Posts by Dave 126

It may be poor man's Photoshop, but GIMP casts a Long Shadow with latest update

Re: Forget the geeky stuff, sort out the user experience.

I second the comment about the name. For novice users it is bloody helpful if an application's name gives a clue to its function. For experienced users it is no problem, but for a novice who is already struggling to remember another dozen newly-learnt concepts, an abstract application name is just not helpful.

Compare to Photoshop, Paint, Paintshop, Corel Draw etc.

A lot of OSS shares this oversight. The name of a piece of software should help a user, not just be an opportunity for the developers to express a joke. If this attitude adopted, it can only help the *User* Interface development as well.

Unpicking the Pixel puzzle: Why Google is struggling to impress

Phone vendor cruft isn't as crufty as it used to be...

... thus narrowing the gap between a stock Android phone and a vendor-customised one.

Discuss!

(There's always been some variation: Sony have been close enough to stock to not bother changing, Huaweii keeps reverting to its own launcher if you install one of your own choice)

Contrary to some belief, it's not vendor cruft that is the chief cause of slow phone updates, either. And with Oreo, more hurdles to timely updates have hopefully been removed.

Now that most phones are sold with ample storage, pre-installed apps consume a far smaller percentage of storage than in the dark old 4GB days.

So, there's a few reasons why a Google Android phone isn't as highly desirable as it was just a few years back in the early Nexus days.

What's the point...

.. in getting a phone based on a promise of constant updates if the phone has unfixed software bugs?

Issues with the LG-made OLED display on some Pixel units can't help.

Google are asking Samsung flagship money for the Pixel, but Samsung enjoy customer awareness (both good and meh), a 3.5mm jack and SD card slot. Samsung's displays are objectively very good - not the oversaturated pentile screens of old.

The Pixel algorithms can be side-loaded onto other handsets, including Samsung's.

Apple tipped to revive forgotten Macbook Air and Mac mini – report

Re: I don't believe anything Apple does is worth looking at anymore

> Keep the politics to yourself a-hole.

You don't practice what you preach. How does that work exactly?

Apple web design violates law, claims blind person

Side note:

https://www.rnib.org.uk/information-everyday-living-using-technology-phones/mobile-phones

The Royal National Institute for the Blind is still mentioning Android phones with trackballs (I haven't seen one if those for a while), Symbian phones and Windows 8 phones - of the latter noting that whilst there's currently no text to speech app available yet, they expect this to change soon.

It appears the advice hasn't been updated since the iPhone 5S. Mention is made of Siri, no mention of voice assistants from Google or Amazon, or, thankfully, Bixby.

Re: To put it mildly.

@ Shadow Systems

Even for a person with normal sight, the Apple website isn't the most efficient place to compare Apple products. There's lots of scrolling through pictures to just to find a link to Technical Specifications.

EU wants one phone plug to rule them all. But we've got a better idea.

Re: Not just phones

* pubs should be pins

* Supplement should be supply

* Proofread should Dave do

Re: I'm numerate

A test of @AC's numeracy:

Which is the least amount, an iPhone SE at £250, a OnePlus at £450 or a Galaxy S9 at £600?

So whilst I'm still confused by your status symbol claim, your chuckling at your own inability to count beans has offered some context.

Re: "I've been through many micro USB cables through the life"

> Well, Apple had an exclusivity agreement that prevented Intel rolling it out on their motherboards.

That's bollocks. The Sony VAIO Z laptop had optical Thunderbolt for an external GPU in 2011.

Thunderbolt was expensive though, as you say - as all things are when they start out, and mainly of interest for video editing and other high IO applications. However, it didn't die out. Now that more laptops support Thunderbolt more applications (including external GPUs and docking solutions that aren't tied to one brand of laptop) are becoming available. This is good.

Re: How much should a cable cost?

You're right, it's hard to know. A Google engineer bought a load of different USB C cables and tested them, after frying his Chromebook with a dodgy cable:

https://www.engadget.com/2016/02/03/benson-leung-chromebook-pixel-usb-type-c-test/

Samsung adopted USB C with the ill-fated Note 7 and then their flagships since the Galaxy S8 series. Later Nexus and and now Pixel phones use USB C. Sony now do, as do a few other phone vendors.

