Related
Hi guys,
I was just wondering if anyone out there has already thought of this or if this is even possible.
First off, I have no clue where to send suggestions to google, and I doubt they respond anyway so the best hope for this would be a community effort.
The Situation: (no Jersey shore jokes please) Well we're all annoyed by the rampant abuse of the Market by certain companies releasing and updating their pointless fact based apps, and that makes the whole "Just in" option useless.
We only have "Top Paid" and "Top Free".
Basically, the Android Market experience is pretty bad in terms of searching for apps though categorisation.
Proposed Solution:
What the Android Market needs is the following.
1. A Sort by Rating, Alphabetically, Date Released, Developer option (probably more but that's all I can think of now).
2. More sub-categories within the main ones. E.G Multimedia->Video Player/Music Player
What do you guys think? Is it plausible?
There have been countless discussions on this on here, other forums, news groups, Google official groups and everywhere else for that matter and in all honestly pretty pointless to talk about since Google appears to be in on hurry at all to resolve this issue.
(nothing against you, just stating facts).
you can post suggestions to android here:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/list
Try appbrain.com they do a good job filtering the nuisance apps from the just in apps.
Purpose
With all the rage around getting a Google+ invite, there is a small problem: Even with an invite, you might not be able to get into Google+ for several days. nibras_reeza and I have been working on a script that, once you've received an invite, will keep checking the signup page to see if you can sign up. YOU MUST HAVE AN INVITE FOR THIS SCRIPT TO BE USEFUL!
Features
* Automatically checks Google for when registration is open
* Displays a running total of refreshes
* Works in Chrome, Firefox, and IE (w/ Trixie)
Special Thanks
Nibras Reeza - motivated and helped me write this; running the notification form and general debugging
"_mousey" - fixed a caching issue, IE support, and debugging
"thrasher9" - "how many times have I pinged Google?"
Version
0.000005 - Fixing stupid merge issues (thanks Nibras and _mousey!) and merged _mousey's IE support (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15456658&postcount=201)
0.000004 - Merged changes from Nibras, _mousey, and thrasher9 into the main script
0.000001 - Initial
Instructions
READ THIS!
1. Install this script. For Chrome, simply download the file, drag it to Chrome, and authorize the install
2. Go to your Google+ invite, click on the "Join Google+" link
3. The script should take over--your browser will jump to the "Field Test" page. You can monitor this progress by pressing Ctrl-Shift-J to view the javascript console.
4. When registration "opens", the script will stop refreshing. You should see a form on the page asking for some info to sign up. DO THIS AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE!
5. Come back here and post about your success!
Note 1: Just because you see the sign-up form doesn't mean you'll get in. Therefore, it is pointless to leave this running overnight; even though you may see a sign-up form in the morning, chances are it won't work.
Note 2: If Google is not displaying in English, then you'll need to edit line 45. More info here (Thanks _mousey!) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15430390&postcount=161.
Note 3: If you want to run this in IE, use Trixie (Thanks _mousey!) : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15425549&postcount=152
Implementation
(the boring stuff)
Original post: Link
Attached is a Greasemonkey script for Google Chrome (probably doesn't work for Firefox...). Install it in your browser, click the "view or comment" link in the invite you received. The script will find the "Join Google+" link, save the URL, then navigate to the page. If the page contains a DIV with "Field Trial", it will wait 5 seconds, then refresh. This should happen until either a) Invites work again, b) Google opens G+ to the world, or c) Google gets pissed at you and blocks your address.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I successfully used this script to sign up for Google+, and so have many other people.
Not necessary anymore. Use the version by Adam above. He integrated mine into his.
TIP for Android users:
(Some said this works but I can't make any guarantee. Worth a try.)
Apply for an invite in my form using a GMail account. Once you receive my invite, download Google+ from the Market(use Market Enabler or Root Toolbox and emulate a US carrier if you are outside US. You need ROOT.)
Now, sign into your GMail account on your phone. (Settings->Accounts and Sync->New Account->Google) Skip this if you submitted the account you already use on phone.
Open up Google+ on Android and sign in.
ONLY ONE PERSON HAS TO RUN THE SCRIPT. ANYONE CAN CHECK STATUS PUBLICLY.
SCRIPT UPDATED. USE THE NEW VERSION.
Here's a fork I made. This version logs available times publicly on a Google Docs Spreadsheet. I want someone who has a spare unused invite and has not registered to run it continuously.
