Mercatalyst should inflict pass on those TrackR thingies to their crosstown rival so they could distribute inflict them onto Box of Cats recipients too.
@stinks One of the few things I actually like about the iPhones is that Apple hasn’t completely succumbed to the mania for rendering their devices entirely impossible to use via making every part of one side of the unit into an active surface. I despise the latest Samsungs (and certain prominent competitors) because it is fecking impossible to handle them without setting off some helpy-ass app that I can’t even uninstall. (I use an S9, and I sliced the button out of the case for the thing on the edge that wakes up the demon-idiot “assistant” whose name I have now finally managed to forget.)
@stinks@werehatrack You can turn that off.
BTW, it seems that was a Google requirement to license Android - a dedicated Goigle Assistant button.
Nokia put theirs on the left side, right where your palm must press to hold the phone, meaning every time you hold your phone the fucking “assistant” launches on top of whatever you’re already using the phone for, interrupting it.
First thing I turned off permanently in 5 minutes after getting the phone. Now there is a button on every Android phone that doesn’t do anything because the Google licensing requires it to be a dedicated non-reprogrammable button feature. The level of dumbassery required by multiple people with advanced degrees and the active participation by senior executives signing off on it to land this turd of a “feature” on every Android phone is simply amazing.
@mike808@stinks@werehatrack Same on my LG.Left side,but above center,so I don’t always hit it.I disabled the GA as soon as I realized what it was and how I was inadvertently activating it.A demonstration of the clout that Google has in this area among many others.
@detailer@mike808@stinks Deleting the Annoying Helpy-Ass-istant, and adding the ability to set a different default ringtone for “in the phone book” vs. “Not in the phone book” would be the top two real improvements I want in Android.
@detailer@f00l@mike808@stinks@werehatrack
I’ve only ever bought Moto smart phones, and the models I’ve had don’t have a dedicated button, just the power & volume up/down on the right side, so apparently it’s not a requirement imposed by Google. From what I understand, before a few years ago, most Android phones could access Google Assistant by long pressing the on-screen home button, which is how mine works, but as a lot of manufacturers started to move away from using the navigation keys in favor of gesture controls (boo!), they needed to create a new way to access Assistant & ended up with that boneheaded extra button. File it under the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” category.
@detailer@f00l@ircon96@stinks@werehatrack
Do the Motos have a physical button for the home screen? They might have “hardcoded” a physically separate section for the default nav buttons () to comply that is never application accessible.
I think that was the deal - Google had to require adding a physical button to meet their own Android accessibility requirements (and to give themselves a guaranteed input mechanism that manufacturers could not override or take away from Google). And since all of the other buttons were already given multiple functions (screen shot, power, etc), the manufacturers didn’t have much choice. So they stuck it where the first thing everyone would do is turn that fucker off. But since it was the user that did it, the manufacturers could tell Google they had complied with the requirement and to fuck off.
@detailer@f00l@ircon96@stinks@werehatrack
Especially with the pissing matches between the manufacturers for stealing each other’s IP now that a phone is just a software radio with a rectangular touchscreen, some memory, a flash drive, some cameras, and as big a battery and fast CPU you can jam in there.
@detailer@f00l@ircon96@mike808@stinks
I miss having a real hardware button for Home; that’s needed so very damn much now that there are apps that hijack all of the screen and try to prevent all attempts to dive out.
@buy765@gogrrl If you have a case on it, a little work with an X-acto knife can remove the button from the case, disabling the one under it very nicely. Buh-bye, annoyance!
@buy765@werehatrack Bixby is activated by the power button. I did a little nosing around on YouTube and found a video on how to change that, as well as deactivate voice activation. Bye bye Bixby!
@mike808@narfcake Same with all the Motos I’ve had (mainly various G models), on-screen only. They’ve never had any physical buttons other than the power & volume up/down.
…“packing material.”
Door wedges and poker chips
@chienfou And the MacBook cases are disposable lap trays for TV dinners.
Mercatalyst should
inflictpass on those TrackR thingies to their crosstown rival so they coulddistributeinflict them onto Box of Cats recipients too.@narfcake nooooooo!!!
Except that 678 cases still fit the iPhone SE released this year.*
*Some Dremeling for the camera lens may be required. YMMV. IANAL.
