Chrome is one of the first things I disable on my Android devices, and I hate the idea of signing up for any accounts just to access local files.
But Canon welcomed me with a big surprise, and a fuck you, too!
Forward it to Louis Rossman. He’ll make an entire video about it and add it to the wiki tracking these scummy companies.
I agree with pretty much all of that guy’s takes, but he REALLY sketches me out for some reason. I don’t know what it is.
He’s a libertarian with the “Democrat and Republicans are the same picture” vibes to him.
That honestly tracks with how I feel he would be
Maybe cause he’s on the spectrum and you are picking up on that
I don’t think that’s it… I and almost every single one of my friends are on the spectrum hahaha. It’s something else, like he tastes like a right-leaning secret prepper guy or something. I dunno. Maybe I’m just being stupid and judgy.
He grew up in New York and only recently moved. He’s got that New York attitude. Yeah it’s off putting.
that makes sense
Is he actually on the spectrum? Or are you speculating?
Well he did do a online test for Aspergers. But I don’t know if he has an official diagnosis or made any official claims, but he seems cognizant of this himself,
I agree with him on a lot of the tech stuff, but there’s some subtle hints of shit that I can’t consciously place that really bother me.
I really started to notice it when he was looking for a new location - the way that he talked to and about some people and things in those videos bothered me. Likewise, the way he moved to a red state because it meant he could pay less in taxes and shit. There’s something more but I can’t put my finger on it.
He’s a new Yorker
Glad I’m not alone on that. I love reading about him, but I can’t watch his videos.
The youtuber Adam Something is like that too imo
He admitted he used to be openly right wing and he is still very pro-NATO. That’s Ok though, I still like his fuck cars videos.
Is “pro-NATO” the new “both sides”?
pro-NATO is like how people used to say “Lincoln Republicans” to say “Well, I don’t agree with what the party is doing currently but I will continue to vote for them.”
What?
Implying he isn’t right wing anymore, or just not openly?
I agree with most of the stuff he says, he just doesn’t seem very nuanced and I find the angry tone slightly off-putting. I like NJB tho, probably because he’s just sarcastic at some points for effect.
Same, not sure why. Maybe I heard something about him I didn’t like, but have since forgotten.
He acts like a somethingawful/4chan veteran. Every now and then something along those lines slips out and rubs me the wrong way too.
Like he’s often the good kind of libertarian, but occasionally also the bad kind.
Ahhh but I was a LUEser, a goon, then a heavy user of /b/ (until about 2009.) I don’t see myself in him at all hahaha
I used none of these sites and I’m telling you he seems like the type from the perspective of an outsider, and occasional victim/target of those kinds of sites :P
I’m sorry for your experience D:
I was a heavy user as a teen, and I definitely got into the stupid edgy humor but it was never directed at individuals for me. Then I grew up.
I cannot stand him. I agree with the broad idea of his message, but Jesus he’s insufferable and constantly feels like he’s talking down to his audience
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Nah it’s not that. And his “independent” takes are basically whatever is popular opinion on Lemmy (and formerly Reddit when I was on there.)
There is a wiki for tracking these?
This is amazing! Thank you!
I heard he was entertaining the thought of turning his role in Tropic Thunder into a full spinoff movie.
That’s Les Grossman.
Isn’t that the guy who plays chess on youtube?
Les Nessman from WKRP in Cincinnati?
“Yes, I’d like to return this camera because it’s an invasive piece of shit”
I have returned printers for requiring an internet connection out of spite.
Yes indeed, I just wrote a rant about this in the Canon community on here.
The two edges of this sword: All of the functionality worked in the previous edition of the app without the “mandatory” account. The upshot of this is, if you grab an APK of the previous (3.2.40.36) version of the app it still works just fine sans account, because the requirement is completely artificial and your camera’s hardware has not changed.
That’s what I did for now, but given that I only ever used the damn thing as an overwrought remote shutter button when doing macrophotography (you’ll never guess the subject), I just bought $6 aftermarket remote release and moved on with life.
