General > General Technical Chat
I hope some smart phone manufacturer/designer would understand this
AaronD:
--- Quote from: NiHaoMike on August 15, 2021, 12:09:47 am ---There would be far less backlash if they do it the Linux way - get most of the updating done in the background so it's a very quick reboot to finish. Or if a machine is only used occasionally, apply the updates the next time it is shut down.
--- End quote ---
I built a live streaming rig just over a year ago, and put Lubuntu on it as the only OS. (Ubuntu under the hood, with a different GUI that looks and acts more like Windows by default, and I kept most of those defaults.) I also put a bunch of good open-source media-related apps on it, so it could easily be used for post-production as well as live. In fact, the only monetary expense in the entire rig is the hardware that it runs on. And between some tricks with OBS and some shell scripting, it's also the most automated broadcast rig that I've seen, by a long shot. Pretty much all the operator has to do now is art, not technical management.
I disabled the "official" update method, and then "hijacked" the graphical shutdown command to run a script instead. That script either runs the original command most of the time, or on Sundays, it pops up a window to ask if it should stay on to update at midnight. (midnight because it's easy for a polling loop to detect, and we're probably not going to come back to it then with a nearly-forgotten task) The default answer (reflexive Enter key) is "yes, stay on and update," so it waits 1 second to let go of the mouse, and then activates a screensaver that simply turns the screens off. (otherwise, that screensaver has a ridiculous timeout so that it never interrupts a service/show/whatever) At midnight between Sunday and Monday, it runs the apt update|full-upgrade|autoremove -y commands (individually, not as shown here), pipes their output through ts (system timestamp: apt install moreutils to get it) to a logfile so if something breaks we can figure out why, and shuts down. Now we're fully updated on Monday morning with usually an entire week to test and troubleshoot if someone's paranoid.
I completely agree that Windows NEEDS that too!
There's also a Raspberry Pi in that rig, that pushes some standard settings into the digital sound board every time it appears on the network (only if it was gone for 2 hours, so the previous use really is done and not a power glitch), controls the cameras and the broadcast audio mix (aux output of the digital board, not a DAW), and does a few other things while it's there anyway. It has an even more hands-off update method. It's just on 24/7 - its power button is only for the screen - and its copy of the same update-at-midnight script has the shutdown command replaced by a reboot.
--- Quote from: NiHaoMike on August 15, 2021, 12:09:47 am ---As for Android phones, one that supports LineageOS would give you the option to eliminate the junk and just have an OS that works.
--- End quote ---
Hmm. I didn't know about that. Do you have a link? Maybe even a list of phones?
NiHaoMike:
--- Quote from: AaronD on August 15, 2021, 01:06:23 am ---Hmm. I didn't know about that. Do you have a link? Maybe even a list of phones?
--- End quote ---
https://lineageos.org/
There's also some unofficial builds on XDA, that may or may not be usable for everyday use.
AaronD:
--- Quote from: NiHaoMike on August 15, 2021, 01:21:55 am ---https://lineageos.org/
There's also some unofficial builds on XDA, that may or may not be usable for everyday use.
--- End quote ---
Nice! Thank you! And the download page has a long list of phones too...that doesn't include mine. :(
Cyberdragon:
--- Quote from: Benta on August 13, 2021, 08:46:44 pm ---
--- Quote from: james_s on August 13, 2021, 07:58:03 pm ---
--- Quote from: Benta on August 13, 2021, 07:50:41 pm ---Well, you bought the phone. Apparently, you are so important that you need to be connected all the time.
Take a step back and think about rearranging your life a bit.
Private corporations do whatever they like. You support them by buying their products.
It's called "vote with your feet".
--- End quote ---
Nonsense, this is not a toy we're talking about, a phone is for many people a critical communications tool, it isn't 1988 anymore and mobile phones aren't toys for the rich, landlines are pretty much a thing of the past and people expect phones to be reliable. Somebody could easily die due to a phone not working when they need to make an emergency call, most probably would never suspect this sort of thing would happen when they bought the phone. It will be some weeks, months or even years later when a forced update takes control like this, and the behavior can change at any time on a whim. It is more and more common for a software update to make it even harder for a person to control future software updates.
--- End quote ---
Wonderful! You just supported my post in the best way.
Yes, mobile phones are the backbone of communication today. But smartphones not necessarily.
I used to have one, but discarded it. The short accumulator charge life, lousy connectivity (I'm talking telecom here, not BT or WLAN) and nagging update messages soured me.
This is what I have now: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Doro-Primo-366-2-3-Black/dp/B015CGW7CK/
With intensive use, I need to charge it once a week. If I don't use it, 2...3 weeks between charges are normal.
Yes, it's unsuitable for surfing porn or doing status updates on Facebook.
But I'll always be able to call 911/112 or whatever the call number in your country is.
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That is your daily driver? The simplicity is not the issue here (well it is, but not the interface).
I'm surprised that phone is still functioning in any civilized country. They are shutting down 3G in places, I would not trust 2G to stay running even next year.
You can have a simple interface, but you need some more modern tech than that inside to keep functioning. They have keypad phones with 4G, I would recommend one if you want something that will last and not go obsolete soon.
Rick Law:
--- Quote from: m98 on August 14, 2021, 09:03:07 pm ---Every smartphone is a personal computer with an internet connection in disguise. Treat it as such. If you don't, the manufacturer needs to do your homework in order to prevent your device becoming part of a botnet and actually harming others, or criminals stealing your identity or emptying your bank account. Forced updates are absolutely necessary from an IT security perspective.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: AaronD on August 14, 2021, 08:14:19 pm ---This is the first time I've seen "the forced-update problem" in the context of a possible medical emergency. But of course, personally not seeing it doesn't mean that it never happens.
...
--- End quote ---
( bold added to both quotes)
The "emergency" part is the problem I like the phone manufacturers and designers to be aware of, and hopefully put in the fore front of their priorities.
Phone vs PC (general purpose computer) is akin to newspaper vs book.
-- Both newspaper and book has printed pages for "user" to read, but the time (freshness) expectation of the content is entirely different.
-- Both phone and PC has processing power, but the urgency/immediateness expectation are different.
I have witness a crime in progress that I wish I had a phone to immediately call the police. I have never witness a crime in progress and wish I have a PC to send an email to the police.
In the USA (or at least my region of the USA), every time when you are done with anything medical, the printed instruction for recovery and monitoring of the recovery would contain "if there is an emergency, call 911". None of them I've seen has "when you have an emergency, text to 911 or email 911@...."
A smart phone is not the same as a PC: the expectation of urgency and immediateness are entirely different. If we have to lower our expectation to that level, we have lost a great deal.
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