EntropySink
Nothing & Everything => Open Discussion => Topic started by: Betazep on October 04, 2021, 04:51:24 PM
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Well WhatsApp being down affects a lot in Finland. Many people rely on it... sucked when FB bought it.
My kids teacher sends us updates through WhatsApp even... heh.
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Never used it. Partially because FB owns it. One of the first things the guys at work said was 'we're not the only ones that go down' lol
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If you never taken down production are you a real engineer? If an engineer hasn't taken down your entire network via DNS are you a real tech company?
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Probably not. I specifically ask my Ops guys when I hire them what their biggest fuckup has been. Let's me know how they've grown the hair on the chest and lost it on their heads.
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Never used it. Partially because FB owns it. One of the first things the guys at work said was 'we're not the only ones that go down' lol
:)
WhatsApp has been on my chopping block list ever since FB bought it. It is hard to get rid of though... my wife only calls using her cell phone data with WhatsApp. (which drives me crazy... she has an actual CELL PHONE, but it has unlimited data - so whatever I suppose). My kids do too. Voice over data has supplanted just a normal phone call in my family. Last night my wife was in the other room and she wanted to ask me if it was safe to take benadryl after taking zyrtec in the morning. (allergies... bleh) She sent me a whatsapp message, but it was down. When she remembered, she knocked on the wall to get me to come over. So yeah... WhatsApp is the first mode of communication in our lives... followed by banging on things - haha.
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Oh... I just remembered the other day I sent her a text message of a place we were going to.
She opened whatsapp and said, "I don't see a message."
Me, "It is a text message."
Her, "Where is that?"
*sigh* fml
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I like WhatsApp, it's a simple chat app without all the crap and even though FB bought it it is still one of the few chat apps that is end to end encrypted.
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I make a point of watching this at least once or twice per year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p8wTOr8AbU
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I guess I'm unclear why so much of the world uses apps like whatsapp instead of just normal SMS? Is it just because you can embed other things? There's not a whole lot I can't do with SMS now. I know Apple is a little more advanced than Android when it comes to that stuff though. I guess I just don't see a good reason to use something else. I mean granted, work stuff goes through Teams and I use Discord with a few people, but 90% of my other comms goes through normal SMS.
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I guess I'm unclear why so much of the world uses apps like whatsapp instead of just normal SMS? Is it just because you can embed other things? There's not a whole lot I can't do with SMS now. I know Apple is a little more advanced than Android when it comes to that stuff though. I guess I just don't see a good reason to use something else. I mean granted, work stuff goes through Teams and I use Discord with a few people, but 90% of my other comms goes through normal SMS.
I'm right there with you when you're in the same country - but international calls can still be pretty costly. My wife uses whatsapp to talk with her family in Poland. My folks are not too techincal, so I still use a regular phone connection. I talk to them and to my grandmother 5 or 6 times a month, and pay around $20.
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I do get the international stuff - that makes total sense. I guess my question was more domestically, even within other countries.
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Group chats over SMS don't work very well.
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That's true - gotta be honest... as an iPhone user, I hate seeing green bubbles.
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+1 for group chats suck over SMS
Also, I prefer multi-device functionality. I still use google voice for "text" messages and everything else is usually facebook messenger. I just keep the browser windows open all day on my computer. I hate typing on my phone. I know technically verizon has a web interface for SMS but it is horrible and you have to log into their website to get to it.
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Yeah... for us, a big part of using Whatsapp are the groups we set up for our family across international boundaries. It created simple habits for relatively non-technical users - so they use it for all communication. (voice and text)
For me... I have a dual SIM phone with Google Fi and DNA (local cell service provider). I regularly use normal cell services (call and text) on two numbers, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, Zoom (meetings and voip phone), Vonage Extensions, and email.
Regarding Google Fi (https://fi.google.com/about)... best thing since sliced bread. It is fkn awesome for a person travelling. My US number works the same anywhere without worrying about exorbitant costs. I cannot say enough good stuff about it.
