Web User - UK (2019-06-12)

72 12 - 25 June 2019

Makecomplex programs
easier to install
Why arecomputer programs socomplex
and impossibleto install? I tried twice
to installKodachi (bit.ly/kodachi4 70 ) on
a USBstick by following the developer’s
website instructions, but bothattempts
failed so I gave up and deleted it. I tried
the same withTails (tails.boum.org), but
the instructionswere so complicated
that I justcould not be botheredto
attempt it and deleted it – all in all,a
total waste of time and electricity.
I tr avel to co untries whereweb ac cess
is limitedto what the government thinks
fit, so no BBC or CNN, andeven Google
and Yahoo are virtually off limits, so Irely
on portable software. Also, I am nota
‘techie’ or a‘geek’

• I need simple
  solutions.
  If de velopers
  want usto use their
  programs, thenfor
  Pete’s sake make
  installation easy or
  just sell USBsticks with the software
  already preloaded. BothKodachi and
  Tails were re commendedbyWeb User,
  but I’m sorry: they are absolutely useless
  as far as I amconcerned.
  John CKent, via email

We don’t need anothervoice

assistant

I read inyour Webometer in Issue 475

that the BBC plansto launch itsown

voice assistant calledAuntie. I have to

wonder if this isreally necessary, let

alone a justifiable use of licence payers’

money. There are already enoughvoice

assistants, what with Siri, Alexa, Cortana

and Google Assistant, so what is the

point of having another one?

Your story says that Auntie will “let

users searchfor content

verbally on their mobile

devices and TVs”.This isn’t

exactly difficultto do at the

moment –you just open

BBC iPlayer and lookfor

whatyou want to watch. It takes a matter

of se conds, andyou don’t needto say

“HeyAuntie, find meEastEnders” to do it.

The BBC should be investing more of

the moneywe give it through our licence

fees in original, quality programming, not

1

3

5

2

4

6

Quiz Answers: Issue 476

Glasgow

Weymouth

Cannock

Runcorn

South Shields

Weston-

super-Mare

T

here’s been so much fuss

in the news about Huawei

and how manytechnology

companies, including Google

and Microsoft, have turned

against it. But why? Because

DonaldTrump and the US

governmenttold themto. And

why is that? Because it’s

a Chinesecompany, and

America doesn’t like the threat

that China posesto its

dominance of global trade.

I’ve seen nothing in any of

the storiesto co nvince me that Huawei

is using its productsto spy on

consumers. It’s all speculation and

paranoia, just like the McCarthy ‘Red

Scare’ of the 1950s. Just because

Huawei is based in China doesn’t mean

Huawei is innocent until proven guilty

that it’s in league with the Chinese

government, any more than the

manufacturers of the many other

productswe import from China are.

I ha ve a perfectly good Honor phone

(Honor isowned by Huawei) and I don’t

see why I should lose access to

essential Android apps because

of American scaremongering

triggeredby concerns about

international trade. Besides, with

all therevelations about the NSA

a few years ago, the US can hardly

deny accusations ofstate spying

itself, so this is a case of the pot

calling thekettle black.

I believe that Huawei is innocent

of espionage charges until it can

be proven guilty, and Icertainly

won’t be throwing awaymy

Honor phone.The technology industry

should be ashamed of its knee-jerk

response and ofkowtowingto

PresidentTrump without having any

hard evidence.

James Quinn, via email

Star Email

You can let us know your views via:

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Inbox andwww.twitter.com/webusermagazine

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