Surprise !  More features (smart phone),  Lacking Explanation - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2025, 09:14:43 pm
content: Advent of the newer electronics and Social media includes some new grey areas, between customer and producers.I know for sure, I own my phone and, pushing this into LEGAL territory as things start looking like a cellphone LEASE, with customer allowed to use features.That starts to suck (a consumer term) as, especially when a new feature has complicated interface details. New feature often very well might be nice, but DOWNLOADING regular updates can be beyond just irritating !Today is no exception, as all I did (different) was plug in my headphones. Next thing, Google wants to lay out a full screen worth of object picture icons, around the features.Ok, then describe the (new) stuff, so we can use the 'feature' just dropped in our laps.Instead, the customer has to fend for them selves, on the 'feature' and requirements.Common sense might dictate the response:Coding errors might be corrected by downloads, of versions with the specific BUG fixed.A feature download, under common sense, would generally be accompanied by a revised instruction sheet. Instead, we get a 'feature', that sometimes is crucial, and silence.By 'silence' I'm meaning that, often, there isn't even any notification that the changes occured.Very unprofessional.A business is not intended to be an advisary or competitor rushing to defend their bad behavior and lock-out those who aren't too pleased.Old-school, the customer was always right, (not literally).Instead, this looks like a device that's legally under Lease and contract. Meaning that the functional control is denied to the customer.Pretend ownership, but no announcement of changes, downloaded in 'updates',.likely proprietary anyway.At any rate, picture shows what I assume is a screen ICON, indicating that some sort of 'blob' shaped thingy, attached to some other 'blob' is for me to understand. ?My guess being that the ICON indicates that some headphone is involved. Plus then a full screen of unfamiliar stuff, that I suppose is the explanation of the new feature 'SPRUNG' on the unsuspecting user / customer.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2025, 09:23:44 pm
content: Jesus Christ, Rick, could you make your posts any more convoluted, abstruse and impossible to understand, or your pictures any crappier?In any case, if what you're asking about is that thing with two circles connected by a line on the bottom, I think that's an icon for a recording of some kind (like a recorded phone message). Is that what you're referring to here?Unless you're talking about the "blob" next to it with the 4 circles of different sizes. I have no idea what that might be.

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2025, 10:41:01 pm
content: It's STILL, good to read a response.Many readers just shrugg, and perhaps utilize the 'BLOCK SENDER', in addition to skipping the reading part.Goddamit AnalogKid: You always come looking for, uh, Quality Control, and not just with my own postings. Easy to avoid my train wreck...Don't walk in my tracks.That dynamic has been happening for years.You do seem, respectfully, to be all over and constantly getting into other members shit.Maybe, you could gather up the worst ten member's difficult posts, taking off their name, of course, and produce a humorous thread, on how they should do the wordinpg, pictures, etc.I've been living below the official poverty levels, going on 38 years, with expected items like old clothing, etc. Right now, I'm hitting you up, then, to send me a nice, Apple iPhone ! (joke, partially).Heck, even my (old) SHOE is, right now, poking me, skin. Donations ? I only need just the one, left side please.But overall, I'm happy, to a degree, and that is the central issue....Kid, honestly I cannot recall anything electronics related that you've even posted, especially lately. Criticism is OK, though, so you shouldn't worry about that.I'm confident enough to hear the critical points,...it's just always the same peopleIt seems.- - Rick-JackPs: Did I mention, that My Own Dog Bit Me !you may get a chucklel

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2025, 11:17:19 pm
content: So which blob-thingie in that pic are you talking about?

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2025, 11:56:37 pm
content: It seems to look, a fair bit like the LTE icon (AT & T):https://www.att.com/device-support/article/wireless/KM1350902/ATT/ATTMC800Because the basic shape of all the blogs and bits, seem rather similar.

author: abeyer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2025, 05:47:29 am
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on March 28, 2025, 09:23:44 pmhttps://assistant.google.com/

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2025, 08:35:46 am
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on March 28, 2025, 09:23:44 pmYou took the words from my mouth! It is incredibly rude and disrespectful to other forum members to make not even the slightest effort to express yourself clearly.@RJSV: You clearly think you are a "character" and "interesting" and "different", and therefore can indulge yourself in this utter drivel and we will all smile indulgently, but the truth is that you are nothing like that and if you had any regard at all for your fellow forum members you would show them the courtesy of expressing yourself clearly.This forum is not a personal blog for you to dump whatever bullshit has just entered your head. It is Dave's forum, the purpose of which is clear, so show a bit of respect and stop abusing Dave's hospitality. If you want your own drivel-blog, then go away and set one up, but this place is definitely not it.

author: ebingaming
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 29, 2025, 09:05:08 am
content: Logo on the left means "Google Assistant", you have it activated. ProbablyLogo on the right means you have a new voicemail.(Original logos attached for reference)

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2025, 07:02:47 pm
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on March 29, 2025, 08:35:46 amWellll, in fairness I do try to cut the guy some slack. This isn't the Harvard or Yale (or Cambridge) debating club, after all; I think we all can stand to tolerate a certain level of messiness--or even a bit of madness--here every now and then.Yes, RJSV's postings can be a bit annoying, but I'm certainly not calling for a ban or any other kind of heavy-handed repression on him. Now and then he posts some interesting things.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2025, 09:40:14 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on March 29, 2025, 07:02:47 pmI'm not advocating a ban at all. I'm asking him to show the rest of us a little courtesy. It's just a request.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2025, 11:28:49 pm
content: The bottom line is that smartphones do suddenly pop up "features" which the user hasn't requested.Just this morning, I walked into the lounge room, where SWMBO was watching a church service on TV.The Reverend gentleman on the screen mentioned "St Paul's Letter to the Corinthians".The phone interpreted this as a request for information on that subject & loudly started spouting unrequested information on the Good Saint.I immediately shut it up, & it didn't really matter, but in a real church service it could have been intensely annoying to the other churchgoers.The point was that at no time did I request this service to be made available.If I had been walking in a crowd, stubbed my toe & said "bugger!", would my smartphone then shout loudly the definition & history of buggery?

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2025, 12:34:56 am
content: Thank you for that, because, as you likely know, it's the surprise or mis-typed words, that can really be funny. In this case it is humorous outcomes that naturally are funny, without some (comedy writer).Funny and IRK'ing, like a non-injureos SLIP, in the mud, lol.Rick (Bastian)