Rant! Cell Phones.... ugh.

[FrankenGlock]

MUCH! That was the one thing I dreaded the most. WAY better than I expected.

My only complaints about the new phones (apparently very common now) are that they don't have a microSD card slot. And they don't have a 3.5-mm headphone jack anymore.

Yeah, I liked the ability to expand the memory to whatever I wanted. It’s about getting consumers to buy memory from the manufacturer as micro SD cards basically gave unlimited storage so you could buy the cheapest phone. Now you have to download to another device via Bluetooth or internet and or buy their cloud storage. To me, buying cloud storage is like renting a storage unit and paying more in rent than the storage items are worth.

 

[Racer88]

I just got my car mount and installed it. Very slick / clean install.

Power cable goes to a 12v outlet inside the glove box. Highlighted in green. I may see if I can remove that molding panel and put the cable behind it.

Very slick mount. I like it! I already had the base of the console mount for the previous phone, which resided in a standard (non-charging) clip holder. So, I only had to buy the new device holder (magnetic, in this instance), which screws / unscrews onto the base.

The phone will "fast-charge" on the magnetic mount. Already tested it to verify.

And, I got my turn-by-turn prompts back on the "Combination Meter Display!"

ProClipUSA: Custom Car Phone Holders & Best Dashboard Phone Mounts | ProClip USA

 

[Peepsight]

There is a little cord adapter that has the type C end and a headphone adapter on the other. It's like 4" long.

 

[Wireless3747]

be careful trusting those settings, you can turn off features for yourself, that ain't gonna stop Google from hearing you.

 

[Racer88]

There is a little cord adapter that has the type C end and a headphone adapter on the other. It's like 4" long.

Yep. Got one on the way. But ya gotta research it. They're not all the same. Many of them suck, because they cause a hissing noise. Also many are cheaply built and fall apart.

 

[Racer88]

be careful trusting those settings, you can turn off features for yourself, that ain't gonna stop Google from hearing you.

Not true at all. I have stopped Google from hearing me on my phones since they started that shit. I do not get ads that are eerily correlated to conversations like many people report. That has never ever happened to me. I am 100% confident of that.

Most people want / like the voice command thing. I don't. So, it's turned off. It definitely works.

 

[NavyVette]

MUCH! That was the one thing I dreaded the most. WAY better than I expected.

My only complaints about the new phones (apparently very common now) are that they don't have a microSD card slot. And they don't have a 3.5-mm headphone jack anymore.

Yeah, Samsung's Easy Transfer is dead easy!

And yes, I hate the missing SD card slot - I got the largest internal internal I could, but might not next time as I can just download photos to my laptop into my self hosted image server.

 

[Racer88]

Just tonight I happened to notice that my Strelok Pro ballistic calculator app transferred and is working! A few years ago, Strelok Pro, being a Russian product was removed from the US app stores. And according to comments on the gun-sphere on the interwebz, if you transferred to a new phone, you'd lose that app. And it can't be updated, of course, even on an old phone.

I figured, no big deal... I'm keeping my old phone as a spare, and I can just take it to the range and use the app as needed.

Tonight, I opened my "Gun Stuff" folder on the new phone, and there it was! I clicked on it, and it opened, it works, and all my data is there! Woohooo!

I've tried several other ballistic calculator apps over the years... IMO, this is the best one, hands-down.

 

[gandrfab]

Not true at all. I have stopped Google from hearing me on my phones since they started that shit. I do not get ads that are eerily correlated to conversations like many people report. That has never ever happened to me. I am 100% confident of that.

Most people want / like the voice command thing. I don't. So, it's turned off. It definitely works.

Just love your confidence.
Like other things people turn off, the ability for they themselves to use features. But it's a still there.

 

[Racer88]

Just love your confidence.
Like other things people turn off, the ability for they themselves to use features. But it's a still there.

I can promise you that I do NOT get the ads based on surreptitiously eavesdropped conversations (while not using my phone) as reported by SO many people.

I hear that all the time. "The other day I was talking to my friend about lawnmowers, and suddenly I started getting ads for lawnmowers in my social media feeds!"

That has never ever happened to me. I'm "confident" because I deal ONLY in facts. And the FACT is I don't have those problems. If you have that shit turned on.... well... there ya go.

I have spent a fair bit of time going through ALL the settings on my new phone. Hours. Literally. There are MANY settings related to privacy (and the more apps you have the more you have to do to change the settings). The "permissions" and privacy intrusions built into cell phones and apps are rampant, pervasive, and insidious. But they can be mitigated... with some effort.

