Technology catch-all thread

[Jake]

Google Play Music All Access (in dire need of renaming) is pretty cool. Enjoying my trial, will probably stay with them.

[lostfan]

I 1) am not really supposed to be talking about the topic and 2) generally just got tired of talking to deaf ears about electronic surveillance. The vast majority of people don't have the slightest clue what they're talking about and don't know where to start.

[Y2HH]

I 1) am not really supposed to be talking about the topic and 2) generally just got tired of talking to deaf ears about electronic surveillance. The vast majority of people don't have the slightest clue what they're talking about and don't know where to start.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, all things considered. If you can't talk about it publicly, PM me some info, please.

[southsider2k5]

I 1) am not really supposed to be talking about the topic and 2) generally just got tired of talking to deaf ears about electronic surveillance. The vast majority of people don't have the slightest clue what they're talking about and don't know where to start.

 

Yeah, I was figuring that your life was getting interesting right about now.

[Balta1701]

Yeah, I was figuring that your life was getting interesting right about now.

I always figured it wasn't a coincidence that he first showed up here in 2007 right after the Congress legalized everything.

[iamshack]

I 1) am not really supposed to be talking about the topic and 2) generally just got tired of talking to deaf ears about electronic surveillance. The vast majority of people don't have the slightest clue what they're talking about and don't know where to start.

Honestly though, what am I going to do? Go live off the grid somewhere? I understand the surveillance aspect of it all, but they don't give a s*** about the grunts like us...

[Y2HH]

Honestly though, what am I going to do? Go live off the grid somewhere? I understand the surveillance aspect of it all, but they don't give a s*** about the grunts like us...

 

If that was the case, they wouldn't be doing what they're doing, now would they?

[iamshack]

If that was the case, they wouldn't be doing what they're doing, now would they?

They do it so they can catch the outliers, which they don't know about before they start exhibiting signs of lunacy or abnormal behavior. I doubt they really care (or even want to know) what 99% of the law abiding citizens are doing.

 

I understand there is an aspect to that where I should be angry that my privacy is being invaded, but I really have more pressing concerns than that.

[Y2HH]

They do it so they can catch the outliers, which they don't know about before they start exhibiting signs of lunacy or abnormal behavior. I doubt they really care (or even want to know) what 99% of the law abiding citizens are doing.

 

I understand there is an aspect to that where I should be angry that my privacy is being invaded, but I really have more pressing concerns than that.

 

The issue isn't really that they don't care, it's that if they decide to care, or worse, if someone decides to care, they can use that information against you, or a group of people, very much like what we see going on in the IRS right now. The fact that the information is being compiled, any rogue employee can do any of the following: steal it, sell it, release it, etc. Or, considering it's electronic surveillance/storage, that means it can probably be hacked/stolen by an outside entity and used for the same purposes, or simply released for no reason at all. It's not the fact that they don't care about us, it's the fact that the information is being compiled and stored in the first place, whether it's being used or not at this specific moment is irrelevant.

[iamshack]

The issue isn't really that they don't care, it's that if they decide to care, or worse, if someone decides to care, they can use that information against you, or a group of people, very much like what we see going on in the IRS right now. The fact that the information is being compiled, any rogue employee can do any of the following: steal it, sell it, release it, etc. Or, considering it's electronic surveillance/storage, that means it can probably be hacked/stolen by an outside entity and used for the same purposes, or simply released for no reason at all. It's not the fact that they don't care about us, it's the fact that the information is being compiled and stored in the first place, whether it's being used or not at this specific moment is irrelevant.

Yes...and I guess that goes into the "I have more pressing concerns" department...

[Chisoxfn]

I think I misunderstood what Gage was talking about. I thought he was talking about how he can enable bluetooth + car mode in one action when you get in the car, which can be done through a single NFC tag action. He might have been talking about what you are talking about, which is pairing the phone with the car's bluetooth system.

No. My phone is paired with my car's system. I can't do texting through it. I really flat out just want to have a button that turns off all texting while i drive. Like a driving function. Basically force myself to not know its coming. Ideally it would text me.

 

Usually when I'm on my phone while driving its a conference call for work that I zone in and out of anyway but I hate seeing texts and having to debate whether i should look. That is what scares me and I want to just have a function that is a car function that just shuts that s*** down.

[Chisoxfn]

I think he was talking about, when you get in your car, NFC or BT activates, and at that point, you cannot do anything BUT make calls, answer calls, dictate texts/send them, or have texts read to you. And probably mapping for turn by turn, I'd assume. I think that's what he was talking about...though IMO, that's a bit too big brother for my tastes.

 

To be perfectly honest, I understand we both tend to "defend" our chosen platforms a bit, but all things considered, we probably aren't very far on most of the things we discuss here, depending on the platform. Whatever mobile OS I use, however, I don't want it messed with by a carrier, or a manufacturer if they're a 3rd party. If/when I get an Android phone, it will be an Android phone, not a TouchWiz Sense Pseudo Google version full of Verizon/AT&T/carrier spyware. It's one of the few reasons I lean toward iOS still, they're phone software is just cleaner in this regard, and they update. Microsoft is a bit too new to the game, with hardware I still find lacking in comparison to what you can find on Android/iOS, and they lack support...their updates are slow too arrive and few/far between, unlike both iOS and Android, which get frequent update love. The Nexus brand phones also fall short, IMO, as they're not flagship devices, and often purposefully gimped. For example, no LTE on the recent Nexus...that was annoying, purposeful garbage, and there was no excuse for it other than to make manufacturers happy. I'm very very happy for the upcoming Google edition GS4/One, however, those have to be bought at full price, which is a lot of cash up front.