And, I owe a lot for Adam to working so hard to write the script. He did all the hard work of digging into the code. xD I just made a fork. lol
Here's the public URL(TIME IS IN +0530GMT/+1030EST):
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr...pUTOhdHdwLUZOTmlOWHNvbzR0M19iSTNzdmc&hl=en_GB
Just subscribe by notifications for changes made to the doc and you will be notified by email when registrations are open.
ONLY ONE PERSON HAS TO RUN THE SCRIPT. ANYONE CAN CHECK STATUS PUBLICLY.
SCRIPT UPDATED. USE THE NEW VERSION.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Available" means registrations are open?
wascaa said:
"Available" means registrations are open?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly.
Think of it as a club: You're standing in line (G+ invite) waiting to get in. The bouncer finally decides to let a few people in (registration is open). You get lucky and he lets you in (success).
Damn! Wish I had my invite right now!
Are you still sending invites to the ones that registered to your spreadsheet?
Great work anyway!
Just another quick question which time zone is used for the times?
wascaa said:
Damn! Wish I had my invite right now!
Are you still sending invites to the ones that registered to your spreadsheet?
Great work anyway!
Just another quick question which time zone is used for the times?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did send an bulk invite a few minutes back. It's taking hours to go through.
The time on what? My spreadsheet which says when registrations are open? It's SLST(+0530GMT). I'll try to change it to EST.
Hello Nibras,
I installed the script and removed all cache and then clicked on the 'view or comment on Nibras's post'. It automatically navigated to the registration page but then never refreshed! or is it refreshing and I can't tell?
What do you mean by 'DIV with "Field Trial"'? How can I tell if the page contains it? sorry if this was a dumb question, but I don't understand it.
It's adam's script. Not mine. Don't bother about the div stuff. It just explains how the script works.
Just install the script on Chrome or Greasemonkey or Tampermonkey.
Click view or comment on nibras's post. Then the script will reload the signup page till Google allows signups. (Make sure you are signed into your Google account before you try all these.)
idk how to use this script? all it does is it blocks me from visiting the google plus website because it is killing my chrome with a lot of spamming a page which says: "available!" which will open many times until my chrome crashes
EDIT: damn my fault, i need to get the invite mail first! im sorry !
nibras_reeza said:
It's adam's script. Not mine. Don't bother about the div stuff. It just explains how the script works.
Just install the script on Chrome or Greasemonkey or Tampermonkey.
Click view or comment on nibras's post. Then the script will reload the signup page till Google allows signups. (Make sure you are signed into your Google account before you try all these.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it doesn't seem to refresh. Shouldn't I notice it refreshing every 5 secs.?
Open the Chrome JavaScript console, you should see a message every time it refreshes.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
Not sure if I'm doing it right but I've been running it for an hour with no joy. I can see it refreshing but it always stays on Keep Me Posted
(This is with greasemonkey in firefox)
Anyone had any luck with the script? Seems like it should be exactly what I am looking for! (Thanks Adam!!)
The script worked for me. Thank you guys. ;-)
Sent from my Nexus One
monkley said:
Not sure if I'm doing it right but I've been running it for an hour with no joy. I can see it refreshing but it always stays on Keep Me Posted
(This is with greasemonkey in firefox)
Anyone had any luck with the script? Seems like it should be exactly what I am looking for! (Thanks Adam!!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as it keeps refreshing your page, it is working. I would suggest moving the window off to the side and keep an eye on it. The right hand side of the page that tells you there is no room will switch to a log-in form whenever Google feels like it. The script itself doesn't make Google give you the invite any faster, it just makes you aware that you can sign-up within 5 seconds of it being available.
Mucho thanks, hopes I gets lucky now.
Adam.h.ogle said:
Open the Chrome JavaScript console, you should see a message every time it refreshes.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the console open for around 5 minutes with no msgs. I know its not refreshing, but I don't know why. I downloaded you zip file and extracted the JS file, then opened a blank chrome page and dragged the file into the blank page, it asked me if i want to install it and i clicked continue. When I go to extensions I can see G+ invited there. When I open the 'comment or view' link, it takes me to the post with the red button saying 'Join G+' and then automatically redirects me to the page attached, but it doesnt refresh.
Am I doing something wrong?
EDIT: it worked now after pressing Ctrl+F5 several time. I think it was a problem of cache, although I have deleted all cache and cookies.
Anyway thank you Adam and Nibras. Will let it run overnight and see what happens
Adam.h.ogle said:
As long as it keeps refreshing your page, it is working. I would suggest moving the window off to the side and keep an eye on it. The right hand side of the page that tells you there is no room will switch to a log-in form whenever Google feels like it. The script itself doesn't make Google give you the invite any faster, it just makes you aware that you can sign-up within 5 seconds of it being available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll let it run over night then and maybe there'll be a present for me in the morning!
