Excursions

OnePlus completely messed up my upgrade plans with its product launches this year.

I have been pleased with my OnePlus 7, it has worked brilliantly for the past two years. For that matter, the phone continues to work well for me. It hasn’t slowed down. Battery still lasts me throughout the day. I just wish for better cameras now.

I had made my mind that my next phone was going to be the pro variant of next OnePlus. But somehow the company has managed to screw up its most valuable brand.

First, they priced the devices far too high this year. In itself, it’s OK if you can match the offerings of the other flagship brands - mainly Apple and Samsung - beyond the device. OnePlus still has some work to do to reach that state.

Then, after unnecessary hype, they launched a product which has been marred by coverage that they could very well have avoided. They mindlessly under-spec’d the non-pro variant of the device. The pro variant is facing the outcome of overpromising and then deliver just on expected lines.

I could still decide to ignore the negative coverage and go ahead with the Pro variant. The reviews haven’t been too bad, and I know what I can expect from a OnePlus device now. But I wish the company did not make the decision so difficult for me. I had just started warming up to the Android platform and its benefits.

It still boggles my mind that there is no link to GoodReads from Amazon when I am looking at a book there. Or way to add it to lists – for example in “Want to read” list.

I looked at my daughter get frustrated that a book is too boring for her - it never holds my interest she says. I asked her to stop reading it, to which she said, “But I have it now, so I will have to read it someday, right?”

I guess it’s time for her first lesson to read more - stop reading it if you find it boring.

Is pinboard still the best bookmarking option that exist out there?

I understand link rot is considered as a huge problem. But why? I mean I technically understand why. But I feel it is a feature of every entity, digital or physical - if not taken care of, it gets lost with time. Rotten.

There are days when you just don’t want to do anything that you need to do. You know you should do it. But you can’t convince your mind to be focused at it. Having one such day – these are the worst. The days with roadblocks are easier to handle.

The only time I would trust a service like One-Time Secret - a way to share sensitive information - is if it is open sourced. Even with that, I would be extremely careful. I understand, without context secrets are gibberish. But still, I feel slightly uncomfortable.

My writing halts when my reading pauses. It’s frustrating to see the thoughts sit in the corners of mind. I want to bring them out, the inertia pushes it down.

Curious, was Goodreads recently hacked or something? There are random likes from my account to random folks’ updates - scheduled every half an hour. And same the other way round, I am receiving notifications from random folks. I am worried for how long has this been going on.

The technology coverage across portals is so boring - The Verge, Engadget all included. Most bits are fed by the companies and so the writeups read as PR. Even when they publish something exclusive, it’s those companies pushing the narrative. Or it’s meaningless rumour.