Smartphones are handheld computers in all but name, but there's one huge gulf between buying an actual handheld computer and buying a smartphone, and that's the freedom to do exactly what you want with it. This isn't in relation to whether Android or iOS (the current 1/2 placeholders, depending on your choice of metric and market location) are either more "open" than each other; it's to do with what they lock down on your system from day one with bloatware that, frankly, very few users either want or need. Buy a laptop and you can do what you like, even within the supplied operating system, but buy a smartphone, on or often off contract, and it's lugging around apps that you may never touch at all, with no easy redress.

It's long been feasible to remove the bloatware from a laptop with tools such as PC Decrapifier, or manually if you prefer a more nuanced approach, but this simply isn't possible on Android or iPhone platforms without a fair amount of mucking about. Yes, you can install custom roms or launchers on Android, or jailbreak iOS to get what you want, but those solutions introduce even more problems.


When I reviewed the Galaxy Note II recently, I noted that one thing that drove me up the wall was not being able to modify the home buttons on the desktop; they're locked in place with no method for shifting them around, even though this is Android, on Australian builds of the Note II -- and, I've since been told, plenty of other Samsung handsets -- you simply can't alter those icons.

Why that is remains a mystery, but on the Note II, my solution was a custom launcher that let me do what I actually wanted to. A win-win situation? Not quite; by dropping Samsung's own launch solution, it also meant that the automatic sensing of the S-Pen didn't work properly, so I lost the automatic switch to S-Pen app types when removing the stylus. Like many Australianised Android phones, there was also a smattering of carrier-specific apps pre-installed. I've nothing specific against carrier apps; they can often be the best way to point out value you might not otherwise know about in terms of quota-free utilities, but is it too much to ask that they be optional?

It's no better on the Apple side of the fence, either. Of the many millions of customers who have purchased an iPhone, how many actually needed a dedicated Stocks app? I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it would be less than fifty per cent, but there the stocks app sits, unable (on a non-jailbroken iPhone) to be shifted except perhaps to a special folder of Apps that I never look at. The dedicated weather app is there too, but that's simply because it's awful; I can at least see the functionality, but choose another app for that purpose.

Smartphones have limited storage capabilities as it is -- is it too much to ask that we have full control over what those apps actually are?

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that computer hardware needs a major makeover? I am about to do a minor office makeover, but in terms of disconnecting and reconnecting hardware, this is a major exercise.

The reason for this is the growth of the system over the last two years, somewhat like leaving a potato to sprout and grown in a dark cupboard under the sink for a few years.

I admit I have more than the average bear when it comes to connected gizmos, but even so the combination of HDMI, USB, Ethernet and other connections is a bloody nightmare, especially when your PC is also the centre of a digital hub for an entertainment system incorporating a TV, Blu-ray player and gaming console(s).

Before I left the sunny west to move back east, I gave away four boxes of cables to the local muso’s club – you know, the large white polythene ones on wheels you can buy at the Reject Shop or similar, but already, 12 months later, I have accumulated ½ that amount again, but STILL find myself short something or another at regular intervals.

I have a 16 port USB hub (which is full) and that is like a spaghetti factory on steroids, and tracing back each cable to its device is a guaranteed path to insanity every time you need to check when Windows gives that delightful message of a device failure, usually because something has become unplugged.

And tracing that device through the O/S and Control Panel … well, pass me the Glennfiddich someone and I’ll see you next Wednesday!

With a bunch of brains in Seattle and Cupertino the size of small moons each, why hasn’t someone could up with a decent solution to this – which is a Mac and PC shared issue when it comes to peripherals? WiFi helps, but is not the total panacea.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that computer hardware needs a major makeover? I am about to do a minor office makeover, but in terms of disconnecting and reconnecting hardware, this is a major exercise.

The reason for this is the growth of the system over the last two years, somewhat like leaving a potato to sprout and grown in a dark cupboard under the sink for a few years.

