I have no desire to debate with those who have little insight nor the intellectual capability to reason for themselves without being spoon-fed from the media and Faux News.
I made a rational case for ownership of my/our phone(s) and that in no situation do we have to accept software that cannot be uninstalled. Plain and simple and most irrefutable.
A great many of you entirely missed the point, but by the feeble attempts at rebuttal, I am not at all surprised.
Only one person attempted a rational “discussion” of the topic and that was “Truth.” I will disagree with two of those points though. First off, cost has nothing to do with the points raised. Full price, as some do pay, or half price, cost has nothing to do with accepting an invasion of privacy or the prevention of “easily” uninstalling unwanted apps. Second, while a great many of us are capable of rooting our phone, the greater majority of users are not. More would end up “bricking” their phone. I do thank you for the discussion though, as opposed to the rancor and vitriol of others.
The initial missed point was why are some apps able to be uninstalled easily, but others aren’t. No one has given a reasonable answer for that.
The fact that this situation exists merely proves that they (Sprint, HTC, Android) do not want some apps uninstalled. Why?
If they have collected their fee from the software vendor to put it on the phone, then they have fulfilled their part of the bargain, just as PC manufacturers do. If we take the software off, that is our prerogative and our right. To restrict us from removing such apps without an extremely arduous process is simply bad business and ought to raise a “Spock eyebrow” for some as to why this environment exists at all. NASCAR is obvious, because Sprint is a huge funder of the sport, but “Footprints” and “Facebook” make not just me wonder, but many others as well.
Per the E911 comment… it simply has the capability to be misused. If I need help, I can call.
Maybe most have missed the news that our phone and cell records have been turned over to various alphabet agencies which is a violation of our right to privacy. The Bush administration was most happy to encourage this. Some of you obviously think that’s a great thing in a free country.
Another missed point… it is not that I or you are important to be tracked. Our government “of the people, by the people and for the people” has no right to track any of us. Period.
We are not terrorists, yet we are being treated as such under the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act. Very few of you, much like our recalcitrant Congress, have ever bothered to read either of these heinous pieces of legislation. So please don’t speak about invasion of privacy concerns until you are better educated in the real world that evolved while many of you were watching “American Idol” and “Dancing With The Stars.”
To those who responded with the intellectually deficient response “tinfoil hat,” kudos to you for offering an illiterate response to the valid points raised. You merely highlighted your poor manners and/or ignorance.
And to Mr. Law, you write a lot, but dispute little. You have clearly not examined the info available to many of the apps on this phone. You glossed right over that points with no refutation of fact.
As to who is guilty for this bloatware, that isn’t really the issue is it? It is the fact that it DOES exist and should not be on my phone, nor yours.
And yes I have done much investigation and spoke with numerous representatives from Sprint, HTC and Google. They ALL duck and cover and point the finger at the other. So clearly one, two or all of them are lying. At least I took the time to call and ask who was guilty. The interesting thing is, no one denied to me that the apps were data-mining our phones.
To ignorantly claim “that is your opinion” was a hoot. The points were, (1) we own the phone and (2) to repeat myself, it is entirely technologically possible to simply allow removal of the apps. There is no tenable argument or justification for forcing us to keep them when we don’t want them. Period. That is fact, not opinion. Sorry you miss the distinction.
Mr. Law, you missed another huge point, “Footprints” cannot be turned off. Get your facts straight and look into your phone before you make unsubstantiated and highly disingenuous claims.
If you need GPS to help you sort your pictures, well, that’s your issue. Glad you finally have a way in the computer era of being able to sort your pictures. <sigh>
Per your ignorance (and Mcdonoughab) regarding Facebook and the CIA, please read the following before shooting your mouth off again…
Facebook steps up lobbying, deepens ties with intelligence agencies, FTC | VentureBeat
And if you haven’t heard about the relationship between Google and the alphabet agencies, well, keep watching FOX News. Google is now, arguably, the largest data-mining operation in the world
Your comment about a class action lawsuit is most uninformed, like most of your post. And you spoke to which lawyer over this? Did you speak with mine? Wow, dude, talk about speaking when you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
Regarding the right to privacy, yes it is inferred to in the Constitution regarding “mail.” Since we did not have electronic media at that time, mail was the only possible form of communication that could be covered.
If you seriously want to argue that we have no right to privacy from invasive corporations that we fund as consumers, you sir should feel right at home. Welcome to the new Amerika buddy! You, Rush and Bill O’ should feel right at home.
Quit watching TV and start getting your facts straight. I spent 25 years in broadcast media and understand implicitly how information is controlled. We have tragically fallen to a mere SIX corporations that own it all now. That of course means that six CEOs set corporate policy for what is news and what isn’t. It is no wonder you are as naive as you are. You either watch too much TV, or are a junkie of FOX News. (One of my favorite oxymorons) None of us with a media background take FOX seriously, at all.
But I digress. My points stand. We own the phone. They do not allow certain apps to be uninstalled on purpose. We should not have to root our phones, it should be part of the normal OS. There are apps that data-mine our phones and that is indisputably an invasion of our privacy. Look first before you speak so assuredly.
Mr. Law, if it weren’t for some of us who keep tabs on our government and the unscrupulous corporations that control it, you very well might not have the freedom to shoot your mouth off like you do. Lucky for you.
My apologies to others for having to address the forum in this manner. Again, my original post is most valid and was meant to protect us all. It seems many missed the salient points that were raised. That is disconcerting to say the least and quite sad for an open “forum” for intelligent discussion.
Again, we own the phone. Pretty simple concept to understand.
I will not revisit this forum, considering the narrow minded uninformed trolls who have nothing better to do than character assassinate and name call. I did my best to raise a topic that is germane to those of us using the Evo 4G and Android OS. I will leave it at that and be done with the forum, for, as pointed out, few raised any rational, informed debate. No need to thus waste my time.
It is noteworthy that the moderator helped initiate this, even though offering no valid points of rebuttal. Your job is to moderate the forum. You overstepped your duties. (IMHO)
Best regards to those with the ability to reason on their own and respond in a courteous manner.
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