For added fun and excitement, if you don’t have internet connectivity the app won’t work. So, like, if you’re out in the wilds on a hike with your camera. Nobody ever does that, right?
All apps are crap. This one is extra crap, now. I’ve never used it for geotagging and certainly not for transferring images – not more than once, anyway, because on my phone it takes a solid 15 seconds per image. It would be faster for me to not only take the card out, but crack it open and inspect it with a tunneling electron microscope and type the ones and zeroes into a terminal by hand. I just put the damn card in a reader instead. Always have done.
I was wondering what the OP was talking about since I use the app pretty frequently and haven’t had to make an account. Guess that clears it up; I won’t be updating it in the future.
when doing macrophotography (you’ll never guess the subject),
Close, but it could arguably be something compensating for the same!
The two edges of this sword: All of the functionality worked in the previous edition of the app without the “mandatory” account. The upshot of this is, if you grab an APK of the previous (3.2.40.36) version of the app it still works just fine sans account, because the requirement is completely artificial and your camera’s hardware has not changed.
Thank you for confirming! I do this with the GoPro Quik app, and I’d have no problem doing it here.
I have a Sony compact camera with built-in GPS. The newer models require the app for live geotagging. These are the games I refuse to play.
Thanks for the heads up. It’s version code 77 when downloading manually from Aurora Store in case anyone else is wondering. Please blacklist Canon Camera Connect after installing it to avoid further updates.
I use it to transfer images to my computer so I don’t have to pull out the sd card. But the tip with the apk is good, will do that too
Just the tip?
My German came through, its meant as ‘a hint’ or ‘an idea’
Yeah, I’m aware of the idiom, just want sure if tip was used the same in english
Thank you for the version number! I was just lamenting not being able to find it.
Canon is on my personal blacklist for decades. I bought a printer from them, not just a normal A4/legal, but a professional, wide one that uses rolls of paper, etc. I was unhappy with the state of the driver under Linux, so I called and asked for a programming documentation to write my own printer driver. Their opinion on Linux/open source was that “open source is theft of intellectual property”.
I wonder how many open source libraries their driver codebase relies on, it had best be zero with that attitude.
They had no Linux driver back then at all, but there were some rudimentary from the community that printed Ok. They just did not support special printing modes, which i wanted to add.
Their opinion is stupid, but I’m also not sure what you expected when you asked some random sales rep for deep technical info.
I contacted both technical support for commercial systems and later their booth on a big technical trade fair (CeBit Hannover), and got basically the same opinion both times. The first was definitely no “Sales Rep”, and the people at the booth were a manager and an engineer.
But I agree, their opinion is stupid.
Well, in a commercial space, at least if you’re big enough, asking sales reps for deep tech info is the norm. They are supposed to find an engineer and get them to answer.
If you’re a big enough customer, you set the norms.
Yup, sucks. What I do is just take out the card a plug it into a little USB dongle thing which I can plug into either my phone or laptop.
Also faster than the app too. The app uses WiFi or Bluetooth. Its also annoyingly finicky to connect tk the camera.
What I do is just take out the card a plug it into a little USB dongle thing which I can plug into either my phone or laptop.
What’s wild to me is that anyone would do it any other way. I’m astounded that this is somehow a “tip”.
Not even 10 years ago it was simply the way to do it.
Depends on your workflow.
As an example, if I’m in a studio and have a camera set up a certain way, it’s highly inconvenient to have to turn it off, pull the card out (which can mean removing it from the tripod if the card slot is on the bottom of the camera), plug it into a phone or laptop, copy the image, load the image for review, eject the card, reinsert the card, set the camera up again…
I mean, holy shit.
Why do that when you can tap the gallery through the app (already connected because you’ve got live view going), click on the photo, open it for review, keep shooting.
Of course, if you’ve shot a big day and have to offload 100gb of photos and video, an external card reader is the only way to go.
But for studio, live sessions, or quick shots, app transfer is so much easier. Some cameras have NFC, so you just tap your phone and start the transfer.
None of this has ever been a problem. It’s the requirement to have a connected account that makes it a problem.
