Not The News

[Harvester]

Apple & Co don't want the phone to be fixable, they want you to throw it away and get a new one. Being able to replace the battery at all, even with only an official one, is an improvement.
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I agree Apple often behaves unethically, but you can just send your phone to them through a reseller and they will install a new battery for you for a price, unless the model is really, really old. I considered this with my previous iPhone, but got a new one instead after using the old one for 6 years. Even at the end the old phone still received OS updates, this is something that Apple does better than Android manufacturers, the OS support is usually shorter on Samsung phones and the like.

Also, while liking their products I don't want to be an Apple apologist, but I'd wager that making batteries replaceable by end users might have effect on the level of waterproofness of a phone. This is one of the reasons they stopped with the detachable back panels, because it's hard to make such a phone waterproof.

I also agree with not packing chargers with phones, people have all kinds of chargers nowadays, it's wasteful to pack a possibly unneeded one with a phone. I do agree with the decision to force USB-C for charging phones.

[David]

Apple provide the manuals and the tools to repair a decent chunk of their products yourself. It's not easy, nor is it especially cheap, but you can do it: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/self-service-repair.

This is the iPhone 14 pro max self service manual: https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUA...72A-repair.pdf

I'm happy without chargers with my new phones - I've got so many of them already, and I usually end up putting them in a drawer and using a high-power charging hub that has a whole bunch of ports on it.

[Azaran]

I agree Apple often behaves unethically, but you can just send your phone to them through a reseller and they will install a new battery for you for a price, unless the model is really, really old.

Sure, but for the price of that battery, you could buy an Android phone - not the best mind you, but still a decent basic phone.
Granted, Apple is a luxury company, but considering the influence they have in the industry, they need to be scrutinized

Also, while liking their products I don't want to be an Apple apologist, but I'd wager that making batteries replaceable by end users might have effect on the level of waterproofness of a phone. This is one of the reasons they stopped with the detachable back panels, because it's hard to make such a phone waterproof.

Maybe, but they also deliberately slowed down older Iphones via updates, obviously to force people to buy new ones. When they got caught, they claimed it was to protect the phones from depleting too quick (LOL), like 'we could send customers low cost replacement batteries as a courtesy, but let's just mess with their phones instead'

[Harvester]

Still think an iPhone will last you longer than the average Android phone, except maybe the flagship models which cost almost as much as an iPhone. Once I’ve made the mistake of buying a budget Android phone and I’ll surely never do that again, what a worthless PoS that was.

And I think these budget phones with only a few years of OS updates which have slowed down to the point of becoming unusable at that time anyway are a waste of resources.

[Azaran]

Still think an iPhone will last you longer than the average Android phone, except maybe the flagship models which cost almost as much as an iPhone. Once I’ve made the mistake of buying a budget Android phone and I’ll surely never do that again, what a worthless PoS that was.

And I think these budget phones with only a few years of OS updates which have slowed down to the point of becoming unusable at that time anyway are a waste of resources.

That really depends on the brand. I still have my old Samsung A8 and A71 as backup phones, and they work as good as new (the A8 battery depletes faster but that's normal). I use Xiaomi now because of better value for money.

Oh and I don't do updates for the exact opposite reason. A coworker of mine also had an A8, and when he installed one of the updates, it slowed his phone down (Samsung was also suspected of pulling off that stunt). The first thing I do when I get a new phone is disable updates in the developer options, I've heard more than a few bad stories about updates besides that one and the Apple fiasco: phones slowing down (whether deliberate or not), bugs, crashes, etc. Anyway, updates are only useful if you want latest features. If you get a phone today, its existing system version will probably work fine with any new apps over the next 5 years or so.
As far as security, there's plenty of antimalware apps you can use.

[Harvester]

My previous girlfriend's mother had a nasty porn pop-up virus on her Android phone. She did only old lady things with it and no weird stuff whatsoever like sideloading apps but was still stuck with this malware. It was probably one of the many background processes I saw in the task manager but I couldn't figure out which one so I was unable to help her. The availability of virus scanners and antimalware apps is not a positive thing, I know of no iPhone users who use any of those, they hardly exist because they aren't needed on iOS. The EU wants to force Apple to enable third-party app stores. That's fine with me but I won't be using any of those third-party app stores, because I don't want to have to use virus scanners and antimalware apps like Android users do. You can call the Apple thing a fiasco but Android products often slow down by themselves without any malice involved, but the result is the same. My father has a budget Android tablet for less than a year and has had to wipe it clean several times to make it fast(ish) again (not to mention it overheats in the protective case my father bought for it), while my iPad which I've had since 2020 is still as fast as when I bought it.

