SIGforum
Despite everything, I've ended up with an iPhone

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/5380066094

March 26, 2022, 10:37 PM
ensigmatic
Despite everything, I've ended up with an iPhone
quote:
Originally posted by 220-9er:
Get the Dark Sky app. The best weather, no ads and very local. Loads quick due to no other crap. One time purchase of 4 or 5 bucks.
I recently stopped using Dark Sky. I got fed up with it. Its forecasts were more often wrong than right, their temperature often disagreed with our local thermometer and other, nearby sites, and the radar was wonky as all get out.

I'm now using the paid version of AccuWeather.

The only thing I miss is the "rain starting soon" thing, but that's become far less dependable ever since they dropped the Android platform, anyway, so not as much a loss as it once would have been.

One funny thing: I also miss the morning forecast showing up on my watch, despite the fact it was more often wrong than it was right

quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
Well, I don't answer any calls from callers I do not recognize.
I have Settings -> Phone -> Silence Unknown Callers enabled.

T-Mobile offers two spam/scam call features. One alerts you to possible spam/scam calls. The other one blocks them silently. I have the latter enabled.



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
March 26, 2022, 10:56 PM
V-Tail
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:

Well, I don't answer any calls from callers I do not recognize. Almost all of those people/places/organizations are in my contacts.

So, maybe I don't really need it.
Heck, looks like it's free, so try it. Easy enough to dump it if it doesn't do anything for you.



הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים
March 26, 2022, 11:05 PM
mcrimm
Now pick up an Apple Watch. Magic on your wrist.



I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown
...................................
When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham
March 26, 2022, 11:14 PM
parabellum
Yeah, I'll pass
March 26, 2022, 11:27 PM
CPD SIG
Take a look at the LIFEPROOF cases,
It's saved my phone countless times.


______________________________________________________________________
"When its time to shoot, shoot. Dont talk!"

“What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It’s not good at much else.” —Author Tom Clancy
March 27, 2022, 12:31 AM
XLT
you will buy a iphone. punch card at starbucks is in your future. Big Grin
March 27, 2022, 01:53 AM
Xer0
Scamshield is OK for what it is; a "free" app that "kinda" screens calls, that doesn't mess up the phone's with slowdowns or other weird behavior. It basically uses a database of historical data info to block out known scam numbers. It also uses algorithms and such to determine the likelyhood of new scams based on the information t-mobile has. So for example, If you live in the US, any calls you get with other country codes or even out of state area codes are going to be flagged as likely scams and tell you. Not much different than if you look at the call coming in and note it's a weird number, but it does it automatically, which while not much help for people like you who don't answer unknown calls, helps the more susceptible (AKA stupid) people.

It's free and doesn't cause any OS problems or slowdowns at least, but it doesn't do much for those autodialer calls that use legitimate local numbers to tell you that your car's warranty is about to expire. It basically wouldn't hurt someone with your (good) call paranoia, but probably won't help either. It's better for grandma who answers every call and believes everyone who talks to her.

I have it installed and turned on, but it doesn't do much more than remind me my own call paranoia is legitimate!
March 27, 2022, 02:50 AM
sigalert
quote:
Originally posted by ensigmatic:
quote:
Originally posted by 220-9er:
Get the Dark Sky app. The best weather, no ads and very local. Loads quick due to no other crap. One time purchase of 4 or 5 bucks.
I recently stopped using Dark Sky. I got fed up with it. Its forecasts were more often wrong than right, their temperature often disagreed with our local thermometer and other, nearby sites, and the radar was wonky as all get out.

I'm now using the paid version of AccuWeather.

The only thing I miss is the "rain starting soon" thing, but that's become far less dependable ever since they dropped the Android platform, anyway, so not as much a loss as it once would have been.

One funny thing: I also miss the morning forecast showing up on my watch, despite the fact it was more often wrong than it was right



Apple bought Dark Sky.





“Crisis is the rallying cry of the tyrant.” – James Madison

"Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others." - Robert Louis Stevenson
March 27, 2022, 02:51 AM
Chowser
I was also against iPhones from the beginning. My first smartphone was the Samsung Galaxy. Kept with android for a while after but ended up switching when the iPhone 4S came out.
I ventured back into Android once with the OnePlus but pretty much stayed with iPhone afterwards.

It works easier since almost everyone I communicate with is on iPhone and iMessage is so much better than sms.



Not minority enough!
March 27, 2022, 05:50 AM
henryaz
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
Well, I don't answer any calls from callers I do not recognize. Almost all of those people/places/organizations are in my contacts.

So, maybe I don't really need it.

The nice thing about the "Silence Unknown Callers" setting is that if they are not in your Contacts, you never even hear it ring. They get dumped straight to voicemail.