Nintendo use USB C for their Switch console.

A fair few laptop makers are adopting it, but often at the higher end of their ranges. Peripheral vendors such as LG are incorporating into monitors, but again at the higher end.

Some external HDDs have a USB C socket in addition to older ports, some external battery packs have it and can fast charge over PD.

A supermarket test of adoption: the end of aisle cable display found in all large supermarkets doesn't always include a USB C cable. When they do, it's rarely cheaper than £15.

I haven't had USB C fall out, but sometimes I don't quite push it in far enough. I find it much easier to insert than micro USB.

Re: Micro USB not always standard

I'd have tried taking a knife to another microUSB plug, and shaving off some plastic. It's analogous to the first iPhone which wouldn't accept all 3.5mm plugs because its port was slightly recessed. Apple shipped it with a short 3.5mm male > 3.5mm female 'adaptor' cable. I have a similar issue, I have to take the case off my phone in order to plug in one of those extra hefty 3.5mm > phone cables you often see in the back of amplifiers.

Re: Not just phones

That 'special' cable was just a normal cable with the data pubs shorted. It was a common policy in miniUSB days. The idea was stop a device drawing more than 500mA, the original USB spec, from a computer that wasn't designed to supplement such current.

Re: I agree with the Commissioner

There's no reason for me to seek out a Samsung or Sony shop to buy a branded cable to replace the one that came with my Samsung or Sony phone - so I'm not sure what the motive is for them to bundle poorly made cables. Indeed, anecdotally it seems many of the failed cables readers here have experienced are cheap ones we buy from a supermarket because we've lost or forgotten our original cable. Or just fancy a spare for the car, and a generic cable for 99p, that's a bargain, right? Belkin want how much?! We evidently get what we pay for. Obviously online retailers have lower margins (high street shops do really mark up cables a lot) so quality cables are available for not much money - but that doesn't help us if we need one right now.

Original Apple cables do seem prone to failure, so there might be a case there. My understanding is it is due to the eco friendly plastic they use, but it wouldn't hurt them to fit a cable gland. Sugru even markets itself primarily as an Apple cable reinforcer.. annoying on a Lightening cable, must be infuriating on an expensive wired Apple keyboard.

No, I'm reading a tech blog: I have an Android phone, albeit one that isnt running a custom ROM and isn't even rooted. Never even had an iPod, let alone an iPhone. Anyway, what phone I use is irrelevant to my powers of observation and my social relationships with barstaff.

Also, I'm numerate: many an acquaintance's Android OnePlus or Samsung phone is twice the price of an iPhone SE (with Lightening) - so I'm confused as to your considering it a status symbol.

For sure, I was never advocating replacing wired charging (be it a socket or a magnetic solution) with wireless. However, having wireless charging in a phone means a damaged or gunked up USB socket won't render the phone useless. Of course this charging reduncy doesn't have to be wireless: Sony Experia phones used to have external magnetic charging nubs, just as old Nokia's had external charging/data connectors. However, these external contact methods for charging are harder to make universal across vendors than Qi wireless charging now is (supported by Samsung and Apple amongst others).

Re: "I've been through many micro USB cables through the life"

Hehe, I thought that would bring out some knee-jerkers! Still, no counter-arguments, I see. I'd best not mention FireWire, either! :)

Re: Laptop Power bricks

Only mitigated by newer, non-magsafe MacBooks not needing to be charged as often. For a lot of people's use-case, it's only rarely that they'll need to charge their MacBook whilst working on it. Other makes of laptop with 9+ hours battery life are available, and of course some workloads will deplete the battery far faster.

That must make your car's fusebox an interesting sight!

How do I know? I have eyes, and such phones have a distinctive circular button below their screen. The owners of such phones remain silent on such an unremarkable topic.

Re: "I've been through many micro USB cables through the life"

Apple were on the committee for USB C, but it wasn't delivered fast enough for them to use in phones. I can hardly blame them for avoiding microUSB. Since my phone is USB C, it doesn't hurt me that Apple have pushed USB C on laptops, either.

