Earlier quoted context omitted.
You have LAN ports in your bathroom?
And where did they find a phone with Ethernet? :P
PinePhone: https://liliputing.com/2020/07/pinephone-convergence-pack-us...
USB-C to Ethernet
Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
281–290 of 431 posts
Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
#282The article should have buried sony for how egregious they are. They require the app to collect location information, and ear. https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00233341 I'm not sure what else they collect.. but those are the 2 bad ones. They've got a few settings that are software controlled (one being the bluetooth's internal volume) What happens if you get a software update and you open the app on…
as far as i can tell, the only thing the app does is dynamically change the noise cancellation level based on your location and accelerometer, so if it doesn't have location permission it's kind of pointless to use the app.
the headphones still work fine without the app, they're just bluetooth headphones that the OS can interface with directly if you don't want the location-based profiles.
Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
#283Earlier quoted context omitted.
AirPods also requires to use app for many features but the app is integrated to iOS. IMO It's worse than dedicated app.
The experience on Android is they “just work” as Bluetooth headphones. My experience with the Bose headphones has been excruciating.
Bose looks awful. My Sony also "just work".
Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
#284The article should have buried sony for how egregious they are. They require the app to collect location information, and ear. https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00233341 I'm not sure what else they collect.. but those are the 2 bad ones. They've got a few settings that are software controlled (one being the bluetooth's internal volume) What happens if you get a software update and you open the app on…
I've been using my Sony W-1000XM3s with my Android phone for months and I haven't had to install an app. The only thing the app would get me is a bunch of equalizer shit (which my music player could do and I never use anyway), dynamic noise cancelling of some form (which I'm not sure why I'd ever use, just an on/off toggle is good enough for me).
As shitty as the app collecting data is it isn't as if the app is required for me to have had an excellent experience with these headphones so I'm not really all that bothered that the app is invasive.
If any real functionality was locked behind it I'd be annoyed, but honestly the app seems like an afterthought with no real purpose other than "EVERYTHING NEEDS AN APP" type thinking.
Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
#285Earlier quoted context omitted.
AirPods also requires to use app for many features but the app is integrated to iOS. IMO It's worse than dedicated app.
I use my airpods with my Android phone. What am I missing out on?
Probably nothing.
They have a feature that’s quite handy to me (the proprietary quick changing from one Apple device to another IFF it has the same Apple ID — so no good for shared hardware like a tv) but “quite handy” is far from invaluable.
You can program a tap on each earbud to do certain things: again, handy but you don’t have that ability I doubt you’d be upset.
Apple’s quite clever on figuring out how much “bleed out” from their own stack works for them (e.g. iPod support for PCs, which open standards to embrace, which not, etc). They are hoping you’ll switch to an iphone next, but even you don’t you are revenue.
Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
#286Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can’t change the noise canceling settings without the phone app. They also default back to “full” after you power cycle the headset. I wanted to use them with a PC and no ANC but no luck without the clunky phone process.
QC35's have a hardware button on the side of the volume buttons that allow you to change ANC. Not sure which model you're using.
I have the first gen, not the model II’s. It doesn’t have the button on the left side.
Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
#287Earlier quoted context omitted.
I recently tried out wireless noise-cancelling headphones from both Bose and Sony, and (the important privacy issues aside) the user experience with these apps is just horrible. You unpack your Bose headphone, eager to use them. But before that, you have to download an app on the iPhone, then download a software update program on your laptop, which in turn opens a program in the browser that downloads an update, then…
AirPods also requires to use app for many features but the app is integrated to iOS. IMO It's worse than dedicated app.
Worse in what way?
Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
#288The article should have buried sony for how egregious they are. They require the app to collect location information, and ear. https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00233341 I'm not sure what else they collect.. but those are the 2 bad ones. They've got a few settings that are software controlled (one being the bluetooth's internal volume) What happens if you get a software update and you open the app on…
I've been using my Sony W-1000XM3s with my Android phone for months and I haven't had to install an app. The only thing the app would get me is a bunch of equalizer shit (which my music player could do and I never use anyway), dynamic noise cancelling of some form (which I'm not sure why I'd ever use, just an on/off toggle is good enough for me). As shitty as the app collecting data is it isn't as if the app is requi…
First off, I say the following as kindly-spoken words :)
I'm grateful that you and I both know to be critically-minded, and we understand the difference between essential features and data-grabs, but honestly... my Dad needed me standing over the sketchy wifi thermostat (that required an app and Facebook login), loudly complaining about how invasive it was, to even understand that this was not OK and worth returning the product. And he's spent years osmosing conversations with his tech-savvy, upper-middle class son. Further, many people take for granted that they can trust a brand like Sony, so they're not in critical-thinking mode about this stuff -- it's quite confusing to know what is reasonable when you're just trying to get the thing done that was literally just a male-female plug before.
I do believe you're a caring person (most ppl are), but the practical effect of your position would lead someone to judge that you don't actually care about the data of the vast majority of normal people across many demographics. I kinda suspect that isn't true, so I'm wondering if maybe you'd find some dissonance in your own views on closer inspection <3
Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
#289Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II. I use them with a MacBook Pro through Bluetooth pairing. I never installed any app and never connected the headphones physically to anything. What is the OP talking about? And why would anyone install an app to use headphones?
Why would someone buy noise cancelling headphones if they don’t need that feature? The QC II’s bluetooth range is horrible. Less than half of the QC I’s.
huh, my Sennheiser headphones can control the noise cancelling with buttons on the headphones. Some limitations were annoying (2 connected devices at once, it gets very confused by my dual boot machine) but sounds like I dodged a bullet with brands requiring custom apps
Re: Headphones are collecting too much personal data (2019)
#290I see a lot of people talking about Bose and Sony and their awful apps, but there are alternatives! I have been using my Sennheiser PXC 550's for almost a year now with no software updates or other nonsense. If it has an app, I certainly don't know about it. About the only complaint I have is how easy it is to accidentally hang up on someone with the touch controls on the ear. Normally I support more organized solutions, but this seems like a clear case of voting with your wallet.