I admit I have more than the average bear when it comes to connected gizmos, but even so the combination of HDMI, USB, Ethernet and other connections is a bloody nightmare, especially when your PC is also the centre of a digital hub for an entertainment system incorporating a TV, Blu-ray player and gaming console(s).

Before I left the sunny west to move back east, I gave away four boxes of cables to the local muso’s club – you know, the large white polythene ones on wheels you can buy at the Reject Shop or similar, but already, 12 months later, I have accumulated ½ that amount again, but STILL find myself short something or another at regular intervals.

I have a 16 port USB hub (which is full) and that is like a spaghetti factory on steroids, and tracing back each cable to its device is a guaranteed path to insanity every time you need to check when Windows gives that delightful message of a device failure, usually because something has become unplugged.

And tracing that device through the O/S and Control Panel … well, pass me the Glennfiddich someone and I’ll see you next Wednesday!

With a bunch of brains in Seattle and Cupertino the size of small moons each, why hasn’t someone could up with a decent solution to this – which is a Mac and PC shared issue when it comes to peripherals? WiFi helps, but is not the total panacea.

In an effort to make online transactions easier, increasing numbers of websites are allowing users to log in using their social media identity. But is this really a smart idea?

I regularly come across sites that encourage visitors to 'log in with your Facebook ID' before perusing an online store and perhaps making a purchase.

From a user perspective it can make sense. Rather than having to sign up to every site you visit (and let's face it - who can remember all those passwords?) you need only remember your social media log-on details. Simple.

It makes sense for retailers too. Laborious registration procedures can deter potential customers and result in lost sales. It's much easier if people can quickly get through the virtual front door and start spending their money.

But just how secure is this single-sign-on method? Is the customer you are letting into your online store really the person they say they are?

When an individual signs up for Facebook, or any other social media service, there are no checks of their ID or that the created profile bears any resemblance to reality.

Online businesses would be wise to require another level of authentication before allowing people to transact with their site. Requiring only a social media sign-on could backfire.

Once Telstra chokes file-sharing, what's stopping it choking legitimate competitors to "encourage" you to use Bigpond Movies, Telstra voice and other Telstra services?

Telstra's plans to throttle BitTorrent traffic are back in the headlines this week, plans which you might argue are designed to drive away bandwidth hogs so Telstra can simply milk customers who pay for more than they need.

But when you consider the big picture, plans to throttle P2P could also be another step towards throttling legitimate competitors such as the Apple, Sony and Quickflix movie rental services. Then there are the various VoIP services which threaten Telstra's voice revenues. The backend technology used to implement Telstra's P2P crackdown could easily be pointed at such services and the telco giant has a less than spotless track record when it comes to playing fair with competitors.

Such fears are at the heart of the global net neutrality debate, with supporters pushing for laws which guarantee that the internet is a level playing field without ISPs hampering competitors to favour their own services. Net neutrality is more of a political issue in the US, but expect to hear more about it in Australia over the next few years.

In the past Telstra used its minuscule Bigpond download allowances to create a walled garden without walls for its customers, ensuring they would only use Telstra's unmetered services because they couldn't afford the bandwidth to go elsewhere. Now that download limits are more generous, Telstra is looking for new ways to stop you taking your business elsewhere. The T-Box movie rental box is a smart play, but choking the competition might seem like an even smarter play if Telstra thinks it can get away with it.

The ACCC is unlikely to raise an eyebrow at Telstra's plans to throttle P2P traffic, even though there are many legitimate uses for BitTorrent and other P2P services. But if Telstra introduces it unopposed, is the next step to throttle VoIP traffic or competing video services? Will Australia's consumer watchdog come to our defence? Remember, this is the same watchdog which still seems genuinely surprised when the price of petrol goes up before every long weekend.

As the net neutrality debate becomes more prominent in Australia, all eyes will be on Telstra's efforts to play favourites on its network.