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Why I will never buy another Samsung device

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Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#651

Post by FearlessNebula »

southerntofu wrote: post #396
p410n3 wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love some examples of this. I'm about to buy a new phone and originally planned to get a s21/22. But now I'm questioning this. But I'd also like some more details on this

Well if you're ready to spend a month's salary on a phone, you'll probably get better hardware/software from Fairphone or Librem. Pinephone is also an option (at a more accessible price point) but it's still in some kind of beta where random users who just want to take photos and have a long-lasting battery are not the target audience. I know many people who use Fairphones and they've never been disappointed. You can…

Strictly speaking about repairability, yes. But in terms of performance, specs, camera, etc. Samsung / iPhone of 5 years ago is still ahead of the Fairphone and co

Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#652

Post by FearlessNebula »

vianneychevalie wrote: post #408
southerntofu wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These applications are viruses. They eat all your resources, make connections to the network, and you can't get rid of them. I don't understand how some (most?) of humanity has accepted that it's acceptable for Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and Huawei to make it mandatory to use their spyware. If i as an individual sold phones that are tied to crappy malware i would be in prison very quickly. They control your phone, you…

Can you give examples of the Apple spyware you're mentioning? I'm familiar with the on-device scanning for iCloud-backups-using phones, but for me that's it. How wrong am I?

I can’t say for certain it literally spies on you, but the majority of pre installed apps on iPhone are still not removable (this has been gradually improving each year since like 2016).

Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#653

Post by FearlessNebula »

mijoharas wrote: post #528

I think the main thing, is that this is a device that you bought in the EU that failed within the first 6 months. This is legally guaranteed, that within the first 6 months any defects are assumed to have existed at the time of delivery [0]. If samsung don't respect the warranty, issue a chargeback. Your bank will back you up and Samsung have no leg to stand on. (Also, samsung really shouldn't be playing silly-bugger…

My concern with that these days is what if Samsung blocks his account? Now I’m not a Samsung customer but if I handed Google $1k and they gave me a dud I wouldn’t dare do a chargeback no matter what because the risk of loosing my Gmail and other services is too high. Same for Apple.

Consumers need more rights when it comes to termination of services that are borderline essential.

Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#654

Post by FearlessNebula »

windowsrookie wrote: post #561
zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The home button wasn’t removed until iPhone X, prior to that your only option was to replace the phone with another or subsequent model with the same button. I assume the whole reason Apple removed the button was because the economics of replacing the main board over a two cent button didn’t work out - even when the people bought warranties. (Applecare) It was successful, I’ve not had a unit failed because I kept pre…

Apple removed the "button" with the iPhone 6 in 2014. The "button" became capacitive and I haven't heard of any those failing. So they haven't had failure-prone button for 8 years now. Also in your previous comment you stated it required a completely new main board to fix but that is false. It did require complete disassembly, but the button was replaceable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVH-uNDiipA

The button became capacitive in the iPhone 7. I know because I had both the 6 and 7 and you can feel the difference. So 6 years not 8.

Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#655

Post by FearlessNebula »

zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #251

IMO foldable phones are a throwback to planned obsolescence. The mechanical wear of the folding and unfolding is going to win and you are going to find yourself with a new phone in a relatively short time. Every iPhone I’ve had has succumbed to either the home button failing (which requires a completely new main board to fix) or the lithium battery swelling to the point the case bursts open. My current model has no h…

What 15 year old phone could your wife possibly still be using? Is it her main phone? I can’t even imagine rocking. 10 year old phone like the iPhone 5

Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#656

Post by FearlessNebula »

COGlory wrote: post #75

>I was in need of replacing my aging Pixel 4 What? aging? It's from late 2019...That's hardly aging at all. I still use a 4a that is smooth as butter and battery lasts 2 days.

agreed the 4a is still butter smooth but if you’re getting 2 days battery that’s very light use, not typical use.

And the 4a was known to perform better than the 4 for some reason, so I’m not surprised that people are getting rid of their pixel 4’s.

Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#657

Post by southerntofu »

FearlessNebula wrote: post #651
southerntofu wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if you're ready to spend a month's salary on a phone, you'll probably get better hardware/software from Fairphone or Librem. Pinephone is also an option (at a more accessible price point) but it's still in some kind of beta where random users who just want to take photos and have a long-lasting battery are not the target audience. I know many people who use Fairphones and they've never been disappointed. You can…

Strictly speaking about repairability, yes. But in terms of performance, specs, camera, etc. Samsung / iPhone of 5 years ago is still ahead of the Fairphone and co

That's correct but misleading. First because we don't need all this raw power, and as much power as we give our devices, all of it will be (ab)used according to Wirth's law [0].

