want or behave in a way I prefer, my options are often similar tweaking and tinkering. Many times, I would need to jailbreak the thing in order to install an unsigned app not approved by Apple to get it to do what I want.

On my Android devices, it's usually a lot simpler. iOS has improved a bit in terms of customization (being able to "open with" various apps instead of the factory defaults, third party keyboard layouts, and stuff like that) but that was always the case on Android.

As these platforms have matured, they've both got their "success states" pretty solid so now it's down to how well they "fail" and how easy it is to get my device to do what I need without jaibreaking or otherwise taking advantage of security holes to gain access to certain settings or capabilities.

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#474

Post by pawelkomarnicki »

ignoramous wrote: post #360

I am not entirely sure if Android is the best mobile platform out there. Apple continues to innovate at an incredible pace on its hardware and software. It is untouchable as far as HCI is concerned, they just seem to get most of the UX right. Its amazing to see them make computers that work and behave like a charm. Pricing is unreasonable, TBH. And that's where Android eco-system has held an upper edge for too long n…

Yeah the "Back" button in the top-left corner of a large device can be classified as a pinnacle of HCI and usability research ;-)

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#476

Post by Retric »

zerohp wrote: post #450
Retric wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oceans have different parts and are far more homogeneous than CPU's. Further individual transistors can break making parts a meaningful distinction. PS: We call them silicon chips, but there are several tiny blobs of different chemicals involved. The process is closer to 3D printing than you might think.

I am aware of how chips are constructed. They are not built of discrete parts even though they are composed of multiple chemical elements. They are assembled through chemical processes that create a unified product through a few hundred steps. They are not an assembly of billions of parts and it is misleading to describe them as such.

Part does not just mean discrete object. The lower part of that beam is damaged.

pärt/Submit noun 1. "a piece or segment of something such as an object, activity, or period of time, which combined with other pieces makes up the whole."

2. some but not all of something. "the painting tells only part of the story"

You might be thinking of Component, but even that's arguable. CPU's often contain nonfunctional parts so each transistor is actually a meaningful distinction.

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#477

Post by pawelkomarnicki »

For me these two platforms are more-or-less the same from a user perspective. There're some cosmetic changes, like notifications are handled better on Android by bundling them, instead of pinging for every single one of them. Apps are usually on both platforms, same with games. iOS users at my work seem interested and impressed by the Nexus 6P, some consider the possibility to switch someday. But it really doesn't matter as long as the device get the stuff done, does it? :P

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#478

Post by miguelrochefort »

tiatia wrote: post #439
sandGorgon wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how is this bad? I bricked my phone several times and fixed it. I cannot buy a phone that I can't tinker with (which is i have a Nexus now). I don't understand how inability to tinker is a good thing. Take that argument one step further and it's the net neutrality condition.

I don't think he is talking about the "inability to tinker" but about the "necessarily to tinker". Most Android phones a loaded with bloated crab ware. I have an Android and I made sure before I bought it that it runs Cyanogenmod. I don't like the locked-in systems from Apple but sometimes I miss something that runs out of the box.

> crab ware

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#479

Post by jonknee »

ams6110 wrote: post #420
jonknee wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Good post. And that's why if I ever by a car it'll be older and not require a proprietary computer sensor to maintain. If that day comes you should find a way to secure it because almost all older cars are very easy to steal. Those computer bits make new cars much more difficult to snatch.

Nobody really bothers to steal older cars though. Not enough money in them for the risk.

They are in fact the most popular cars to steal. Especially Honda's.

http://www.dmv.org/insurance/most-stolen-cars-and-other-vehi...

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#480

Post by ruraljuror »

yompers888 wrote: post #456
ruraljuror wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think Project Fi is expensive, you will be shocked by the rates of other carriers. Fi is trying to disrupt phone carriers through cheap pricing and transparent billing. I have been experimenting with Fi and I think it is good but has some significant drawbacks. I am about ready to cancel my Verizon service to go all in with Fi, but a major factor is the fact that I'm going back to school and will be counting p…

Non-simultaneous data and voice is, I believe, a symptom of a Sprint connection. TMobile should be able to handle both simultaneously.

Thanks, I had a suspicion that might be the case. Obviously if you're on wifi it works as well.
Post reply on HN