[Cipheron]

My previous girlfriend's mother had a nasty porn pop-up virus on her Android phone. She did only old lady things with it and no weird stuff whatsoever like sideloading apps but was still stuck with this malware. It was probably one of the many background processes I saw in the task manager but I couldn't figure out which one so I was unable to help her.

That's pretty rare so I wouldn't use one anecdote to say all Android phones are prone to that.

I've had 3 android phones in 10 years, two tablets (lost the first one it didn't break or anything). Never seen anything like a virus or needed any malware protection. Viruses don't just pop up by themselves, you need to do something silly.

There are definitely a ton of iPhone viruses out there so it might be a false comfort thinking you're immune and don't need to take additional precautions because you have Apple devices:

https://macpaw.com/how-to/most-common-iphone-viruses

Pegasus has been around since 2016, but what makes it particularly dangerous is that all it takes is a simple text message to infect your phone. Typically, the hacker will text a link, and when you click on it, all you see is a blank website. But in the background of your browser, it’s downloading the virus to install on your iPhone.

... this one infects you through a malware link in a text message, which is very likely the same way your girlfriend's mother was infected.

While it's more likely that you could be infected by side-loaded apps (some of the iPhone viruses work like that) the vast majority of Android users never do anything like that. Side-loading apks requires a fair amount more technical knowledge than just browsing the app store.

[heywood]

There are good design reasons for encapsulated batteries in phones. Consumer-removable batteries increase the cost of the device and the size & weight. Their packaging also impedes heat transfer from the batteries to the outside so you can't charge them as quickly. And making them waterproof requires seals. So far, technology advancement has made phones obsolete as fast or faster than their batteries, so I think it might be premature to force us all to compromise other features for the sake of battery replacement. If in 10 years time we're all still on 5G and using Android or iOS, I might change my mind.

Regarding Apple vs. Android, we could fill pages. I prefer Android over iOS. They've copied each other so much they both kind of suck, except that iOS still assumes you're in its walled garden, which unnecessarily complicates simple things like copying the pictures & vids you took off your phone. But Apple makes good hardware and continues to provide security updates for their phones longer than others.

Believe it or not, I miss Windows 10 Mobile. The Lumia 950 was my last phone with a replaceable battery. It lasted about 4 years before the battery gave up, and by then the replacement battery part number was discontinued. I bought a supposedly new replacement from Amazon and it lasted a week. Then I bought a used replacement on eBay. That gave me a few more months before I had to throw in the towel on Windows Phone because I was wasting money and there was no replacement. The 950 turned out to be the end of line for Windows Phone and Nokia.

[Azaran]

Russia's dictator president makes gender reassignment surgery illegal

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation Monday which marked the final step in outlawing gender-affirming procedures in the country — a crippling blow to Russia's already embattled LGBTQ community.

The bill, which was approved unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any "medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person," as well as changing one's gender in official documents and public records. The only exception will be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies.

It also annuls marriages in which one person has "changed gender" and bars transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents.

The ban is said to stem from the Kremlin's crusade to protect what it views as the country's "traditional values." Lawmakers say the legislation is to safeguard Russia against "Western anti-family ideology," with some describing gender-transitioning as "pure satanism."

Russia's crackdown on LGBTQ people started a decade ago when Putin first proclaimed a focus on "traditional family values," supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 2013, the Kremlin adopted legislation that banned any public endorsement of "non-traditional sexual relations" among minors. In 2020, Putin pushed through constitutional reform that outlawed same-sex marriage, and last year signed a law banning "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" among adults as well.

[Pyrian]

Pandering to Republicans, basically.

[mxleader]

Russia's dictator president makes gender reassignment surgery illegal

Putin is fucking nuts. That is all.

