Useless Xmas present

[Mike Lewis]

Now that I think about my incident with Kindle, there may be a more benign explanation. I don't remember how I was listening to the classical music. If it were stored on the tablet and being streamed to the receiver via Bluetooth, then the Kindle app could have detected that this music file had been accessed and this triggered the ads. That's still intrusive, but less so than listening via the tablet's microphone, which might be illegal.

I'll have to experiment with this sometime and narrow down what is happening.

[Mike Lewis]

Techie trivia: a programmer friend of mine told me that Siri got its name from SRI International, a research firm whose signal processing work made Siri possible.

[steve dunham]

I've read all 4 pages of this thread TWICE
I do not understand 99% of what was stated nor am I sure I want to.
I now think I understand why people need a 5000 watt generator , 5000 watts of solar , 4 AGM batteries , 16 volt meters , 200 -12VDC outlets along with 20 other things I cannot spell or pronounce or need or want , just to go camping.
I've had my truck for 3 years , according to the salesman it has Bluetooth and voice commands , neither of which have I used even once !!
As long as there is a knob to adjust the AM radio , I am fine
(My radio only plays one AM station )
I am not knocking anyone who enjoys playing with modern technology but if that technology takes a simple task and complicates it then I don't need it.
Going camping for us is getting away from it all but it seems with some of the new electronics you are bringing it all with you .
I had to carry a beeper and a cell phone 24/7 /365 during the last 25 years of my working life and always imagined this is how a dog on a leash must feel. I didn't like that feeling when I was working and now that I am retired I refuse to live that way.

I am now convinced that Alexa is really a bad joke created by Glenn Baglo or a Russian Spy in a cardboard tube with blinking lights !

[rbryan4]

Mike, it's more likely that the app had permission to view your files. If you've ever read the T's and C's when you install an app, some of them are completely unnecessary and scary. For example, why does a photo app need to "view and manage my contacts"? It says that is so you can send a photo to a contact, but the overlap is huge. There are plenty of apps I've wanted to install but later decided not to, because I could not grant only very specific and needed permissions.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Mike, it's more likely that the app had permission to view your files.

Yes, that's what I had in mind when I said I had music stored on the tablet. The Kindle app has permission to read the files, and it might be able to tell when a music file on the tablet is being played. I just don't remember if I was playing music from the tablet or from a thumb drive on the stereo at the time.

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I've read all 4 pages of this thread TWICE
I do not understand 99% of what was stated nor am I sure I want to...

Amen and amen. I can't help but think of all the money I have NOT spent these past twenty years on the latest electronic gadgets. I once calculated that I have NOT spent roughly $10,000 on cell phones and their attendant subscription fees alone since the mid-'90s. (I DO spend probably $50 per year for time on my Tracfone.)

And now I have a beautiful Escape trailer so I can go off-grid and not be bothered by even having a computer (unless I stumble upon some wi-fi somewhere for my tablet).

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by KarenH

Amen and amen. I can't help but think of all the money I have NOT spent these past twenty years on the latest electronic gadgets. I once calculated that I have NOT spent roughly $10,000 on cell phones and their attendant subscription fees alone since the mid-'90s. (I DO spend probably $50 per year for time on my Tracfone.)

And now I have a beautiful Escape trailer so I can go off-grid and not be bothered by even having a computer (unless I stumble upon some wi-fi somewhere for my tablet).

I calculated that in that same time period that my weekly hair cutting costs have been about $0.05 per week by amortizing the cost of the trimmer kit over that time, and factoring in a wee bit for energy costs. No cost for shampoo or conditioners either.

And now I can camp off grid in my lovely Escape trailer and not be bothered with having to brush or wash my hair, I just give the top of me wee heed a quick wipe when I wash my face.



I love learning stuff, including technology. It is just a lot of fun.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I calculated that in that same time period that my weekly hair cutting costs have been about $0.05 per week by amortizing the cost of the trimmer kit over that time, and factoring in a wee bit for energy costs. No cost for shampoo or conditioners either.