I think it’s a bit hilarious that touching the camera is considered such a hassle now. When I learned photography we had to finish the reel and spend a day in a darkroom before we could see the final product.
Still, I hope someone makes some open source software for you. More convenience is always better.
I think it’s a bit hilarious that touching the camera is considered such a hassle now.
If you are being paid for your work, or you are under time constraints, there’s no way anyone would choose to take dozens of steps over a few.
I still love my older cameras, including one of the first DSLRs (Canon Digital Rebel). No apps. Every feature sold to you is right there in the camera, and those feature still work 20 years later.
It’s the enshittification of technology that’s the real problem. Most people would love the conveniences offered by advanced features, but not when there’s a catch.
And this extends to well beyond “regular cameras”. GoPro has completely ruined their hardware by locking basic features (like image stabilization) behind their app and/or subscription!
When I learned photography we had to finish the reel and spend a day in a darkroom before we could see the final product.
That’s when photography existed as a skilled art, and a more enjoyable hobby. I miss those times.
Yeah but the app also does remote control / viewing. The transfer is a bonus of being able to quickly do the transfer and text it to someone right away.
Of course, none of this matters because I don’t have Chrome on my new phone and can’t even create the stupid account if I wanted to.
Also, can’t find information about which version they rolled that out in and get an older version.
You want version 3.2.40.36, which is the last one before the app requirement. It’s available on APKMirror and probably elsewhere as well.
Advantage of using the app: Remote shutter/control.
Very convenient if you take lunar photos.Cables are better but they have a minimum time to setup and can be inconvenient if you do it while traveling. If you just need a quick transfer then using an app or wireless transfer is better.
If you’ve never actually used the Canon app on your phone: I assure you that it would be faster to ride the elevator down from your hotel room, walk to the nearest store, haggle with the store owner for 10 minutes over the price of the cable, get your money changed, buy it, and return to your hotel room than it would be to wait for the app to connect to your camera over wi-fi.
Apparently not anymore.
on my camera i can plug it directly into my phone and transfer it with a usbc cable
You’ll end up with better quality images this way compared to transferring them to Canon servers where they’ll likely be compressed or altered.
Not to mention likely cataloged by geotag and used for “targeted marketing” by Canon and “select partners”.
That shit is just creepy.
Probably used to train an AI model as well
This is actually the real reason behind the change
it prob does this already on the camera wish someone figured out how to make open source camera os
I remember having a PowerShot SX110IS back in 2010 and there was an open source firmware I loaded on it. I forget what it was called. It’s a damn shame that we can’t really do stuff like that anymore.
It might have been CDHK, which is also what I run on my old SX130IS.
Magic Lantern probably. Don’t know about compact cameras, but this thing was big with DSLRs 10-15 years ago. What’s pretty impressive to me is that it didn’t require flashing the firmware, it just booted from a memory card.
They’re not being transmitted to canon before downloading. The camera starts a (slow) local WiFi network that the phone can connect to and it directly transfers that way. This means you still get full quality RAW files
Dude. I needed to use this app the other day for the remote shutter function, and I was somewhere with no signal and no internet. Only to discover that the app had updated and now required me to create an account to use it. I was pissed.
Same thing!! It sure steamed my broccoli.
mmmm steamed broccoli. drools
magiclantern.
Jailbreak your shit. You own it don’t you?
Magic Lantern is awesome!
Unfortunately, it’s for higher-end cameras, not my old point-and-shoot cameras. And it doesn’t magically give your device GPS for geotagging images :(
The app was fine. The enshittification of the app is not.
Can you not just find and use an old version and disable updates for it?
Yes, another user already confirmed that the old version still works. I’ve done the same with the old GoPro app.
EDIT: but old versions have built-in planned obsolescence, because they won’t support newer devices (both cameras or smartphones) for very long. My Samsung 360 camera was rendered useless once they discontinued app support.
I have an old Gear VR and a Samsung S3. I don’t believe there is any way to use it today. It wants to connect to Facebook to log in, but their auth token has expired.
