Access your files on a Mac from your iPad

 Airdrop is pretty great - but its a PITA if you want to just check on files without having to transfer to your mac. 

So, here's a little secret - you can access your files from the iPad. For some reason, apple hasn't yet made it available in a simple way for the users. But with a few steps - you can do this. 

Here are the steps:

Note : Both iPad and MacBook should be on the same wifi network and connected to the wifi. Make sure of this before trying. 

1. Open the system preferences. You need to allow file sharing - which is by default turned off. 
2. Go to "Sharing" . See the screenshot - its on the bottom row ( 3rd from last) 

 

 

3. Click the box next to file sharing. 

 

4. By default, only a shared folder is there. You need to add more folders that you want to share by using the + button under the "Shared Folders" list.  Here I have a folder "old_pdfs_of_india" that I want to access from my ipad added to the shared list. 

5. Also make note of the IP address shown in the screen. This is your local IP address. e.g. 192.168.1.97 (yours will be different)

6. Now, on the iPad, go to the "Files" app. At the top there is a circle with 3 dots in it - tap that. It will show a drop down. Tap on "Connect to Server" . This will open a popup with "Connect to Server". Enter the IP address over there from the screenshot as in step 3.

7. It will ask for username and password. This is your local username on the macbook. Enter the details and you can now see the folders you have shared. 

Running Ubuntu Touch on a Nexus 5

Its Alive ! 

I finally managed to get Ubuntu installed in an old Nexus 5. This phone is 7+ years old I believe. 

I was initially trying to get it running on a nexus 6p, but that did not work. Finally dug up this old phone a few days back and tried it. And now it works ! 

The software you need is UBports. Ideally you just run Ubports and it should guide you through the installation of ubuntu touch. However, I ran into a few issues. So you may want to do the following steps: 

Issue #1 : USB cable was not good enough. The old micro usb cables were not detecting the mobile. Tried it on a linux system and a windows system. After searching online, got to know that cable could cause issues, so bought a new one. 

Issue #2 : With the new cable, the device was being detected on linux but not on the windows laptop. I could have used the linux device, but that is an arm based one, and there was no ubports ARM port that I was aware of. After searching online for a few options, I found that the usb driver needs to be updated. See this post on the UBports forum : https://forums.ubports.com/topic/2832/mtp-access-to-nexus-5-from-windows-10-pc/4

Simple steps:

For future reference I will list the different steps :

1. Open Device Manager, fold out "Android Phone"
2. Right click item "Google Nexus ADB Interface"
3. Select "Update Driver" on Driver tab
4. Select "Browse my computer for driver software"
5. Select "Let me pick from a list of available drivers from my computer"
6. Assure "Show compatible hardware" is checked and select "USB Composite Device" (I'm inclined to believe previously only "Google Nexus ADB Interface" was available, and the new device might have come along with earlier installation of the ClockworkMod ADB driver).
7. Select Next, wait for driver installation and close.
8. The device auto-mounts immediately!!!

After this, just run the UBports software. 

Issue #3 : It will probably not detect the nexus device even though you have done the above steps. It did not for me and from what I saw on forums, it does not for many others. So, just select the device manually from the download list. And go ahead. 

 If everything is fine so far, you will see the bootloader installing message and the device will be booted into the UBports bootloader and the installation will progress. 

 Be Patient. 

 It can take a few mins to install everything. Just go and have a tea or coffee. Do not unplug the device.

And its done ! 

 Note: Before you try anything make sure your device is in the supported devices list

 

 

To Signal or not to Signal ?

The mess that WhatApp/Facebook has landed themselves into has a long list of reasons. The lack of trust is is not a sudden one off, but a culmination of various scandals like Cambridge Analytica (influencing the voters) and the clandestine listening to you all the time. So when they announced in a not-so-subtle-manner that they are going to start sharing your data from WhatsApp to Facebook, they have faced a backlash which I do not think they ever expected ! 

And an exodus has started from WhatsApp to other apps - foremost being Signal and Telegram. 

This post covers Signal. 

It all started with a tweet by Elon Musk. 

Use Signal

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021

It soon became the no1 app being downloaded in India and other places. 

Look at what you've done. 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/0YuqyZXtgP

— Signal (@signalapp) January 8, 2021

As of today, it has grown 500% from 10M+ downloads to 50M+ downloads in just a week ! That's like an app's dream coming true. 

How it started vs how it's going 😅 pic.twitter.com/ERiFpZUz6c

— Signal (@signalapp) January 14, 2021

 

And you are probably one of those 50M people who have downloaded Signal, but all you hear is crickets.. 

I've have been using @signalapp and @telegram for more than a year now. But with hardly anyone else using it, its like solo playing a multiplayer game. :-/ https://t.co/Q9QHrZKhTz

— V. (@vibhurishi) January 8, 2021

So why, you are thinking, should I use Signal ? 

