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Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

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Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#331

Post by xythobuz »

Silhouette wrote: post #317
xg15 wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Latest-generation devices contain hardware fuses purposely designed to make prevent downgrading. I think that tells you all you need to know about the position the industry has towards downgrades and whether updates are in the interest of the user or not.

Do you have anything you can cite in support of that, please? I've been planning to raise some of these issues with my representatives, so any solid evidence I could include might be helpful.

The Xbox 360 for example used these fuses in the CPU to prevent downgrades [1].

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_eFUSE

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#332

Post by grishka »

whatch wrote: post #273
jiggawatts wrote: post #252

Don't forget: "Never slow down the user interface". I have a 4K Sony television that was their flagship model when it was new, but a couple of years ago they "updated" it with a new version of its OS that looks identical but is incredibly sluggish. Not technically broken, but frustrating to use. Moving around between menu items is a good 2-3 seconds, up to 10 in some cases. There is literally nothing I can do about t…

Maybe it's because I've never owned a dedicated TV and used a lot of computer monitors, but I've always treated TV as just another kind of output device, not independent system. They try to use "smart" features to promote their products, but instead what they do with them shortly after the purchase has exactly opposite effect. Also some of them (Samsung) intentionally break some (or all) smart features in some cases…

A smart TV is dumb as long as it never sees an internet connection.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#333

Post by Silhouette »

HenryBemis wrote: post #212
causality0 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not even that is risk-free. I was doxxed by a developer after Google's idiotic real-name policy put me in his crosshairs for my one-star review.

Tip/suggestion: Make a separate Google account with fake name/suername for reviews on Google. I have a few Google accounts. Only one is my actual name. Especially for games and reviews I use an aliased account (just like I use an alias here). Google can still track me I guess (IP) but a single dev will never find who UnrealName UnrealSurname is. And I do tend to leave brutally honest and detailed feedbacks whether po…

This is understandable, though it then creates a new challenge: problems that have always existed with hearsay and rumour are greatly exaggerated by the speed and reach of modern technology, and now we have reviews that come from unverifiable sources, which can cause real damage to a person or business, who in turn may have no way to defend themselves even if the review is malicious or inaccurate.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#334

Post by throwaway_pdp09 »

Silhouette wrote: post #319
throwaway_pdp09 wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're in the EU you should have a right to send it back. Failing that, if you have a blog, publicise that so others get put off buying that brand. Complain to them (edit: sony) directly also. Don't just sit there are take it, it's what they're relying on.

Unfortunately, even if you have a right to send something back, it's not always practical. Typically those consumer rights only protect individuals, leaving businesses (even small ones, who are at a similar disadvantage to consumers in not being able to negotiate anything with huge manufacturers/suppliers) with little if any protection. One key difference from days gone by is that modern devices often contain large a…

> it's not always practical

Any reason why not here?

> consumer rights only protect individuals

he's an individual. It was not apparently a business expense

> with little if any protection

If you're in the EU you've got protection.

> that modern devices often contain large amounts of private data

It's a TV so in this case so what (in general, perhaps, but don't most devices have encryption?)

> And it's all rather academic anyway if competition in that market has failed and all the major products are doing to same user-hostile things

And you're rolling over hopelessly as if you can't do anything. Fair enough, you get (nothing) what you give (nothing).

> because representatives usually aren't technical experts and so may not understand the implications of modern technologies or the potential alternatives to current practice

IT'S A TV! WITH CRAPPY UI RESPONSE! Stop making excuses for bad practice. Do something.

> the tide of increasingly user-hostile actions will only continue to rise

OK, let's stop here. I complain when necessary & shit gets fixed quite often. You clearly can't be bothered to fight back so you're rationalising that it's not worth it. I'm not wasting time on this.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#335

Post by grishka »

darkwater wrote: post #180
orev wrote: post #106

I had been using a great app that’s been around since before the iPhone came out (PocketMoney on Palm). They rewrote it for IOS, and it was able to import the database from the Palm version. Really great. Then sadly the author died, and it languished for a while until it was sold to someone else. The new owner seemed to try to keep it going, but then finally gave up last year and crammed an absolutely awful “update”…

I'm aware that I will sound condescending but... that's exactly why people "invented" opensource (and/or free software if you prefer). I'm sorry for your problem nonetheless.