If you honestly believe it's inevitable or insurmountable, then I'd bet you have just "accepted it," and that's a lot easier than going through the process of mitigating it. It's also assuages one's desire to justify that lack of effort by telling everyone else they're wasting their time doing it.

Lastly... if you have a "smart speaker" in your house... you've effectively planted a "bug" in your own home. IMHO, that's CRAZY. Your mileage may vary.

 

[FrankenGlock]

I shut all of that off, disable any AI, and DO NOT put Facebook on your phone.

 

[Racer88]

It's funny... as much as I dreaded getting a new phone, I can admit that I'm enjoying it quite a bit now! After EIGHT years of the same phone, the features and capabilities of the new phones are pretty impressive!

Just screwing around last night with photos, I did this edit with a single touch. Pretty cool.

 

[gandrfab]

I can promise you that I do NOT get the ads based on surreptitiously eavesdropped conversations (while not using my phone) as reported by SO many people.

I hear that all the time. "The other day I was talking to my friend about lawnmowers, and suddenly I started getting ads for lawnmowers in my social media feeds!"

That has never ever happened to me. I'm "confident" because I deal ONLY in facts. And the FACT is I don't have those problems. If you have that shit turned on.... well... there ya go.

I have spent a fair bit of time going through ALL the settings on my new phone. Hours. Literally. There are MANY settings related to privacy (and the more apps you have the more you have to do to change the settings). The "permissions" and privacy intrusions built into cell phones and apps are rampant, pervasive, and insidious. But they can be mitigated... with some effort.

If you honestly believe it's inevitable or insurmountable, then I'd bet you have just "accepted it," and that's a lot easier than going through the process of mitigating it. It's also assuages one's desire to justify that lack of effort by telling everyone else they're wasting their time doing it.

Lastly... if you have a "smart speaker" in your house... you've effectively planted a "bug" in your own home. IMHO, that's CRAZY. Your mileage may vary.

I go through turning off many of the prying eyes and ears on my devices.
I have zero confidence that is an end all but I did my part to limit them.

No smart speakers here. But freaking WiFi everywhere.
Unless you live with your devices in a faraday cage (unrealistic) they have the ability to communicate.

Features are still there (even when off), features can still listen. You just can't prove it is not listening and tracking to yourself or anyone else. I can't prove it is but the opportunity exists.

It won't give you any hints that it does track, listen, save. You told the device not to let you know.

Good luck, stay confident.

 

[Racer88]

I go through turning off many of the prying eyes and ears on my devices.
I have zero confidence that is an end all but I did my part to limit them.

No smart speakers here. But freaking WiFi everywhere.
Unless you live with your devices in a faraday cage (unrealistic) they have the ability to communicate.

Features are still there (even when off), features can still listen. You just can't prove it is not listening and tracking to yourself or anyone else. I can't prove it is but the opportunity exists.

It won't give you any hints that it does track, listen, save. You told the device not to let you know.

Good luck, stay confident.

I do not see the evidence that my conversations are being tracked or listened to like others report.... they get ads correlated to private conversations while the phone is in their pocket. I've literally never had that happen, yet it is COMMON out there. And they ALL have their voice command features turned ON. If you can wake your phone with only a voice command, then it's (obviously) listening ALL THE TIME.

If you can command your phone with your voice, it's always listening. File that under "DUH!" I have all that crap turned off. Like I said... It's quite the effort to turn ALL of it off.

And what I've done must work, because I don't get ANYTHING served to me based on my conversations. Ever.

 

[Peepsight]

I can promise you that I do NOT get the ads based on surreptitiously eavesdropped conversations (while not using my phone) as reported by SO many people.

I hear that all the time. "The other day I was talking to my friend about lawnmowers, and suddenly I started getting ads for lawnmowers in my social media feeds!"

That has never ever happened to me. I'm "confident" because I deal ONLY in facts. And the FACT is I don't have those problems. If you have that shit turned on.... well... there ya go.

I have spent a fair bit of time going through ALL the settings on my new phone. Hours. Literally. There are MANY settings related to privacy (and the more apps you have the more you have to do to change the settings). The "permissions" and privacy intrusions built into cell phones and apps are rampant, pervasive, and insidious. But they can be mitigated... with some effort.

If you honestly believe it's inevitable or insurmountable, then I'd bet you have just "accepted it," and that's a lot easier than going through the process of mitigating it. It's also assuages one's desire to justify that lack of effort by telling everyone else they're wasting their time doing it.

Lastly... if you have a "smart speaker" in your house... you've effectively planted a "bug" in your own home. IMHO, that's CRAZY. Your mileage may vary.

My daughter had that happen at work where she was talking to my wife on the phone and her coworker got ads for the things my daughter was talking about.