y.st./source/pages/en/weblog/2015/04-April/29.xhtml

<?php
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$xhtml = array(
	'title' => 'Encryptr and a service plan, both for my mobile',
	'body' => <<<END
<p>
	We need to continue <a href="http://campaigns.dailykos.com/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=1329">encouraging out lawmakers to vote against the Trans-Pacific Partnership fast track bill</a>.
	It is a secret trade deal, and as such, is not likely good for the people.
	If it was good for the people, it wouldn&apos;t need to be kept secret from us.
</p>
<p>
	The <a href="https://encryptr.org/">Encryptr</a> developer (<a href="http://blog.devgeeks.org/">Devgeeks</a>) got back to me about <a href="https://twitter.com/encryptr/status/593222601046003712">downloading the Android APK outside of Google Play</a>.
	Replicant lacks access to the Google Play Store, and even if it did have access, the required Google Play Store application is untrustworthy due to no source code being available and the application forcing automated updates of itself and the also-proprietary Google Play Services application.
	Honestly, it&apos;s not safe having either of these on your device.
	I would compile Encryptr myself, but every time I&apos;ve tried to get the Replicant development environment set up, some thing has gone wrong.
	Now that I have the <a href="https://github.com/devgeeks/Encryptr/releases/v1.1.0/">download page</a>, I can begin setting up the server.
	It seems there is no PowerPC Debian package, but Debian is much easier to build for than Replicant/Android.
	I should be able to compile Encryptr when time allows.
</p>
<p>
	Because I want a data connection on my mobile but have no interest in having a telephone number, I started looking into getting a tablet plan on my &quot;non-tablet&quot; mobile.
	The truth is that smart &quot;phones&quot; are computers, not telephones, making them very much like tablets.
	However, carriers don&apos;t like to admit that, because they like to tack on an extra fee for voice and $a[SMS] services, even if you never use them.
	I talked to a representative in T-Mobile the other day though, and he said he could set me up with a tablet plan on my &quot;non-tablet&quot; mobile.
	Assuming he can and will actually do this, the price of the plan would be \$20 $a[USD] per month.
	I talked with a T-Mobile representative over the Web, and she said the tablet plans have limited high-speed data but unlimited low-speed data.
	I use mostly text-based protocols, so low-speed data works just fine for me.
	The fact that I&apos;ll only go for a prepaid plan my prevent the guy in-store from helping me though.
	He may be willing to help me get a tablet plan in an effort to gain another postpaid account, but be unwilling to help for prepaid plans.
	I&apos;ve noticed that the T-Mobile representatives try to push the postpaid plans as much as they can.
</p>
<p>
	MetroPCS has a better <a href="https://www.metropcs.com/tablet-plans/plans/details/TAB1.html">tablet plan</a>, having 2 gigabytes of high-speed data (compare to T-Mobile&apos;s one gigabyte) for only \$15 $a[USD] (compare to T-Mobile&apos;s \$20 $a[USD], unlimited low speed data, and unlimited $a[SMS].
	I&apos;m not too excited about the $a[SMS] part seeing as I have a strong distaste for $a[SMS] messaging, but I don&apos;t have to use that part.
	The real catch with this plan is that there is a <a href="https://www.metropcs.com/support/payments/general-questions.html">\$3 $a[USD] fee to pay your bill</a> in person.
	I&apos;m not the only one to <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/16/business/la-fi-lazarus-20130917">find this ridiculous</a>.
	You can bypass this fee by paying online, but that requires a credit/debit card and removes any hint of anonymity.
	Quite frankly, that&apos;s not worth it.
	Having an added fee to pay your bill though is ridiculous.
	There does seem to be a way to avoid the fee by using a special drop box, though I&apos;m not sure money in a drop box can be trusted as a method of making sure your bill is paid.
	An employee could easily steal the money, and as you have no receipt or other confirmation of the payment until later, they could claim your payment never came in.
	No contact information is presented online aside from a telephone number.
	There is no support email address and no Web support option.
	I will have to walk into the store in person tomorrow to inquire about the idiotic fee.
	Another lovely antifeature is that third-parties can charge to your account <a href="https://www.metropcs.com/content/metro/en/desktop/metro/add-on-services.html">unless you specifically tell MetroPCS not to allow third-party charges</a>.
</p>
<p>
	I tried to find some metal music on Jamendo today, as one of my bosses is really into power metal.
	I figured we could both enjoy the album with it being metal for him and free for me.
	I found an album I though sounded awesome, but my Jamendo Vorbis-downloading plugin was failing to acknowledge the album.
	I tried several other albums, most of which registered with the plugin just fine, but there was a second album that the plugin ignored.
	I tried restarting the browser and clearing the cache several times, but the plugin always ignored those two albums.
	I tried finding the download $a[URI] by hand, but that didn&apos;t work either.
	I&apos;ve come to the conclusion that some albumsarenot offered in Vorbis form in any way on Jamendo, and that is sad.
	It&apos;s bad enough that you have to jump through hoops to get vorbis albumsthere at all, but to have some completely unavailable is quite disheartening.
</p>
<p>
	My <a href="/a/canary.txt">canary</a> still sings the tune of freedom and transparency.
</p>
END
);