Bruce Wagner

Android and iPhone Please Fix App Permissions

Bruce — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 07:24:05 +0000

About apps’ permission requirements…

Everyone must know by now that there are major issues with ALL apps…. in that the *descriptions* of app permissions very often don’t match the actual reason why they are needed. This is plaguing the entire smartphone world. I think that very soon Google (Android) and Apple (iPhone) will fix this problem. I hope so.

All they need to do is…. Give all app developers a new field to fill in for the app store, called, “Why we need this permission“.

In the meantime, we must either do a google search to find out why, or ask the developers themselves why. Most app publishers already have a web page or a blog entry specifically to answer that question: “Why does your app need these permissions?” But the app stores could easily provide this information directly from the devs to the users… on a permission by permission basis… at the point of asking for the permissions. As in…

Access Camera Roll ( why does the app need this ? ) <—-click here

Please Google and Apple…. fix this.

And Another Thing About Permissions That Needs Fixed

Every permission being asked for should clearly specify in a table… whether this info/data will be used only locally within the app…. or if the data will every potentially can be sent out of the device unencrypted…. or both. As in this example….

used locally within app can be sent out of device unencrypted
Identity Yes Yes

Camera Roll Yes No

One of the Most Important Causes of 2016

Bruce — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 04:26:29 +0000

Everything in your life should be end-to-end encrypted. It’s so easy today, there’s no excuse not to. Big Brother governments, NSA, and global corporations, all with no morals, are spying on your every phone call and communication. If you still don’t understand why privacy is so crucial for you, read this: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2013/09/why-do-we-need-privacy-anyway

I choose to reject spying, and demand privacy, as much as possible in my life. I recommend these free tools as necessary in today’s world:

Email: Tutanota ( sign up at https://tutanota.com )
Chat: Telegram ( install https://telegram.org and use Secret Chat )
Phone Calls and SMS: Signal ( install https://whispersystems.org )

Computer: Lantern ( install https://getlantern.org set to “Proxy All Traffic” )

Phone: Psiphon ( install https://psiphon.ca )

Web Browsing: Tor Browser ( install https://www.torproject.org )
Money: Bitcoin ( install Airbitz Wallet https://airbitz.co/bitcoin-wallet )

If you want to communicate with me, please use the above tools…. for all of our sake. Thank you.

More about encryption: https://airbitz.co/go/decrypting-encryption

Tutanota, Please Fight Spam Effectively

Bruce — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 04:25:03 +0000

I want to use Tutanota as my primary email address. However, if/when I forward all of my email to my tutanota.com address, I get thousands of spam messages per day. Gmail effectively blocks spam. I don’t know what algorithms they use. Maybe it’s top secret. But we need an effective way to truly block spam…. before tutanota can be used as a primary email address.

Worst case: Make a "whitelist" option…. where the user can enter and maintain a list of email addresses ALLOWED to send me mail.

One More Reason Why Nobody Should Use Whatsapp from Facebook Inc.

Bruce — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 13:33:41 +0000

Yes, it’s been proven once again. Whatsapp / Facebook sucks balls…. and *not* in a good way.

WhatsApp Is Blocking Telegram Links In Its Android App [Update: Smoking Gun]
http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/12/01/whatsapp-is-blocking-telegram-links-in-the-android-app/#1

Dear Google Support ( which doesn’t exist ),

Bruce — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 09:37:29 +0000

I am using my Android phone and am getting "Account Action Required" notifications. It appears to want to verify my mobile phone number. However, everything is being displayed in a foreign language (Thai). The SMS option doesn’t send an SMS at all. I assumed that the other option was a voice call. I was right. But the voice that calls me is in Thai language. I cannot understand Thai language and I cannot change any of it to ENGLISH language. It’s a ridiculous bug / oversight.

Dear Singapore Airport

Bruce — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 08:34:11 +0000

Your free Internet is a joke. Nobody traveling to Singapore has ROAMING here. Why would you require an sms verification? That’s so ancient. Just give people freaking free Internet…

If a device uses it every day or abuses it, block that device. What are you so worried about? This is 2015 already.

By the way, the self service kiosks are completely useless as they are located out of reach inside a restricted area of the gate which nobody can access until immediately before boarding. Useless.

