• infyrian@kbin.melroy.org
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    3 months ago

    Narrator: And users did not in fact, take action.

    It’ll just be one more thing for them to complain and do nothing about. That is all.

    • cabbage@piefed.social
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      3 months ago

      I believe /e/OS supports a broader range of devices, and it’s also pretty great in my experience. The focus is on getting rid of google (replacing all services with MicroG and nextcloud integration) and blocking trackers while providing a smooth user experience, so it’s security features are not as over the top as Graphene. It’s still a huge freaking improvement over stock Android though, and I find it to be a joy to use.

      On devices supported by the online installer it can be up an running in like 30 minutes, no technical skills required. :)

    • Venator@lemmy.nz
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      3 months ago

      Is it just me or does it seem slightly sus that GrapheneOS is only available for Google hardware…

      • towerful@programming.dev
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        3 months ago

        This… Except for contactless payment.
        I used graphene for a month. It was lovely. Even things like banking apps worked.
        I don’t care about absolute privacy, but I do care about controlling my privacy. Grapheme gave me that.

        I had only 1 issue.
        Contactless payment.
        It’s extremely convenient to me, from public transport to groceries. I just bop my phone.

        The fact that Google has that locked down surely violates some EU laws. But I’m sure they wave away the laws because of “financial security” or some other bullshit.
        As if bank card NFC/contactless doesn’t suffer exactly the same issues.
        I looked into some “graphene contactless payment” type systems or workarounds, and I couldn’t find anything that would fill the gap.

        • AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net
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          3 months ago

          "The fact that Google has that locked down surely violates some EU laws. But I’m sure they wave away the laws because of “financial security” or some other bullshit. "

          I don’t know as much as I’d like to about the regulatory side of this, but I know that Google and other big tech have done a masterful job of proactively building themselves into systems such that taking action against them is difficult.

          I think that’s part of why the US antitrust case against Microsoft a few decades ago fizzled out into nothing — even though Microsoft was deemed to have been a monopolist, the big question was how do we remedy that in a way that isn’t going to be harmful? The consensus on this amongst people who I respect is that the results of the Microsoft case was woefully insufficient and something that helped to lay the foundations of the big tech dominance that we see today.

        • khannie@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          This may seem like a silly solution but maybe pop your debit card inside your phone case. It should bop through it.

          • GregorGizeh@lemmy.zip
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            3 months ago

            I mean, the way I read it is “not a day goes by on which I am not regretting doing this”. So, every day you are regretting it 🤔

      • 6nk06@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        I installed GrapheneOS for the security and lack of Google. I didn’t know it was a very nice stock Android without any crap. I love it.

        • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          What I’m curious is what kind of ball are you shaped like?

          A golf ball? With divots all over your skin? A basketball? Just round? A baseball? With stitches all over your skin like later years Chucky? A football? Are you Stewie Griffen? Testicles? Wait, are you saying your whole body is one big testicle? Oh my god, the Iron Shiek wasn’t speaking broken english! He was just talking about you!!! “I hit him right in the ball this big!”

  • ‮redirtSdeR@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    My experience with Gemini:

    Hey Google, set a timer for 5 minutes.

    Gemini: I’m sorry, I don’t understand.

    WTF is the point of it then?

    Imagine taking away the only useful feature of a voice assistant 💀

  • anachrohack@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Wish there were better 3rd party mobile options. On pc I can install Linux on any laptop made in the last 15 years and it will work basically flawlessly. No such equivalent exists for smart phones

    • andz@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I live in Finland using Android on a Nokia and I can switch Gemini off completely and choose to use the old Google Assistant instead. It did initially appear out of nowhere when they patched it in, but I could immediately turn it off with the same prompt that the other guy also got.

      If it’s unavoidable it seems to be an US only thing atm.

    • John Richard@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Yes, for the amount of hate Google gets… Which I think it is fair to be critical of any product that compromises privacy… I recently tried helping my mom clean up her iPhone, and seriously like 100x worse. Almost everything you do on Apple demands you have another Apple device. One of the worst experiences I’ve ever dealt with.

  • ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I just went into my settings after reading this article (and getting a bit frustrated that it was a wall of text with no clear instructions right up front).

    I did a search in settings for “gemini” and found the Gemini settings. There’s no clear ‘off’ switch. But there’s is an option to switch back to Google Assistant. So I did that. And not when I search for Gemini in settings it urges me to enable Gemini.

    I’m taking that as a good sign that I’ve disabled it permanently. Thought I’d post this info in case it helps someone else. Or so if I’m incorrect somebody else can correct me.

    • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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      3 months ago

      I mean there were no instructions up front because literally Google is refusing to give them, basically.
      No more choice just the company force feeding the user and saying it’s good for them.

      Nowhere in the email or any of the Support pages did Google say how to remove all Gemini integrations from my phone.
      I then emailed Google PR and… I asked if someone could provide actionable guidance for my readers who want to ensure Gemini integrations are completely disabled. Instead of answering the question, the person responding to my email wrote, in part: “This update is good for users: they can now use Gemini to complete daily tasks on their mobile devices like send messages, initiate phone calls, and set timers while Gemini Apps Activity is turned off. With Gemini Apps Activity turned off, their Gemini chats are not being reviewed or used to improve our AI models.”

      Literally that reads like you can’t turn it off and they just scrape less of your data on a technicality.

  • Wren@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Remember when iPhone was the bad guy amongst these kids? But I guess as long as it has more options, surely it’s better!

        • SnortsGarlicPowder@lemmy.zip
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          3 months ago

          You kinda did though. I am unsure what your comment is actually truing to convey. Users only have 2 options of mobile OSs that are average consumer ready.

          • Wren@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Naah. I kinda didn’t. I was simply calling out all the kids that smugly looked down on anyone using anything that wasn’t android.

            Now it seems they’re very quiet. Some gifts just wrap themselves, don’t they?