[heywood]

Whatever Putin is doing apparently works on US conservatives because he's got the vast majority of them in favor of cutting off Ukraine.

[Azaran]

Putin is fucking nuts. That is all.

What's more nuts is trans people now have more rights in Iran than they do in Russia

[mxleader]

If a country is considered worse than Iran then that's pretty bad for sure.

[Cipheron]

This kind of story shows how desperate the Murdoch press is to score one against the Australian Labor party prime minister

https://www.news.com.au/finance/econ...9b61a9eb194b2e

Anthony Albanese has conceded he doesn’t know how much it costs everyday Australians to fill up a tank of petrol.

Basically this is in retaliation for the previous right-wing leader getting blasted for the same thing.

So ... you'd assume he was WAY off on the price right?

“Well, I don’t go and fill up my car. But it was around about $1.80 last time,” the Prime Minister responded

So, wrong wrong wrong Albo, you out of touch elitist! in fact:

Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart recorded an average weekly price of more than $2 a litre, while Brisbane had the cheapest price of 188.2 cents a litre.

Note how they switch units there, and go from being very specific to excessively vague.

They give the low-end price as "188.2 cents" to make it seem a lot more than $1.80, but they could have just written "$1.88", which makes it clear he was actually in the ballpark. Who quibbles over an 8 cent difference, which is about 5 cents US.

While the high price is just hand waved as "above $2". Well ... it can't be MUCH above $2, or they would have been more specific about that. So instead of being to the nearest 0.1 cents, now it's some vague "above $2" value. So suddenly it's ok to go three orders of magnitude less precise.

Also, you can look up price charts, and the average price was in fact $1.80 in Sydney, which is a more expensive city, on August 3rd:

https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/pe...n-major-cities

So, OMG, so out of touch. His petrol prices were two weeks out of date. Hell, a normal person who just hasn't filled up their car in a couple of weeks could do that.

[SD]

What's more nuts is trans people now have more rights in Iran than they do in Russia

Don't make the mistake of thinking there's anything progressive about Iran's policies in this area. Homosexuality is a crime punishable by death, and gay people face a stark choice if caught - execution, or forced reassignment surgery. And even after surgery they still face oppression, because Iran.

[mxleader]

Don't make the mistake of thinking there's anything progressive about Iran's policies in this area. Homosexuality is a crime punishable by death, and gay people face a stark choice if caught - execution, or forced reassignment surgery. And even after surgery they still face oppression, because Iran.

I'm not sure how Iran has escaped the wrath of the western world or any other part of the world at this point for many reasons. There are many political and social reasons why Iran sucks. But they have been a nuisance to shipping and the US Navy for decades. I mean, sure a strategic air assault on their government headquarters, select military installations and nuclear "energy" R&D sites could cause major destabilization in the region but the current regime really deserves it. I may be biased because of my time in the US Navy floating past that country and having our battle group harassed and their blatant attack on our ships during the Iran-Iraq war but they are pretty annoying.

[Pyrian]

Don't make the mistake of thinking there's anything progressive about Iran's policies in this area.

I mean, that's why "even worse than Iran" is a yardstick in the first place.

[SD]

I'm not sure how Iran has escaped the wrath of the western world or any other part of the world at this point for many reasons. There are many political and social reasons why Iran sucks. But they have been a nuisance to shipping and the US Navy for decades. I mean, sure a strategic air assault on their government headquarters, select military installations and nuclear "energy" R&D sites could cause major destabilization in the region but the current regime really deserves it. I may be biased because of my time in the US Navy floating past that country and having our battle group harassed and their blatant attack on our ships during the Iran-Iraq war but they are pretty annoying.

I think the feeling is that Iran, as vile a regime as it is, is a problem that is relatively contained. Certainly between them, the US and Israel have done a pretty good job of stymieing any nuclear ambitions they have. There is also a sizeable Iranian middle-class which is generally not hostile to the West, and we would prefer not to alienate them.

I mean, that's why "even worse than Iran" is a yardstick in the first place.

Right, part of the point I was making was that Iran isn't really any better than Russia.

[mxleader]

There is also a sizeable Iranian middle-class which is generally not hostile to the West, and we would prefer not to alienate them.