Thanks again for the script, I figured someone would sort something automated in the end and am happy to have found it.
I have another concern, could it be that chances for US residents are better than non US? do you advise me to use a proxy, or it doesn't matter?
I don't have any facts to back this up, more of just some thoughts into how I might implement the invitation system:
Let's say you start the script before going to bed around midnight. The script runs for 2 hours, Google allows some people into the system, your browser stops refreshing because you have a sign-up form. Success, right? I don't think so. My guess is that Google is allowing a set number of people to sign up at defined intervals. Just because you see the form doesn't mean that you will be able to create an account, otherwise, we could just sniff the form post and duplicate it for every member that wants an account[1]. So, you wake up in the morning, seeing a sign-up form, frantically fill it out, only to discover that you were ~8 hours too slow and too many other people beat you to it.
My recommendation is that you only run the script when you are within arms-reach of your computer, as I'm not sure how much time you have between seeing the form and having it rejected.
Thinking more about what Nibras and I have discussed, since this is a beta, Google would want to control the amount of people in the system. Also, they would need to have many servers to handle all the traffic. It would be dumb to put all those servers in one location (US or UK), as the latency would kill the experience for anyone outside of that country. So, if Google has a bunch of servers spread across the globe, then they would probably want to try to encourage people around the world to sign up, instead of just having 99% of their testers from one country. This might explain why we are seeing invites being sent at odd times, and why people are being allowed to sign up at odd times.
Alternatively, they may be releasing ~1000 invites at a time, first come, first serve. And there's some dude staring at a bank of monitors, watching all the threads across the net (just like this one), giggling as we try to figure out what they're doing. And this dude, whenever he gets bored, he presses a button and lets a few more people into the system.
[1] If anyone is nerdy enough to sniff the traffic, I would be curious what it is submitting, just in case I'm wrong. In theory, we could create accounts for everyone, at least until Google patches the issue.
EDIT: Odds for US or non-US people? I don't really think it matters.
Im a manager at a grocery store and Im looking for a way to simplify an inefficient inventory reporting fiasco we have. Basically each day we take inventory on three sections of an aisle and when we find discrepancies, we add that item to a second report. After we count the three sections each day we run the second report which takes us around to count a random pool of items but also takes us back to count any items that we added from the first report which means we end up counting items twice unless we keep a written count the first time around which is very time consuming and inefficient.
Basically I would like an app that as I do the first report I could add an item to a list and input a quantity to it so when I come back to it I could quickly grab the quantity from the app and be done. It would also be great if I could add a shelf location to the item so as I use the app it would be building a map of the store so next time around that item would already be in the system.
I found some inventory apps but they are all to in-depth for what i want, I need something simple and maybe a recommendation from someone who has used an app like this before?
Could you not just use a google drive spreadsheet?
You want to do this on a Nexus 7?
This sounds like a job for Excel, so you'll probably need an app (cloud or local) that has more than a basic range of Excel functions. You'll need to use filter, sort, Vlookup, etc
You mention "reports" but not how these reports are generated. Could they be exported to Excel?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
PM'd you mate.
Try Kingsoft Office, I've found that my work spreadsheets(xls Office 2010) transfer all the data pretty well. The only thing it doesn't take is the Table graphics
"Basically I would like an app that as I do the first report I could add an item to a list and input a quantity to it so when I come back to it I could quickly grab the quantity from the app and be done."
It is possible that the "two reports" system has been designed for use in large stores so that a check by Employee A is re-checked by Employee B who doesn't know which items are short/over It gives a measure of assurance that the checks are being performed correctly and accurately and also the segregation of duties between A and B could prevent a single employee hiding their "theft" as in "I've had 6 cans of Coke this week so I'll add 6 to my physical count"
ukulele_ninja said:
Im a manager at a grocery store and Im looking for a way to simplify an inefficient inventory reporting fiasco we have. Basically each day we take inventory on three sections of an aisle and when we find discrepancies, we add that item to a second report. After we count the three sections each day we run the second report which takes us around to count a random pool of items but also takes us back to count any items that we added from the first report which means we end up counting items twice unless we keep a written count the first time around which is very time consuming and inefficient.
Basically I would like an app that as I do the first report I could add an item to a list and input a quantity to it so when I come back to it I could quickly grab the quantity from the app and be done. It would also be great if I could add a shelf location to the item so as I use the app it would be building a map of the store so next time around that item would already be in the system.