And now I can camp off grid in my lovely Escape trailer and not be bothered with having to brush or wash my hair, I just give the top of me wee heed a quick wipe when I wash my face.



I love learning stuff, including technology. It is just a lot of fun.

I get a haircut once or year at Christmas time . $ 10.00 a year or a little over 19 cents / week is more than I wish to spend but we only have one barber in our area so we are at his mercy.
Jim , I really do like your dog's hair style , very up style.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Jim , I really do like your dog's hair style , very up style.

I wish I could let my hair grow and still look as good as he does.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

Techie trivia: a programmer friend of mine told me that Siri got its name from SRI International, a research firm whose signal processing work made Siri possible.

Wouldn’t be surprised. I watched HD TV at their Princeton research lab when I was on a tour in college before it was out on the commercial market. They do some really neat stuff.

[padlin]

Originally Posted by KarenH

Amen and amen. I can't help but think of all the money I have NOT spent these past twenty years on the latest electronic gadgets. I once calculated that I have NOT spent roughly $10,000 on cell phones and their attendant subscription fees alone since the mid-'90s. (I DO spend probably $50 per year for time on my Tracfone.)

And now I have a beautiful Escape trailer so I can go off-grid and not be bothered by even having a computer (unless I stumble upon some wi-fi somewhere for my tablet).

It was a shock when I retired a few years back and had to get my own cell phone and computer.

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by padlin

It was a shock when I retired a few years back and had to get my own cell phone and computer.

I buy one when the old one either is too obsolete or in the case of the last one was dropped on rocks and took out the screen. I priced the screen on Ebay and Amazon and figured it and the battery were shot so time to get a new one. I went from earlier android gingerbread 2.33 to the latest Oreo 8.1 by picking up a 2 year old nexus phone from someone for $100 that just received it's final firmware update.
And quickly found a lot of the new features were not to my liking so I removed or disabled them. My daughter is the only person I text with. I do not browse or do email on a phone unless I absolutely have to. The map feature and daughter are the only reasons I even went with another smart phone.

[Jim Bennett]

Oh man, my phone does so much for me. Of course it is a must have for work, and I now use it a horde for personal use too.

Browsing the internet, reading, researching and shopping. More than half my posts here are on the phone.

Email on the phone is used a lot too, most of it done from there. Email 8 different recipients today (24 if you count the group email regarding our New Years party. 2 are members here.

Texting, man I do hundreds of texts a week, most taking but a couple seconds. Just sang a birthday greeting and sent it text to a friend. I have one text to a member from here today. For work it is a fantastic tool, as you just send or receive a note with pertinent info, taking but seconds to deal with, rather than talking on the phone and always opening with what the weather is doing (or something like that ).

I use soooo many apps on my phone regularly, a couple games, a construction calculator, photo hosting site, sports teams, music playing, social media, camping apps, and so on.

I do use the camera some, but still tend to default to a real camera for much better quality and more control.

That said, when I have no reception for a few days on end, I do enjoy the break from it, and when camping will often leave it in the trailer or truck while doing stuff. When in groups I use it very sparingly, usually to look something up pertinent to the conversation. My mom still has just a flip phone, and refuses to get a smart phone, though is always having one of us look something up.

Can you tell, I love my phone and get great use out of it.

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Can you tell, I love my phone and get great use out of it.

Yes Jim but.
I was issued a company iPhone which I called the leash as that was what the damn thing was. It rang constantly all damn day and often at night and on weekends and I was expected the answer the damn thing even though I was no longer on the clock. After several upgrades to the iPhone linage I was connected to the internet via it. Email and text were now constantly arriving on the damn thing. ( can you tell I hated it?) They never did understand why I did not want to use it for my personal phone and why I did not want company access on my home computer. Them being able to remotely wipe my computer if they felt it was needed was enough and I did not want some IM geek reading text or email or looking at what I used a computer or phone for. I still do not use a phone unless I absolutely have to.