It wants to connect to Facebook to log in
What a fucking cancer of integration.
You actually can still use it, there’s some folks on reddit trying their best to keep it going. App support is very poor though.
My S3 is garbage. I only wanted to try and stream videos to it (without motion tracking) but even that seems too hard.
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This is a useless comment.
Says the person who randomly brought up phones when the other person was talking about a camera jailbreak.
And isn’t that just exactly what they count on?
Jailbreaking locks you out of banking apps.
Edit: jailbreaking your phone might lock you out of banking apps.
Jailbreaking your camera does NOT.
I don’t think people are out here doing their banking on their Canon DSLRs
Don’t you gotta jailbreak your phone as well? Otherwise it will require the chrome browser
No, installing magiclantern on a jailbroken camera means you don’t need to do the Canon sign in bullshit at all.
Great! I’ll update my post! Thanks for clearing it up.
Maybe on Apple (?), bur GrapheneOS supports my banking apps just fine. The only thing missing is Google Pay, which I don’t use anyways
How? Having an unlocked bootloader or root breaks Safety Net, which disables many apps. You need an unlocked bootloader to install custom ROMs.
Magisck used to be a workaround, but Google has been sabotaging it at the OS and hardware layers, so it wasn’t working the last time I tried a few years ago.
Pixels can have custom AVB keys so the bootloader can be locked after installing gOS.
I’ve been running across sites that demand I use Chrome on PC too, a non-starter since Google “upgraded” Chrome to prevent adblock use. My solution has been to install User Agent Switcher for Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/android/addon/uaswitcher/. Works on both PC and phone.
The Canon app calls on the Chrome app to be there. It’s more than just the user agent, unfortunately.
So Chrome is sharing way more than the user agent with Canon? That’s just ridiculous. I hope someone with the time will take a good look about what information is being sent.
All I can say is that it would NOT work unless I also turned off my system wide adblocker (AdGuard).
For sure they are doing some shady shit.
A starter for Firefox called “Chrome”?
I’ll never buy products\brands that do this kind of shit. Never.
I worry a day will come that it’s all of them.
The problem is, you don’t always know they will do this until after you pay your money for them.
Especially if its a few years down the line when you’re already a few grand in to their system
True. But doing your homework prior to a purchase is more important than ever.
Of course, it always is.
But a lot of this type of enshittification can be difficult to learn about without getting your hands on thw product first. Especially if it’s a new model.
Are you sure? Thats not acceptable for most professionals so i doubt there is no way around it. Whats the modelname of your camera? How are you trying to access the files?
Are you sure?
100% Canon announced this last month, ironically on April Fool’s Day!. Funny, that they say it makes the experience “more convenient and enjoyable”.
Yeah, it was fine before, when you’d open the app, connect to your camera, and download the images.
Whats the modelname of your camera? How are you trying to access the files?
We’ve got several Canon cameras, and you cannot proceed to use the app unless you log in. This isn’t to allow for cloud storage or anything like this. This is to do ANYTHING through the app, including location data tagging, live view, etc.
So instead of just mounting the camera as storage, they require a proprietary app using a surveillance-packed web browser? Yeah, I’d be returning that pile of awful.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking. Why even need an app? The camera stores the pictures on an SD card anyway (probably). If the app is nice and has some extra features like being able to pick the best shot from a series, fine, but I somehow doubt that it does more than transfer pictures lol
It allows you to grab an image, develop the RAW, do a quick edit on your phone or tablet, upload to socials, share with friends, etc. If that’s your thing.
You can also use it to geotag your photos/files automatically with the gps in your phone. It does firmware updates as well.
Also does remote shooting including allowing you to change exposure settings without touching the camera. Useful for photo and video in that respect.
I just uninstalled it. Going to keep using my usb-c hub with included SD card reader if I need to get at my media before I can get to a computer.
It’s for transferring pictures over the wifi network or a local wifi network that the camera is hosting. If you have the SD card plugged in, there’s absolutely no reason to use the app instead of your phone’s file manager. I don’t even think the app will recognize an SD card, but I don’t really know. It might recognize a plugged in camera, but it doesn’t advertise that and I’ve never tried.