True. I still don't trust them, but it is better to contain them where they are relatively easy to keep track of ... Saves time having to reprogram ICBM's.

[Azaran]

Today is Black Ribbon day

It was on this day in 1939 that the Stalinist Soviet Union and Hitler’s Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression pact that shocked the world. Since 2011, 23 August has been a day to commemorate the victims of totalitarian dictatorships.

Just before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Stalinist Soviet Union and Hitler’s Germany signed a non-aggression pact, after Joseph Stalin, failed to negotiate with the Western powers on mutual security guarantees. The reconciliation suited the German Führer Adolf Hitler as well, who had decided to invade Poland and then Western Europe, and was able to carry out his aggression unhindered.

The document, signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by Soviet People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs

It was on this day in 1939 that the Stalinist Soviet Union and Hitler’s Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression pact that shocked the world. Since 2011, 23 August has been a day to commemorate the victims of totalitarian dictatorships.

Just before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Stalinist Soviet Union and Hitler’s Germany signed a non-aggression pact, after Joseph Stalin, failed to negotiate with the Western powers on mutual security guarantees. The reconciliation suited the German Führer Adolf Hitler as well, who had decided to invade Poland and then Western Europe, and was able to carry out his aggression unhindered.

The document, signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by Soviet People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs

Speaking at the international conference on Europe’s Conscience and Communism in Prague in June 2008, former Czech President Václav Havel said that Europe bears an extraordinary responsibility for Nazism and Communism, the two totalitarian regimes that have emerged on this continent.

MEPs from Hungary, Estonia, the UK, Germany and Latvia proposed that:

23 August, the day on which the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed, should be declared a day of remembrance for the victims of totalitarian regimes.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on this in April 2009. On 10 June 2011, at their last meeting under the Hungarian EU Presidency, EU justice ministers adopted a joint resolution on the victims of totalitarian regimes, on the initiative of Poland, Hungary and Lithuania.

[Starker]

Also, notably, the pact had a secret protocol which divided up Poland and the rest of Europe between the powers, beginning decades of terror and oppression for the invaded areas. One of the participants of this pact was punished.

I mean, somehow from this part...

The reconciliation suited the German Führer Adolf Hitler as well, who had decided to invade Poland and then Western Europe, and was able to carry out his aggression unhindered.

...it often gets left out that Russia also attacked Poland and was able to carry out its aggression unhindered.

[Azaran]

Also, notably, the pact had a secret protocol which divided up Poland and the rest of Europe between the powers, beginning decades of terror and oppression for the invaded areas.

The Gestapo and NKVD even held meetings around that time to discuss how best to terrorize Poland into submission. This is where the Nazis gained deeper knowledge of Soviet terror methods, which they then used and abused all over eastern Europe

[Azaran]

Some of the most horrific shit about the Nazis and Soviets I've seen is how they enabled each other, even after they became enemies.

The Germans would massacre entire villages if there was even suspicion of Soviet partisan activity in the area (I even read somewhere that they machine gunned 100 civilians because the local Nazi commander heard a shot - later they found out the shot had been fired by a German). Many soviet partisans ended up attacking Nazis near soviet villages to deliberately bring the wrath of the Germans on the local populace, and thus prevent any potential collaboration.

Then there's the Warsaw uprising crackdown, where the Nazis massacred 200.000 people and leveled the city. The Soviet army was nearby and could have intervened, but Stalin told them to stay back (he wanted the Nazis to eradicate Polish resistance, so he could then easily take over).

The Soviets would later reuse some Nazi camps for their own victims.

[mxleader]

The crazy thing is that the general public in the US really has no idea about the atrocities committed by the Russians. I wonder if that has a lot to do with the Cold War and the general attitude towards Russia as a whole in the US. It's not like we didn't know for decades. I recall that information being taught in US History classes in the 1980's but most people ignored it and focused on the Nazis. I recall a conversation with some coworkers a while back and their general attitude was that it wasn't a big deal because Russia was mostly killing it's own people, and a few others, and Germany was killing Jewish people and others. I had to remind them that those Jewish people and others living in Germany at the time were German. They just happen to be from a different faith. I guess the concept of German-Jew is too difficult for some to understand. Anyway, not sure where I was going with this.