AOC speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention

My old $200 Motorola G9 Power phone lasted almost 4 years with only very minor scratches. Obviously in that period I have dropped it a few times getting out of the car, where the phone sometimes work itself out of my pant pocket while I drive, and then it slips out when I get out of the car. But no problem on my previous phones, despite the Moto had cheap Panda glass front.

Then I bought my $800 glass back Xiaomi 13T Pro in January, and I loved the phone for the camera and good specs. But alas after only 4 months, and single drop of just 30 cm while sitting on the porch, the glass back immediately cracked! The back now looks like an ugly mess, and the high water resistance is very likely gone too.

For sure the last time I buy a phone with a glass back!!!

I wonder why glass back is so popular, and I curse the media for reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S2 as "feeling a bit cheap", because the back was synthetic, and drop tests showed it was 10 times as durable as the iPhone with its glass back.

Samsung did it right in the beginning, glass backs are a curse.

PS: I don't use condoms for my phones, if they need that for daily use, it's an obvious design flaw!!!

The glass back is supposedly there to give a premium feel to the phone. But because it's fragile, people have to use a cover, but with the cover, the premium feel of a glass back is gone anyways?
How is glass back not a design flaw?

EDIT FOR CLARIFICATION:

I am not clumsy, that's why I believe the phone should be able to last without cover. This was the first time the phone slid out of my packet, and I've NEVER dropped it out of my hands. One 30 cm slip and it's broken. Where for instance my Moto had maybe 4-6 in all over the years, and remained unscathed, apart from some tiny scratches.
The sliding out of pocket does occur maybe a couple of times per year, but it's a low drop, and the phone should absolutely be able to handle that tiny drop, as it's an item for everyday use.
I've also never had problems with scratches on my screen on any phone, which is the reason people use screen protectors I guess, which I don't either, because they are ugly, for instance they create a tiny ring around the camera, and they feel awful IMO, my phone came with it, and it took exactly 10 seconds for me to decide to remove it, because I could feel the edge of the screen protector when using the phone.
But please stop with the dropping my phone regularly comments! Just because I dropped my Moto a few times (slid out of pocket) over almost 4 years! Always from low height, which it should be able to handle a few times.

It used to be very convenient that when searching for something that had a geographic location, Google searches used to show a small map which linked to Google maps when pressed.
Now all I get i a tiny useless map, that doesn't have any of the feature of Google maps, and often I don't even get that.
Anyone know why that is? And if there is a fix?
I use Firefox, but I'm guessing it's independent of browser, unless Google is up to their shenanigans again.
I've added Google maps as search option, which luckily is dead easy in Firefox to do. At the same time I added Open Street Map, to minimize Google map use to maybe show them they are losing traffic.

EDIT:

I think this is the reason as u/garrett@lemm.ee writes:

If you’re in Europe, it may be due to the DMA.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2024/03/06/digital-markets-act-how-the-way-you-use-google-maps-and-messenger-is-changing_6591969_13.html

You may also have noticed something new on Google, when looking for the address of a place: It’s now impossible to click on the map that appears in your search results.

Google is one of the “gatekeepers” according to the DMA (Digital Markets Act). The law recently went into effect. It is supposed to lessen the amount of preferential treatment the big tech companies give themselves.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Markets_Act

https://www.youtube.com/@Thunderf00t

I considered hard weather this really belongs in Technology, but came to the conclusion that exposing a scammer that is considered a tech genius, does belong here. Because debunking a technology company is as important as showing it, when it's considered valid.

That said, I believe most people here are already aware that Musk is not to be trusted blindly. But just how bad it really is, may be news to some.

Hi I had an App previously, that was just called Write for simple note taking, where you could take a picture, and make simple edits, like using a simulated marker to highlight.
I used it for the very simple task, of taking a picture of our shopping list, and then striking things I've purchased, which IMO can be very helpful when you have big shoppinglists, which we tend to have.😋
In principle the standard photo edit on my phone can do it, but it's not very good at it, because it's clumsy to resize and navigate the list.
Obviously I prefer an app that is free and without advertising.
Maybe others will find this helpful too?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdI1tsnlRoI

• Screen HDR10 Amoled has an insane 2600 nits!
• The screen is FLAT (Thank you Xiaome) 👍
• Cameras are amazing (Video slowmotion at 720p 960fps) 😋
• IP68 dust/water resistant
• 120 Watt Charger
• Mediatek Dimensity 9200+ (Claimed to beat Snapdragon 8 Gen 2)
• 4 generations up to Android 17 Android upgrades and 5 year security support

Obviously It has all the expected sensors and features.

The corners that were cut to get the price down are pretty few IMO:

• Gorilla Glass 5 instead of Victus.
• Plastic instead of Alu edge.
• No Wireless charging

Here (Denmark) the Xiaome 13T Pro is cheaper than One Plus 11, and it beats it in every aspect. It's almost (but not quite) as good as the Samsung S23 Ultra. To me this seems by far the best option in the price range.

The non pro is $100 cheaper, and you get a slightly less powerful SOC, 67 Watt charger instead of 120, less RAM/Storage, although there are ranges for both.

Edit PS 09. Oct. 2023

Just ordered the pro version with 12 GB Ram and 512 MB storage for € 669,- including tax or USD 565,- excluding tax.

I was waiting for our Solar panels to go online, and that was finally finished today.

I originally planned to buy the One Plus 11, but the curved screen and opposing power/volume buttons turned me away from that.

I'm extremely excited as my current phone is a very cheap older budget phone (Moto G9 power). It has served me surprisingly well, considering it was sub $200 including tax.