Android's Descent
My phone is a Google Pixel 4a with Android 11. I use True Phone (app) because it lets me look at contacts by group. Android Phone (Google's phone app) gives you one long list of contacts, with annoying icons beside the names. But Verizon Visual Voicemail is only available via Android Phone, so I use that when I have voicemail. (Visual voicemail automatically downloads voicemails so that you don't have to dial in to get them.)
This morning I checked Android Phone for messages. This is new - Android Phone will not start unless it is the default phone app. So I made it the default. And I tried to use True Phone. This is new - True Phone will not start unless it is the default phone app. So I turned off Verizon Visual Voicemail and removed Android Phone. But now I don't get notifications when I have new (regular/dial in) voicemail.
I suspect that this is due to Google's push for privacy, requiring excessive permissions for apps to access important information on a phone. Starting with Android 11 (I think), if I write an app that puts information in a "public" folder, I can't get permission to even look at it. GOOGLE - THERE IS A REASON THAT I PUT IT IN A PUBLIC FOLDER. Ultimate privacy will be achieved when the phone can't do anything.
GOOGLE - MY PHONE'S PRIMARY FUNCTION IS NOT WORKING.
I use Google's Gmail app for email on my phone. For a couple of months now, it crashes a couple of times every day. To get it going, I have to force it to stop and restart it. This is Google's email app. Has Android become so complex that its caretaker can't write working apps for it?
Android is descending into garbage. From Feb 2018 - I suggest another "law" related to computers (including phones, probably tablets but I have found no use for tablets), along the line of Moore's law about computer processing power. Every year, consumer operating systems add features and bugs/incompatibilities at about the same rate. This makes them less and less useful. Eventually they will all degrade to the point of being unable to handle basic features - screen, phone, internet. Then it's back to dedicated devices - flip phone, calculator, music player, ...
Additional Thought 1
I went to Verizon's web page to turn off Visual Voicemail. Couldn't find a way, so I tried Help. It had nice instructions, until it told me to click "Remove from Account" in the top-right corner. This did not exist. WHEN YOU CHANGE YOUR USER INTERFACE, YOU NEED TO UPDATE THE DOCUMENTATION. Or better, DON'T CHANGE YOUR USER INTERFACE UNLESS IT IS NECESSARY.
Additional Thought 2
I didn't see the details of Joe Biden's 16 areas where Russian hacking of US computers was not acceptable. Is it is okay to hack other stuff? Why don't we have hack proof computers? Why don't computers have a watchdog chip or some hard switches that prevent complete encrypting or erasing of the disc? The answer, apparently, is that switching to round corners on Windows 11 is more important to Microsoft than preventing ransomware. Why don't we have a national cyber force? Isn't that at least as important as a space force?
Additional Thought 3
Using Android and watching iPhone to decide if it is an acceptable alternative started me thinking about duopolies versus monopolies. Is a duopoly any better than a monopoly? We have Republican/Democrat, iOS/Android, Windows/Mac. They all seem to focus on features that attract customers, not core function. Why is Windows concerned about whether version 11 should have rounded window corners when ransomware attacks are causing major headaches for the whole country? Why is Google spending time refreshing the look of Android 12 when core applications aren't working correctly? With monopolies, there is little incentive to improve, but also no incentive to chase bling.
Does having multiple companies in a market help? Not when I was buying a sofa - they all made the same thing. Not when I try to find running shoes that don't change every year. Not when I try to choose a Linux desktop that does what I want.
This has been a frustrating day.