When in doubt, mumble
March 27, 2022, 08:01 AM
r0gue
They make good stuff. Rock solid hardware. Their marketing is silly, and they really should have better software given that they have more money than god. example: parental controls are unacceptably poor in my opinion.

That said, I'm all for my family. Six iPhones, Five MacBooks. Ugh...($)

We use AT&T but I've heard nothing but raves for the modern T-Mobile. If they had a good deal on a six-person family plan, I'd probably switch.




March 27, 2022, 08:24 AM
ensigmatic
quote:
Originally posted by sigalert:
Apple bought Dark Sky.
Yes, I know. And the main change as a result of that? Less reliable notifications of incoming weather. That's it.



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
March 27, 2022, 08:42 AM
Beancooker
Para, you might look into AppleCare. I shell out $12 a month and it has been well worth it. A couple days into my new phone and the screen cracked. New phone arrived the next day, swapped the SIM card and restored from backup. I was back in business.

I don’t like bulky cases so I chose Tech21. They are smooth plastic (not silicone) so it doesn’t yard sale your pocket when you pull your phone out.

I don’t use screen protectors as they mess up the tactile feel of the glass. You also have the 13, so it should be pretty durable as it has the next generation of some kind of special glass.

One could, with AppleCare ditch the cases all together, and just swap the phone out when it breaks. That was my plan, but since my phone only made it two days before breaking, I went with the Tech21 case.

Welcome to the world of Apple. It’s not too terrible. Now you just need an iPad for your web surfing. Smile



quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey:
I'd fly to Turks and Caicos with live ammo falling out of my pockets before getting within spitting distance of NJ with a firearm.
March 27, 2022, 09:09 AM
NavyGuy
Another thing to consider is extra iCloud storage. You get 5GB free and can add extra. 50GB is $.99 a month, or $12~ a year. 50GB will back up and hold a lot of pictures plus your complete phone backup. I've got close to 1000 pictures backed up plus the phone back up and a few documents. I've still got 40GB free.



Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves.

-D.H. Lawrence
March 27, 2022, 09:14 AM
SIGnified
quote:
Originally posted by NavyGuy:
Another thing to consider is extra iCloud storage. You get 5GB free and can add extra. 50GB is $.99 a month, or $12~ a year. 50GB will back up and hold a lot of pictures plus your complete phone backup. I've got close to 1000 pictures backed up plus the phone back up and a few documents. I've still got 40GB free.


^^^ this - no brainer





"Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty."
~Robert A. Heinlein
March 27, 2022, 09:52 AM
parabellum
quote:
Originally posted by CPD SIG:
Take a look at the LIFEPROOF cases,
Ninety dollars for a phone case?
quote:
Originally posted by NavyGuy:
Another thing to consider is extra iCloud storage. You get 5GB free and can add extra. 50GB is $.99 a month, or $12~ a year.
Sounds like a great value, if you need that much storage space, which I do not.

As for "Silence Unknown Callers", thanks, I just enabled that.

So, on my Android, if I had someone marked as a favorite in my Contacts, the phone would announce "Incoming call from (name)" or "New text message from (name)". I used this mainly to know if my wife was calling or texting. I see an 'announcements' option on the iPhone, but can it be configured as I've described?
March 27, 2022, 10:03 AM
sigarms229
As much as I don't like Apple as a company, it is a superior product.

I used Androids for years but after my daughter and wife went iphone, I figured I'd give it a shot. Glad I did as it is the better platform in my opinion.

Good luck with your new phones!



Sometimes, you gotta roll the hard six
March 27, 2022, 10:06 AM
parabellum
What is this "Wallet" stuff?

Much of the stuff I'm opening up on this device says "First month free!" or "Only 2.99 per month". Yeah, ain't happenin'. Removed.

"Apple News"? Yeah, no bias there, I imagine. Roll Eyes
March 27, 2022, 10:14 AM
stickman428
The life proof case really does protect your phone quite well from not only water but also dust and impact from drops/impact and whatever else you toss at it.

Yes it is expensive but in my experience it’s worth it. I am not easy on my phones.

The iPhone can take a tremendous a lot of abuse. The life proof case just helps further protect and already robust design.

The dust protection is great since you don’t have to worry about pocket lint and dust/dirt eventually clogging your charging port. Many people think their charging port has failed but most of the time it just needs to be cleaned.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The price of liberty and even of common humanity is eternal vigilance
March 27, 2022, 10:15 AM
parabellum
For that price, it should come with a handjob.

No headphone jack. I'm certain that was done for enhancing the water resistance of the device, and not so Apple could sell me Bluetooth ear buds.