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Looks interesting, but only marginally cheaper than Verizon and they don't fully support iPhones so that's a no for me.
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I've been using Google Fi for awhile now and it is pretty great. And was much cheaper for my use.
iPhone
I recently got an iPhone for work and I find my Android phone much nicer to use than the Apple (even without the physical button on the Android).
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I've used Android's off and on over the years and I just don't see the appeal. Plus my whole family is sort of embedded in the Apple infrastructure and services that it would be difficult for me to pull out of that. A lot of people that I work with keep telling me that Android is better but no one seems to be able to point to specific reasons. Even my boss, who is a hardcore nerd and has been an Android fanboy, has said he has considered switching to an iPhone.
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I have an iPhone X and it works perfectly fine. By them not yet *fully supporting", it means you have to get your voicemails from the Google Fi phone app instead of from the voicemail feature. But it does email transcription and text transcription. (of the voicemails)
At any rate, I gotta imagine it will improve as time goes on. The service is relatively new.
And echo Mike... it should be much cheaper than Verizon, depending on use. It is definitely much cheaper for my use - heh. Verizon internationally is very expensive. I use the $20 plan because I am usually on WiFi and I have a primary sim that provides me unlimited data... so basically I get phone and text on a US number for 20 bucks per month internationally.
Interestingly enough, you can only activate google fi from within the continental US (and maybe Canada and Mexico), and they detect all the common VPN services. (I tried several.) I built my own openvpn server at aws and was able to activate my phone by connecting to my computer wifi sharing which was connected to the openvpn server in Ohio. It is a bit of a cheat, but I was no longer in the US when I found out about this service. Otherwise I would have had to wait until I was back in the US for a company event to activate the phone - heh.
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I am an Android to Apple convert for sure. Iphones are solid pieces of technology - that maybe get a bad wrap because of the behavior of some Apple enthusiasts. They just work... and have consistency that works well for my family. Android has gotten better with backups and restores, phone transfers etc... but it used to be pretty rough for people. If I give my wife a new phone, it is for her purposes... just like her old phone but faster and a few tweaks. (e.g. face recognition instead of fingerprint) This is really good for her and my kids. Plus Apple TV is a gem that started out as a turd. Some fantastic shows on there...
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If you have an Iphone that supports physical and eSIM eg the X and onward, you can ask verizon to unlock your phone to use the eSIM with another provider and try Google Fi on the eSIM. (gives you a second phone line on your cell phone) Then you can turn off one line or the other and do testing. (e.g. speed tests and things) Of course you can keep both lines on at the same time... you just select which one is your primary for voice, text, and data.
So you can actually try for a month for $20 before deciding if switching is worth it. Plus it is kind of fun having two lines. :)
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I've used Android's off and on over the years and I just don't see the appeal. Plus my whole family is sort of embedded in the Apple infrastructure and services that it would be difficult for me to pull out of that. A lot of people that I work with keep telling me that Android is better but no one seems to be able to point to specific reasons. Even my boss, who is a hardcore nerd and has been an Android fanboy, has said he has considered switching to an iPhone.
There is no one thing honestly. One of my big ones is the customization of screen layout and widgets is much better on my pixel than on the iPhone. I find the navigation between apps much easier. But at the end of the day they are more similar than different.
I think family is a big one. If you all are using facetime and the like then yeah switching is hard. My family doesn't. We call or text. We don't have giant group texts. So being the odd one out is fine for me.
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Yeah good points. I am far from a technology purist. It kind of comes down to what you land on and make work for you and family.
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Oh, also the notification screen for emails and chats is far better on my android than on iPhone. For one thing, if I open the app and mark it as unread the notification goes away on android whereas iPhone keeps it up until I clear the notification itself.
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The best thing about android when I had it was on a rooted phone and being able to run many android systems. That was a super fun experience. There is more I can nerd out on in Android. I guess technically you can root an iPhone, but I don't bother. They are so expensive when new, and I want to maintain support - the risk/reward isn't great.
