mox

joined 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

no long-term OS support

IMHO, we need well-enforced laws requiring manufacturers to do both of these things:

  • Provide service manuals and reasonably priced parts for a sensible period, much like existing requirements for replacement car parts. (Perhaps 5 or 7 years minimum?)
  • Put into escrow all the information needed for community support of these devices, to be publicly released when the official support period ends. (The easiest way to satisfy this might be in the form of source code, but data sheets and API documentation could suffice if they are reasonably complete.)

Some people have argued that the second point is impossible because phones are made with components that don't come with specs or source code themselves. That might be true today, but if large economies start requiring it, then those component manufacturers will either fall into line or lose the market to competitors who do meet the requirements.

and not easy to load an alternative OS on.

This is another big one. We need to be able to unlock our bootloaders, install an OS of our choice, and re-lock our bootloaders. (Without permanently disabling any of the hardware features; there must be a way to fully revert to stock.) The only major brand smartphones I know of with a reputation for doing this right are from Google, which is kind of embarrassing.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The "especially in gaming" bit is encouraging. That might mean they are finally, after 26 years, addressing the demand for good quality, low latency, multichannel, full duplex audio...

...but I won't hold my breath. They seem to think gaming means playing on hardware like this.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Oops.

Since you're using sudo, I suggest setting different passwords on production, remote, and personal systems. That way, you'll get a password error before a tired/distracted command executes in the wrong terminal.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

That rudely condescending comment lends nothing useful to the discussion, and has just earned my only downvote of the day. Enjoy. Bye.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

I appreciate that you're articulating your thoughts pretty well without resorting to the adversarial nonsense I've received elsewhere in this thread, so thanks for that.

It's still clear that I haven't been understood, but I'm exhausted from trying. (Again, mostly not from you, so please don't take it personally.) Time for me to put lemmy away for the day, I think. Take care.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 days ago (1 children)

+1 for Brother laser printers, unless they have drastically changed in the past 5-10 years

[–] [email protected] -2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (5 children)

If your app touches the camera and mic, it will show up on that screen that it does so.

Showing up on that screen is no substitute for what is actually needed:

  • Individual control (an easy and obvious way to allow or deny each thing separately)
  • Minimal access (a way to create a sound file without giving Facebook access to an open mic)
  • Visibility (a clear indication by the OS when Facebook is capturing or has captured data)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

This is business financial news, not technology.

 

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/36566249

The use of selfies to verify identity online is an emerging trend in some parts of the world since the pandemic forced more business to go digital. Some banks – and even governments – have begun requiring live images over Zoom or similar in order to participate in the modern economy. The question must be asked, though: is it cyber smart?

Just last Monday the Southeast Asian nation of Vietnam began requiring face scans on phone banking apps as proof of identity for all digital transactions of around $400 and above.

The nation's residents are not able to opt out of the banking rules, despite Vietnam regularly finding itself ranked poorly when it comes to internet privacy or cyber security.

Local media has weighed in to suggest that selfies will not improve security. And just days into the new regime, some apps have already been called out for accepting still photos instead of a live image of the individual.

189
The return of pneumatic tubes (www.technologyreview.com)
view more: next ›