technology

[Faust]

Well, I am switching to T-Mobile once my contract is up, and so should all of you.

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/t-mobile-hands-consumers-a-pleasant-shocker/?ref=technology&_r=0

[hamham3002]

was going to switch to ATT yesterday to get the 5s with contract.. well.. this just killed that idea.. just switched to the $50 unlimited everything.. probably going to go with $60 one when i get the new phone

[interest1]

Well, I am switching to T-Mobile once my contract is up, and so should all of you.

Not to mention that their customer service has always been superior to the other carriers, AT&T being the worst offender. Where T-Mobile bends over backwards to satisfy their customers, AT&T ends up bending their customers over to satisfy only themselves.

I was with T-Mobile for 11 years before reluctantly switching to AT&T a few years ago because T-Mobile's phone selection (for the longest time) was a joke, but the minute my contract expires, I will be running back.

[endorphinz]

the speaker on my iphone 5 stopped working yesterday so i made an appointment with the geniuses to fix it.

first of all my initial warranty was up but i had bought apple care. i never buy extended warranties but with a device like a phone and the included 1 accident (i drop phones in toilets) protection i figured it was a sound investment. if nuthin else i'd trade it in for a fresh battery before the end of the contract.

my phone was jailbroken...presents a problem. i KNOW it's a hardware problem and that apple is gonna replace the speaker module but i KNOW if i don't restore the phone apple won't touch it. this means loss of jb and ios7. ios 7 sucks....begin the restore/update(?)....fuck, gotta update iTunes...i HATE itunes...bloated shit that i ONLY use to back up the phone (tho i back up using copytrans too)

so, i entered the church of apple. everything about them is so cult like. their speech,their actions,their practices and,even their stores' esthetics...to my eyes anyway,

after being greeted by the greeter and giving her my deets i was told where to sit. eventually i was called by my genius who tried to play sound on my phone and concluded the speaker WAS broken. he told me not to worry cuz they could fix it. i said replace speaker module right...he said yeah...take bout 1/2 hr. i said battery is goin anyway could he just replace the phone. he asked permission to run diagnostics...my battery is ok now but it's a year old but i said go it...genius said it's fine...i said well maybe it tests fine but not in real action...he shrugged his shoulders. i told him that i have apple care and HINTED STRONGLY that an accident was gonna happen before my contract's expiration and that to make life easier for everyone he really should replace the phone now...he answered with vacuous eyes "so, you want us to replace the speaker?"

1/2 hr latter i had my old phone, cleanly restored with ios7

i'll be using the toilet often over the next few months.

i'm really glad other phone manufacturers have raised the bar cuz i hate apple.


BTW: repair woulda cost $59+tax (on a 13 month old $800 phone)

[Dane]

I sold my ipad, sold my macbook, sold my iphone, gave away my apple tv. i'm done with apple. i just can't anymore, after all these years.

[endorphinz]

good for you.....all i got is the phone....why'd you do it?

[Dane]

I want more control...I'm tired of them telling me what I can and can't do with my devices (save for the macbook I guess, which was just out of date).

Why can't I download a music file and save it on my ipad on whatever site I chose? Something simple like that is frustrating.

I hated ios7, it was slow and laggy and looked awful...why couldn't I make it look how I wanted it to look like I can with Android?

Once I rid myself of one product, I found the others far less useful, so they all gradually worked their way out the door. I understand why people like apple, it's very simple and user-friendly, but for nerds like me, that's a huge deterrent.

[Chinorlz]

I want more control...I'm tired of them telling me what I can and can't do with my devices (save for the macbook I guess, which was just out of date).

Why can't I download a music file and save it on my ipad on whatever site I chose? Something simple like that is frustrating.

I hated ios7, it was slow and laggy and looked awful...why couldn't I make it look how I wanted it to look like I can with Android?

Once I rid myself of one product, I found the others far less useful, so they all gradually worked their way out the door. I understand why people like apple, it's very simple and user-friendly, but for nerds like me, that's a huge deterrent.

so what device(s) do you use now Dane? Out of curiosity.

My whole place is pretty much all Apple products, but I may have to get at least one Android-friendly device to pair with Glass.

[radio-aktivität]

why'd you do it?

I’d like to know, too.

Isn’t it a bit pathetic to abandon a platform for moral reasons?

I myself rely on OSX in so many different ways that I just could not afford abandoning the system, not even if I had to. It does it’s job as any other OS out there does, but the way (or: process) of getting things done with it is — again: at least to me — the most pleasing.

edit:
Dane, you replied too fast! I see your point, especially the one about the fragility of Apples ecosystem: If you get rid of one chainlink, everything collapses.

