Kieron Quinn

Seems like a good place to build Lego

To revert back, just long press and open the search settings, then select the Google app. Note that unfortunately only the search box check is bypassed, this wouldn't allow a third party app to replace the Discover feed yet (not without root anyway).

With this method you can set any app as the provider, but the widget must be set as "configuration optional", ie. if you add it to the home screen it doesn't open a configuration UI before being added. It also takes the first widget for a package, so apps with several widgets may show the wrong one.

Screenshot showing the Pixel Search as the search box on the home screen of the Pixel Launcher

And my personal favourite, Pixel Search (play.google.com/store/apps/d...), which looks like the old search box but is more customisable. It opens a similar UI to the old search interface too.

adb shell settings put secure selected_search_engine rk.android.app.pixelsearch

Screenshot showing the Chrome as the search box on the home screen of the Pixel Launcher

Chrome (looks a bit weird with broken scaling):

adb shell settings put secure selected_search_engine com.android.chrome

Screenshot showing the Firefox as the search box on the home screen of the Pixel Launcher

Here's Firefox:

adb shell settings put secure selected_search_engine org.mozilla.firefox

Will this change in the future to allow third party apps to replace Discover? Maybe, who knows. But what use would that be anyway when the list of allowed apps is server-controlled? Well...

The setting is writable using ADB and can be set to any app, bypassing the check (also enabling the settings)

Command line query showing the hardcoded list of packages from a Pixel device, showing just one result: the Google app.

Interestingly, this setting is also used to control which app to use for the "overlay" (minus one / Discover feed), but the selected app must be on a hardcoded list of packages (see the code: cs.android.com/android/plat...). Querying this on a device reveals the list only allows the Google app.

This suggests that the change is actually more to do with antitrust, and also at the same time will finally allow people to change the search box - something that's been asked for for a long time.

The list of apps that are "allowed" here is server-controlled, it reads from www.gstatic.com/android_sear... (download and drop into protobuf-decoder.netlify.app to read this), and seems to be a similar list (if not the same one) to previous antitrust requirements.

Screenshot showing the search box long pressed, revealing two options: Search settings and Widget settings. Search settings is new.

The settings UI opened when search settings is selected, showing options to select a search engine, and a link to two existing Google-specific options for web search preferences and to control search results.

The search engine picker, showing two options: DuckDuckGo and Google. DuckDuckGo has been selected instead of Google.

The home screen again, but now showing the DuckDuckGo search box as it was selected.

This is an intentional change, but the claims that it's being done to push AI mode don't seem to be (entirely) true. There's actually a hidden settings UI that only appears if you change the setting (presumably this will change later), which allows you to pick a search provider for the search box.

Screenshot showing the old search box on the home screen of the Pixel Launcher

Screenshot showing the "new" search box on the home screen of the Pixel Launcher, which is the Google widget

In the first Android 17 beta, there's a change to the search box in the Pixel Launcher. Some sites are reporting this as "similar to the Google widget" - but it acually *is* just the Google widget. The methods to revert back to the old search box (internally called "one" search) also don't work

screenshot of my quiz results: “Congratulations! You are a Quiz Destroyer. You answered 20 questions and didn’t break a sweat.” badges say: “Hydrated…?”, “Breakfast Appreciator”, “Behaves Unprofessionally”, “Burger Supplier”, “No Mayo”, “Fun Guy”, “Inbox Zero”

Do you like taking unscientific personality tests? I have developed one that will definitely tell you something about yourself. Guaranteed free of malware! Extremely shareable results!! It’s free and online!!!!

wuffs.org/quiz/

Do you have one of those cinema passes or are you paying to see Nick every time?

Queueing up at the landlord's house at 5am on boxing day for the best deal

Yeah I think it's this, it's quite common to get it with 50Hz displays here since most phones will default to 60Hz refresh rate in videos. Lights get detected and adjusted to quickly, but smaller screens you end up with the scan effect.

Old Fridges Can Kill Public Information Film PIF 1971 CLIP YouTube video by Retro Pixels

We had this: youtu.be/A4aVU3LFq_E

It's so very '70s that the correct thing to do is the last mentioned option, after smashing the shit out of it to prevent a child from getting stuck when you've dumped it in the local woods

Entrance to a Royal Mail sorting office, with a fence topped in razor wire

Spotted while visiting the world's most approachable Royal Mail sorting office

Graffiti on an underpass reading "your a furry" [sic]

Salford graffiti hits different

Hate this shit so much, I've done all the ID crap for Bluesky, Discord and Reddit and yet I'm still having to VPN to France more and more because I can't even scroll Reddit without being blocked.

Imgur isn't even the Online Safety Act, they just got fined and decided to block the entire country.

I hope the same for the apple.news links, though at least that was limited to news sites

Seems the CPU in question does have the required instructions since it supports SSE4.2: www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Xeon/In...

So either could be bypassed in software or potentially a TPM added to the board might be enough

When MPs can't look at "tractors" in parliament they'll suddenly care.

There do seem to be better alternatives nowadays, eg. store-beta.rebble.io/app/67a8c311..., so it won't get updates beyond station list changes if/when I remember, but it's nice to know someone is still finding it useful.

GitHub - KieronQuinn/pebble-train-times-gb: Source code for Pebble JS app displaying train times in Britain Source code for Pebble JS app displaying train times in Britain - KieronQuinn/pebble-train-times-gb

Yes, that was mine - 8 years ago! Somehow I still had the source knocking around, so I've updated the list and published a release, as well as dropping the source at github.com/KieronQuinn/...

I reckon Microsoft. Google tried and failed to make a social network already, probably won't want it. Meta would get hit by every single anti-competition suit under the sun.

There were also Salesforce and Oracle bidding when *he* took it over, both of those options sound god awful.

🔥🥵

cartoon for the guardian by Stephen Collins - script as follows: [Scene is a darkened LOFT. Amongst the boxes and junk are FOUR KNACKERED OLD FANS - three tower fans and one circular, with cracked grey plastic and buttons missing. One fan, TOWER FAN 1, is a bit taller than the others, and is addressing them] 1 TOWER FAN 1: Right lads, get ready. 2 TOWER FAN 1: This is our time. 3 TOWER FAN 1: The time when we remember who we are, and why we’re here. 4 TOWER FAN 1: We are the four crap fans in a British person’s loft, and we are here to make absolutely no difference whatsoever. 5 TOWER FAN 1: I know what you’re thinking, lads: 6 TOWER FAN 1: Surely this will be the year they finally replace us? 7 TOWER FAN 1: Our plastic’s gone all brown... I haven’t oscillated since 2018... 8 TOWER FAN 1: Dave here sounds like a spitfire and blows like a sad cat’s sigh… TOWER FAN 2: Cheers mate 9 TOWER FAN 1: But no. These people are British, and every year, they forget the sun exists. By the time they remember, new fans will cost *four million pounds* on Amazon. 10 TOWER FAN 1: So we’ll be back down there... shovelling thick air across the moaning faces of a species that cannot comprehend the concept of air conditioning, or even just closing the curtains when it’s hot out... 11 TOWER FAN 1: ...while they incessantly bang on about normally hot countries which this country is now temporarily a bit hotter than. 12 [The loft hatch opens and a person comes up the ladder] PERSON: APPARENTLY IT’S HOTTER THAN GREECE, LISA

british fan chat

Rishi Sunak failing to use contactless payments by holding his payment card up to a barcode scanner

Still, could be worse

At least you didn't find a path

bsky.app/profile/booz...