For a while now I've been like many other drivers, constantly fighting the urge to respond to every beep, blip and flashing light on my phone while driving. Working in IT, I have an "on call" position, and I've found that the urge to respond to every alert, IM and email I get is hard to resist despite my best intentions. More and more, I find I have to force myself to keep my eyes on the road, and not on whatever fan or cpu alert has popped up in the data center. I keep having to tell myself "it can wait til I get there".
So I had an idea for an app that would fix this problem once and for all. Basically, it would use GPS to detect movement and any time it went past a set speed, say 10 MPH it would instantly lock your phone to a non interactive screen and block all alerts, possibly even sending automated responses like "Can't talk now, I'm on the road. I'll contact you when I get there". Brilliant. Simple. Safe.
So after doing a little digging, it looks like a European Car Insurance company, Esure (not to be confused with eSurance here in the US) created EXACTLY that app. It's called DriveOFF, and the last known iterations of which seem to have disappeared from the play store about 2 years ago. What I can't figure out is why every trace of the app seems to have been eradicated from the face of the planet. It's been removed from the Play Store, and I can't even find it as an .apk download on any of the shady app sites floating around the web. I guess there's not a whole lot of demand for apps that make your safer among the seedy, side of the Internet with questionable legality. But as far as I can tell, DriveOFF somehow violated Google's design criteria and thus was pulled from the Play Store. If that is the case, it really is a shame that a legal loophole has destroyed an app that should (in my honest opinion) be the STANDARD behavior for all smart phones, period. On the other hand, I know that when I am driving, if I see a billboard or something that catches my attention, I'm frequently tempted to Google it. I'd hate to even consider that Google would place more value on ad revenue generated by reckless driving than on the health and safety of it's users. But that certainly is worth consideration...
So, I am BEGGING. If ANYONE happens to have this app or knows where I can still get it, please feel free to contact me.
EDIT:
Okay, so after doing some more digging I was able to find that the app was in fact available on the app store perhaps as recently as January of 2014. It seems as though the rights to the app were handed over from the Esure Insurance Company to a non-profit organization based out of Surrey, UK called "Safe Drive, Stay Alive" or "safedrivesurrey.org"
http://www.esure.com/media_centre/safe_drive_stay_alive.html
I've contacted both Esure and Safedrive in order to try and track this app down.
I was thinking about removing the hole bixby crap and use the Bixby button to do something else ? what do you think ?
Good ideea! How?
It's entirely up to you. Everybody will have a different opinion and there will be plenty of people that will enjoy using Bixby. I'll probably use it sometimes.
Everybody has different needs. I for example, don't use my phone to purchase anything and I don't have a need for Samsung Pay or Android Pay. Never will and I'll never understand the point of it. That's useless bloatware for me. It's much quicker and easier to use my contactless debit card.
You'll have to decide if it's useful or not to you.
saifullah90 said:
I was thinking about removing the hole bixby crap and use the Bixby button to do something else ? what do you think ?
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Yup my thoughts exactly, ditch the crap and make use of the button for something that might actually be useful, although I am not yet sure what (if the virtual home button irritates me then perhaps use it as a home button, or maybe a recent apps button). Don't know if you can do that without a custom rom, I suspect not as Samsung probably wants to force it on people.
ewokuk said:
Yup my thoughts exactly, ditch the crap and make use of the button for something that might actually be useful, although I am not yet sure what (if the virtual home button irritates me then perhaps use it as a home button, or maybe a recent apps button). Don't know if you can do that without a custom rom, I suspect not as Samsung probably wants to force it on people.
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that the spirit we will probably find a good use out of it.
Its just samsung take on google. It will probably just be more straight forward. It does the same thing..google translate uses the camera to live translate words.
You can google voice to set alarms etc...
I might use it might not its stuff phones have been doing for a while.
Sounds good
saifullah90 said:
I was thinking about removing the hole bixby crap and use the Bixby button to do something else ? what do you think ?
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Google Assistant is already useful, bixby is just another waste of space imo
I just want to delete bixby and I don't even own one yet
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
I'm sure it will be pretty useless for most of us, but I can see the thinking behind it. It'll be interesting to see if they improve it as time goes on.
Bixby can suck it! I'm going to deactivate that bloat asap.
It seems like voice assistance is being marketed as the future. Personally I don't see myself using it. I'm also wondering how many people actually use Google Assistant and Siri.
Edit: Rereading that last sentence, it seems like I'm questioning the numbers, but I really am interested to know how many people actually use it and for more complex things than checking the weather or asking funny questions.