What I don’t understand is the nerd myth of control. Your device is a tool, it’s not a pet and it’s not Lego. I think one way of having way less problems with any device is to simply start relying on it. Getting used to it.
The pragmatic guy in me’ll never see the point in clock widgets, all black themes, casemodding, OS customization or whatever. After all, it’s a tool we use to create.

If your tool limits you, build your own from scratch. Modification is only a compromise.

[lowrey]

I want more control...I'm tired of them telling me what I can and can't do with my devices (save for the macbook I guess, which was just out of date).

Why can't I download a music file and save it on my ipad on whatever site I chose? Something simple like that is frustrating.

This is exactly why I stopped using Apple years ago, and why I enjoy Android so much. I can drag and drop anything, from music to excel files to pdf's to movies, from any computer and they will work instantly. I can copy them to another computer without having any syncing nightmares. I can also customize everything I need (with a stock phone) and make tasks so much easier and faster.

Speaking of which, I just got the Nexus 5 and am really liking it. The screen is massive but the phone barely any bigger than the previous N4. design is nice too, simple, sturdy and stealth looking

for nerds:

[endorphinz]

^cool!

Your device is a tool, it’s not a pet and it’s not Lego.

yes it's a tool but why shouldn't you be able to customize/modify the tool for your exact needs?

If your tool limits you, build your own from scratch. Modification is only a compromise.

absolutely absurdly ridiculous


i actually tried to convert to apple a couple of years ago. i bought a macbook air but returned it 18 days later. i hated osx; hated the feel of osx. maybe cuz i was so indoctrinated as a windoze users. the newer doze os's have come a long way. i cant remember the last time i had a crash....years

the obligatory use of itunes on i devices and the refusal to include a usb port on an ipad is enuff reason not to use apple

[lowrey]

What I don’t understand is the nerd myth of control.

What control means in my case:

content: I can drag and drop anything, from music to excel files to pdf's to movies, from any computer and they will work instantly. I can copy files to another computer without having any syncing nightmares. I can also access all files on the phone like a computer's harddrive, and modify, upload or e-mail them.

functionality: I can customize everything I need (with a stock phone, no rooting or "jailbreaking" needed) and make tasks much easier and faster. For example having a calendar on the homescreen, which means I can see my entire weekly schedule by opening the lock screen and its right there. The calendar is one of the most important features on my phone and this makes it easy to look at in a second. Also, I don't have to go through numerous settings for common functions as I have controls for wifi, bluetooth (car's built in handsfree), 2G/3G/4G toggle (good when travelling for example), airplane mode and wifi tethering (sharing the 4G connection with my laptop) on the home screen too, reachable with a single click after opening the lockscreen.

I realize this kind of sounds like an advertisement, but I'm just a very happy user

[radio-aktivität]

lowrey,
lucky you!
indeed, content creation and interaction is something I find really lacking in the iOS ecosystem. For instance my friend, also a designer and musician, tried to subside his computer with an iPad this week; just to see how it would work out. Kind of an experiment. While he found some areas to be just as effective as on the computer, some where more tricky (more time consuming, less precise, less everything) or even impossible. In his case, these were DTP in general and Music. He had awesome guitar amps, but no way to import a MIDI band to play with. There indeed are huge limitations.

What you say about your usage of wireless toggles and the calendar is, more or less, what I mean by simply getting used to it, and is imho in no way a sign of a control freak. You use a tool to your favor and, within it’s limits, you gain a certain value. In your case: organizer widgets

The control myth I was talking about refered to a just because way of interaction in technology. Just because you can fiddle around in your OS for hours and adjust the tiniest variables, resulting in a (most often) inconsistent software experience, doesn’t mean you should.

[Picasso]

Been looking for a tablet to buy that i can do every day things but most importantly read ebooks and pdf's any suggestions? price doesn't matter but nothing ridiculous

[radio-aktivität]

but most importantly read ebooks and pdf's any suggestions?

if these (mainly ebooks) are the major tasks for your device, maybe you should go out and check some e-readers. while most tablet displays nowadays have great resolutions and are well lit, a lot of people find them tiring on long reading sessions. especially when in low lit environments, their brightness will most likely tire your eyes very quickly. e-readers have e-ink displays that feel, at least on current gen devices, almost like real book pages.
long story short: if you want to read novel after novel on your device, there’s no other option than a reader. your eyes will thank you.

they aren’t expensive, so you could also just combine one with a traditional tablet.

talking about tablets: we had some discussions on them just recently. after all, it’s a matter of taste and your ecosystem: if everything around you is Apple, you should obviously go for iPad. if your digital surrounding is mixed, take what you find most comforting. go out and play around with different devices, and then choose which interface suits your personal way of work best.