And for years Apple been nearly alone in carrying the Thunderbolt torch, an Intel technology that's beginning to benefit us users of generic PCs (laptop gamers can now have external GPUs, single cables for power video and data, etc).

So as a non-Appke user, I'm not inclined to criticise them. I've been caused far more exasperation by the multitude of cables that have come with all my non-Apple kit over the years.

Re: Be much more interested in...

>So you want to run an operating system that doesn't support USB?

Hey, I've got fond memories of using NT 4.0! Couldn't use USB, but it was stable and snappy!

Re: Just add wireless charging

> Micro-USB is fiddly but thus far I've not had to replace any cables and I do take them with me a lot. I suspect people who complain about cables don't pack them very carefully.

It might also be that many of us here have micro USB cables that gave come with cheap and cheerful bits of kit we've bought over the years. I do have cables that are still going strong, and they've come with Sony phones or from similar reputable vendors.

Why, how 2008 of you!

In many local pubs it's the opposite - Lightening is the default. Most of the builders, plumbers and barmaids own iPhones. An iPhone isn't something to be remarked upon - it's often just the default choice for people who don't read tech blogs.

Most of the time micro USB cables are available too - even iPhone owners have them kicking around due to owning a Kindle, wireless speaker or headphones, or PlayStation. Apple has been a bit stingy in licensing out Lightning to iPhone peripheral vendors.

Re: Just add wireless charging

> The standard Apple ones almost seem to be deliberately designed to disintegrate after a year or so.

A stitch in time saves nine. By which I mean be preemptive and wrap some self amalgamating tape ( often sold as Leak Repair tape, the butyl stuff will do you, no need for the pricey silicone version) around the cable by the plugs. You can also use Sugru, or some polyurethane adhesive if you have some kicking around.

Of these, the least messy is the tape approach, and it's bloody handy stuff to have around anyway. Sugru iscexoebsuve for what it is, and the Polyurethane is messy and goes off in the tube once opened.

I know you shouldn't have to do this, but we gotta work with what we've got.

Re: Just add wireless charging

> please no. It's less efficient than using a cable. We need to be reducing our energy usage as a society, not increasing electronic waste because of the extra components required in a device for wireless charging.

Compared to cars, kettles and fridges, the difference in energy use between wireless and wired phone charging is next to nothing. As for energy in manufacturing, wireless charging is a positive thing: should a phone's sole USB port be damaged then the owner can still use their otherwise serviceable phone.

I do agree that no phone should dispense with its USB or Lightning port - where charging efficiency is important is when using a portable battery pack ('power bank').

I'm interested in those magnetic connectors - they share most of the advantages of wireless charging (quick docking, instant undocking, little mechanical wear on the device's port) with none of the disadvantages (slower charge rates, less efficient).

One of the cable ends I could glue to a keyring in place of my USB C male > micro USB Female dongle*. This would leave me with the option of using a micro USB or USB C cable.

* I was about to express surprise that Samsung didn't build said dongle with a lanyard loop, given its tiny size. However, lanyard loops on similar things (micro SD > USB dongles for example) I've had in the past have tended to be so weak as to be useless. Yet again some good polyurethane adhesive and a leather loop are my friends here, though Sugru and a zip tie would work well too. Remember folks, super glue is only super in some situations, and this isn't one of them.

Re: Be much more interested in...

My friends Dell developed a loose power port ( the barrel type). What's attractive about USB C is a well designed laptop can charge from a USB C on either side, giving redundancy and convenience (though some laptops will only charge from a specific USB C port)

You're right though - cables vary hugely by quality. I'm in the process of weeding out my micro usb cables that don't work at all, ones that look like they're charging but aren't, and ones that are too thin for my Samsung charger to trust to Rapid Charge.

A few stray observations:

1, Forcing common cables won't do much for the environment. I've been through many micro USB cables through the life of any one phone, and I know iPhone users find the same.

2, Given the history of the EU cracking down on single-device power bricks, what the hell were phone vendors thinking of when they introduced competing rapid charging standards?