Over the years I had a number of company phones from the bag phones to the big white thing like Gordon Gekko had when he came out of prison but the ones I hated most were the iPhones.

Before that was the pager and trying to find payphones.

I noticed my replacement quickly decide he would rather work in the field and they have not been able to fill the job. I guess they need to hire some fresh out of college boy who does not have a clue.

[thoer]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Can you tell, I love my phone and get great use out of it.

Like Jim, we use ours for a variety of purposes. One example, on our last trip to Europe we didn't bother to haul one of our cameras along and the photos we took with our phone are outstanding - the quality of the cameras in some of the latest cell phones is quite remarkable.

Cell phones are technological objects. As with any technology, some people love them, some hate them. To me, a modern cell phone is a multipurpose tool that has replaced a lot of single purpose tools. But, in the ever wise words of Donna, YMMV.

[emers382]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Aren't iPods pretty much only found in museums now? [emoji38]

I am a little late to the party (again) but thought I'd let you know Jim that I still have my 2GB tiny iPod with no screen that if you push a button will tell you what's playing. It sits in a drawer but occasionally pull it out and put some tunes on it and listen through earbuds since of course it doesn't have a speaker.

As far as Siri goes despite having between the two of us 2 iPhones, an iPad, and a McBook Pro (which with last OS includes Siri), I rarely use it, preferring the old style typing my request in a google search or similar. I figure we are pretty much "with it" just wish our sons would actually phone us instead of texting to which we often don't reply because the phone is nowhere near where we are, guess we have to learn to carry them with us all the time

Adrian

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by wetzk

Yes Jim but.

I used to have two cells, one personal, on for work. I only did that for a short while, and went to one. I am very clear from the start with customers to not phone me during time off, and if they do (which is not all that bad) to leave a message. If there is something urgent (and I use this with everyone), phone back again right away and I will answer if I can. Believe it or not, customers do respect this. They will text notes which I can check at my leisure.

I never had a bad phone, but in a work truck (the first Ram to come out with a Cummins) I did have a truck phone. Stupid thing would always go off when I was way up in the air in a bucket or on a ladder.

Originally Posted by thoer

Like Jim, we use ours for a variety of purposes. .

Absolutely. It has a GPS that is WAY better than that in my truck. My favourite app is my Construction Calculator. I used to own the actual calculator, but of course did not have it on me when I needed it most. By far the most expensive app at $20 ($100 for the actual calculator), but the best money I have spent on a phone.

When travelling I like to use freecampsites.net to find a nice free spot near me when wanting to just do a quick stop for the night.

Originally Posted by emers382

I am a little late to the party (again)

Well, lookit you a shiny and dapper with your party pants on.

[Vermilye]

I drank the Koolaid & have a MacBookPro, iPad, and a brand new iPhone X. The phone is a big improvement on my previous iPhone 5 ( I don't renew all that often, but when I do, I get the latest with the most bells & whistles).

While I tried Siri just to see that it works, I still tend to go to specific apps to find what I'm looking for. I don't have to worry about "the company" bothering me - I retired in 2001. Other than junk calls offering vacations & campground memberships, I get about 1 call every couple of weeks - unfortunately that is what happens when you outlive too many of your friends.

My main use for the phone is as an internet tuner tied to the trailer's radio, although I have found that the larger screen on the iPhone X makes the Kindle app usable for reading when I forget to take my paper white, or a book & have to wait for something - I'm terrible at waiting!

[rbryan4]

I spent 3 years with an iPhone (company issued) before I convinced them to let me get a Galaxy S7 and just submit the bill. For my money (well actually the company's money) the Galaxy is just superior in every way. I know this is a contentious subject, but I get together with fellow IT pros on a regular basis, and there's nary an iPhone to be found. My wife loves her iPhone and I got her one on purpose, because less can go wrong.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

My wife loves her iPhone and I got her one on purpose, because less can go wrong.

Less can go wrong when you get her what she wants, right?
A happy wife.......