You're correct on all counts, but you're also not a typical desktop user, you're definitely a professional or power user with specific needs.

The average user needs the ability to use a web browser and that's honestly about it. That's why Chromebooks are so popular with schools. A basic Linux desktop is quite capable for a standard user.

For the things yoi need you're correct that it's not 1:1 and you'd need to move to open source alternatives or tinker with VMs/WINE to get those apps working and it would be a chore.

Yeah that doesn't sound typical, but you're right if you've got those going on OpenSUSE then I don't think you're missing anything major. If Fedora ever gives me trouble I might give that a try. I just wasn't interested in PopOS or Mint as a lot of other people were because I want those latest core components and don't really like GNOME.

Not knocking your choice, OpenSUSE is a grand daddy OS, but if others are looking for a good KDE experience I find Fedora KDE Spin, which is not anweird fork yoi can get it from Red Hat themselves, is very good and come out of the box with all the latest and greatest like Wayland and Pipewire by default.

I expect to see this soon as a way of combatting people who join one for a month or two, binge, then switch to another provider.

It might not come in the form of contracts at first, maybe they will just jack up the price of month to month high enough that people will voluntarily buy into a contract or yearly pre-purchase.

Trust me, there is always a way to make more money if you're OK with being anti-consumer. It's just a matter of time.

Kind of. From what I've heard each network will alert you if it always sees the same tracker from the other network, as a precaution against unwanted tracking / stalking. I don't believe it goes further than that though, as in the networks won't report back all the tags they see on a daily basis to help with location.

Any tag following you = alert

Tag from the other network seen = nothing

Android users literally run their lives out of Google Calendar. Think you can share your calendar with a friend from your phone? Think again. It's back to the 10 year old desktop interface for you!

Oh you're not at home at your computer, well, try using the desktop version of Google Calandar on your phone's browser. I dare you.

Because the winds are blowing in his favour. Xi (and the rest of the world) have watched Russia take land with little repercussion. The reaction to the invasion of Crimea was mild and allowed for the full on invasion years later. The rules have changed and now leaders are seeing that taking land, which used to be seen as a relic of the past, is back on the menu.

The US and a lot of the west is afraid to get involved and do what needs to be done to stop Putin, and Xi knows that if he waits for the perfect moment Taiwan will be his.

The US is building domestic chip manufacturing in case they lose TSMC, and once it's operational one of the main reasons they consider Taiwan an asset will be gone. Xi likely is hoping the war in Ukraine and Israel will continue and "news fatigue" will render people uninterested in a new conflict. I'm not sure what the final nail will be that makes him move, but a controllable president like Trump getting in is a good bet.

A 100MB file transfer over MMS? I'm not saying you're lying, but recognize that is highly abnormal and most carriers aren't going to support anything near that high. 100MB would be a huge upgrade for most people over MMS.

It's ridiculous that Google has disabled this feature. Even if we assumr it's in preparation for desktop mode, that's still unacceptable. Mirroring is a perfectly valid feature in its own right and it shouldn't be held back by Google's "plans".

It's crazy that my old Android phones from a decade ago could do this and the latest pixel cannot. We have been bleeding hardware features for years.

I don't know what you're talking about. Signal does not use RCS and it is open source.

Honestly? Really disappointed. Once again Google has done a decent job on the software and AI side and totally phoned it in on the hardware.

There is nothing interesting at all happening on the hardware side. Identical design, no increase in storage or ram, no maglock Qi2 charging, STILL no DP-Alt for display out so no Dex like feature, I could go on. To do such a minimal refresh then have the gall to charge $150 CAD more than last year while locking extra features behind the Pro model?

I struggle to see how this could be considered a good launch. They are trying to command premium prices based on software improvements alone, but with mediocre hardware that will never work. Pixel phones do not hold their value for this reason, and the price will fall with the 8a comes out and has all the identical software features at a fraction of the price.

I will give koodos on the one big thing though, and that's the 7 years of OS updates. That really makes it hard to consider buying a 7 or 7a when the 8 comes with support like that. It will be very interesting to see if the 8a has the same guarantee (same chip so it should) or if they gatekeep that artificially to sell the higher tier.

I also would have liked to see something novel here for repairability. If they had come out with a new design where the battery was easily accessible that would have gone a long way to prove sustainability and comply with the upcoming EU legislation. As it stands I'm not sure 7 years of OS updates are really that important because the phone will not last that long due to already middle of the road hardware and poor repairability.

TL:DR Google has yet again released a mediocre phone with a high price tag.

Disclaimer: These are obviously over generalizations and don't match all individuals.

Because it's not the age people are against, it's the generation. The boomer generation had some of the most prosperous years in American history and wasted them. The general idea is you're supposed to make the world a better place for the people that come next, and they did the opposite. They cut social systems, defunded education, let public transportation die, outsourced everything, and lined their pockets with investments in oil that are killing the planet.

I won't blame someone for being old, but I will judge them by what they did and supported during their life. And as a whole, the boomers have a lot to answer for.