And why on Earth would you require my passport number and expiration date and Birthdate!?!? Such sensitive private information just for a few minutes of Internet access!?!? I’m not buying some real estate…. It’s only free wifi….. Geez!

Meanwhile, neither of us can use your free Internet here.

PS – Why does Singapore have no trash cans!? What’s up with that? None in the airport. None on the city streets. It’s crazy.

Suggestions for Uber

Bruce — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 06:34:02 +0000

Connecting with your Uber driver at venues that have huge crowds (i.e. places that often have long public taxi queues) like major Airports, Cruise Terminals, Major Malls, and major Tourist Attractions… seems to be a big problem. Often the drivers are not even allowed to enter — only taxis and buses are allowed to enter… or there is too much traffic and/or huge of crowds, making it impossible to find each other… or they are not allowed to stop on that street at all.

(1) My Suggestion for Uber is: Uber should automatically designate, and suggest, a nearby alternate meeting place — one that is much less trafficked, where normal cars are allowed to go to, and where cars are allowed to stop and pick up passengers. Ideally, that location should be one that offers free wifi that is simple to access. The app should direct both the passenger and the driver to one specific designated alternate pickup location for each major venue. It should be one that can easily be walked to, even if dealing with large wheeled luggage.

(2) My Other Suggestion is: Uber should provide in-app chat feature for communicating with your assigned driver in real time… even when you don’t have a local SIM card (i.e. when you have access to a local free wifi service only).

(3) Finally, I would also like to see the ability to book a trip without any local SIM card or WiFi at all. I don’t know how that would work, but it would be awesome to come up with a solution for that. There are times when you’re in a foreign country for only a couple of days and you don’t have a local SIM card, and you don’t have wifi, but you need to use Uber. Maybe by calling a local telephone number, and telling a secret code to the operator, and telling the operator your exact location…. and the operator would be able to initiate a trip on my account. It might be easy to make a local call by borrowing someone’s telephone who has local service. The “secret code” could be tied to all trips initiated using that secret code…. on my account. The app could give me a secret code at any time — even without internet access. Or…. some other clever way to dispatch an Uber car when you have no wifi and no local SIM card.

Women who Pay Men for Sex

Bruce — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 11:44:28 +0000

We Pay Gigolos for Sex [The Sun, UK] full article

That article is sooooooooo untrue.

The only true part is… ” The number of gigolos seeking female clients has rocketed from 5,246 in 2010 to 15,732 now. ”

*EVERY* straight man on the planet Earth is “seeking female clients” who would pay them for sex. But the real truth is…..

Female paying clients who are seeking sex with men are more rare than finding a real diamond in the sand next time you go to the beach.

Things to keep on looking for…..

The Easter Bunny
Santa Claus
Diamonds in the sand on the beach
Women who pay men for sex

It’s happens about as often as guessing a bitcoin private key.

Sorry.

Phones that don’t have an easily replaceable battery… suck big time !!

Bruce — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 03:35:54 +0000

Are you listening Samsung? Apple? All other cellphone manufacturers?

Phones that don’t have an easily replaceable battery… suck big time !! @samsung @apple @iphone #samsung #iphone #apple

Haters Piling On and Hating on One Guy are Viral Scumbags

Bruce — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 06:00:18 +0000

Dentist who killed Zimbabwean lion returns to work

Instead of attacking him…. why don’t activists attack Zimbabwe…. for keeping big game hunting legal there….? Oh, yeah…. By the way…. It is LEGAL there.

He is just one guy…. one legally licensed hunter… on safari with tons of other people… among thousands who go there and do exactly that every year…. legally…. following all the rules….

People are so ridiculous. They act as though ALL big game hunting that has ever happened, was committed by this one guy…. Geez. I feel bad for this guy. People can be so stupid… Haters just “me too” piling on… It’s easy to follow like a sheep… and to gang up on one guy… So filled with hate…. and they, for some sick reason, try to convert their “love for this lion”….. into HATE for this one guy….. as if everything wrong with the world is his fault.

Are they so afraid to ask Zimbabwe why big game hunting is still legal? They all just conveniently ignore that…… inconvenient fact.

Why are people so hateful….?

Why many don’t get The Secret

Bruce — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 04:29:12 +0000

I’m often sad to see that many completely misunderstand the meaning of “The Secret”. Many people misunderstand what it is teaching or promoting.

