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Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

martinruenz.de

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Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#201

Post by Houshalter »

i_cant_speel wrote: post #153
kome wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But if you read the article, it's all about not having a choice. Gosh, HN can be so ideological...

I would have loved to read the article but it's currently down.

The tl;dr is the manufacturer of OP's phone just used some random app as the dialer. The app was stealing all of OPs data and selling it to who knows who. They admit to doing this in the privacy policy of the app. But as it was installed by default, OP never agreed to it. And he had a lot of trouble removing it from his phone and finding a replacement.

This is the problem with choice. All your choices are secretly malicious and have incentives to violate your privacy. Remember those flashlight apps that ran in the background consuming CPU/data and stole users' personal information? It's just generally a bad idea to rely on untrusted third parties for core functionality.

Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#202

Post by tomc1985 »

tw04 wrote: post #198
tomc1985 wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is dialing a phone a "Google Service"?

Who exactly do you think is going to provide the dialer? Are you also surprised to hear that the dialer on an iphone is an "Apple Service"?

That sounds like little more than semantics to me.

Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#203

Post by tomc1985 »

notatoad wrote: post #196
tomc1985 wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is dialing a phone a "Google Service"?

Why shouldn't it be? Having google search directly in the dialer app is incredibly convenient - instead of searching for a phone number and then typing the number into your phone, you search for a business and call them directly.

Because you're dialing a phone. Nowhere does that require Google's involvement.

The search feature should not be any more than an optional point of integration. Is nothing sacred anymore?

Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#204

Post by gerdesj »

gmac wrote: post #166
dTal wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this usage is dying out in British English in much the same way as the word "auto" for car. People still speak of "mobile networks" and "auto dealerships", but they buy "phones" and "cars".

Maybe this is a regional thing, but I'm British and I'm not sure I've ever heard a first language British English speaker use the word "auto" for a car. I'd have said that was purely an Americanism.

I concur - native en_GB speaker here. Auto(mobile) is probably avoided as a general synonym for car because we use "automatic" to differentiate from the default "manual" AKA "stick-shift".

Having said that, this is probably only modern usage. The AA (Automobile Association) and RAC (Royal Automobile Club) both feature "automobile" in their names and are both well over 100 years old.

I suppose (without doing any research) car is probably short for carriage.

Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#205

Post by notatoad »

tomc1985 wrote: post #203
notatoad wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why shouldn't it be? Having google search directly in the dialer app is incredibly convenient - instead of searching for a phone number and then typing the number into your phone, you search for a business and call them directly.

Because you're dialing a phone. Nowhere does that require Google's involvement. The search feature should not be any more than an optional point of integration. Is nothing sacred anymore?

It doesn't require it, but Google makes it better. If you're just looking to make your life easier and not paranoid, there's no downside to having google in your dialer.

and no, i'm pretty sure there's nothing "sacred" about your phone.

Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#206

Post by gerdesj »

kbenson wrote: post #183
gmac wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe this is a regional thing, but I'm British and I'm not sure I've ever heard a first language British English speaker use the word "auto" for a car. I'd have said that was purely an Americanism.

I think you misinterpreted the point. As I read it, "car" and "phone" are the terms Americans (and others) use, and that the British sometimes used "auto" and "mobile" but that usage is dying out (which doesn't conflict with you not having heard it). As an American, "car" and "phone" are definitely the norm. The only time I've ever heard "mobile" is as a prefix to phone, so "mobile phone". It's sometimes used on form…

"Auto" maybe but "mobile" and "phone" are definitely equally used synonyms along with "mobe" in all the areas of the UK that I have been to (most).

"Landline" is seeing a resurgence as general parlance for the thing gathering dust, which used to be simply _the_ phone.

Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#207

Post by tomc1985 »

notatoad wrote: post #205
tomc1985 wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you're dialing a phone. Nowhere does that require Google's involvement. The search feature should not be any more than an optional point of integration. Is nothing sacred anymore?

It doesn't require it, but Google makes it better. If you're just looking to make your life easier and not paranoid, there's no downside to having google in your dialer. and no, i'm pretty sure there's nothing "sacred" about your phone.

This is exactly the problem with technology. Asshole companies have to productify everything. It's not about being paranoid, it's about operational simplicity. Dialing a phone is dialing a phone; not everyone wants Google to think for them

The act of punching in a number should not require any outside services or assistance or requirements. If there are value-added components to add then they can manifest as modular extras or in another part of the device. This is a violation of user expectations and runs contrary to 75+ years of muscle memory. (And to add... dialing a phone should be a core, fundamental, and inviable aspect of smartPHONE and its OS, not something OEMs can swap out)

Watching technology companies supplant (erm, "disrupt") established and proven tech with their crap is extremely depressing. We had nice things, and then we threw them away because we are stupid and lazy. Why do "technologists" ruin everything?

"Smart" my ass.

Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#208

Post by tiglionabbit »

tomc1985 wrote: post #203
notatoad wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why shouldn't it be? Having google search directly in the dialer app is incredibly convenient - instead of searching for a phone number and then typing the number into your phone, you search for a business and call them directly.

Because you're dialing a phone. Nowhere does that require Google's involvement. The search feature should not be any more than an optional point of integration. Is nothing sacred anymore?

It needs to access your contact book at contacts.google.com.

Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#209

Post by Bud »

notatoad wrote: post #205
tomc1985 wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you're dialing a phone. Nowhere does that require Google's involvement. The search feature should not be any more than an optional point of integration. Is nothing sacred anymore?

It doesn't require it, but Google makes it better. If you're just looking to make your life easier and not paranoid, there's no downside to having google in your dialer. and no, i'm pretty sure there's nothing "sacred" about your phone.

No. Google does not "make it better".

And no. It's not "paranoid" to want to dial your phone without onerous terms of service.

And yes. There is something sacred about our phones and their privacy. It's 2017. Without privacy on your mobile device, you effectively have no privacy at all.

I'm not sure your comment could have a higher degree of wrongness. Every single part of it is wrong.

Re: Something is wrong when the ‘telephone app’ on your phone becomes 3rd party

#210

Post by gerdesj »

microcolonel wrote: post #174
krrrh wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mobile phones are called "Handys" in German. It's become such a satisfying and appropriate name for handheld computers, as distinct from traditional personal computers. In British English, they've always called cellphones "mobiles", which is also a nice short name for mobile computers.

I think everyone here calls them cellphones. I call them mobiles and everyone gets it. Handy... wouldn't work in Canada, and I suspect not in the U.S. either.

Handy (CA, US etc) == handjob (GB etc). Presumably handy is an abbreviation of handjob. I know blowjob is in common parlance at least on both sides of the pond. Perhaps it is just as well DE didn't pick blowey or blowie (those are in use over here in a similar way to handy on the left edge of the pond.)

Handy could work in the UK except that it is extensively used already as an adjective eg: "that's a bit handy" or "you'll find this handy" etc. "That's a handy handy" would be a bit weird and as we already have mobile then there is no need for it. I suspect that "cell" will creep in eventually but not yet.

Etymology can be quite interesting 8)

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