How important is strong hardware?

[magnargj]

My experience with the Volla 22 is that it struggles with too many webapps and browsing. Things slow down and it becomes less responsive. Helps to close apps. It works well as a daily driver, but I do experience this quite often. I wonder if it was a purchase for the future and if it is only downhill from here. Of course the design philosophy for webpages is much to blame. I miss html4

[domubpkm]

We will never criticize a smartphone for having a lot of RAM. This is still a strong point which surely allows to a certain extent to compensate for the shortcomings of UT, mainly in multi-tasking, which I sometimes notice with my Volla. And who can do more, a little less: perhaps future developments of UT will use more RAM than currently for optimized fluidity. Also remember that personal use of a smartphone may change over time and require more resources.

[kugiigi]

@magnargj I see that it only has 4GB of RAM. Browsers and webapps can take a lot of memory. Not sure if this is a bug or if we can do something about this. It also depends on the site. Sites with infinite scrolling like Twitter can literally consume GBs of memory

[AppLee]

I'm taking this thread as an opportunity to rant about something that pisses me off.
Have your heard of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth's_law](Wirth's law)?

Internet is broken due to web developers not being incentivized to do better websites (and probably not being able to properly code).
So the fact is that software is getting worse and worse using always more and more resources for no other reason that the resources exist.

And big companies feed on that, they release new products every year to keep pushing bad updates so the new hardware will become a need hence creating demand.

I object that what we do is trying to push back and give some resources back to the user.
One struggle, we cannot change internet as we all agree here.
Browsers are using too much RAM just to display some graphics and texts (I'm OK for videos as buffering is important).

And even the latest version of Firefox is not supported by some websites. So do not blame everything on poor Morph or Ubuntu touch.
The web developers are to blame because cheap labor, bad skills and capitalism.

As individuals we have the freedom to push back and not use services that do not deliver what is rightfully ours to expect.
I do not read articles from websites forcing ads and I pay for services that I want.
I don't use Facebook, because none can (it's Meta that's using you) as well as many others.

Sorry for this but we're a small community and we cannot fix the world's problem like that.
People here should know what to expect and choose according to their requirements.

For me it's a no brainer, if I need waydroid, it's easy to close the browser.
And for the browser keeping a minimum of tabs open is also not so complicated.
I'll add also that I prefer to use a webapp made with webber for sites is visit frequently instead of opening tabs (thank you convergence for more privacy).

Be aware with tabs everything is shared across all opened websites... if you ask me: it's baaaad

[domubpkm]

@AppLee said in How important is strong hardware?:

And even the latest version of Firefox is not supported by some websites

For example ? I don't totally understand. Do you think it is Firefox that is poorly coded, the sites concerned? or the sites and Firefox? with Firefox, I'm fiddling around to read https://lequipe.fr at the moment.

[arubislander]

@domubpkm said in How important is strong hardware?:

Do you think it is Firefox that is poorly coded, the sites concerned? or the sites and Firefox?

@AppLee is saying that the sites concerned are poorly written, because some of them don't even support a fully up to date Firefox.

[MrT10001]

Wirth's Law explains a lot. A lot of software on devices and PC's seems more interested in tracking your habits to allow ads to be targetted at you. I have noticed this since the start of me using the web. I certainly see all the bloatware on all devices is wholly not neccessary and on PC's I would debloat a lot of this. On My last and still being used Android phone I removed a lot of the bloatware on that, but it still tracks me. On older Ubuntu installs I tended to remove FireFox and replace it with a lighter browser such as Midori (which has been hived out to some crapware producing organisation).
However, I cannot code and am not a developer, like most people have to live with a lot of this stuff and get on with it. I do take great delight at shouting "sex toys" at peoples phones to ensure they get the full experience of tailored adverts to what the phone is listening for (I obviously don't do it to strangers). This surprises a lot as they think the phone is not eavesdropping on them.

Sorry, I digress........

[AppLee]

Hi @domubpkm exactly what Arubislander said.

The website is developed with chrome because it cost more money to have it compatible with Chrome, Safari AND Firefox.
So they basically decided to use Chrome because it's used by a majority of people.

It's Internet Explorer vs Firefox all over again.

But Chrome (and Google Alphabet) is also responsible.
Because like IE they created "features" that are intended towards easing the work of some developers hoping that website will design for their browser.
By doing so they also break compatibility and standards to bring something that most of the time is useless.

But that's how you lock users down to your technology.
And notice that nowhere in the story the user comes into play ; we are just pawns used to bring more money to a table that should not exist.

Google if they weren't ill intended should have contributed to Firefox instead of trying to steal the market.
But no, think no evil they said...

@MrT10001 :face_with_tears_of_joy:

[domubpkm]

@AppLee said in How important is strong hardware?:

And notice that nowhere in the story the user comes into play ;

But yes !! there is still a need for users or consumers to be able to mow them! 'Shrinrkflation' is an example outside of IT

[AppLee]

@domubpkm Of course but users usually work around things or comply. It's rare that people act and leave them dry

[MrT10001]

I have a few defunct Apple products deemed useless due to outdated software. My Ipad 1 is a great jukebox and I can still go on the internet with it, and no I haven't been hacked!

(I hate Apple's fakery of charging $$$$ for proprietary rubbish that has limited lifespan, is difficult (very difficult) too repair and the green credentials they harp on about - Apple, I hate you).

[ezst036]

For phone usage (text, limited internet/browser, calls) I found a Pixel 3a to be more than adequate. I don't use WayDroid or other functionality all that much on a phone, the screen is simply too small.

I noticed some performance uptick with a OnePlus 6T but not really a "necessary" upgrade. The main thing moreso is 'does the UBPorts software support the phone or are there missing features because of the port itself'.

My current FairPhone 4 is decidedly snappy during use, but what I thought was most interesting is it works quite well with a docking station, even with dual monitors. I have tried both the Dell WD15 K17A and WD22TB4 docks and found them to be completely compatible. The WD22TB4 is significantly faster.

What I need most is stronger camera performance but Android has certain things on lockdown that prevent some camera potential from being tapped.

[kugiigi]

@ezst036 Unrelated but you mean you can have dual monitor with the Fairphone 4?

[TheVancedGamer]

@kugiigi yeah, the SoC supports two displays at 1080p

[AmauryDBZ]

@kugiigi I just had the conversation with @ezst036. I was asking if he manage to extend screen on dual monitors or if he just repeat the same screen on eahc monitor. I understand it was the second option...
@TheVancedGamer you managed to extend on dual monitor ???

[TheVancedGamer]

@AmauryDBZ lomiri doesn't support extending displays yet sadly

[AmauryDBZ]

@TheVancedGamer ok it confirm what I thought. Thanks !

[kugiigi]

@TheVancedGamer Oh that's cool. I guess you need a dock with multiple video out is needed. Maybe both monitors would work properly if you enable multi-display mode instead of the virtual touchpad mode.

[ezst036]

Just wanted to clarify,

Yes, it was two monitors but they were mirrored, not extended. Makes the second monitor pointless for now.