3, I Was worried that my USB C phone would leave me stuck for a cable on occasion (people I know largely haven't upgraded their Android phone for a while, or use iPhones), but it came with a USB C > USB A cable and a tiny USB C > micro USB Female dongle that I've glued to a key ring.

Google shaves half a gig off Android Poundland Edition

It's an OS for a device that does everything Windows XP can, more or less, so why expect huge difference? Its a 64bit OS designed with the internet, more than half a gig of RAM, video and hardware acceleration in mind. The only reason I would expect an XP install to be bigger is if it hadn't been shorn of drivers for a thousand printers and other hardware configurations.

I can see some of both sides here:

I can see the benefit of a an E-Ink tablet for reviewing and annotating text. From there, being to use Android apps and services to share the results with collaborators would seem to be a reasonable use-case. More niche are paragliders who like their GPS on E-Ink, for visibility in bright sunlight.

For just reading some fiction on the beach, Android is likely overkill.

Re: 2.5 Gig footprint for a fucking phone OS

Oh yeah, Symbian, the OS that wasn't well suited to lots of memory and graphics acceleration, causing its caretaker to be late to market with a Linux-based successor. It wasn't just Symbian that hit this bottle neck; the likes of Sony pushed PalmOS as far as it could go. Like Palm OS, Symbian didn't start out on telephones.

As a telephony OS Symbian was fine (though I remember one Nokia taking two minutes to open an standard SMS message) but most of here have mobile internet devices and general purpose computers that we merely call phones.

Maps Go is little more than a link to a browser, something called Progressive Web Apps. So apparently yes, you can 'install' on normal Android, and you don't even need an APK file. It doesn't have navigation or offline maps though - the latter being well worthwhile if you have ample storage on your handset. Still, suck it and see:

https://www.digitbin.com/install-google-maps-go-incompatible/

If you drop a tablet in a forest of smartphones, will anyone hear it fall?

You're quite right - there is Office for Android, and it's even been optimised for DEX. And of course there is no shortage of Android software that is tied to a service or subscription.

I guess I was thinking more of stand-alone software in the music and graphics sectors.

Hmmm, I haven't played with Samsung's file manager on my phone yet; I wonder if it allows write access to SD cards which are connected via USB (my Nexus 5 didn't, pleading Android system... but it would be a nice arrow in DEX's quiver if it could play nice with external media in the fashion as a Windows or full Linux machine)

E-Ink readers typically used for reading, and on posh ones annotation. Whereas full colour tablets, regardless of OS, are most often used for web browsing and video, plus maybe a bit of office work at a push.

However, things are moving forward a bit on the 'tablets for productivity' front. MS's effort uses an Intel chip so, with its optional keyboard and mouse, can do anything a comparable laptop might - except maybe boot Linux. And next year a feature-complete version of Adobe Photoshop is coming to iPads. The productivity software side of Android tablets, which has never been great, doesn't look like it's going to improve soon with Google's attention on Chromebooks and whatever its future OS plans are (Fuschia? Android on ChromeOS? Chrome OS merging with Android?) and little interest from hardware vendors - as vindicated by the sales figures reported here.

Samsung's new Android tablet is a pricey beast, but it does boast a very nice screen. However, if you're going to spend that much on a nice screen, why have it in a machine with a limited software library?

UK chip and PIN readers fall ill: Don't switch off that terminal!

Re: Cash on the barrel head

Ah yes, this is Lee D - who has previously stated that he can't imagine any scenario in which a waterproof phone would be useful - from which, in addition to his fear of germs, I'm assuming he's a city dweller. Thats fine, I guess. Meanwhile however, back in many a small town, we walk to the pub, might get caught in a rainstorm, stop to smell the flowers, mess about in boats and occasionally use merchants who only take cash, or else have card machines that don't always work (see recent MasterCard outage, conveniently on a Friday).

Re: Whaaat? Turning it off and on again is not allowed?

Joking aside, I've seen a shopkeeper place my card with a cracked magnetic strip into a fold of a polythene bag, and it worked. I can't remember the last time I used the magnetic strip on a bank card, but my works fuel card still uses one.