Yeah I dont see it as a feature I would use. But my understanding is you cant remap the Bixby key to anything.
The main thing for me is the cards part of bixby. That's what actually launches when you press the button. I can put weather, reminders, calenders all right there so I can see it at a moment's notice. That way I don't have to put home screen widgets or ongoing notifications for those.
I think they want to make bixy like from iron man, where he talks to his ai, who is now an avenger. If bixy learns like they say i think itll be cool. Like bixy watch and learn me doing this, learning....then it can do what ever i show it
Dat Noob said:
It seems like voice assistance is being marketed as the future. Personally I don't see myself using it. I'm also wondering how many people actually use Google Assistant and Siri.
Edit: Rereading that last sentence, it seems like I'm questioning the numbers, but I really am interested to know how many people actually use it and for more complex things than checking the weather or asking funny questions.
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I honestly didn't think I would use Google Assistant as much however was I wrong.... I'll try to explain how it's useful on the pixel.
1st... The assistant kind of works in the background through other apps like photos, I was rotating some old downloaded photos because they were sideways however I didn't finish, next day when I first went in my photos the assistant randomly notified me of all the pics that were sideways and asked did I want it to rotate them which I clicked yes. Also the google cards bring news, sports, stock etc based off things you normally search like if I've been googling Samsung S8, I will start to see news, info regarding the S8 each day on my daily feed/ cards (Hard to explain but it's very convenient because it will show whatever you've been interested in such as new games, cars you've look at etc).
2nd... There's actually using the assistant voice features which are absurdly accurate even when I misstate a word. The assistant learns who people are so I don't always have to say names instead I can say call my cousin, mom, wife etc at home, on speaker phone. I can also say go to bestbuy.com or any other website. Set my alarm for 10am, add bananas to my grocery list, remind me to take out the trash when I get home, play a specific song on YouTube or in music player. All of this is not only accurate but considerable faster than doing it manually. In addition you don't need a physical button to activate the assistant, you just say "ok Google" and it knows your voice even if your phone was locked so it's truly hands free. As I'm getting ready for work I ask "how is the traffic to work". A few minutes ago I was just streaming a movie from my phone to my tv and got up to get my clothes out the washer so I told the assistant to pause video, then resume when I sat back down.
3rd.... I honestly felt Bixby functioned a little slow in relation to Google Assistant/ Siri however it's still kind of beta until the phone is released. I can see where Samsung's is trying to bridge the gap while also trying to get their foot in the door but only time will tell if it will flop or stand however I can definitely see voice assistants becoming a bigger footprint in all phones.
Dat Noob said:
It seems like voice assistance is being marketed as the future. Personally I don't see myself using it. I'm also wondering how many people actually use Google Assistant and Siri.
Edit: Rereading that last sentence, it seems like I'm questioning the numbers, but I really am interested to know how many people actually use it and for more complex things than checking the weather or asking funny questions.
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Click to collapse
I thought I wouldn't use it either but I'm warming up to it - primarily for replying to text's while driving, getting directions, finding restaurants, etc. Pretty handy in that respect and for me, it's more accurate than my typing on the screen keypad, which I find horrible to use (Samsung's keyboard).
But the point is google now/ assistant does this already. This video below is a perfect response to bixby.
By the way, you can disable bixby and you can reasssign google now or google assistant (or any other app you want) to the bixby button.
https://youtu.be/xfG15i_uQvc
Totally Agree, there was no point in Samsung spending time & resources on something that already exists and has since 2012 i believe.
But great that it can be remapped as now that button becomes useful.......[emoji3]
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Unfortunately from the hands on videos I've seen, you can't remap the button. Not sure if you would even be able to disable it in software without root.
Remap Bixby Button!
Use "All In One Gestures" App to remap the Bixby Button. Search YouTube!
I have Google Assistant, it responds to "Ok Google" even from a locked phone. I have 7.0, play services 11.0.55.
I want my incoming texts announced with voice when connected to Bluetooth, headset or my Cadillac Cue. Cue puts a written message up on my IP cluster allowing me to ignore or read it, my headset which I use much of the day only has a notification tone.
I cannot find where I could personalize the text tone so I can determine if I need to wash my hands and handle my phone to view an incoming text, like you can with a ringtone. I have no way to determine who the text is from apart from looking at the display, which is in my pocket.
I admit I came from Windows Mobile (reluctantly) because my job required I use an app that is not available on Windows (surprise). I prefer to not carry two phones, so I purchased a Huawei Mate 9, forward the calls from the work phone to mine, have the app on my phone too, and to be fair it is a great device.
