Two technology updates

[drwex]

First and simplest to state: anyone have a good solution for blocking spam calls on a Droid mobile phone? For a while it was some credit BS thing multiple times per day; now it's "GE Home Security". They always spoof caller ID - I never pick up non-local numbers, but because I'm doing business with various local companies I do pick up calls from nearby area codes.

Second, a real update on the VW situation I blogged a few weeks ago. There's now an official site into which one can put one's VIN to see one qualifies and get an estimate of what they'd buy back the car for. The amount is surprisingly large. I didn't look up the paperwork but I think it's very close to actual purchase price (minus some options we added on). That makes the buyback option much more realistic than I had thought, but it brings up the question of what I'd get instead. A Tesla is still out of the question, unfortunately.

There's also information on the modification option. VW is anticipating that by November they'll have an EPA-approved plan to modify the emissions systems and software and will be able to tell me things like what mileage I'd get, what the impact on performance will be, etc. Those are really the key numbers because while it'd be nice to get my money back and be able to buy a new car I'm not particularly in the market for that. Then again, having the modifications done could be a great deal like getting a new car that might be inferior to my present car.

The settlement documents don't seem to talk about it so I'm guessing "do nothing" is not an option. At some point this vehicle is going to start failing annual emissions testing and not be legal to drive. Which is as it should be - everyone ought to play by the same set of rules. There are also options for not participating in the class settlement but I can't see any advantage to that.

Comments

[ron_newman]

- I never pick up non-local numbers

This may not be the best solution anyway, since mobile numbers have become largely disconnected from geographic areas. I have one local friend in Medford who still has an Alaska area code.

[drwex]

I'm aware of that, but either those people are in my contacts and show up as known or they'll leave a voicemail and I'll recognize them next time.

[ron_newman]

The latest version of the Android "Phone" app has an option to mark an incoming call as spam and block its number.

[drwex]

I'm aware of that, but it's the worst of all possible worlds since I have to answer the call to know it's spam, then post-facto mark the number as bad.

[ron_newman]

I think the "mark as spam" option is used to crowdsource a database, which Google can later use to warn that a future call from that number to any Android user is likely spam.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

That's not open to potential abuse, nope, not at all.

In terms of crowdsourcing, I offer to share my current list of blocked numbers, been building it for three years.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Also, which manufacturer's phone app are you talking about, because AFAIK, Samsung and HTC have a different app, and different functions.

[ron_newman]

I think I mean the one that is actually called "Phone" in the Android Google Play store. That isn't shared between all Android phones?

(I'm using Google Project Fi on a Nexus 5X, if that matters)

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

It appears that is a nexus app only:

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/05/13/psa-the-google-dialer-works-with-many-non-nexus-phones-now/

(see the update in the article)

Most manufacturers have their own version of the dialer apk.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Additionally, the info for that app says:

This app update is supported on Nexus, Android One and Google Play Edition devices running Android Marshmallow and above.