- That isn't obsessed with being ever thinner and "more beautiful".
- That can have its battery removed easily
- That actually has some sort of sane battery life
- That can have the OS changed *easily*
- That does not spy on you all the time
- That can have the built in cr*apware installed by the manufacturer removed easily
- That has some sort of upgradability
- That can be repaired easily (maybe modular?)
...then it might be worth buying one.
My last new phone was the Samsung galaxy S5. It'll be the last smartphone I buy unless either at least some of the above is addressed. If not I go back to an old "dumbphone".
Our democracy is broken? What democracy? That went out of the window ages ago!
Absolutely it it definately broken. Only snag is though - just how do you change something like the voting system in the UK? There was a referendum a few years back but the main parties simply turned their backs on it. It all ended up being one big non-event, so it got nowhere.
Neither labour nor the tories will ever want to change the voting system because that system is the exact same one which keeps them in power. Unless something really *does* truly change, it is basically turkeys voting for christmas style of effect.
My own personal thoughts on this? Voting numbers keep going down and overall people joining mainstream (i.e. con/lab) political parties isn't going up by any big numbers anytime soon. So prehaps by 2030 as the votes dribble away and older party members die off being replaced by well...nobody either one of these parties (lab/con) dissapear. Maybe by 2030, either labour or conservatives will be dead (the lib dems already are close to this even now).
Another problem over here in the UK is the idea of a safe seat. I have the displeasure of living in a tory safe seat so no matter what I do or which way I vote, my vote counts for absolutely nothing. I'm stuck with a tory who has been here for decades now. Safe seats mean a politician can do basically b****r all and still retain power in their seat.
What's worse is that a lot of people over here in the uk when it comes not just to their own privacy but even just basic run-of-the-mill politics they don't care. In fact they don't even *want* to care which is even worse. Mindless comsuming mouths is all they are; they have seemingly no brain with which to think, but only respond to stimuli when poked and prodded by an advert. They are the first to scream and shout when something enrages them at the drop of a hat, but yet scream louder if they can't see that film or can't buy that expensive car.
Even trying to get people over here (speaking from where I work) to do something as simple as "installing adblock" seems to be met with the sort of looks either akin to the deer trapped in headlights or the "don't talk to me I don't care" look. You get about as far as banging your head against a wall.
*sighs.:-(
At least people in the US actually still seem to care about their privacy and are trying to do *something* about it.
Slashdot Mirror
Agreed on all of that plus a phone .... -
...then it might be worth buying one.
My last new phone was the Samsung galaxy S5. It'll be the last smartphone I buy unless either at least some of the above is addressed. If not I go back to an old "dumbphone".
- That isn't obsessed with being ever thinner and "more beautiful".
- That can have its battery removed easily
- That actually has some sort of sane battery life
- That can have the OS changed *easily*
- That does not spy on you all the time
- That can have the built in cr*apware installed by the manufacturer removed easily
- That has some sort of upgradability
- That can be repaired easily (maybe modular?)
Our democracy is broken? What democracy? That went out of the window ages ago!
:-(
Absolutely it it definately broken. Only snag is though - just how do you change something like the voting system in the UK? There was a referendum a few years back but the main parties simply turned their backs on it. It all ended up being one big non-event, so it got nowhere.
Neither labour nor the tories will ever want to change the voting system because that system is the exact same one which keeps them in power. Unless something really *does* truly change, it is basically turkeys voting for christmas style of effect.
My own personal thoughts on this? Voting numbers keep going down and overall people joining mainstream (i.e. con/lab) political parties isn't going up by any big numbers anytime soon. So prehaps by 2030 as the votes dribble away and older party members die off being replaced by well...nobody either one of these parties (lab/con) dissapear. Maybe by 2030, either labour or conservatives will be dead (the lib dems already are close to this even now).
Another problem over here in the UK is the idea of a safe seat. I have the displeasure of living in a tory safe seat so no matter what I do or which way I vote, my vote counts for absolutely nothing. I'm stuck with a tory who has been here for decades now. Safe seats mean a politician can do basically b****r all and still retain power in their seat.
What's worse is that a lot of people over here in the uk when it comes not just to their own privacy but even just basic run-of-the-mill politics they don't care. In fact they don't even *want* to care which is even worse. Mindless comsuming mouths is all they are; they have seemingly no brain with which to think, but only respond to stimuli when poked and prodded by an advert. They are the first to scream and shout when something enrages them at the drop of a hat, but yet scream louder if they can't see that film or can't buy that expensive car.
Even trying to get people over here (speaking from where I work) to do something as simple as "installing adblock" seems to be met with the sort of looks either akin to the deer trapped in headlights or the "don't talk to me I don't care" look. You get about as far as banging your head against a wall.
*sighs.
At least people in the US actually still seem to care about their privacy and are trying to do *something* about it.