Another lost sheep welcomed to the fold…
The Spiral Discussion. STATUS: Attention Homeschooled - A poll/survey for you!
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Yes, welcome home Mason.
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Ooh, when are you gonna read it to me Daddy? 
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Read it to yourself son! You should be old enough to read by now… son…
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That new title. Seriously?
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Of course
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Now we just need Michael to repent and realize that melodic and single string banjo sounds great.
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I said it sounds great in its own right, but it should be used sparingly and not at the cost of traditional Scruggs-style driving playing, which is superior in the bluegrass context.
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For backup, I agree. But I think it really spices up a solo.
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The reason I video myself so often is because I’m trying to grow my YouTube channel into a source of income eventually, and posting frequently is essential to that. It’s fun too though.
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And then once you get income from it you can get lessons with Jake! …I’m taking Libby’s place!
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Yes, you sure are…
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And now, at the (sort of) request of Michael Mark:
Apple vs. Android
Apple
Apple has some pros, no doubt, but it also has its cons. My personal opinion of Apple is rather low due to these cons. What, you ask, are they? Read on:
Apple has a long history against repairability. Its recent phones have all scored only 6 out of 10 on iFixit. Although it has recently launched a self-repair service, this service is sub-par: it requires you to purchase parts by registering your phone’s serial number. Furthermore, Apple devices will not work with third-party replacement parts. (See here for a good read on the flaws of Apple’s repair program.)
Apple is also against allowing users to do what they want with their phones. This is most evident in the Apple monopoly on app stores. Apple won’t let users install apps from any source other than the app store. This means that Apple is the sole regulator of what apps you may or may not use.
On the topic of app stores, Apple has a suffocating developer policy. App developers must pay Apple $100 per year if they want to upload apps to the app store. On the other hand, the Google Play store only charges Android developers with a one-time $25 fee. I’m not against requiring a registration fee to prevent spam accounts, but I don’t agree with having an expensive yearly fee: it means that whatever desire I may have had to create apps for iPhones is gone because I don’t want to shell out $100 every year to put up an app that I won’t make any money from.
Android
So is Android the answer? At one point, I would have said “yes.” However, I’m concerned about Android as well:
Although Android is supposed to be manufacturer-agnostic, it seems to me that Samsung is (a) becoming synonymous with Android (e.g. people may say “Do you use Apple or Samsung?” instead of “Apple or Android?”) and (b) starting to really push people to use its own apps, app store, and other services in an apparent bid to become the Apple of the Android world.
I don’t trust anything that Google has control of anymore. It was recently revealed that Google’s default apps for calling and texting have been surreptitiously tracking users without permission. That pushed me to the breaking point: I don’t trust any code that comes from a known tracking organization that I can’t personally vet to make sure that it isn’t tracking me.
So what’s the best option for phones?
Linux
I don’t expect any of you to charge out and buy a Linux-powered phone, but I highly recommend that you watch the Linux area, especially in about five years. Linux phones are currently aimed mostly at computer geeks like me, but I don’t think it will be long until they become ready for mass adoption.
Why use Linux?
Linux can be verified to not spy on you. Linux is designed to allow anybody to run their own app store. Linux lets you do what you want with your phone. Most of the (few) available Linux phones out there have some sort of repairability capability. In short, Linux easily addresses the flaws of both Android and iOS/Apple. As an added bonus, it adds in support for some Android apps through software like Waydroid.
So, when I find myself in the market for a new phone, I’m planning to take the plunge to use Linux instead of Android. Again, it’s not for everybody right now, but I can handle the current state of things.
End
P.S. If you force me, I’ll say that you should take Android over Apple, any day.
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Fully in agreement on right to repair, though my main reasons for going with iOS over Android are the somewhat higher privacy, seamlessness with my Mac (I can send people text messages from my Mac, without dealing with a little phone keyboard) and simplicity in the interface. Plus I’m not a fan of big phones, and the 13 Mini is a compact powerhouse. And let’s face it, the camera systems in Apple phones are bombing the competitors right now.
The point about app developers is irrelevant to me and most users though, since most of us are never gonna make an app.
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For Android: https://kdeconnect.kde.org
I understand completely. However, it might have a larger effect on you than you think: if developers are scared away from iOS due to the App Store payments, you won’t have as many nice apps to use, which may or may not affect you.
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A common sense question… How different a verifying authority from a corporation? Both requires trust, don’t you think? At least with a corporation, the responsibility is on them as opposed to the responsibility on you when you use someone to verify on your behalf.
(Btw, the spies spy on you anyway! That’s why I consider today’s spy agencies stupid agencies, and not intelligent agencies. Because they collect data (which is mostly illegal btw) and then they sift through the data. They don’t deduce anything to be considered brilliant work.)
I’ve actually heard that Apple purposely makes their phones so they’ll break within a year or two and you have to buy a new one, so they’ll make more money. It seems far fetched, but I don’t doubt it. People are very dishonest nowadays. That was certainly the case with my family and we’ve been fine since we all switched to Android. iPhones would literally just stop working out of nowhere after about two years.
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I have had iphone 5 for about 10 years, no issues, except that battery goes down too soon (due to spying activity maybe!). but then they push version upgrade that you would not have storage capacity to do it that you are forced to purchase a new version. I never cared upgrade, now they gave me a iphone 12 se for free to be able to use with 5G network.
Yes unbelievably so.
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One seriously creepy thing is that some smartphones listen to you. Once my mom mentioned Bindi Irwin. She goes on Instagram, and it’s recommending Bindi Irwin stuff. My dad said something about bagpipes once. He goes on YouTube and it recommends bagpipe stuff. It makes me think that these companies could be tracking our every move.
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