You can still use the camera as an MTP device via a USB cable without any app. Just not wirelessly; that connection is proprietary (-ish, there are third party apps on some platforms).
Oh OK, so this nightmare existing is only for wifi use. I imagine that would also be slower, especially if these cameras support USB-C.
You can connect the camera direct via USB and mount as storage without the app. Though it’s only USB2 speeds lol. The app allows you to transfer over wifi which is dumb because it only lets you do that with jpgs. It won’t transfer raw files wirelessly. I just pull the card and use a fast card reader.
I personally only use the app as a bluetooth remote shutter release.
But many people also use the app to auto geotag their photos, as not many canon cameras have built in GPS.
Using your Canon ID to login to Canon’s digital camera software and apps will give you access to quick and easy product registration, tailored notifications about firmware, software updates, equipment notifications, new product announcements, and more to help optimize your experience with your Canon equipment.
So, ads? You’d figure the account would provide extra features (that we didn’t need) but this doesn’t even give anything to the user.
It doesn’t really make it any better, but at least they let you opt out of data collection after creating the account (you know, when they have already collected your email, first and last name as well as camera serial no.) 🙄
And there is no other way to access the camera from your phone? Cant you just mount it as a storage medium over USB? Or if all else fails just use a USBC card reader dongle…
It’s more than just file transfer, unfortunately.
If you want to control your camera through the app, or geotag photos… you now have to use an account that connects to Canon (and probably 1001 “partners”).
Well then the title is just misleading i guess. If you need an app for extra features, they will harvest your data anyways even without an account. Unless the app was working without internet access before. The mistake is buying a camera that requires an app that isnt using an open protocol and expecting Canon not to make use of their software lock in thumb screws. In a year they will want a monhtly subscription fee for you to use the app.
Unless the app was working without internet access before.
It was.
The mistake is buying a camera that requires an app that isnt using an open protocol and expecting Canon not to make use of their software lock in thumb screws.
To ge fair, these cameras were purchased before the Golden Age of Enshittification.
As hardware features like built-in GPS were offloaded to apps, choices became slim.
Its somewhat unavoidable with some things, i have to admit.
Is it this app? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.canon.ic.cameraconnect
Im sure this can be reverse engineered relatively easily if it connects over WiFi, because you can just sniff all the traffic quite easily.I hope you havent installed any firmware updates recently, because they will surely try to prevent people from doing so and actively work to break existing 3rd party apps or older official app versions.
Edit: Nvm i saw you managed to downgrade the app.
In order to access my tax and benefit accounts on the Government of Canada website I can only use Chrome … making sure to wipe all cookies, etc afterwards.
I freaking hate shite like this.
Is that through the CRA website? I’ve been able to access it on Firefox (through Linux) without being hassled.
But yeah, websites that force you to use Chrome would get on my nerves. I’d be sandboxing that entire browsing session, too. LOL
I use FF on both Mac and PC for the CRA site. Can’t remember the last time I used a browser other than FF for anything.
I’ve had some sites simply not work right with Firefox, so I’ll use an alternative, usually just another flavour of Firefox, like Librewolf or Waterfox, and they tend to work just fine. It’s probably something to do with some of the locked down settings that I use on my primary browser, but it’s nothing compared to forced Google Chrome or gasp Internet Explorer. 😵
I stopped using FF a while back. But if memory serves I wasn’t able to access gov’t sites with it either.
the CRA website? I’ve been able to access it on Firefox (through Linux) without being hassled.
Same here.
Maybe they’ve got some privacy plug-ins that are preventing the CRA website from functioning properly?
In the past, I have had to add my bank and some government websites to my whitelist
I’m pretty sure that duckduckgo browser is based on Chromium. That should work in Chrome’s stead.
Nope. I use multiple browsers (DDG, Ghostery, Waterfox, etc) and none of them work.
Have you tried changing the user agent to chrome?
