Does anyone actually buy Lenovos after what happened with SuperFish? [0] [0] https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/superfish-to...
I still buy ThinkPads and run Linux on them.
Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
121–130 of 321 posts
Re: Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
Instructions for one specific Dell laptop: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetai... Expand the "Installation Instructions" part, and you'll see "Updating the BIOS from BIOS Boot Menu (independent of operating system)" I don't know if Dell supports it across all their laptops, but it has on the ones I've owned.
GP said the device was "bricked", so I'm not sure whether that feature would work. "bricked" to me would imply BIOS is broken (otherwise it's not really bricked because you can reinstall the OS). The feature on various gaming motherboards involves you copying the BIOS file on a formatted USB, plugging it into the motherboard, and pressing a button (on the motherboard itself). This works even if the current BIOS is br…
There could be something immutable that boots the BIOS that also checks for things to flash the BIOS with.
Re: Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
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I've never encountered any ads in printed books. Edit because I can't be bothered to reply to all the comments below: excerpts from other books (often by the same author, or in a similar genre) are not ads IMO. They're not intrusive. They're pretty much always relevant. They're fun to read. They don't contain tracking cookies. They're as benign as it gets.
Mass-market paperbacks frequently include ads (usually for other books in the publication line) in the back.
One could also think of "Read this excerpt from the next book by $AUTHOR" as an ad.
Re: Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
#124Does anyone actually buy Lenovos after what happened with SuperFish? [0] [0] https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/superfish-to...
I've never found a laptop I liked more than a ThinkPad. I haven't used anything but Linux in over 20 years though.
Same here.
IMHO ThinkPads are still the best laptops (again, IMHO), and I've been running nothing but Linux since 1999.
Re: Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
#125I wonder if the ad bombardment we are suffering for some years now will eventually reach a critical point to trigger mass exodus or protests. TV got annoying with ads and viewership greatly decreased but that was caused by the emergence of the internet I think, what new technology options we have to escape the current ads to? The only other hope is that the massive amount of money in ads and data collection is actual…
His channel is an increasingly rare gem. It's very high quality and interesting content without all the extra cruft that is inescapable now, even with some of the better channels.
If you're looking for other similar gems I also highly recommend Huygens Optics [0]
Re: Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
#126Is there a photo of what he's talking about anywhere?
I have been looking. I have a Lenovo tablet, it has the "Tips" app. That app cannot be disabled, and does have system control over the tablet, but I have never seen a notification come from it before.
Re: Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
#127Microsoft needs to fix this. Edit: apparently I stand corrected I assumed this was a Windows Tablet, of course, the OS vendors should really step in here, they do have power in the equation. Ultimately, I would use the argument to the exec. team at Lenovo that the incremental revenue from these things just isn't worth it in the overall experience. Often teams are tasked with coming up with new revenue models, it's of…
Well, in this case the OS vendor itself is an adware/spyware company.
Re: Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
#128What is increasingly scaring me: This time, the vendor was "nice" enough to only force you into viewing a subscription offer. However, there is really nothing technical that would keep them from forcing you to take the subscription if you want to continue using your device. Vendors have enough control about locked-down devices that they could play ransomware and make arbitrary demands to their users without many prob…
Yeah, sure, technically any vendor can push updates to brick your device, but that doesn’t happen because of the law. This stuff often gets through because it’s small enough, gray enough, and done by smaller companies. Have Apple pull something like this and you’ll see on the NYT.
Re: Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
Instructions for one specific Dell laptop: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetai... Expand the "Installation Instructions" part, and you'll see "Updating the BIOS from BIOS Boot Menu (independent of operating system)" I don't know if Dell supports it across all their laptops, but it has on the ones I've owned.
GP said the device was "bricked", so I'm not sure whether that feature would work. "bricked" to me would imply BIOS is broken (otherwise it's not really bricked because you can reinstall the OS). The feature on various gaming motherboards involves you copying the BIOS file on a formatted USB, plugging it into the motherboard, and pressing a button (on the motherboard itself). This works even if the current BIOS is br…
That's correct: the BIOS was corrupt; the machine had no display at all, so no way to enter the BIOS menu or "boot" an OS.
Other Lenovo laptops have a recovery mode (Fn+R) where some bootstrapping firmware would flash a BIOS from USB, they neglected to include that feature in the (presumably lower cost) Flex lineup.
Some folks out of support went as far as desoldering the EPROM with the BIOS and hooking it up to a flash programmer, to get the laptop unbricked.
I realize they have a lot of different models and probably a limited test matrix, but it's still unforgivable to push a forced update that bricks the device to this level (and until that happened I didn't even know OEMs can push BIOS updates over Windows Update, probably because most of my machines are custom builds).
Re: Lenovo tablet forced update shows un-dismissable, un-mutable, ad notifications
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The sad thing is that they're still better than everything else out there. They haven't ever been better than Apple laptop hardware, even in Intel-land. There seems to be this common bias in PC laptop evaluation that excludes Apple machines from consideration when doing comparisons. Apple makes the best x64 laptops, and has for years. Sadly, they will stop soon.
I have always liked the keyboard more. My opinion is that Apple prioritizes how the keyboard looks and how thin it is over the actual function and experience of using it. It blows my mind that people buy their desktop keyboard which is basically a laptop keyboard in small case. I believe the ability to repair or swap components has always been better with Lenovo. Apple beats Lenovo in a lot of other ways though, audi…
Finding a good Mac-layout mechanical keyboard that I liked was a total chore, I eventually got the Vinpok Taptek which I'm really pleased with but I can't find replacement keycaps for the life of me.