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I have always had Android phones and loved them, anytime my family asked for iPhone tech support I really couldn't figure out how to use the damn thing.
But recently I switched to iPhone because work pays for it. It took a few months but now I'm a complete convert. Even if I changed jobs I'd probably buy an iPhone now, despite the price....
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I have unlimited plans for all 4 of our family phones on Verizon. Each plan is $35/mo... pisses me off that you don't get a discount for multiple lines. For the same thing on Google Fi, that's $30/mo. So is it worth the switch for $20/mo? Probably not.
@mike - you still feel the same about the layout even with the changes in iOS 14 from a year ago? You have widgets and stuff now. I realize it's lagging behind Android a lot and still not as good as Android but I frankly don't care about that feature. And I think the navigation between apps has gotten better, especially with gestures and stuff. I also don't really have the notifications issues you mention. It actually works how I would expect (the ones that do stay are the ones I want to stay).. and I know some of it is app or settings specific so maybe it's just a config thing.
I use facetime primarily when my kids aren't answering texts. We don't really call family on it that often... maybe once in a while with my parents.
I have rooted my iPhone back in the day but I don't really have a reason to anymore. Most of the reasons I was rooting are now basic features of the phone.
I also just upgraded all of us to iPhone 13 about a week ago. They won't be here for a bit but the deals were too good to pass on. And all of us were many generations behind:
Me: iPhone X
Wife and daughter: iPhone 8 plus
Son: iPhone 6s
I was really only looking to upgrade my son but I couldn't pass up the offer.
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@mike - you still feel the same about the layout even with the changes in iOS 14 from a year ago? You have widgets and stuff now. I realize it's lagging behind Android a lot and still not as good as Android but I frankly don't care about that feature. And I think the navigation between apps has gotten better, especially with gestures and stuff. I also don't really have the notifications issues you mention. It actually works how I would expect (the ones that do stay are the ones I want to stay).. and I know some of it is app or settings specific so maybe it's just a config thing.
I'm comparing it against my work iPhone which is 14.7.1. There are two widgets that I use a lot: Google Calendar and Keep. On Android I can control the height and width whereas on iPhone it is 4 wide by 2 high and that's it. Would rather have it 2 wide and 4 high so I can see more than two agenda items. On busy days the widget is really helpful.
For app switching, on my Android I can swipe left/right at the bottom of the screen to switch between apps. Really handy when I need to toggle between a couple apps. Both have the carousel of apps but this is a bit faster.
I could see it being a config and that is a good call out. And I have to admit that some of it could be Google not making their Apple version as good as their Android version since those two don't always place nicely with each other.
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Swiping up to see data between apps is easy enough but yeah what you're describing sounds better. I agree that I wish the widgets could be different sizes. I usually have 10-15 meetings/day and only knowing the next 2 is kinda useless.
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Uh huh... pull out your total bill. :)
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Verizon is pretty great tho... I had them for like 20 years. I would stay with them too if I was in the US, but it certainly isn't the cheapest thing going.
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It's not the cheapest. But I've shopped around and it's not like it's significantly more than the others and there's lots of little perks if you pay attention. For the extra money we pay, we probably make it up in other free services or 'device dollars' or other rewards. AT&T is shit... had them for a few years. And TMobile... never really had experience with them.
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My experience with Tmobile was horrible. :(
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For AT&T was the technical service shit or was their customer service shit? I had them for a loooooong time before moving to Google Fi and never had a problem with their technical services but hated dealing with the company.
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I had a phone with AT&T through my work before so I don't think I ever dealt with their customer service. My issue was that calls would drop all the time and there were dead spots everywhere. Maybe it's improved but I never had issues with Verizon like that.
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Oh, also the notification screen for emails and chats is far better on my android than on iPhone. For one thing, if I open the app and mark it as unread the notification goes away on android whereas iPhone keeps it up until I clear the notification itself.
I figured out the exact scenario that Android is doing better than Apple.
