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!
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.
bye bye Canon. You were once the light of my photographic life - now you’re dead to me for pulling this bullshit.
Firefox doesn’t support WebUSB, Web Bluetooth and several other integrations, so applications that need to connect to other devices need some kind of Chrome application. Massive dick move by forcing account creation tho.
Firefox doesn’t support WebUSB, Web Bluetooth and several other integrations, so applications that need to connect to other devices need some kind of Chrome application.
If those features in the browser were needed, I could be a little less infuriated (they didn’t have to break previously working features, though).
However, Chrome was needed only to sign up and log in. Once that was done, I was able to disable chrome, and the app continued to work after restarting it.
Why they couldn’t implement a log in directly in the app, or use the device webview api, is beyond me.
I’m just waiting for that WebAntivirus support to land in chrome, for all those websites that tell you to install an antivirus.
Is there something about Chrome specifically that’s no bueno nowadays? I haven’t heard anything but to be fair I don’t really keep myself in that loop too much now
There’s a general negative attitude towards chromium browsers due to some anticompetitive practices pulled by Google in addition to privacy concerns and probably some more issues I’m not aware of. So that includes chrome, but also edge and most other chromium based browsers.
Ah okay, I hadn’t heard about any of that, very good to know, thank you
I don’t want any of my business being shared with Google, including the fact that I use Canon products. It’s just yet another data point for them to weaponize via targeted ads and data brokering.
And simply opening Chrome means that a data siphon to Google was just opened, so telemetry data would have been collected immediately.
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
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.
I don’t have much experience with cameras but isn’t it usually sd cards that you can pull out and transfer using a sd reader? Does the camera have internal storage that needs an account and app?
For data transfer only, yes, you can eject the SD card and copy your files.
But the app is used for other features, too. So you’re inconvenienced no matter what feature you use.
Yeah I guessed that much but your original post was a bit confusing as it doesn’t mention the app. Hence the question.
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.
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
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
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
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,
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.
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”?
What?
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.”
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.
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?
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.
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.
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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?
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
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 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.
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.
“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.
In terms of the chrome only thing, you can probably use a UA switcher on firefox and it will probs let you in. It’s probably just checking your user agent, nothing more.
It actually wanted the chrome app to be enabled and only opens the chrome app for the sign up/log in process.
So a user agent switch wouldn’t have helped in this case.
Firefox doesn’t support WebUSB and Web Bluetooth on any platform.
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.
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.
Advantage of using the app: Remote shutter/control.
Very convenient if you take lunar photos.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.
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.
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