 

But all in all, in a legit conversation, I bet you'd find we agree on a lot more than you'd think.

That is exactly what I was referring to and my thoughts were really around it being an option. I'm not forcing people to do that, but if you want, you could turn that option on. Seems like a total no brainer to me and I don't quite understand why that functionality doesn't exist (or if it does, why its so f***ing difficult to do). Seems like we have all these stupid apps yet something pretty basic which I personally think would improve safety isn't really all that viable or simple to do.

[witesoxfan]

No. My phone is paired with my car's system. I can't do texting through it. I really flat out just want to have a button that turns off all texting while i drive. Like a driving function. Basically force myself to not know its coming. Ideally it would text me.

 

Usually when I'm on my phone while driving its a conference call for work that I zone in and out of anyway but I hate seeing texts and having to debate whether i should look. That is what scares me and I want to just have a function that is a car function that just shuts that s*** down.

 

Not sure if they have it for iPhone, but I use DriveSafe.ly. It will read texts (and emails) to you and send a corresponding text to the initial party stating that you are driving at the moment.

[Y2HH]

Not sure if they have it for iPhone, but I use DriveSafe.ly. It will read texts (and emails) to you and send a corresponding text to the initial party stating that you are driving at the moment.

 

To a degree, you can use the DND (Do Not Disturb) setting on an iPhone that will silence calls/texts on a schedule OR when you manually enable it. There is a whitelist where you can add specific people where it will still alert you, allowing calls/texts to come in, however. Those it doesn't allow will get an automatic reply saying you're busy.

[RockRaines]

Honestly though, what am I going to do? Go live off the grid somewhere? I understand the surveillance aspect of it all, but they don't give a s*** about the grunts like us...

You could.

 

You can still browse the internet without giving away who you are, however when you pick up that smartphone you are volunteering everything about you to the gov.

[Jake]

No. My phone is paired with my car's system. I can't do texting through it. I really flat out just want to have a button that turns off all texting while i drive. Like a driving function. Basically force myself to not know its coming. Ideally it would text me.

 

Usually when I'm on my phone while driving its a conference call for work that I zone in and out of anyway but I hate seeing texts and having to debate whether i should look. That is what scares me and I want to just have a function that is a car function that just shuts that s*** down.

 

My AT&T phone has an app that I think does exactly what you want. It's an AT&T app. I'll experiment with it later and let you know.

 

Anyway, these headphones that came with my HTC One sound great. Maybe I'm crazy.

[Jake]

My AT&T phone has an app that I think does exactly what you want. It's an AT&T app. I'll experiment with it later and let you know.

 

Anyway, these headphones that came with my HTC One sound great. Maybe I'm crazy.

 

Apparently there is some speculation that they are unbranded Beats or at the least borrowed from Beats manufacturing expertise, as HTC is the largest stakeholder in Beats. Some folks are fairly adamant that this or that headphone sounds better, but I'm incredibly pleased with how these sound for free.

[TaylorStSox]

Apparently there is some speculation that they are unbranded Beats or at the least borrowed from Beats manufacturing expertise, as HTC is the largest stakeholder in Beats. Some folks are fairly adamant that this or that headphone sounds better, but I'm incredibly pleased with how these sound for free.

Yeah, but Beats sound like s***.

[RockRaines]

Yeah, but Beats sound like s***.

Depends on the model, plus like 50% of the beats on the market are fake knock-offs

[iamshack]

I dunno if I have ever seen a pair of headphones where some people don't say they sound like s***...give me a break, folks...

[RockRaines]

I dunno if I have ever seen a pair of headphones where some people don't say they sound like s***...give me a break, folks...

For that brand though even amazon was selling knock-offs. I have a pair of over the ear ones that I think are pretty great for traveling (flying) but I also made sure I bought them from an actual brick and mortar.

[iamshack]

For that brand though even amazon was selling knock-offs. I have a pair of over the ear ones that I think are pretty great for traveling (flying) but I also made sure I bought them from an actual brick and mortar.

No, I believe you...I just thought of the reviews I was reading when looking for headphones...

[RockRaines]

No, I believe you...I just thought of the reviews I was reading when looking for headphones...

Yeah those are worthless. I tried doing that awhile ago and gave up. "Too much bass" "doesnt fit my ear" "cords get tangled"

[Jake]

Yeah, shopping for headphones is tough. I know Beats are overrated and there is some big markup based on name. Nonetheless, these are by far the best in-package headphones I've ever received. They kill the Apple ones I often suffered through when I didn't feel like spending money on headphones. These are good enough that I'm actually choosing to wear them around the house to enjoy my Google Play Music All Access.

[chw42]

Yeah, shopping for headphones is tough. I know Beats are overrated and there is some big markup based on name. Nonetheless, these are by far the best in-package headphones I've ever received. They kill the Apple ones I often suffered through when I didn't feel like spending money on headphones. These are good enough that I'm actually choosing to wear them around the house to enjoy my Google Play Music All Access.

 

Beats headphones aren't awful, but it's not the headphones themselves that really make a difference. The Beats EQ is what makes a difference. HTC and HP purposefully program their devices with bad-sounding EQs. Then when you switch the Beats switch on, it gives you a much more rich-sounding EQ. Making you feel like there's some kind of magic going on.