I found some inventory apps but they are all to in-depth for what i want, I need something simple and maybe a recommendation from someone who has used an app like this before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need an Android app, you need a WMS (Warehouse management system).
Sent via my Nexus 7, Amiga 3000 or HTC EVO 3D
I remember a time when searching on Google was completely intuitive: It returned results that contained what I queried, and as long as I was somewhat competent in recognizing the subtle differences between certain word choices, those results were reasonable irrespective of whether I found what I had searched for. Lately Google seems to have set out on the goal of trying to programatically understand language. I completely hate the idea of a search engine trying to decide when the user would like to have words included in the search that weren't explicitly specified. For example: While using the word "love" in any query where the query as a whole is a commonly familiar set of words, such as "I Love Lucy", typically doesn't return any completely irrelevant results as long as you're not as deep into the search results as something like page 607, searching for something like "i love abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz" returns a barrage of links with bolded terms such as "Featured Story: Who the hell cares about abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz? I Know I Don't: A blogger's obsession with numbers.. [blah blah]... Top Stories... See More Like This...". I'm sure most of us know that that "like" is a synonym for "love", but I'm also sure most of us are aware that this is only true in certain contexts.
As another example, I remember querying "sed octal permissions pattern matching" and getting tons of results that seemed to suggest I was interested in results pertaining to "grep" and "awk" as well. The whole reason I had been searching for sed is that I was looking to create a script to be run on my router, which did not have the perl regular expressions feature compiled into grep, and awk was completely non-existent. I admit that including results for awk and grep could have been useful to people who weren't aware that they exist, but still, I don't believe pointing out software that provides similar functionality to that of one specified in a search query should be in within the scope of what a search engine tries to provide. Let people search for something like "sed similar functionality" or "alternatives to sed" and learn that, providing they use a decent search engine which doesn't prematurely assume things, there are other ways to go about their problem.
it
Recently, I entered the query "painless knee swelling damage", hoping to gain some insight as a frequent runner into whether or not swelling of the knee is likely to indicate that any significant injury is occurring when there is an absence of any pain. It returned results with things like "painful" bolded as a keyword. Here is a screenshot: WHY? I can't think of any signs more blatantly indicative of something being wrong with the algorithm of a search engine than when it returns the EXACT opposite of what the user has specified in their query. I realize these results don't seem to be the first that it gives, and I could see how it might be understandable for someone to think -- that after all instances of pages which are consistent with the query have been exhausted -- they should begin including things like often-associated words, closely spelled words, and synonyms, but only at the very end of all the legitimately relevant results. As you can see in the screenshot, the bastardizations of the user's query are not exclusive to the last listed suggestions; they're just seemingly tossed in along with the sensible results. It blows my mind that a company as large as Google can't seem to have someone review the validity of the so-often absurd suggestions generated by the search engine, or even better, adopt (or rather, revert to) algorithms that don't assume its users are so incompetent at expressing what it is they're looking for.
If a company were to exist who owned rights to the use of quotation marks, and made money each time someone typed them into a search engine, I'd truly believe that Google is acting in collusion with such a company because I literally have to put (even single) words in quotes, sometimes proceeded by a minus-sign just to avoid Google's outlandish interpretations of what seems like just about anything I search for these days.
Thank's got I am not the only one who thinks like you. For example, I just did a search with the following query: how to search in cpanel if grep is not available. And do you know what? The first results was: How to use Grep | Liquid Web Knowledge Base .... Uhmm... ok Google.
That's because Google is very commercial when it comes to search results these days. It's all geared towards advertising revenue. Results are tailored to your location, cookies, history, content of your Google account and your Google+ account. It also returns sponsored results first, but they're not listed as such anymore. And a lot of sites are being filtered out as well.
Whenusing Incognito mode you'll often get very different results.
I searched for 'g900f brick after factory reset XDA' yesterday. The first XDA result? third from the bottom.. The first page was almost entirely random, not even Android Central. I even got results for the financial times and Reddit. But not related Reddit pages, nope.
And if you search for certain things, they manipulate your search. For the fun of it, try finding a torrent. Google automatically alters the results to the paid sites. And ironically they don't consider location in that. I searched for a book yesterday, redirected me to over 300 ebook webshops exclusively for USA and Canada. That's 4000 miles from here. Useful Google. -.-
I've resorted to using Bing for some things..
