Does anyone else feel like tech design hasn't progressed much in the past 20 years?
Specs improve and things get faster, but once everything started being a pocket-slab with a large screen it was the end.
Consoles, random gadgets, you name it, different form factors, coloured transparency, buttons!
I dunno, maybe I'm just old.
Amid uncertainties over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, should iPhone users in Japan buy one now? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/04/24/companies/iphone-japan-users-purchase/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #apple #iphones #smartphones #tariffs #us #donaldtrump #china
Android Improves Its Security
Android phones will soon reboot themselves after sitting idle for three days. iPhones have had this feature for a whi... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/04/android-improves-its-security.html
T.J. Thomson
“_The tool uses generative artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse the scene and suggest elements that might be distracting. You can see those highlighted in the screenshot below._
_You can then tap the suggested element to remove it or circle elements to delete them. The device then uses generative AI to try to create a logical replacement based on the surrounding area._”
#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Apple #Photography #Photo #Smartphones #Technology @ai
Some 65% of Japanese students from the 4th to 6th grades are using at least one form of social media in 2024, up from 37% in 2019, a recent survey shows. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/04/14/japan/society/children-smartphone-survey/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #socialmedia #smartphones #nttdocomo #surveys
Deep confusion as Trump signals new tariffs on #smartphones and computers
> #Donald Trump’s tariff war has dived deeper into chaos after a cabinet official telegraphed new levies on #semiconductors – a crucial component in electronic goods – just days after the Trump administration exempted computers and smartphones from reciprocal #tariffs. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/14/trump-news-at-a-glance-deep-confusion-as-trump-signals-new-tariffs-on-smartphones-and-computers #TradeWar
Apple has managed to dodge its biggest crisis since the pandemic — for the moment, at least. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/04/13/tech/apple-tariff-crisis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #tech #apple #tech #smartphones #iphones #donaldtrump #us #tariffs #trade #tradewar #china
#France #children #schools #education #smartphones
'The last decade or so has seen schools and governments alike working on a substantial question: To what degree should students be allowed access to their phones? France has been among those leading the charge, requiring smartphones to be turned off during school hours since 2018. Now, the country is taking things a step further, insisting that students leave their phone in lockers or pouches, The Guardian reports.'
From CNET: President Donald Trump exempted smartphones, computers, and other tech devices and components from his reciprocal tariffs.
"Planning an international trip? Travelers should prepare for the possibility of extra scrutiny of their phones when crossing borders, especially when entering the United States.
The Canadian government warned travelers in a recent travel advisory that U.S. border agents are entitled to search your electronic devices and “don’t need to provide a reason when requesting a password to open your device.”
Some recent cases have made travelers nervous about their privacy, such as when a Brown University professor with a U.S. visa was deported to Lebanon after border agents found a photo of Hezbollah’s leader on her phone.
“While 100% privacy may be impossible in these situations, there are a few things you can easily do that make it much harder for someone to see your private data even with physical access to your device,” said Patricia Egger, head of security at encrypted service Proton Mail.
Here are tips on protecting your device privacy while travelling:"
https://apnews.com/article/internet-privacy-smartphones-travel-e0a3146ae7966ea0e4157dbfae1f6a81
Your Smartphone Can Measure Solar Storms! 
Industry researchers found a way to provide better global coverage of what dynamics are occurring in the turbulent ionosphere - a region of Earth's atmosphere that is affected by the Sun's activity. They did this by tapping into GPS signals transmitted between smartphones and satellites.
Check out my latest #SpaceAustralia article here: https://www.spaceaustralia.com/news/your-smartphone-can-tell-us-about-solar-storms
#China hits back at #US #tariffs w/ #RareEarth export controls
China placed some rare earth elements under export restrictions on Friday as part of its sweeping response to #Trump's tariffs, potentially cutting the US off from critical #minerals vital to everything from #smartphones to electric car #batteries.
#economy #geopolitics #inflation #recession
https://www.reuters.com/world/china-hits-back-us-tariffs-with-rare-earth-export-controls-2025-04-04/
@JessTheUnstill @bohwaz @punkfairie @ajsadauskas @tomiahonen @fuchsiii Exactly...
Coincidentially, that's why #Android (and #iOS) doesn't let users have #root access because billions of devices owned by mostly "#TechIlluterates" thathardly get #SecurityUpdates would be an even bigger risk if they didn't boot a locked-down #ROM image, thus only allowing for #malware in user-privilegued userspace!
Cuz having a mobile OS that shoves everything through #Tor and only allows #userspace-Apps in the form modern web technologies would be a big #security and #privacy gain.
@JessTheUnstill One of the big fuckups for BlackBerry was just the delays in getting BlackBerry 10, plus the Z10 and Q10, to market.
I got to use BB10 for a couple of months, and it was nice. It was built on QNX, with a modern swipe/gesture based UI built with Qt.
Arguably a better OS than the iOS and Android releases at that same time.
There was a feature called the Hub, which wax a unified inbox for your email messages, social posts, and text messages. Plus a modern app store, and separate personal/work profiles built into the OS.
There was a version without a physical keyboard (Z10) and with (Q10).
The problem is they didn't start working on it until 2010, and BB10 wasn't released until 2013.
For about two years before BB10 came out, BlackBerry didn't release any new phones.
Had BB10 come out earlier, it *might* have saved the company.
@harriorrihar I'd need to know what you mean by "harmful to #society", #drugs, and #smartphones.
Also, drugs have been around for much, much longer, and smartphones are small #computers invented less then 75 years ago ~
Saarland verbietet Handys und Smartwatches an Grundschulen
Handys und Smartwatches sind an saarländischen Grundschulen bald flächendeckend verboten. Bildungsministerin Streichert-Clivot will eine entsprechende Regelung auf den Weg bringen.
Netflix Adolescence reveals a terrifying truth: smartphones are poison for boys’ minds
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/23/adolescence-reveals-a-terrifying-truth-smartphones-are-poison-for-boys-minds
**Is Google Maps brainwashing us? It might be if the theory of ‘extended cognition’ is correct**
Susan Dieleman
_“In an era when technology companies compete for increasing shares of our attention, and therefore of our cognitive processes, it becomes increasingly difficult, but also urgently important, to be aware of whether we are being persuaded or brainwashed, and what we are being persuaded or brainwashed to believe.”_
@arstechnica - the Pixel line's most appealing feature is certainly not surveillance tech like Gemini, but rather that you can flash a variety of privacy respecting Android ROMs over what Google ships.
#google #privacy #calyxos #grapheneos #eos #iode #pixel #smartphones #android