Re: Cash on the barrel head

And as your link explains, legal tender has nowt to do with agreements you and a shop keeper might enter into.

That aside, I'm surprised by the number of people who don't carry a bit of cash, negating a trip to a cash machine after discovering the chippy only takes cash, or the pub's card reader has gone down again.

Re: Whaaat? Turning it off and on again is not allowed?

Other fixes include cutting the blue wire No!! the blue wire!! swearing at it, smacking it smartly on the side, putting it a bag of rice, spraying it with WD 40, blowing into the ports, squeezing the case near the power supply input, wrapping it duck tape, putting it in an oven to reflow the solder, plugging it in to a different ring to that used by the fridge, poking it with a stick, and finally, not feeding it for 24 hours.

After you've performed these basic trouble shooting techniques tech support will look into your issue.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9: A steep price to pay

Re: Will it really?

He didn't write it clearly but he meant:

Use DEX with powered dock, HDMI to monitor, usb mouse and keyboard, phone receives power

Use DEX with USB > HDMI cable, Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, phone cannot receive power from occupied USB socket so will deplete over time

There are a couple of other scenarios. Some monitors have USB C ports and in theory the direction of USB C power delivery is negotiable - in theory at least, do check first.

Another scenario is that the phone charges wirelessly and uses its USB C socket for the video cable.

DEX compatible dicjs can be had for around £20 - you don't need the official Samsung one. Check Amazon reviews first.

Re: Veblen goods

Note 8 is now £650, and has been around long enough for you check forums to ease your mistrust. This years Samsung Flagships look much the same as last year's, so I don't think 'look at my new phone' will be much of a factor. Though I do know one bloke I suspect will buy one and stick in a 512GB card just so he can claim to have a 1TB phone.

Ten minutes:

I just stuck all the above Samsung Apps in a folder called Samsung Stuff and ignored them. Had to go to Galaxy Store to stop Samsung app update notifications. Bixby took about five minutes to learn to disable. Samsung Pay kept popping up for a bit but now doesn't. The side bar I disabled easily, but recently have given it another chance - it has handy screen and video capture and annotation tools.

Good stuff:

The (Chrome-based) Samsung Internet browser I occasionally use because it has some very handy features for web video, plus a battery and eyebalk-saving dark mide. Switching the Back and Task Switcher soft keys took no time at all.

Previous to this S8 I was using a Nexus (stock Android, obviously) and I don't mind the S8's Android at all. In terms of hardware, everything is as it should be whereas Samsung's competitors always seemed to drop the ball in one trifling area or other. Except the placement of the fingerprint sensor, of course.

Re: Another price increase .....

> Rather than selling it at a reasonable price point (£650 comes to mind) they would rather be stupid, price themselves out of the market and close manufacturing plants.

£650 buys you a Note 8 from a reputable UK-based dealer.

If someone doesn't buy a Note 9 because of its price, it doesn't follow that they'll buy Apple. They might buy Huawei or Pixel, but they may well just buy a cheaper Samsung, either an older Note or else live without the stylus and buy a Galaxy S9+. If that's still too pricey, last year's Sammy flagships are usually heavily discounted and pretty much as good.

I seem to remember that last year's Note 8 sold very well despite a similar price increase - though of course we can attribute that to some pent up demand from those who wanted a quickly-discontinued Note 7.

Re: Excellent features

The Samsung flagships have a fair few sensors and emitters in line with the front facing camera (including IR grid projector for face ID, Iris scanner, notification LED, proximity sensor and of course earpiece) so there isnt any unused room to place common status bar icons. Hence no notch. If Samsung rejiggled these sensors a bit, they might have been able to squeeze in a front-facing fingerprint scanner would would be handy for when the phone is on a desk.

The UK versions (Samsung Exonys SoC) of earlier flagship Samsungs such as the S8 (it's too early to know what's in the Note 9) suggest the internal DAC is a pretty decent Cirrus Logic unit with native high Res support, but not quite as nice as the ESS Sabre DAC in the LG V20. However, the specs for the Note 9 mention a Quad DAC, which is often how the Sabre chip is described, so who knows? The audio circuitry is different in the USA (Snapdragon) versions of Samsung phones. Whatever, the 3.5mm output quality is more than good enough for most people most of the time.