Second, because this is primarily due to economies of scale and predatory behavior from economic giants: if consumer/environmental protections don't outlaw ethical abuses from the few corporations who capture the market (see also planned obsolescence [1]), the "ethical" alternatives are always going to be more expensive and less attractive.

Third, because there are simple ways to have a strong impact immediately. For example, by forcing all hardware manufacturers to publish the entirety of their data sheets / schematics / research, you'd find a much better OS support for older devices (and new devices too), which would bring a practical incentive (cost) to use older hardware which currently has to be thrown away (for example if the OS does not support newer TLS standards [2]).

The situation is only bad because we let it be. Going with big tech for short-sighted, individualized gains, fails to address the elephant in the room that we as humanity can do so much better and everyone would be better off.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth%27s_law

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

[2] https://f-droid.org/pt/2020/05/29/android-updates-and-tls-co...

Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#658

Post by southerntofu »

ddingus wrote: post #643
kajaktum wrote: post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that free services are a mistake. But for whatever reason people _really_ like it. Take Youtube. It offers a way to avoid all ads and yet people who spent hours upon hours every day either watching videos or listening to music with it refuses to spend a dime on it. And yet, they also complain that ads are ruining Youtube and so they installed adblocker specifically for it. Since everyone refuses to _directly_…

I am one of those people who really likes it. And I hate it too, and for all the reasons given here. (Did not check them all, but it is a pretty safe bet.) Hating it all means I am on board with activism, advocacy, law, whatever we need to do in order to establish / extend the Bill Of Rights into digital spaces. Society, tech and the law have collided and that mess is ongoing and expanding. Imagine one of those cars…

> unless a lot of us have time together somehow

Yes, let's do this. Let's get together and create new, more humane standards. Get involved with an educational/cultural copyleft non-profit like Framasoft, a legal/lobbying organization like LQDN/EFF, a local hosting cooperative that provides GAFAM alternatives with a sustainable model (libreho.st/chatons.org networks), a local self-organized/DIY ISP (guifi.net/ffdn.org/freifunk.net networks), a self-organized FLOSS coop, etc.

Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#659

Post by southerntofu »

NoboruWataya wrote: post #595
southerntofu wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's sort of understandable when Google or Facebook spy on you and monetise your data to profit from the services that they provide you free of monetary charge to you. I personally don't like that line of reasoning. If you start to justify abusive behavior in the name of making money you're not giving someone for a "service", it's a small leap to reach the conclusion that abusive behavior (and profiting from it) is…

This is a difficult one because, like the other person that replied to you, I can't agree that cash payment is the only legitimate form of bargain that might be struck for services. I feel like it's an elitist take, because while I can thankfully afford to pay for these services with cash, a lot of people out there can't and that doesn't mean they should be shut out of basic internet services (like email, for example…

> because while I can thankfully afford to pay for these services with cash, a lot of people out there can't

I don't know where you live, but here in France it's the other way around. You can pay with cash pretty much in any shop, but it's expensive on vendors to provide card payments. And the real problem is millions of people don't have a credit card due to being blacklisted (for debt) or undocumented immigrant. That's why for example Lycamobile/Lebara are the most popular phone service providers among the lower classes in France: you can find SIM cards and "tip-up" cards pretty much everywhere.

Of course, this raises the question on how to pay on the Internet with cash as i know a lot of people who can't buy stuff online. For people who want to pay online (and have a bank account), taler.net seems like the most promising R&D in the field of "digital cash". For the rest, i can't see why we couldn't have a tip-up card system like we have for phone providers, but as a generic means to pay for online services with cash.

Re: Why I will never buy another Samsung device

#660

Post by samfather »

jiggawatts wrote: post #589
samfather wrote: post #554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to what objective measures? A 12 year old literally "hacked" the iPhone to remotely and silently activate any microphone using only a phone number. Apple products are not secure.

“Why should I break up with my abusive boyfriend? Sure, I’ve been in the hospital a few times with broken bones, but I saw your boyfriend shout at you once. Men are all the same.”

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