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What's wrong with working around barriers? I find Tasker useful for fixing things I don't like about my phone that are otherwise beyond my ability to fix. For e

What's wrong with working around barriers? I find Tasker useful for fixing things I don't like about my phone that are otherwise beyond my ability to fix. For example... 1. By default my phone remembers the last media volume level used with headphones. This does make some sense, but it is easy to accidentally get maximum volume blasted in your ear. I use Tasker to automatically reset the volume to a safe level when I plug in my headphones. 2. I find that the automatic screen brightness on my phone doesn't work well at all. In a dark room, it would not set the brightness to its minimum level. It also would not turn the brightness to maximum even in direct, bright sunlight. I prefer to just set the brightness manually, and avoid the poor guesses of the automatic brightness algorithm (which is claimed to be "smart" and aware of my preferences). The only problem with manual brightness control is that it's common to end up in bright sunlight with a very dim screen. It is impossible to use the phone under such conditions. So, I used Tasker to add a gesture. If I shake my phone relatively hard, twice, in an up and down motion, it sets the screen to maximum brightness. I use this all the time.

acdha 5y ago
Your comments are interesting in terms of the iOS/Android comparison: both of those are things which just work on iOS without needing to find and configure a separate app. This dynamic shows up constantly in these discussions because HN is full of people who enjoy tinkering as a hobby and have strong opinions about things should work whereas from the perspective of most normal people it’s easier to pay $400 for a noticeably faster iOS device rather than spending time puttering around trying to find the right combination of apps to compensate for an unmotivated device vendor and hoping that you didn’t just install malware in the process.
- oftenwrong 5y ago
  That is true. I prefer an experience that's more fiddly and annoying overall, but that can be customised to fit my preferred usage if necessary. I would not be happy on an iPhone, stuck with what they have chosen. I like to install my own launcher and such. That's why I use GNU/Linux on the desktop, and Android on my phone. Both of these ecosystems are very fragmented as well. For example, my old Android phone had neither of the problems I mentioned.
  - acdha 5y ago
    To be clear, I think this is entirely legitimate. I used Linux on the desktop for years, drove a car with a manual transmission, etc. so I totally understand being in a spot where the broader market is moving in a different direction. I feel like we’re losing something with less control over our devices but totally understand the security & support dynamic which got us here.
- mackrevinack 5y ago
  does ios remember the volume for every bluetooth device though or is it just headphones? i have tasker set a different volume for my car's bluetooth than my bluetooth headphones. another thing i have tasker do is write down the hours i work every week by detecting the bluetooth tv in work and then the times my car stops in the morning and starts when i head home. then on friday if there are any hours that haven't been sent, tasker puts them into an email and i review it before sending. i often think about switching to an iphone for the camera or some other reasons, but then i think about all the stuff ive made in tasker and how i probably won't be able to replicate it all on ios
  - acdha 5y ago
    I haven't tested that many Bluetooth devices but it seems to be per-device — e.g. my wired headphones are different than either of my Bluetooth speakers or the built-in speaker. Apple's Shortcuts app supports a number of automation scenarios — for example, I would implement the feature you mentioned with a rule which tells Toggl to start an entry when my location is within a certain radius of work and stop it when I leave. You can also create or add to a note, send emails, etc. Since I have the Pythonista app, that could even extend to running arbitrary code.

acdha 5y ago

Your comments are interesting in terms of the iOS/Android comparison: both of those are things which just work on iOS without needing to find and configure a separate app. This dynamic shows up constantly in these discussions because HN is full of people who enjoy tinkering as a hobby and have strong opinions about things should work whereas from the perspective of most normal people it’s easier to pay $400 for a noticeably faster iOS device rather than spending time puttering around trying to find the right combination of apps to compensate for an unmotivated device vendor and hoping that you didn’t just install malware in the process.

oftenwrong 5y ago
That is true. I prefer an experience that's more fiddly and annoying overall, but that can be customised to fit my preferred usage if necessary. I would not be happy on an iPhone, stuck with what they have chosen. I like to install my own launcher and such. That's why I use GNU/Linux on the desktop, and Android on my phone. Both of these ecosystems are very fragmented as well. For example, my old Android phone had neither of the problems I mentioned.
- acdha 5y ago
  To be clear, I think this is entirely legitimate. I used Linux on the desktop for years, drove a car with a manual transmission, etc. so I totally understand being in a spot where the broader market is moving in a different direction. I feel like we’re losing something with less control over our devices but totally understand the security & support dynamic which got us here.
mackrevinack 5y ago
does ios remember the volume for every bluetooth device though or is it just headphones? i have tasker set a different volume for my car's bluetooth than my bluetooth headphones. another thing i have tasker do is write down the hours i work every week by detecting the bluetooth tv in work and then the times my car stops in the morning and starts when i head home. then on friday if there are any hours that haven't been sent, tasker puts them into an email and i review it before sending. i often think about switching to an iphone for the camera or some other reasons, but then i think about all the stuff ive made in tasker and how i probably won't be able to replicate it all on ios
- acdha 5y ago
  I haven't tested that many Bluetooth devices but it seems to be per-device — e.g. my wired headphones are different than either of my Bluetooth speakers or the built-in speaker. Apple's Shortcuts app supports a number of automation scenarios — for example, I would implement the feature you mentioned with a rule which tells Toggl to start an entry when my location is within a certain radius of work and stop it when I leave. You can also create or add to a note, send emails, etc. Since I have the Pythonista app, that could even extend to running arbitrary code.