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Heh... yep, completely accurate. I almost said "eerily accurate" even, except not really: it's a very common phenomenon, and this is the classic fix. That an engineer would correctly guess the most common fix for a common phenomenon isn't really eerie. :)
Let's talk about the Google Nexus "volumegate" issue.
Today Google said that they have fixed the problem in software, and that a fix is coming.
I see many people saying this is a bunch of BS, but in reality they just have no idea how complex electronic circuits and software interact.
I'm a Systems Engineer and also a Developer. I deal with things like this every day.
What we have here is indeed a hardware issue, in that the radio interference is coming in through the radio hardware.
However things like this can be fix fairly easily in software. It's called debounce.
When you monitor an electronic input like the buttons on a phone there is always noise and flutter even when you just press the button. If testing by Google has shown that they just need to turn up the debounce time (the time which an input must exceed for it to be determined to be a genuine press) then it will more than likely just work and no one will ever see ti again.
Like I said I deal with this kind of thing every day, it's not a big deal as long as your debounce time is not excessive. But noise happens down on the order of 1 to 40 ms, real inputs when you press a button last from 100 or 200ms if you tap the button, up to seconds if you hold it down.
This is nothing like Apple and the iPhone 4 antennae problems that could not be fixed in software. I'm sure everyone will see in due time, the problem will be fixed, and the dust will blow over.
And people will be saying "wow, I was wrong, Google rocks!"
Cheers,
Lee.
Today Google said that they have fixed the problem in software, and that a fix is coming.
I see many people saying this is a bunch of BS, but in reality they just have no idea how complex electronic circuits and software interact.
I'm a Systems Engineer and also a Developer. I deal with things like this every day.
What we have here is indeed a hardware issue, in that the radio interference is coming in through the radio hardware.
However things like this can be fix fairly easily in software. It's called debounce.
When you monitor an electronic input like the buttons on a phone there is always noise and flutter even when you just press the button. If testing by Google has shown that they just need to turn up the debounce time (the time which an input must exceed for it to be determined to be a genuine press) then it will more than likely just work and no one will ever see ti again.
Like I said I deal with this kind of thing every day, it's not a big deal as long as your debounce time is not excessive. But noise happens down on the order of 1 to 40 ms, real inputs when you press a button last from 100 or 200ms if you tap the button, up to seconds if you hold it down.
This is nothing like Apple and the iPhone 4 antennae problems that could not be fixed in software. I'm sure everyone will see in due time, the problem will be fixed, and the dust will blow over.
And people will be saying "wow, I was wrong, Google rocks!"
Cheers,
Lee.
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+Piotr Chmieliński well bear in mind that I do not work for Google or Samsung in any way I'm just putting in my point of view on it, but my guess is that their testing, for whatever reason, did not show this problem. It wasn't until ppl started posting online a week ago I bet. Now should they have found this problem? Sure. Why didn't they? I don't know. Either way, it is what it is now.
So I say let's just relax and give then a little time to make the issue right. There are much worse things that I have seen get through testing that never should have that's for sure!Nov 29, 2011
And I don't know about you, but I'll take something that can be (rightly or wrongly) fixed with a software update over a pure hardware problem like bridging antennas with your hand any day.
Just saying :)Nov 29, 2011
+Lee Johnston I understand how software can fix things. I have a little knowledge of electronics myself. But from what I read, if true, they are just patching it at the kernel level, and not firmware level. so the problem still exists in the bootloader.
If google/samsung would officially say something, we can stop worrying and/or running away with rumors.Nov 29, 2011
+Lou Fourquet if things are implemented as I think they are, the hardware debounce settings are what will be changed by the software update. You can't get any lower than that. But, I am assuming here ;)
When i get a job with Google I'll let you know for sure, Ha!Nov 29, 2011
Lee, what do you think about the "advertised USB host feature" that isn't enabled on the final google nexus?Nov 29, 2011
+Dan Morrill +Lee Johnston on a slightly related note, my Nexus S touchscreen has intermittent problems responding to touch on a certain spot on the screen. The problem goes away either when I turn off the screen and turn it back on, or after pressing the home button (my wall paper is black if it's important)
If there's anyone here who's well-versed in AMOLED screens who can tell me if there's a software fix possible, that'll be great :)Dec 3, 2011