To start: I've been highly anticipating this phone. I've had two Google Pixel 3 XLs that my SO and I have been using since release day. Probably one of the best overall phones I've owned, first phone to make it past the two year mark before attempting replacement. I've had cell phones since 1996 mind you (I was in high school at the time and lucky enough to have a job in web development / system administration and I was on-call for the company I was employed by, but I digress). Anyway...
I've worked in enterprise security (consultant, FTE and on the vendor side) for the bulk of my professional career post-college. I've been, generally, OK with both Android and IOS over the years - give or take different areas of concern/complaint. I own a number of iPads and iPhones currently, but my daily driver is the P3XL.
I didn't realize Samsung was as bad as they currently are for hidden apps and outlandish permissions in their own ecosystem of software.
The first problem I noticed was that Facebook is installed by default. Red flag. I uninstalled and immediately went to look through the system apps to validate there were no other Facebook components lying around. And there are. There are three Facebook components you cannot uninstall but can only disable: Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager and Facebook Services. If you're keeping your Galaxy S21 and don't use Facebook I'd recommend disabling them and validating background data is disabled as they may be reenabled on system updates (I'm not sure if that's true or not). The reality is they very well could be and you wouldn't know it - given the circumstances I'd err on the side of trust - but definitely verify.
The second problem I ran into was Microsoft OneDrive. Again, not able to uninstall it - you can disable it. Obviously these apps are all part of the system image and is the reason you can't actually remove them. FFS.
The third, and final nail, is Bixby Voice. This app cannot be uninstalled, cannot be disabled and all permissions are immutable (meaning they cannot be changed). I understand Samsung is, and has been, trying to force Bixby on it's users for years. I thought Samsung had moved on and relinquished control. I was, unfortunately, wrong. Final nail in the coffin for me.
So... Does Google do this on Pixel devices? Sure, to an extent with Google components. Does Apple do this on IOS? Yes. The difference is that the Google apps on a Pixel device aren't harboring controls that can't be overridden. I can turn off permissions on the "Google" app, say - the microphone permission, even though it may break functionality. I can live with that. But I'm not OK with giving control up to something like Bixby Voice that has, literally, every permission 24/7.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the complacency involved with being OK with this and that's the rationale for returning the device. So, Samsung, if you're reading this (who am I kidding, you're not) - what an amazing phone with regard to the hardware. Truly top notch, truly polished and pushes all of the right buttons. You didn't lose a customer because the phone wasn't designed well. You lost a customer because it's clear that on top of the $1200+ phone you have the audacity to treat your customers as if they don't care - that they're not concerned with privacy in the least, and you clearly don't want them to be given what you've delivered. The reality is Google isn't a bastion of hope in that department either. Nor is Apple. But the Pixel line and IOS devices give end users a level of control if they're willing to give up features or functionality. I'd be fine with Bixby being on the phone if I could disable it and know that it's not able to phone home. But that's not possible sans drastic measures. Measures that would lock me out of functionality I do use.
So Samsung. No, you don't get my money and a complacent response to your privacy ignorant stance. I won't waste my time with the Samsung brand moving forward. I hope others voice their concern and skip Samsung until these things are handled correctly. I know I'm a minority at this point in time, but the tides are slowly changing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/l6hn2y/returning_the_galaxy_s21_ultra/
jesus christ you waited 3 months to repost this wall of text from reddit?
just return the phone and go away, no one cares
I'm in agreement with your view regarding Samsung's dedicated apps, particularly when they dont require permissions however you may be able to scrub the device with the process outlined here.
How to Remove Samsung Bloatware without Root
Samsung phones and Galaxy Tabs come with lots of preinstalled apps many of which are useless to the end-user. Such apps are called bloatware and because they are installed as system apps, the uninstall option for them remains unavailable. Below is a big list of Samsung bloatware that is safe to...
r1.community.samsung.com
These days with top shelf devices costing over $1,000 USD it pays to spend some time at a retailer to get a better understanding of whatever device you're considering, particularly if you're jumping to a brand you haven't used in the recent past.
LavenderBirch said:
To start: I've been highly anticipating this phone. I've had two Google Pixel 3 XLs that my SO and I have been using since release day. Probably one of the best overall phones I've owned, first phone to make it past the two year mark before attempting replacement. I've had cell phones since 1996 mind you (I was in high school at the time and lucky enough to have a job in web development / system administration and I was on-call for the company I was employed by, but I digress). Anyway...
I've worked in enterprise security (consultant, FTE and on the vendor side) for the bulk of my professional career post-college. I've been, generally, OK with both Android and IOS over the years - give or take different areas of concern/complaint. I own a number of iPads and iPhones currently, but my daily driver is the P3XL.