Let me show you an infographics by Forbes as to why. See this:

Here you can see the amount of data that is being collected which can be linked to you by Signal (almost nothing) to Facebook Messenger (OMG ! you think, I didn't even know that there was so much data that Facebook is collecting). Well, with the upcoming changes, the amount of data that WhatsApp will collect will be similar to the ones that Facebook Messenger was collecting.

What's interesting is how this all rolled out. It all started with Apple. 

Apple is touting that they have privacy built in. Unlike Google (against which the initial salve was targetting imho), they do not make money from ads. Since they do not need ads, they do not need to data mine what the people are doing. They made changes to the iOS so that people can see what data is being captured with new privacy labels which tell exactly what all data is being used by the apps. I suspect facebook knew that people did not know what all they were collecting, so they tried a preemptive strike by bringing out full page ads ( Facebook criticizes Apple’s iOS privacy changes with full-page newspaper ads ) decrying Apple's move and saying small business will be hurt. 

But Vibhu, you may say - Privacy is an illusion! 

I do not think so. I think that saying privacy is an illusion is a ploy to normalize privacy concerns. Yes, a lot of your data is out there, but that does not mean that you knew about it all going out the way it is right now. People are just waking up to what privacy is. If someone hacks your account - its a crime  - no matter if your data is available freely or not. The updated T&C are a means to remove the legal culpability by companies which mine your data. Your privacy is yours. Its not for others. You will surely feel offense if some salesman comes in to your house and starts looking over all the things you have and then start giving you pitches about what you buy. This is the same with the tech companies. They are looking at your conversations and things you like/react to and its difficult to figure out whether they are looking over all your belongings (unless something happens like what Apple has done to show the privacy labels). There is hardly any government policies in place which limit what someone can do, and so they are doing what they want. 

A very good example of the above is that in Europe, WhatsApp is not forcing people to accept these new Terms and Conditions. The Indian government has asked them why is that ? The answer of course is that European Union has implemented the GDPR laws which penalizes anyone who tries to circumvent the privacy. Till the time that the other governments wake up, its up to you to protect your privacy. 

So - to Signal or not - I would say - definitely yes. Even Edward Snowden says to use it with a very good reason : 

Here's a reason: I use it every day and I'm not dead yet. https://t.co/Trhgqbwdpj

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 7, 2021

You may say there is hardly anyone there. Well, there was a time when there was hardly anyone on Twitter or Facebook. 

You may say that you don't want to keep on moving apps. Unfortunately that is going to stay until some good regulations are adopted by each company regarding privacy. Until then, your privacy is your concern.

The WhatsApp T&C debacle

You must have been wondering why there is suddenly talk about Whatsapp and what is this Signal and Telegram ? 

Facebook has become a behemoth as its an addictive app/website which has algorithms which continuously look at what you are doing. They employ the best minds in computer engineering who focus on how to keep you scrolling ( also called doomscrolling) your feed and clicking the links. After all, the model that Facebook has is that the more you click , the more advertisement money they can make. And for that, you are the product. They data mine each and every action you take and store it for ever. See the Netflix video "Social Dilemma" to get a good idea (dramatized) about how social networks keep you hooked. The more they data mine you (fancy term for keeping track of your activities using programs) the more accurately they can give you stuff that you would want to click on. 

So, whats this to do with Whatsapp ? Whatsapp was bought by Facebook a few years back for a few billion of dollars ( 19 billion dollars actually) . Its a different app altogether and has less intrusive functionality than Facebook. Have a look at this article ( https://bgr.com/2021/01/05/app-privacy-labels-facebook-messenger-vs-imessge-signal-whatsapp/?bgr-partner=flipboard  ) to understand how many things Facebook collects from you. Now, with the latest Terms and Conditions changes, Facebook is going to data mine WhatsApp chats that you have to utilize for its money making. They are saying you agree to share your WhatsApp data with Facebook and other sites ( https://www.androidcentral.com/whatsapp-now-requires-you-share-data-facebook ) or else... 

What that means is that your chats are now going to be used by Facebook for showing you ads. So if for instance you are chatting with your CA about your taxes - well, Facebook and its associates have access to that. I had already uninstalled Facebook from my devices as it was proven that Facebook would listen to your conversations (https://www.vice.com/en/article/wjw889/facebook-said-it-wasnt-listening-to-your-conversations-it-was) . 

I use facebook only through web browser and that too using the facebook container addon in Firefox. With this new T&C for WhatsApp, many people are now up in arms against Facebook. If you do not agree to the new T&C, Facebook is saying that you will not be able to use WhatsApp at all. This is arm twisting. As such, now people are looking at other messaging apps - Signal and Telegram. 

I am already using these apps for a long time now. I am seriously considering not using WhatsApp - which is a problem as already a lot of people are on whatsapp - and facebook knows that. I suggest you also install Signal or Telegram and start using those - even if you continue using WhatsApp.