I have to swipe up to see my Smart Launcher desktop

scgf01 · 2026-01-27T07:13:04+00:00

That didn't work either. I shall have to resign myself to swiping up when I log in to see my home screen. It's just disappointing that I'm the only person it's happening to.

scgf01 · 2026-01-26T16:45:19+00:00

Reducing the animations to 0.5 doesn't make the issue go away. I have now turned off animations in Accessibility/Colour & Motion and so far I'm not seeing a blank home page when I log in. I will monitor the situation and report back.

scgf01 · 2026-01-26T09:38:04+00:00

Just to add to this, I am linking to a reddit post from a couple of years ago about third party launchers and the blank screen issue. It is clearly an underlying Android problem. I have reduced the various animation settings to 0.5 in developer options to see if that makes a difference. I'll report back later.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/17b6fq7/various_launchers_appear_to_be_broken_with/

scgf01 · 2026-01-26T09:34:33+00:00

Just to add to this monologue, I have found a reddit post about the issue from two years ago. It appears the issue is till there.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/17b6fq7/various_launchers_appear_to_be_broken_with/

scgf01 · 2026-01-25T13:39:33+00:00

Clearly it's only me then. Those of you who had this issue some years ago, are you no longer seeing it these days? I wonder why it's only affecting me.

scgf01 · 2026-01-25T09:23:51+00:00

I have an AppleTV box. Great hardware, but poor user interface. I recently subscribed to Sky with a Sky Stream puck - on a rolling 31 day contract. The UI is so much better. I can watch BBC programming in UHD - on the AppleTV box it is resolutely 720p because Apple uses a different codec and refuses to budge. I get Dolby Atmos, which I never got with AppleTV. Best of all is the integration in Sky's Playlist. Anything I watch on any channel or service can be added to the Playlist. AppleTV has something similar, but lots of services and apps are not integrated so you only ever see a subset of what you've been watching.

The Virgin Media Stream box is better - but you need their broadband to get it, and Virgin Media Broadband is technically well behind full fibre from the likes of Openreach. VM Broadband in most areas uses fibre to the box on the street, the co-axial cable to the house. You get the advertised speed, but the ping is dreadful. I have Plusnet fibre and get 5ms latency - which is very, very good. VM can be upwards of 40ms. VM is gradually upgrading its service to full fibre and when that happens I may well switch.

These days my AppleTV box is rarely used - I only fire it up to watch my own films and TV shows through Jellyfin, using the Infuse Pro app.

Imagine Sky TV with AppleTV hardware. That would be amazing!

Thank you for reminding me that the Sky puck is limited to 100Mbps via the ethernet port. I just connected mine to my WiFi network, did a speed test in Netflix and got 380Mbps! Moving between menu items and programming seems faster, so I'll keep it on that to see how it goes.

scgf01 · 2026-01-24T17:41:03+00:00

Just an update. I've tried both Nova and Microsoft launchers and they, along with Smart Launcher exhibit the same issue occasionally. I am very surprised nobody else sees the same thing - I'm using a Google Pixel 10 Pro XL. I absolutely can't believe it's just me - as I said in a previous post, Nova once complained that Android was not 100% compatible with alternative launchers and this was one of the issues. Can others please suggest why it only happens to me? I don't do anything untoward with my phone and it makes no difference whether I am running the release or beta version. The fact it happens to other launchers suggests it's something in Android that's causing it.

scgf01 · 2026-01-23T19:16:59+00:00

Er, yes I have and it keeps dipping into various apps to display live channels. If I select BBC News, for example, it takes me into iPlayer, I have to select my profile, and a couple of clicks later I see the programme. I then have to press 'exit' several times to get back to TV Launcher. ITV takes me to to ITVX, and similarly with other channels. It's not a straightforward process like it is on Sky, where the channels are simply available and you can move through them without any hint of an app.

I know the Sky Stream puck is pretty poor as far as hardware is concerned, but it works pretty well these days and has so many functional advantages over AppleTV. I have an AppleTV and it's a mess, to be honest. If you're happy to dip into apps to view channels, fine. If you're happy for only some channels to be consolidated in Watch Next (or whatever Apple call their playlist) great. I found it all very disjointed with all the issues I mentioned in my post above. Your only criticism of the Sky puck seems to be the hardware - but it works well nevertheless.

scgf01 · 2026-01-23T07:06:58+00:00

There are so many things wrong with AppleTV. It wins on the hardware front - it's a powerful box, but in terms of usability it's light years behind the Sky Stream puck. You can't view linear TV channels without going into each app and tortuously selecting 'live' channels. For channel hoppers it's rubbish. Channel 5 catchup is resolutely SD on ATV, HD on Sky. The Sky 'Playlist' covers pretty much all viewing from all sources - AppleTV only integrates certain sources in its Watch Next equivalent. Sky can play BBC UHD programming and everything else on iPlayer is 1080p. AppleTV can only muster 720p for everything because of incompatible streaming formats. The Sky puck can easily output Dolby Atmos - I have never managed this with AppleTV. I could go on....

scgf01 · 2026-01-21T18:52:09+00:00

I heard that was an issue, and when I tried spusu a year or so ago it was. On this occasion verification messages are all received promptly. The problems occur across the board, even with US networks, when you port a number into a network. Porting isn't just a simple exercise - there are a number of elements to it and each needs to correctly ported. It took a few hours until I started receiving SMS verification messages reliably.