I didn't realize Samsung was as bad as they currently are for hidden apps and outlandish permissions in their own ecosystem of software.
The first problem I noticed was that Facebook is installed by default. Red flag. I uninstalled and immediately went to look through the system apps to validate there were no other Facebook components lying around. And there are. There are three Facebook components you cannot uninstall but can only disable: Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager and Facebook Services. If you're keeping your Galaxy S21 and don't use Facebook I'd recommend disabling them and validating background data is disabled as they may be reenabled on system updates (I'm not sure if that's true or not). The reality is they very well could be and you wouldn't know it - given the circumstances I'd err on the side of trust - but definitely verify.
The second problem I ran into was Microsoft OneDrive. Again, not able to uninstall it - you can disable it. Obviously these apps are all part of the system image and is the reason you can't actually remove them. FFS.
The third, and final nail, is Bixby Voice. This app cannot be uninstalled, cannot be disabled and all permissions are immutable (meaning they cannot be changed). I understand Samsung is, and has been, trying to force Bixby on it's users for years. I thought Samsung had moved on and relinquished control. I was, unfortunately, wrong. Final nail in the coffin for me.
So... Does Google do this on Pixel devices? Sure, to an extent with Google components. Does Apple do this on IOS? Yes. The difference is that the Google apps on a Pixel device aren't harboring controls that can't be overridden. I can turn off permissions on the "Google" app, say - the microphone permission, even though it may break functionality. I can live with that. But I'm not OK with giving control up to something like Bixby Voice that has, literally, every permission 24/7.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the complacency involved with being OK with this and that's the rationale for returning the device. So, Samsung, if you're reading this (who am I kidding, you're not) - what an amazing phone with regard to the hardware. Truly top notch, truly polished and pushes all of the right buttons. You didn't lose a customer because the phone wasn't designed well. You lost a customer because it's clear that on top of the $1200+ phone you have the audacity to treat your customers as if they don't care - that they're not concerned with privacy in the least, and you clearly don't want them to be given what you've delivered. The reality is Google isn't a bastion of hope in that department either. Nor is Apple. But the Pixel line and IOS devices give end users a level of control if they're willing to give up features or functionality. I'd be fine with Bixby being on the phone if I could disable it and know that it's not able to phone home. But that's not possible sans drastic measures. Measures that would lock me out of functionality I do use.
So Samsung. No, you don't get my money and a complacent response to your privacy ignorant stance. I won't waste my time with the Samsung brand moving forward. I hope others voice their concern and skip Samsung until these things are handled correctly. I know I'm a minority at this point in time, but the tides are slowly changing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/l6hn2y
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So.... return pickup still not arrived in 3 months?
Or you're just baiting us into defending Samsung and start a pointless debate here?
It's been 3 months since that post man... Either you've returned it and are now happy with the other gazillion devices you say you have, or you are just trundling along with the S21U just looking to vent your frustration... or maybe, you got yourself a OnePlus 9 Pro and are now missing the S21U. I dunno - but whatever it is, please for the love of God, tell us what you want us to do about it?
Why on Earth did you go through the hassle of creating a new thread here on XDA just to Copy-Paste a 3 month old rant from Reddit?
This isn't a request for help, nor is this development related - it sounds more like an open letter to Samsung. What will this acheive?
Anyway, hope this allowed you to vent some frustration and find some peace. May you find happiness with whatever new device you eventually buy.
LavenderBirch said:
To start: I've been highly anticipating this phone. I've had two Google Pixel 3 XLs that my SO and I have been using since release day. Probably one of the best overall phones I've owned, first phone to make it past the two year mark before attempting replacement. I've had cell phones since 1996 mind you (I was in high school at the time and lucky enough to have a job in web development / system administration and I was on-call for the company I was employed by, but I digress). Anyway...
I've worked in enterprise security (consultant, FTE and on the vendor side) for the bulk of my professional career post-college. I've been, generally, OK with both Android and IOS over the years - give or take different areas of concern/complaint. I own a number of iPads and iPhones currently, but my daily driver is the P3XL.
I didn't realize Samsung was as bad as they currently are for hidden apps and outlandish permissions in their own ecosystem of software.
The first problem I noticed was that Facebook is installed by default. Red flag. I uninstalled and immediately went to look through the system apps to validate there were no other Facebook components lying around. And there are. There are three Facebook components you cannot uninstall but can only disable: Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager and Facebook Services. If you're keeping your Galaxy S21 and don't use Facebook I'd recommend disabling them and validating background data is disabled as they may be reenabled on system updates (I'm not sure if that's true or not). The reality is they very well could be and you wouldn't know it - given the circumstances I'd err on the side of trust - but definitely verify.