Except on iOS devices, you can't really install anything you built without Apple having a say. And I'm not quite sure jailbreak is still a thing.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#336

Post by Silhouette »

throwaway_pdp09 wrote: post #334
Silhouette wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, even if you have a right to send something back, it's not always practical. Typically those consumer rights only protect individuals, leaving businesses (even small ones, who are at a similar disadvantage to consumers in not being able to negotiate anything with huge manufacturers/suppliers) with little if any protection. One key difference from days gone by is that modern devices often contain large a…

> it's not always practical Any reason why not here? > consumer rights only protect individuals he's an individual. It was not apparently a business expense > with little if any protection If you're in the EU you've got protection. > that modern devices often contain large amounts of private data It's a TV so in this case so what (in general, perhaps, but don't most devices have encryption?) > And it's all rather aca…

This is a much bigger issue than just TVs.

And you seem to have ignored my entire final paragraph, which was about what I think we need to do to improve the situation. I am doing my part; I contact my representatives to draw tech issues to their attention, for example, and I donate to various relevant campaign groups. But I am only one person, and it will take more than just me and a few people like me to effect change on the required scale.

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#337

Post by discreditable »

Silhouette wrote: post #317
xg15 wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Latest-generation devices contain hardware fuses purposely designed to make prevent downgrading. I think that tells you all you need to know about the position the industry has towards downgrades and whether updates are in the interest of the user or not.

Do you have anything you can cite in support of that, please? I've been planning to raise some of these issues with my representatives, so any solid evidence I could include might be helpful.

How the Nintendo Switch prevents downgrades by irreparably blowing its own fuses: https://hackernoon.com/how-the-nintendo-switch-prevents-down...

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#338

Post by [deleted] »

Silhouette wrote: post #317
xg15 wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Latest-generation devices contain hardware fuses purposely designed to make prevent downgrading. I think that tells you all you need to know about the position the industry has towards downgrades and whether updates are in the interest of the user or not.

Do you have anything you can cite in support of that, please? I've been planning to raise some of these issues with my representatives, so any solid evidence I could include might be helpful.

[deleted]

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#339

Post by dt3ft »

viraptor wrote: post #223
blub wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The legacy UI often works fine and the new UI's sole purpose is to justify the salaries of the design department. Ask any customer if they're willing to pay for a new UI and you'll likely find that they don't.

It depends on a question though. "Do you want a UI redesign?" will likely be a no. "Do you want to access the thing you're using 100 times a day in 1 click rather than 5 menus?" will always be a yes. Unless the company is completely failing at its strategy (and that's not the same thing as many vocal people saying that on the internet forum), the redesign has goals and some reason behind it. Your "worse" may be solut…

We tend to underestimate the value that a decent UI/UX professional can bring to a software product. Users typically hate changes (change aversion is in the human nature) and will hardly notice any improvements. But try to install an older piece of software, say, Microsoft Word 97 and compare usability to the current version. Don't pick one feature, look at it from a daily usage perspective. I bet you'll find a ton of improvements and think "huh, I had no idea it was so painful to work with Word 97"...

Re: Why Johnny Won't Upgrade

#340

Post by pitay »

ancarda wrote: post #272

If I open the Play Store on my Android, I see 28 updates pending. Why haven't I hit Update All? Well, lets see what the release notes say (i.e. why should I update): New features added and bug fixes. Information not provided by developer. Bug fixes and enhancements. Information not provided by developer. (Description makes it clear it will break something for me). We're always making changes and improvements :) Infor…

An interesting contrast is that some early access games have very detailed feature and bug fix notes for their releases. As an example here are the release notes for the build versions of 7 Days to Die (Alpha 19).

https://7daystodie.com/a19-official-release-notes

They change notes are very detailed, and voluminous. If you had an issue with a previous build, you can, just by looking at the release notes, see if your issue has been fixed.

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