Comments by "Jack O\x27Neil" (@jackoneil3933) on "Stark Choices! Choosing your next phone in 2020" video.

  1. Great info Rob! As someone who, like you with I.T., electronic and Ham experience and recently be 're-grouping' his mobile communication options, I've recently observed just what you relate here, and more!.  One option just a couple of days ago I considered resurrecting, was a beloved Blackberry Z10, the last Blackberry OS smartphone and 'I-phone killer' from a few years ago. However, I had an interesting surprise and insight when I powered it up after setting powered-off for over two years.  That being, after using it for a while and while set to 'airplane mode' and with Automatic updates turned off to prevent updates, the next day when I powered it up, despite having updates turned off, it turned on Wi-Fi (with the WiFi software switch set to 'off'), downloaded and installed a major software and firmware update that INSTALLED WiFi SCANNING AND TRIANGULATION. And even with Location Services disabled and no SIM card installed, and using a VPN, your https://brax.me/geo page showed my location tracked to within a few feet indoors!   I checked the router logs and wiresharked it's connection and found my beloved old BlackBerry was not only lying about NOT disclosing my location, it was connecting outside of the encrypted RIM port to servers in India and and Dubai and moving a good bit of outbound encrypted traffic. Further evidence to suggest just what you warn about how tracking and surveillance is becoming 'Baked-in' newer devices. One of the reasons I stopped using the BlackBerry was what a friend who is an I.T. and cybersecurity expert who lived in Dubai years ago said about RIM (Blackberry) service providers in the Middle East implanting surveillance software in Blackberry devices that was suspected of having been provided by a three-letter group.  BlackBerry maker: UAE partner's update was spyware https://phys.org/news/2009-07-blackberry-maker-uae-partner-spyware.html (AP) -- BlackBerry users in the Mideast business centers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi who were directed by their service provider to upgrade their phones were actually installing spy software that could ...   India’s Spies Want Data on Every BlackBerry Customer Worldwide https://slate.com/technology/2013/02/india-wants-data-on-every-blackberry-customer-worldwide.html There are about 79 million BlackBerry subscribers worldwide—and India’s government wants to hand its spy agency data on every one of them.   An Indian government document I have seen, signed and dated as recently as last month, confirms authorities want to negotiate with BlackBerry to obtain PIN and other identifying data “for all the BlackBerry handsets” including those from “other countries.” The Indian government’s department of telecommunication was not reachable for comment at the time of publication.
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  2.  @rolandsharp  They have a build for Linux (Debian) so it should likely work. However, with Signal you have to provide a Phone Number. Also, to me there are some things that just don't 'smell' right to me about Signal and the other central service based "Private" communication apps. When you look at how quickly and badly BlackBerry was targeted, compromised, banned and then sold to China for providing what was billed as a truly "secure" communication feature, how would you know Signal is truly secure? And even if Signal is secure from a technical standpoint, it would be much easier to hack an app. Rob's Brax.me app might be worth considering: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.brax.app1&hl=en_US but perhaps a point to point app without the middle-man server, such as TOX in a VPN might be a more private option than Signal and popular apps like telegram and whattsapp.
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  3. Brilliant Rob! Essential information, but may I suggest it's not just about choosing your 'next phone' but choosing to use or not use your current phone?
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  4.  @robbraxmantech  Exactly, and well presented. Plus, you astutely summed up in a few mins what would take most geeks a looooong time to dig up.
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  5.  @androiduser603  You bought a Pinephone?
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