The second problem I ran into was Microsoft OneDrive. Again, not able to uninstall it - you can disable it. Obviously these apps are all part of the system image and is the reason you can't actually remove them. FFS.
The third, and final nail, is Bixby Voice. This app cannot be uninstalled, cannot be disabled and all permissions are immutable (meaning they cannot be changed). I understand Samsung is, and has been, trying to force Bixby on it's users for years. I thought Samsung had moved on and relinquished control. I was, unfortunately, wrong. Final nail in the coffin for me.
So... Does Google do this on Pixel devices? Sure, to an extent with Google components. Does Apple do this on IOS? Yes. The difference is that the Google apps on a Pixel device aren't harboring controls that can't be overridden. I can turn off permissions on the "Google" app, say - the microphone permission, even though it may break functionality. I can live with that. But I'm not OK with giving control up to something like Bixby Voice that has, literally, every permission 24/7.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the complacency involved with being OK with this and that's the rationale for returning the device. So, Samsung, if you're reading this (who am I kidding, you're not) - what an amazing phone with regard to the hardware. Truly top notch, truly polished and pushes all of the right buttons. You didn't lose a customer because the phone wasn't designed well. You lost a customer because it's clear that on top of the $1200+ phone you have the audacity to treat your customers as if they don't care - that they're not concerned with privacy in the least, and you clearly don't want them to be given what you've delivered. The reality is Google isn't a bastion of hope in that department either. Nor is Apple. But the Pixel line and IOS devices give end users a level of control if they're willing to give up features or functionality. I'd be fine with Bixby being on the phone if I could disable it and know that it's not able to phone home. But that's not possible sans drastic measures. Measures that would lock me out of functionality I do use.
So Samsung. No, you don't get my money and a complacent response to your privacy ignorant stance. I won't waste my time with the Samsung brand moving forward. I hope others voice their concern and skip Samsung until these things are handled correctly. I know I'm a minority at this point in time, but the tides are slowly changing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/l6hn2y
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apart from being unable to disable Bixby or revoke permissions from Bixby I dont see what your actual problem is?
Yes, FB and 3x services are installed but as you rightly stated they can all be disabled. Problem solved
Whilst Bixby cannot be disabled, you can pretty much limit where it is in use... e.g. set Google Assistant as default.
I have worked in I.T. for almost 40 years and although not in the field of I.T. security like yourself, I think I know enough about the topic to secure my home devices like phones computers and routers.
Samsung is not perfect but they are a heck of a lot better than most smartphone manufacturers.... 3 years OS upgrades, monthly security patching on the S and Z ranges, etc.
Just my own personal thoughts, don't shoot me for wondering if perhaps you are overly sensitive being an ITSEC professional.
sesnut said:
jesus christ you waited 3 months to repost this wall of text from reddit?
just return the phone and go away, no one cares
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You DO realize the guy is entitled to his opinion and also that you're not in a position to censor his posts.
You disagree with him? Speak up or don't read further.
Muzzling people for having different opinions led to nazism...or communism.
Ipse_Tase said:
You DO realize the guy is entitled to his opinion and also that you're not in a position to censor his posts.
You disagree with him? Speak up or don't read further.
Muzzling people for having different opinions led to nazism...or communism.
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Sesnut is also entitled to his opinion. Seems like you're also trying to do the muzzling.
Why not just say "led to racism or veganism" if you're just throwing out terms without knowing what they mean. Silencing of personal opinion did not lead to Communism.
Just in.../developing story/: "local woman Jessica Landis told reporters Tuesday that she suddenly realized she was the same age her parents were when they were her age"
Woman Suddenly Realizes She Same Age Parents Were When They Were Her Age
ATLANTA—Noting the event had caused her to rethink the chronology of her entire life, local woman Jessica Landis told reporters Tuesday that she suddenly realized she was the same age her parents were when they were her age. “It’s just crazy, I’m turning 27 next month, which is the same exact...
local.theonion.com
LavenderBirch said:
To start: I've been highly anticipating this phone. I've had two Google Pixel 3 XLs that my SO and I have been using since release day. Probably one of the best overall phones I've owned, first phone to make it past the two year mark before attempting replacement. I've had cell phones since 1996 mind you (I was in high school at the time and lucky enough to have a job in web development / system administration and I was on-call for the company I was employed by, but I digress). Anyway...