A notification comes up on my phone for an email, I then go to my email on the computer and read the email. On Android the notification would disappear shortly after. On Apple it doesn't go away until I open mail on the phone itself.
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hmm... just tested it myself on my iPhone. I had a gmail email.. I deleted it on my desktop and the notification immediately disappeared. Maybe it depends on the mail app, but for the gmail app specifically it works exactly as you describe.
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Weird, because I'm using the Gmail app and they are definitely staying up until I open the app on the iPhone.
edit: Right after posting this I went in via web and marked an email as read and over an hour later the notification is still up on the phone.
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If this board ever goes through a slump where nobody's posting please someone just start a thread discussing Android and Apple phones.
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Um, this is a Facebook thread. It's right there in the title.
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Lol... a post about Fruit...
"You know an Apple is a piece of fruit?"
"Did you just say Apple?......."
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Speaking of Apple did you know that python is an awesome language?
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Weird, because I'm using the Gmail app and they are definitely staying up until I open the app on the iPhone.
edit: Right after posting this I went in via web and marked an email as read and over an hour later the notification is still up on the phone.
Weird... it worked perfectly for me.
LOL - nice one hand.
Python sucks.
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Hey, anyone out there still using vim? Emacs is soooo much better, you should give it a try.
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When I'm in a linux console I just use vi but I'm rarely doing much besides editing config files.
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If you're not running Linux as a desktop then you're just a fool.
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Hey, anyone out there still using vim? Emacs is soooo much better, you should give it a try.
Sorry, already got my "vim for life tattoo" and not going through that again. Plus, emacs is only good for perl and who does that anymore?
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Why do people like dark mode so much? I'd say that 90% of sites and applications look like shit in dark mode. And going from dark mode pages to light mode pages and back hurts more than just sticking to light mode.
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I hate light mode. Like... abhor it. I'd take a crappy dark mode site over a light mode site ANY day. So much easier on the eyes.
If you're not running Linux as a desktop then you're just a fool.
I mean... to each their own?
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Do you work in the dark like an idiot or in a properly illuminated room?
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Hey, anyone out there still using vim? Emacs is soooo much better, you should give it a try.
Oh man for my new gig they were showing me around the Mac dev environment and asked me to edit something. I've only worked on Windows for 20 years and I was so lost. I never liked vi when I was in college (I used Joe!) and I'm too old to learn now but the instructions were all using vi so I was screwed.
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Were you able to figure out how to quit?
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Oh man for my new gig they were showing me around the Mac dev environment and asked me to edit something. I've only worked on Windows for 20 years and I was so lost. I never liked vi when I was in college (I used Joe!) and I'm too old to learn now but the instructions were all using vi so I was screwed.
Didn't they have VSCode installed? I mean doesn't everyone have VSCode these days?
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Do you work in the dark like an idiot or in a properly illuminated room?
I work in a properly lighted room (my office) but I prefer it to be on the darker side. I'm not sure why 'working in the dark' makes anyone an idiot, FWIW. When I work at night I don't have any lights on. I'm not sure why that matters when it comes to personal preference?
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Wait are we taking things seriously again? I thought all of this was joke posting about controversial dev things.
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Working in a dark room with a bright screen is really harsh on the eyes and on the depression.
I'd work outside in the full sun if it wasn't for the glare on the screens and you know the weather itself.
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I did just realize that my vim is essentially dark mode since command line stuff has traditionally been with a black/dark background.
But, websites need to get their shit together if they are gonna offer an alternative theme!
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(https://i.redd.it/a5a30k5ld0t71.jpg)
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Oh man for my new gig they were showing me around the Mac dev environment and asked me to edit something. I've only worked on Windows for 20 years and I was so lost. I never liked vi when I was in college (I used Joe!) and I'm too old to learn now but the instructions were all using vi so I was screwed.
Didn't they have VSCode installed? I mean doesn't everyone have VSCode these days?
I installed it myself...
But really they use RubyMine for normal work.
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If you're not running Linux as a desktop then you're just a fool.
Truth