Every time it’s recommended people shit themselves over the .ru domain. I don’t think people realise just how much pirated content comes out of Russia, it’s very normal and nothing to be afraid of.

Sounds like this only fixes the problem on the user’s end. Developers are still getting screwed and many will stop maintaining their apps if they are forced to give their personal information to Google.

Nah, these “hacks” are very easy. Easier than installing and learning even the most basic of Linux distros.

🤡

I love this website, I have been a reader for most of those 20 years. Glad to hear they are keeping it going!

The back kinda looks like the Moondrop phone.

It’s also very locked down (more than Android is currently) so unfortunately I don’t think it will ever be a viable alternative for those desiring an open operating system.

I always forget the story of Luther by the time another entry into the series comes along. I keep thinking it’s done and then they’ll randomly come out with something else.

Paramount+ has all seasons of the French spy thriller The Bureau, which is extremely good.

I don’t recall the show ever explaining how it worked, though.

The Galaxy games are more popular and more recent, so in terms of making money I think it’s a logical next step. I’d love a mystery film set on Isle Delfino, though!

Why is Paramount+ so much more expensive in the US? Do you guys get a lot more content over there? It is fairly bare-bones in Australia (although it does have a lot of live football, which is why I pay for it) but the price gap is still massive:

New US prices (in USD):

The Paramount+ Essential (ad-supported) plan will increase by $1 to $8.99 per month, and the Paramount+ Premium (ad-free) plan will rise by $1 to $13.99 per month. Annual plans will also increase, with the Essential plan moving to $89.99 per year and the Premium plan to $139.99 per year.

New Australian prices (in AUD):

The Basic with Ads plan has gone up from $6.99 to $7.99 per month. The Standard plan has gone up from $10.99 to $12.99 per month, and the Premium 4K plan has gone from $13.99 per month to $17.99 per month.

The Paramount Plus annual plans have increased in price too. Basic with ads has increased from $61.99 to $70.99 per year, Standard from $97.99 to $115.99 per year, and Premium from $124.99 to $159.99 per year.

Location and search history are particularly troubling especially when a user is not even using Google to search.

I dont think that’s what is happening. You said “no precautions”, so they gave you a list of what is collected by default. Google is the default search browser used by the default Google Assistant and the default browser (Chrome, Samsung Internet, etc all use Google Search).

Trinity College in Dublin has done a few studies in this area over the years. Here’s a Forbes article about them (apologies in advance if it is paywalled).

Switching to open source, privacy-respecting apps is the most important part of obtaining privacy on Android and it sounds like you’ve done that. Whether you need to have the absolute highest level of protection against Google is really something only you can determine. For me, “stock” Android with as many FOSS replacements as possible is good enough.

Based on the images it looks really good! My grandpa recently got a new phone and I’ve been wondering whether he should use something like this. He can easily get overwhelmed and lost in the interface, and struggles with misinputs/inputs not registering. Giant, easy to read buttons on the home screen would make it so much easier for him I think.

It’s probably being funded by all the tech bro Tolkien “fans” in Silicon Valley.

Maybe there will be a TV series adaptation if the Harry Potter show performs well.

There is absolutely no way the Coalition is winning the next election. They are basically extinct fron most major cities now and their core voter base is rapidly dying out. The Liberals been bleeding out to female teal independents over climate policy for 2 elections and a big group are STILL trying to kill emissions targets and overthrow their first ever female leader. It really cannot be overstated how fucked that party is, they are absolutely hopeless.

Unfortunately, it seems like Labor sees the Coalition falling apart as its chance to setup decades of dominance as the “sensible centre” party, rather than use the minimum two terms they now have to actually show some centre-left ambition.