I've worked in enterprise security (consultant, FTE and on the vendor side) for the bulk of my professional career post-college. I've been, generally, OK with both Android and IOS over the years - give or take different areas of concern/complaint. I own a number of iPads and iPhones currently, but my daily driver is the P3XL.
I didn't realize Samsung was as bad as they currently are for hidden apps and outlandish permissions in their own ecosystem of software.
The first problem I noticed was that Facebook is installed by default. Red flag. I uninstalled and immediately went to look through the system apps to validate there were no other Facebook components lying around. And there are. There are three Facebook components you cannot uninstall but can only disable: Facebook App Installer, Facebook App Manager and Facebook Services. If you're keeping your Galaxy S21 and don't use Facebook I'd recommend disabling them and validating background data is disabled as they may be reenabled on system updates (I'm not sure if that's true or not). The reality is they very well could be and you wouldn't know it - given the circumstances I'd err on the side of trust - but definitely verify.
The second problem I ran into was Microsoft OneDrive. Again, not able to uninstall it - you can disable it. Obviously these apps are all part of the system image and is the reason you can't actually remove them. FFS.
The third, and final nail, is Bixby Voice. This app cannot be uninstalled, cannot be disabled and all permissions are immutable (meaning they cannot be changed). I understand Samsung is, and has been, trying to force Bixby on it's users for years. I thought Samsung had moved on and relinquished control. I was, unfortunately, wrong. Final nail in the coffin for me.
So... Does Google do this on Pixel devices? Sure, to an extent with Google components. Does Apple do this on IOS? Yes. The difference is that the Google apps on a Pixel device aren't harboring controls that can't be overridden. I can turn off permissions on the "Google" app, say - the microphone permission, even though it may break functionality. I can live with that. But I'm not OK with giving control up to something like Bixby Voice that has, literally, every permission 24/7.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the complacency involved with being OK with this and that's the rationale for returning the device. So, Samsung, if you're reading this (who am I kidding, you're not) - what an amazing phone with regard to the hardware. Truly top notch, truly polished and pushes all of the right buttons. You didn't lose a customer because the phone wasn't designed well. You lost a customer because it's clear that on top of the $1200+ phone you have the audacity to treat your customers as if they don't care - that they're not concerned with privacy in the least, and you clearly don't want them to be given what you've delivered. The reality is Google isn't a bastion of hope in that department either. Nor is Apple. But the Pixel line and IOS devices give end users a level of control if they're willing to give up features or functionality. I'd be fine with Bixby being on the phone if I could disable it and know that it's not able to phone home. But that's not possible sans drastic measures. Measures that would lock me out of functionality I do use.
So Samsung. No, you don't get my money and a complacent response to your privacy ignorant stance. I won't waste my time with the Samsung brand moving forward. I hope others voice their concern and skip Samsung until these things are handled correctly. I know I'm a minority at this point in time, but the tides are slowly changing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/l6hn2y
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Wow, is that what you wrote down as your return reason ?
Samsung's Facebook contract is ending soon.
But, I don't care because I always disabled Facebook like you said anyways. I have a thread about it here somewhere.
As far as Bixby is concerned: I disable it as much as possible from within the phone. I see no evidence that it is actually running though. The OS says it isn't using ANY RAM ever. Also, you can just use ADB to disable it.
Go to the Samsung Privacy Center and the Do Not Sell site to maximize your privacy settings if you like.
Kawaisa said:
Sesnut is also entitled to his opinion. Seems like you're also trying to do the muzzling.
Why not just say "led to racism or veganism" if you're just throwing out terms without knowing what they mean. Silencing of personal opinion did not lead to Communism.
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Ummm....selective reading much? Also...history is recorded in books if you can get someone to read them to you.
Wow...some people here lack elementary logic. You know, not everything is about you.
Shockingly, others have the same right to speak and ***** and moan....however you want to call it.
Please send my regards to the local communist cell.
Ipse_Tase said:
Ummm....selective reading much? Also...history is recorded in books if you can get someone to read them to you.
Wow...some people here lack elementary logic. You know, not everything is about you.
Shockingly, others have the same right to speak and ***** and moan....however you want to call it.
Please send my regards to the local communist cell.
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Is it worth mentioning the original topic was phone related and not political or philosphical...
Guys, OP just came here to throw some shade at Samsung, vent some frustration and never came back for a discussion. New member. This is his only post on xda. It was obviously a hit and run stunt.
The guy who started the fire has left and in his place, we're sitting here fighting and bickering about stuff like communism?
I guess it was just bait .Let's stop replying to this thread here. It's pointless now.
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