Yeah, that’s why I mentioned having a secondary profile. Some stuff like bank apps you just can’t get away from so a profile with play services running is a workable solution. If you have a pixel phone already, you can give it a shot. One very nice feature of GOS is that it’s super easy to install - and uninstall if it’s not for you.

Like you said, banking apps. The logic behind that is they use google to security check their apps. A random non-bank example would be the slick deals app. Without play services it would just open then crash.

Many apps use play services for their notification system. So for instance, proton mail works fine but notifications do not.

NFC is not supported, so anything that uses that won’t work.

Not an app, but I was surprised that widgets don’t work unless you’re in the primary profile. Technically they work on any profile, but they randomly get deleted, and frequently. It’s a known bug that probably will never get fixed because the source of it comes from stock android.

I will mention that you can have a profile running play services, which gives you access to many apps that wouldnt normally work. And it’s sandboxed so it has less impact on your information (I don’t know all the specifics but it does limit in some way how much it can snoop into the rest of the OS). Then you can also set up granular controls on your apps to limit them from snooping.

Yes, that’s a good example I’ve seen too. So was the 2 not the ground floor?

I guess I’ve also seen places where the terrain is not even, so there are multiple entrances on different levels. I didn’t take notice of what the elevators said though.

I don’t disagree. In fact I agree fully. But when the industry promotes early access games (digital only) and digital day 1 with physical to follow 3 or 6 months later, it is pushing consumers to digital. So its irrelevant if they do or do not have an optical drive on the console.

Hot tip in the US. In an elevator the floor with the star is the ground floor, regardless of what number is present. This helps clarify any confusion between systems and also is clear for locations that have floors below the ground floor (I’ve most commonly seen this with parking structures)

They talked about doing it this way at launch, which they should have. The drive is available as a peripheral, at the cost difference (actually cheaper) of the digital vs disc console. It simplifies manufacturing and distribution, which helps get more consoles on shelves. Now when it doesn’t matter as much, they implement it. Go figure.

As far as killing off physical media, yes it pushes further that way, but honestly the game industry has been not favorable to retail stores for some time. This is the least of the offenses.

Evel. Not Evil.

Thanks for sharing. Great read and points.

The appropriate view of your money is that you should never have to pay for the priveledge to use it. Do not ever use a bank, credit card, or any financial account that you need to pay for. They are making money off of you, which I’m OK with, but I’m sure as hell not going to pay them so they can make money with my money.

As others have said, it’s all about your threat model.

For me, I keep mic and camera off at all times until I need it. Its a slight nuisance, but I’m nearly sure that it covers all the bases.

I could go hardcore and physically disable the mic in my phone, then only use earbuds for my mic. That’s a bit much for me, and maybe my situation is a bit much for you.

I don’t know specifically, but you can look at blocking Steam’s telemetry.

I think you’re looking for an IR blocking solution like this: https://github.com/nickbild/freedom_shield

use Netiquette

Wow, I haven’t heard that in long time.

Boss

Yeah, other than freezing credit, there’s not much you can do. It’s a toothpaste out of the tube scenario. It’s basically too late. The offerings always suck and are basically only there so they can say they’re doing something for you.

Other than that, harden your privacy in general. Yeah, it doesn’t help for breaches like this because you can’t hide from your doctors, but simple things like having an alternate email address makes it a tiny bit better.

Yeah, that’s the one that came up in my initial search. The recommended app Tuner is pretty damn good.

This is my understanding as well. History of the platform skews it left.

But I also don’t think in terms of left and right (though its hard to get away from the terms so widely used). For instance, most people tend to describe the difference in terms of money and profit (capitalism). I look at control and freedom. I don’t want governments controlling what we see, hear, and say. I want us all to control our own lives. Lemmy/Fedi is completely supportive of that concept.

Thanks for the rec. I tried it last night and am very happy with it, better than what I expected.

I actually own a chromatic tuner, and it stays at home with my guitar. Sometimes I’m elsewhere and need a tuner. Which for the record the recommended Tuner app is phenomenal, and very accurate.

Thanks. I wholeheartedly agree. I was just looking for recommendations from the community based on experience.