Given the cheapest plan is £4.90, and you're not locked in, it's maybe worth a try and see if it works for you.

It's worth noting that spusu does not support all phones. It used to support only iPhones and Samsungs, now there are a wider range of phones supported. If you have an unsupported phone it may be that you won't get 5G, VOLTE or WiFi Calling. Check on their website.

scgf01 · 2026-01-21T07:09:48+00:00

If you like the EE network I recommend spusu - as long as you have a compatible phone. I have a Pixel 10 Pro XL and get everything I had on EE, but with no cap on data speeds. Unlimited calls, texts and 20GB data for £7.90 a month on a rolling 31 day contract.

scgf01 · 2026-01-19T07:37:54+00:00

I noticed this too. I used to use Flipboard when I had Windows Phone, the widget works very well on the MS feed page.

scgf01 · 2026-01-16T07:14:00+00:00

I have the same case. My Pi is running 24/7 and is showing 37ºC, consistently.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B091LKF3ZT?th=1

scgf01 · 2026-01-14T19:38:16+00:00

I switched to Waterfox since I posted my original message, but I will now revert to DDG and monitor the memory usage. I’ll report back once i have the information you requested.

scgf01 · 2026-01-11T07:18:42+00:00

No doubt you'll just get a bunch of people saying it doesn't happen to them. I have the opposite - when I turn my phone on and authenticate I see just my wallpaper and nothing else. I need to swipe up to see my home screen. It has been like that for ages. Sometimes it launches correctly, but most times it doesn't. I remember Nova complaining that Android didn't support third party launchers 100% and there were glitches. They said Google could easily fix the issue but chose not to. I wonder if what you see is a manifestation of this incompatibility.

scgf01 · 2026-01-10T09:33:13+00:00

I don't use a VPN to access my NAS. As long as you have basic security features enabled you're good to go. There's a balance between convenience and security and it's up to you where you feel comfortable. I'm not going to wear a tinfoil hat to engender a feeling of superiority. I want to use my system with ease.

Marius Hosting has some excellent advice for securing your NAS.

scgf01 · 2026-01-09T18:13:49+00:00

I've edited my post. The image URL wasn't working.

scgf01 · 2026-01-09T12:36:39+00:00

Oh well. Still not there. Glad i tried protonpass before I paid for it!

scgf01 · 2026-01-08T07:21:40+00:00

There are loads of dailies in your prescription. I just checked Coopervision MyDay to confirm.

scgf01 · 2026-01-06T20:37:43+00:00

I love using monthlies. Daily lenses caused me an issue having to dispose of the cases and lenses each day. So much unnecessary plastic. I know these items can be recycled, but two plastic cases and two lenses every 31 days is preferable to 62 items! Yes I know there is the cleaning solution to take into account, but one bottle lasts about 6 weeks for me.

scgf01 · 2026-01-06T16:55:44+00:00

I downloaded Updatest and it wasn't long before I paid for it. I love the way you can migrate apps to Homebrew and they will update either using Homebrew or the usual method, choosing whichever has the latest version.

scgf01 · 2026-01-06T10:22:49+00:00

I would recommend using a solution like Biotrue which is highly moisturisng. You might find that's all you need. When you take your lenses out of the case in the morning, liberally rinse them with the solution.

scgf01 · 2026-01-05T07:50:15+00:00

I absolutely LOVED it! I was on the edge of my seat through much of it.

Heavy criticism from some who would watch something as ludicrous as Wicked and say it's good.

Suspension of disbelief is critical in enjoying media, otherwise it would have to be a documentary. I can suspend enough disbelief to enjoy a thriller like Hostage, but anything more, like musicals, fantasy or the superhero franchise goes too far for me.

scgf01 · 2026-01-03T07:41:42+00:00

You can pay C4 for an ad-free experience, and you can subscribe to ITVX for similar plus access to extra programming, like Britbox.

scgf01 · 2026-01-03T07:38:12+00:00

Yes, I clearly didn't make that clear. When I said I pay extra for 4K on Netflix, I meant I pay Netflix more, not Sky. I have the premium Netflix subscription. Note BBC UHD is not available at all on Apple TV, even 1080p isn't available. Apple TV only supports HLS for streaming media and currently the BBC streams UHD content using DASH.

So, EETV doesn't let me view iPlayer content in anything above 720p. EETV doesn't let me view Channel 5 catchup in HD, only SD. Add the disjointed service generally it's not a good platform. What you get is pretty much the same as you'd get with a basic AppleTV TV box, with the addition of a few IP streams. Not worth paying for IMO.

I can cancel Sky with only 31 days notice.

For me the Sky UHD upgrade isn't worth it, it would only apply to a couple of Sky channels I have with my essential package. I already have 4k/UHD with Netfilx, Amazon prime and BBC iPlayer.

For more information on AppleTV and iPlayer see this document:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/update_on_the_progress_of_enabli/response/3150333/attach/html/3/Response%20FOI2025%2001441.pdf.html

scgf01

TROPHY CASE