What annoys me is Windows has had these features since Windows Phone 7.5. I have read where Allo is supposed to do this but so far no joy. I have Googled this a lot and as large a base as Android is there is not much in the lines of a comprehensive guide for how to use Google Assistant, and help here would be greatly appreciated.
If I get this working I might even sell my Windows Phones....LOL
Google Assistant is still fresh and can't really do much. I read somewhere that apple's shiri assistant can read you your messages including who are they from. If that is what you really nead you should look into it.
arminbih said:
Google Assistant is still fresh and can't really do much. I read somewhere that apple's shiri assistant can read you your messages including who are they from. If that is what you really nead you should look into it.
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Thanks,
I am unsure if Siri is able to that either, but thanks for the input. I expected the problem was my unfamiliarity with the Android OS, not it's lack of ability.
You can have a look at utter in the play store able to announce notifications
It's been nearly a year, still no improvement that I can see, any new info out there?
I was having a conversation with someone and Google Chrome was open on my phone as I was looking something up. He mentioned how he wanted to buy a new phone. The google now assistant (the one on android 7) started speaking about buying a new phone from virgin mobile, (a company I have never been involved with), even when i looked the screen it continued speaking. In my opinion it was not a coincident, we were talking about phones and then it started talking about them when Google Now was not running. Is Google listening to what I am saying?
I am freaked out, does anyone have any explanations?
I've never really used many of Googles apps and services and more specifically given it all the permissions for which it's asked. I decided for no particular reason other than morbid curiosity to go all in this time; give it everything, partake of every privacy smashing feature. So far I'm not really finding the phone experience to be different than when I blocked many of those features.
This had me curious, just how Goog is everyone else going with their phones? I don't want this to devolve into a privacy debate so please leave that for another thread. I'm interested in how Goog folks are going and if they feel the benefits are worthwhile to them.
I've never opted out of anything when I get a new Google device, or even on Chrome from that matter. And even when I get a prompt to opt in to something they ask to help development, or to better my experience I always say yes. I've been doing this since the Nexus One. I'm deep into the Google ecosystem. I use all Google products for everything I can think of (barring OS as I use Windows 10, and not Chrome OS). I've never had any privacy or security issues with Google having all my info, and I'm not worried about it in the slightest. They have millions of subscribers/customers. I'm sure they're not worried about any one individual's info. Anyway I know you said you don't want to get into the privacy/security aspect of it, and neither do it, but I just wanted to throw in my experience with opting in to everything.
Let Google be Google! Seriously though it's not like they track you like spies lol, you'll enjoy the little things that make Google different. Location based stuff mainly
I'm not noting much difference; I'd say none if given more time and I didn't notice some helpful feature between here and whenever I decide to call the experiment. And yeah, Bobby, it is kind of a fine line, privacy is a worthy topic but not the purpose of this thread. I'm just curious if people do go all in or not and if so if they find it beneficial. In other words I was wondering how many go full Goog and if so was it worth it to give Goog the works because of some benefit I haven't yet surfaced. Start talking about privacy,security, that sort of thing, the thread is as good as dead.
I like to use as many Google apps or services as I can. They're usually pretty handy and allow me to get the most out of my phone. This is supposed to be a Google phone, so why not use Google's stuff instead of third party apps? If my data gets leaked then I could always join a class action lawsuit with the others that were affected.
The only annoying thing I've found with signing up for every Google service is pretty much anything I search for on Google shows up in my Google Now feed. For example, if I search for barbershops in my area or ask Google Assistant to find me the nearest one I'll get a few cards in my Google Now feed the next morning related to hair cutting or the latest hair styles. They assume that I'm interested in that stuff and want more info, but in reality I could care less. I just wanted a damn haircut... To avoid this I've been doing all of my searching in an incognito window. I can't turn off search history because if I do I can't use Google Now or Google Assistant
Face_Plant said:
The only annoying thing I've found with signing up for every Google service is pretty much anything I search for on Google shows up in my Google Now feed. For example, if I search for barbershops in my area or ask Google Assistant to find me the nearest one I'll get a few cards in my Google Now feed the next morning related to hair cutting or the latest hair styles. They assume that I'm interested in that stuff and want more info, but in reality I could care less. I just wanted a damn haircut... To avoid this I've been doing all of my searching in an incognito window. I can't turn off search history because if I do I can't use Google Now or Google Assistant
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This exactly!
My wife is always being lazy and asking me to search for something for her (while she's holding her phone!) and she doesn't understand why I hate doing it. It's because I don't want to fill my google feed and advertising ID with info on her (very feminine) interests.