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Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

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Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#401

Post by ocdtrekkie »

Tomis02 wrote: post #386
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google now has: The dominant operating system, the dominant web browser, the dominant search engine, and the dominant email service. They bundle all of these together and make them relatively independent, and there still isn't an antitrust suit in the US. This is where all the money Google pours into government comes into play.

When Chrome was launched, all you could see when using Google were Chrome ads, and with good reason - success by word of mouth alone can only come if your product is significantly better than the alternatives, which Chrome definitely was not (probably still isn't). I do find some satisfaction in this, though, because another browser comes to mind. Firefox won its brief market dominance not through intrinsic quality (…

I think Firefox has recently had a bit of a fire lit under them, and has been going full steam at getting back into being a competitive option.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#402

Post by vopi »

dep_b wrote: post #388
the_duke wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most Android issues arise due to either vendors which don't update the devices, or malicious vendors that actually pre-install malware (beware of phones ordered from aliexpress etc ...). Android is open source, after all. Not much Google can do there.

Why wouldn't a device receive updates when the manufacturer abandons it? Most laptops from 2008 long abandoned by their manufacturers still run Windows 10. If Microsoft can pull it off Google can do it too. No excuses.

For one windows is open source. They can bully manufacturers. Google, while can in some regards, can't as effectively. Manufacturers could just stripe out any technical means. You could restrict their play access, but I can't imagine that helps Google.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#403

Post by julius_set »

Google can you please take control of your Android API, make it match iOS's slickness and UI, and be more controlling on getting your manufacturers to update their phones?

Can YOU PLEASE work on the perception the public has that Android is for cheap people? And the preferred upper class phone is iPhone?

For gods sake your iPhone apps are better than your android apps. Do you not see a problem here? Your developers and engineers think less of your platform.

There is a blatant stance on Silicon Valley as Android is second tier. Change this perception ASAP.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#404

Post by JCharante »

oefrha wrote: post #279
chickenbane wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you should have started on it years ago As somebody who has been following Android for a while, this statement is incredibly unfair. The Android ecosystem is huge and remarkably safe. For those actually interested in the details, the Android security team releases annual security reviews, and the report for 2016 was just released: https://security.googleblog.com/2017/03/diverse-protections-... The tldr: the number…

Citing Google's blog post for Android security is not very convincing. If Android is so secure, why are we seeing (often more frequently than) weekly headlines on Android security woes, often containing something like "millions of devices affected" (and often enough, no fix in sight)? Also, quote from linked blog post: > only 0.05 percent of devices that downloaded apps exclusively from Play contained a PHA. 1. What…

> 1. What percentage of Android devices download apps exclusively from Play? They don't say. I, for one, have quite a few not so technical friends who sideload stuff.

I also have an anecdote to share. The only app I've sideloaded and helped others sideload was the one I created myself. Out of 10 teenagers who are the most probably to tinker, 0 of them usually install apps from sources outside of the play store.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#405

Post by s73ver »

codys wrote: post #207
geodel wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One reason is API change. For closed source solution they do not have to worry about API changes but open Android has to have much more elaborate API deprecation and change process.

That isn't true. Nothing about open source requires that they in any way stabilize their web-side APIs, the process they would follow could be the same as their binary releases, just with open source code released at the same time.

In theory that's true, but in practice, not so much. Even if they told people to not use those APIs, that they're not stable, people would still use them, based on the open source they saw. And then they would change, and people would be mad.

This is assuming that Google wants people to see and be able to use these APIs in the first place.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#406

Post by tim333 »

kelnage wrote: post #299
narrator wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to play devil's advocate: Windows became the dominant platform when it had terrible security. Android became the dominant platform when it had terrible security. Maybe people don't care that much about security vs other features. At it's low point, Windows security was a lot worse than Android security. At one point, a fresh Windows XP machine plugged into the Internet would be compromised within a couple of min…

I think this is part of the problem. I see a lot of hate thrown at Windows 10 for the automatic shutdown to install updates - and some of that is due to bad design choices by MS - but many seem to hate the idea of updates being automatically installed at all. They say they'd prefer to be insecure rather than be inconvenienced.

Chrome browser seems to do a good job with that issue. Automatic updates but so low key that you don't notice most of the time.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#407

Post by dpark »

s73ver wrote: post #405
codys wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That isn't true. Nothing about open source requires that they in any way stabilize their web-side APIs, the process they would follow could be the same as their binary releases, just with open source code released at the same time.

In theory that's true, but in practice, not so much. Even if they told people to not use those APIs, that they're not stable, people would still use them, based on the open source they saw. And then they would change, and people would be mad. This is assuming that Google wants people to see and be able to use these APIs in the first place.

And the people who would read the code to see the APIs' use aren't capable of doing the same with a network monitor?

I understand the concern, but I'm not sure I believe it's really that significant.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#409

Post by Retric »

tyfon wrote: post #391
Retric wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dial up and early high speed internet both gave you a public IP address. The expectation you will have multiple internet devices is more recent behind a nat is more recent. And yes I dealt with an XP box that would get compromised before you could download the update. Windows even included a utility to let people use it as a router on home networks to "share internet connections". https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/…

They still give you public IPs no? I get that at least on my fiber connection. It's even permanent.

The router has 1 public IP, but your PC/iPad etc are all behind NAT.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#410

Post by piyush_soni »

oefrha wrote: post #279
chickenbane wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you should have started on it years ago As somebody who has been following Android for a while, this statement is incredibly unfair. The Android ecosystem is huge and remarkably safe. For those actually interested in the details, the Android security team releases annual security reviews, and the report for 2016 was just released: https://security.googleblog.com/2017/03/diverse-protections-... The tldr: the number…

Citing Google's blog post for Android security is not very convincing. If Android is so secure, why are we seeing (often more frequently than) weekly headlines on Android security woes, often containing something like "millions of devices affected" (and often enough, no fix in sight)? Also, quote from linked blog post: > only 0.05 percent of devices that downloaded apps exclusively from Play contained a PHA. 1. What…

Why would you even count the lack of security for devices which are sideloading apps at all? I mean, there's a clear section in Android Settings called 'Security', and there's an option there to enable installing apps from Unknown Sources(set to OFF by default). When you try to enable that, it says this in clear words: "Your phone and personal data are more vulnerable to attack by apps from unknown sources. You agree that you are solely responsible for any damage to your phone or loss of data that may result from using these apps."

So if I give you a knife to cut fruits, and clearly tell you that you can also do juggling with it but it's not recommended and you should do it at your own risk, will you still blame me if you get hurt by knife juggling?

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