@stinks One of the few things I actually like about the iPhones is that Apple hasn’t completely succumbed to the mania for rendering their devices entirely impossible to use via making every part of one side of the unit into an active surface. I despise the latest Samsungs (and certain prominent competitors) because it is fecking impossible to handle them without setting off some helpy-ass app that I can’t even uninstall. (I use an S9, and I sliced the button out of the case for the thing on the edge that wakes up the demon-idiot “assistant” whose name I have now finally managed to forget.)
@stinks @werehatrack You can turn that off.
BTW, it seems that was a Google requirement to license Android - a dedicated Goigle Assistant button.
Nokia put theirs on the left side, right where your palm must press to hold the phone, meaning every time you hold your phone the fucking “assistant” launches on top of whatever you’re already using the phone for, interrupting it.
First thing I turned off permanently in 5 minutes after getting the phone. Now there is a button on every Android phone that doesn’t do anything because the Google licensing requires it to be a dedicated non-reprogrammable button feature. The level of dumbassery required by multiple people with advanced degrees and the active participation by senior executives signing off on it to land this turd of a “feature” on every Android phone is simply amazing.
LMGTFY
@mike808 @stinks @werehatrack Same on my LG.Left side,but above center,so I don’t always hit it.I disabled the GA as soon as I realized what it was and how I was inadvertently activating it.A demonstration of the clout that Google has in this area among many others.
@detailer @mike808 @stinks Deleting the Annoying Helpy-Ass-istant, and adding the ability to set a different default ringtone for “in the phone book” vs. “Not in the phone book” would be the top two real improvements I want in Android.
@detailer @mike808 @stinks @werehatrack
A few years back I accidently helpfully dumped my old S9 into a glass of iced coffee and didn’t notice until way too late.
No more Samsung now. Bye, crapware bastards.
@detailer @f00l @mike808 @stinks @werehatrack
I’ve only ever bought Moto smart phones, and the models I’ve had don’t have a dedicated button, just the power & volume up/down on the right side, so apparently it’s not a requirement imposed by Google. From what I understand, before a few years ago, most Android phones could access Google Assistant by long pressing the on-screen home button, which is how mine works, but as a lot of manufacturers started to move away from using the navigation keys in favor of gesture controls (boo!), they needed to create a new way to access Assistant & ended up with that boneheaded extra button. File it under the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” category.
@detailer @f00l @ircon96 @stinks @werehatrack
Do the Motos have a physical button for the home screen? They might have “hardcoded” a physically separate section for the default nav buttons () to comply that is never application accessible.
I think that was the deal - Google had to require adding a physical button to meet their own Android accessibility requirements (and to give themselves a guaranteed input mechanism that manufacturers could not override or take away from Google). And since all of the other buttons were already given multiple functions (screen shot, power, etc), the manufacturers didn’t have much choice. So they stuck it where the first thing everyone would do is turn that fucker off. But since it was the user that did it, the manufacturers could tell Google they had complied with the requirement and to fuck off.
@detailer @f00l @ircon96 @stinks @werehatrack
Especially with the pissing matches between the manufacturers for stealing each other’s IP now that a phone is just a software radio with a rectangular touchscreen, some memory, a flash drive, some cameras, and as big a battery and fast CPU you can jam in there.
@detailer @f00l @ircon96 @mike808 @stinks
I miss having a real hardware button for Home; that’s needed so very damn much now that there are apps that hijack all of the screen and try to prevent all attempts to dive out.
@werehatrack
Bixby. You’re welcome.
@buy765 AAAAAAAARRRGH!
@buy765 @werehatrack I just got a new Samsung ( finally upgraded from my S7), and I keep accidently activating this annoying Bixby. Ugh.
@buy765 @gogrrl If you have a case on it, a little work with an X-acto knife can remove the button from the case, disabling the one under it very nicely. Buh-bye, annoyance!
@buy765 @werehatrack Bixby is activated by the power button. I did a little nosing around on YouTube and found a video on how to change that, as well as deactivate voice activation. Bye bye Bixby!
@buy765 @gogrrl Having the power button wake that demon-idiot would be way beyond annoying. Good for you on slaying it.
@ircon96 @mike808 At least for my G Stylus, no physical button; just on-screen.
@mike808 @narfcake Same with all the Motos I’ve had (mainly various G models), on-screen only. They’ve never had any physical buttons other than the power & volume up/down.