Article refrains from drawing conclusions, instead presenting the data. Android is doing better at moving users to newer versions, but the overwhelming majority of users don't have the current Android OS version nor the previous version, combined.

Bullet points stolen from the linked article:

• Code suggests the satellite connectivity feature on Pixel devices could be called “Pixel Satellite SOS.”
• We’ve also found a clue suggesting that the feature will be offered for free for two years, which would match Apple’s current offer on the iPhone 14 and 15 series.

I want to share this post because I was disappointed to see this popular smartphone cracking tool works very well across Android versions and devices while iPhone enjoys relative security.

The graphic also shows premium devices specifically are vulnerable to their tools, so one cannot argue that the problem is funding or cheap devices getting owned because of dumb changes by the vendor -- premium devices fare not much better. Even Google controlling the hardware and the software of their Pixel line remains vulnerable to data extraction while the latest iPhone versions aren’t.

To me, this sounds like the state of Android physical security might be inferior. Why? What can be done to fix this? Perhaps is it because Android is more popular globally so they get more work targeting Android?

It could also be coincidental that at the time the documents leaked, the iPhone stuff was being finished up and there is actually not that much difference if you have an attacker who has lots of time and money.

EDIT: Removed wrong information. EDIT: Added more material for discussion.

So much pony on the canvas! Where are all you guys and gals coming from? MLP has always seemed fairly quiet on the fediverse, but the proof is in the pudding, apparently!

It warms my old, nerdy heart.

After Linux reduced LTS releases from 6 years to 2, Google has committed to supporting its forks for 4 years.

AI-generated Summary:

A new leak suggests the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, featuring an Adreno 830 GPU, will support frame interpolation, allowing games like Genshin Impact to run at 1080p 120 FPS. Frame interpolation, similar to Nvidia's DLSS and AMD's FSR, increases framerates by adding artificial frames but can cause input lag and visual artifacts. This feature might also be available on older Snapdragon models via firmware updates, potentially enabling AAA PC/console games on Android.

My take:

Fascinating that this feature could be supported on mobile, but I'm personally not convinced that there are many mobile gamers pushing the hardware. Most mobile gamers are very casual, and even Apple has trouble getting consumers to take AAA games on mobile seriously.

Google Earth is almost not usable in Firefox. I’d like to ask for suggestions from the community because I really don’t want to use Google Chrome where it works great. I’m on Linux Mint, an Ubuntu derivative.

Points taken from article:

• Android 15 is adding a built-in mechanism to protect your device from “juice jacking” attacks.
• Charging will be allowed when lockdown mode is enabled in Android 15, but USB data access will not.
• Juice jacking is a largely theoretical problem you don’t really need to worry about, but it’s still nice that Android will protect you against it.

I’m not sure if an opinion piece is appropriate here, so please let me know if this doesn’t fit the theme of the community, and I’ll avoid sharing such thoughts in the future.

I’m extremely frustrated with the car centric culture in my area. I live about 25 miles west of a quarry. Every day I watch trains go up and down the railroad mostly carrying gravel. This railroad stretches for several hours by car in each direction, connecting several large cities and even passing a few tourist attractions, and despite our traffic congestion problems there is little interest in trying to use this rail for actual people.

One company moved in and started running a new passenger rail service. Within a few weeks, we had protesters at the railroads complaining that drivers don’t understand railroad crossings. I saw posters about how trains were killing residents when drivers park on the tracks and get hit. I don’t understand! Where do you think the train is going to go? They don’t exactly come out of nowhere. They follow the tracks! And we’ve always had trains passing through our town before. At a later local election a candidate ran on the premise that they’re going to protect home values and our children by reducing or eliminating the number of trains passing through our town. This candidate did win our local election and sadly they succeeded in cutting down on rail investment.

Fast-forward a couple years later. Passenger rail stations were built at the endpoints of this rail to ferry tourists. I drive parallel to this rail on the way to work several times per week for almost 45 minutes each way, 20 minutes of which is heavy traffic. I get to enjoy watching people ride the train while there’s no stop anywhere near my house because our local government has sided with homeowners that a passenger rail station is “simply too dangerous.” I would have to drive over an hour to the nearest passenger rail station to ride the train, and I can literally see the tracks from my apartment.

Every time I see that train I feel bitter. I could save so much money if these boneheads would have let them build a train station in our town. Absolutely ridiculous! The train is there. The rail is there. I don’t understand why a train is such a personal, existential threat to your way of life.

Surprised nobody has posted about the new expedition. I learned about the last one from Lemmy, so I'm returning the favor in case someone else learns about it from me.

Six weeks remaining!

AI Summary:

Google Messages will support texting 911 via RCS starting this winter, offering features like location sharing and read receipts. This upgrade improves emergency texting which is already supported by over half of US dispatch centers. Google collaborates with RapidSOS for enhanced responder info. This announcement precedes Apple's expected RCS support in iOS 18, aiming to broaden RCS adoption.