Nope. I will try that and see if it works tho.
Thanks for the head’s up.
Update … it took a while but that does work on Ghostery. Thanks again. :)
Awesome!
Chrome or chormium?
Chrome.
Like Nvidia forces you to create an account to download your DRIVERS. Why??
They dont? I’ve downloaded Nvidia drivers many times and never had to create an account.
Sorry, I meant with the Nvidia App (formerly the Nvidia Experience app). I’m not sure if the site lets you download them directly, but the app used to do that freely until an update required users to sign up.
They removed login requirement for Nvidia App
Just found out, thanks!
But please don’t let that dissuade you from hating Nvidia. That company deserves some hate.
No login with website. And your don’t need the Nvidia app either. Just driver’s
It didn’t used to be that way, sure. Until now when governments want all the info on users with hardware that can process AI.
Edit: It may actually depend on what country you’re in, for that exact reason.
It may actually depend on what country you’re in
I’m in Mexico, so not sure if it’s relevant.
This actually made me curious enough to dig just a little deeper down this rabbit hole, so I did a little
GooglingDucking on it. There’s quite a few articles regarding this, not sure how much it does or doesn’t pertain to AI rules and regulations though 🤷♂️https://duckduckgo.com/?q=why+does+nvidia+require+an+account
The day has finally come: Nvidia no longer requires a login to access its graphics card software. The new Nvidia App has just been released in beta and effectively replaces the GeForce Experience app, and one of the first things many of you will notice is how you can access ostensibly the entire software suite without logging into an Nvidia account.
“Your identity isn’t essential to this experience,” an Nvidia spokesperson said of the decision.
Nvidia first introduced a mandatory login for the GeForce Experience app in 2016, and it’s been widely criticised as a bad move ever since. There are threads on Reddit and Nvidia’s own forums filled with complaints from users, but after nearly eight years it felt like a done deal.
Good to know that it only took them 8 years to reconsider. Although I distinctly remember not being able to download my drivers without an account via the app during the pandemic. I wasn’t living here in 2016. 🤷♂️
Though it’s been forever since I’ve used anything Nvidia, I have heard something about that.
Since Nvidia has jumped full force into Artificial Intelligence, governments are requiring information on who owns and uses such hardware, and it most likely also comes with spying on what you’re using it for.
We truly live in a fucking dystopia now. ☹️
There is no law forcing Nvidia to require accounts to download drivers. I literally just downloaded Nvidia drivers a few days ago without needing an account.
It may not be a law, but when NVidia has numerous contracts with the federal government, and the feds ask NVidia to do them a favor…Well, NVidia does it. That assumes they didn’t secretly order NVidia to do so via some obscure provision in a national security law.
It most likely depends on the country you’re in. Some countries are already adopting such laws. Not much different than the age verification thing some countries are doing, total invasion of privacy, to appease the powers in charge.
I rolled back the app to an older version before this was required and blocked it from network or updating. The only feature I use is the gps data over bluetooth and remote shutter. Canon can go F*** themselves with this nonsense
How are you transferring these files? I understand it’s less convenient but could you maybe take the sd card out and plug it into a laptop instead?
How are you transferring these files? I understand it’s less convenient but could you maybe take the sd card out and plug it into a laptop instead?
WIFI. Way, way more convenient (before this BS) than taking out the SD card.
But this goes beyond just transferring images. If I wanted to use live view, I have to use the app. If I want to geotag photos, I have to use the app.
None of those features require Canon’s servers, so it’s infuriating that I have to “log in” for this nonsense.
How else are they supposed to gather data to sell to advertisers and train their eventual Ai bullshit?
I’m so over these corporate walled gardens trying suck every last drop of profitability from people.
their eventual Ai bullshit?
OMFG, I just checked the app, and under their “Recommended apps and services” is an AI image upscale option. If this can’t be done on-device, then I guarantee your photos are being used for their gain.
So pulling out the SD card works?
I would hope/assume so. If they ever decided to encrypt the SD card and force you to use the app to decrypt it, I would throw their products against the wall.