It’s not confirmation bias. And it’s not promoting “delusionally positive thinking”. It certainly does not advocate daydreaming and taking no action. It’s not about just wishing for what you want. There’s a lot more to it than that. You must first *know* that you are worthy of having all that you want. You must know that what you want is in alignment with good…. and that it is for the higher good of all that is.

It’s simply real magic. But if you can’t open your mind to that concept….. then, yes. You’re absolutely correct. It will never work….. for *you*.

I’ve been using it for many years now, and I guarantee that it absolutely works 100% of the time. And it’s real…. not delusional.

Of course, if you think romance is simply an intoxicating drug like alcohol….. and that love is not real…. then you can never experience magic in your life.

Love is real. Magic is real. …..but it only exists if you truly *believe*.

This is probably why practitioners of the new religion of “science” ( often called scientism ) are so very sad. They are unable to believe in *anything* that hasn’t had a recent study published in a religious magazine called a “scientific journal”. For them, nothing else exists. Nothing else is real. Their perspective of reality is severely self-censored and limited….. like a horse wearing blinders.

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney

“In a sport like this—hard work, not much glory, but still popular in every century—well, there must be some beauty which ordinary men can’t see, but extraordinary men do.” – George Yeoman Pocock

All the best,

Why Men Lie and Cheat

Bruce — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 11:53:07 +0000

Women should stop looking for a man who will be honest….. and start looking at Why and How they are encouraging their men to lie….. by their own stubborn arrogant self-righteous judgemental attitudes of not accepting men as the dogs they are…. and not accepting men as the beings they naturally are. Monogamy is extremely *not* natural.

If you allowed them to tell you who they really are….. and what they really want…. without judging them and acting all superior to them…. they would have no *reason* to lie. And “cheating” wouldn’t be cheating….. if they could tell you honestly without your judging them and leaving them.

If your husband tells you that he wants to have sex with other women at any time… Will you accept that and agree?

If your answer is no….. Then he will be lying to you….. you can be sure of that.

Because it is the nature of male human beings.

All men keep this a secret because otherwise they would be alone. Women don’t want to accept this fact.

That’s why they end up hurt….. again and again and again and again…. Throughout their lives.

Maybe it doesn’t sounds reasonable to you. But it is 100% nature.

We are animals….. Smart animals. But we are still animals. We have basic needs. We need air. We need water. We need sleep. We need food. ….and males need sex with a variety of partners…. as much as women need to breath air.

The @Uber App Needs Work

Bruce — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 08:47:58 +0000

The app should show a stopwatch so I can visibly *see* how many minutes it’s been since I requested a car. I don’t remember the exact minute I requested it. If the driver seems to be going in ridiculous circles or in the wrong direction, I’d prefer to cancel and get a different driver. But if it’s been 5 minutes, I’ll be penalized for canceling. If anything, it’s the driver who is driving in ridiculous circles or driving the complete wrong way for 15 minutes…. that we *should* be able to cancel without penalty. We need a visible (accurate) counting timer on the main screen. The original estimated time of arrival should also be displayed. It should turn red when it’s been 5 minutes. It should turn green again after its been more than 5 minutes longer than the original estimate ( when it’s free to cancel again ).

I also notice that your app now hides the driver’s rating under another layer. It used to show it right on the top screen. That’s bad. It needs to be visible at the moment he confirms the request… so I have the option of cancelling quickly if his rating is very low.

Thank God for Gavin

Bruce — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 13:36:59 +0000

Gavin Andresen cares very deeply about Bitcoin. He’s just trying to warn us all that it will become unreliable if this problem continues to be ignored year after year. He’s done everything he can to get us to pay attention. And now, finally, I think he has succeeded in bringing the issue to the forefront of public discourse.

We should all be extremely grateful that we have him…. And for the work he has done and continues to do.

Obviously, his is a thankless job.

Nothing Better to Waste Your Money On?

Bruce — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 03:08:12 +0000

Dispatches: US Raid on Rentboy is a Raid on Rights | Human Rights Watch

https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/08/27/dispatches-us-raid-rentboy-raid-rights

” Surely the Department of Homeland Security has more pressing concerns than to fritter away precious time and resources on something that shouldn’t even be criminalized in the first place. ”

Nothing better to waste your taxpayer money on?