Re: Bezels

Smaller bezels mean that the screen is larger for the same width of phone. It's phone width that largely limits its size, since if it is too wide it will be uncomfortable to hold in the hand or to stow in a pocket.

I've fitted a case to my S8, so it now has bezels akin to an older model. Therefore another way of thinking about it is that a bezelless phone in a protective case is the same width as an unprotected phone with bezels. (Of course there were phones where the bezel would provide screen protection (iPhone 4, aluminium bezel) and phones where the bezel wouldn't protect the screen (Xperia Z3 C, bezel was soft ABS plastic) against falling against a sharp edge.

I haven't used my phone much without the case on, so can't comment on accidental touch input on the edges of the screen. I do know though, from poking around the hidden hardware test menu, that Samsung phones can detect when the phone is being gripped, even through a case (some sort of capacitance sensor, presumably present to help weed out accidently touch input).

Samsung Galaxy Watch: A tough and classy activity tracker

Re: OY!

Jony Ive owns an Omega Speedmaster which looks far nicer than this Samsung, as does his Patek Phillipe Nautilus. If he's wearing a smartwatch for function, then a rectangular display just makes more sense, as most phone information - especially text - can be displayed more efficiently on a rectangular display, just as the Speedmaster's information is best disputed on a circular face. Ive's colleague on the Apple Watch, Marc Newson, is more likely to wear one of his own Ikepod watches.

Still, it would be nice to see Ive and Newson design a stealth smartwatch - an analogue watch with a laser perforated face (like they use for the power LED on Apple keyboards) for simple notifications. Primary function is to tell the time, secondary functions include notification and phone paging. No one would have to know you're wearing a smartwatch.

Re: God that’s ugly!

The watch Dieter Rams designed for Braun is 38mm. The Timex worn by Steve Jobs in a famous 1980s photo is 38mm, and is similar in simplicity and legibility to the Braun. Many a fine watch from the 1960s is 38mm.

Functionly 38mm is superior to anything bigger - it's less likely to catch on things. What the hell is wrong with people's eyes these days that they want a huge watch?

It's a blessing to smart watch makers that the fashion in traditional watches was for big cases - it means the smart watches have more space for batteries.

Citizen gave just brought out a couple of connected watches with simpler faces than their previous sports-watch inspired efforts. Getting closer, but no cigar yet.

Re: Let me save you 40-50%

From a review of the Amazafit:

"it's the display that really lets the show down here. The 300 x 300 resolution is often difficult to read and fares dreadfully when lighting is poor. Colours look faded while, more peculiarly, text often appears uneven when displaying notifications."

Also mentioned is inaccurate heart rate monitoring, and a screen that often fails to register taps and swipes.

- https://www.wareable.com/xiaomi/amazfit-stratos-review

Re: Half a Review?

Er, maybe. Strava says it can export data from the Samsung Galaxy Health app (the phone app that this watch sends data to), but has no plans to support Gear ( now called Galaxy Watch). And someone claims to have had success in coaxing a CSV file out of their Samsung account by downloading a Samsung Health SDK. Have fun!

https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/218887007-Samsung-Gear-and-Strava?mobile_site=true

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-note-5/606733-there-way-export-save-s-health-data-file.html%3famp

> That’s a tenner a month for something that’s only really useful in emergencies.

Depends what you mean by 'emergency'. You can call the emergency services without having an eSIM set up, just as you call 999 (or whatever the emergency number is where you are) from any phone with or without a SIM inserted (or unlocking the phone beforehand). It's mandated by the regulators. Indeed, calling the emergency services is the only time a soft SIM iPad will allow you to make a voice call over a cellular network.

So, this watch having a cellular chip could be useful should you be out jogging and break an ankle, or feel sudden shooting pains in your chest - both events that would warrant an ambulance.

But yeah, lesser 'emergencies' such as ringing a curry house to order a takeaway aren't covered - you'll need the EE tariff as you say.