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Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

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Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#241

Post by softfalcon »

eldaisfish wrote: post #21
softfalcon wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A solid product name is important for marketing, to be sure. However, it's also a way that native English folks prejudice against foreign products that are arguably very useful and valuable. I'm not saying you're wrong in doing what everyone does and allowing the marketing naming to sway your decision. However, I would gently suggest that you take a more critical approach and evaluate the actual product instead of le…

something named /e/ has literally no obvious means of pronunciation in any human language. This really is on a different level of stupid for a name. You mention Kubernetes. I raise you Microsoft Kaizala. That is such a stupid name in English even though i recognise and know the language it is from - Marathi. Naming is a delicate game and there are numerous examples of brand names that transcend language - Ikea, Nissa…

I see how you latched onto the bad Kubernetes example and clearly ignored the “discounting non-English products” part.

I’ll grant you my Kubernetes example was bad but I have no idea what you’re getting at with Microsoft Kaizala. Probably cause I’ve never heard of it or Marathi.

I think it’s understandable that people judge a name, but at the same time, judging can be a form of discrimination. I feel it’s important to ask myself how I might be biased when I make off the cuff judgements based on just a name.

Also, I think the reason Nissan, Mitsubishi, etc transcended languages is because the product was good even if the name was different or weird for the time. People saw the product was good and didn’t care what it was called.

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#242

Post by piaste »

jqpabc123 wrote: post #40
colordrops wrote: post #5

Eventually it would be nice if they could contribute to Osmand and get it up to snuff for daily use and replace Magic Earth.

In my experience, where the open source apps often come up short is not really mapping but rather turn by turn navigation . The first, most obvious indictor being the voice prompts. If they sound like a bad video game from the 90's, you can bet the directions are equally flawed/bad.

For me, the biggest issue is business information.

I rarely use map apps to find directions, except while hiking or having a stroll, in which case, yes, OSM is superior.

Most of the time, I need to either:

A) Look up a certain type of business, check its opening hours and (if applicable) menu, phone or message them to ask any questions, and only then drive to the business in question

or B) get somewhere without a car, and figure out the fastest route by public transportation without having to find multiple different websites and cross-reference their respective timesheets

These activities aren't really the job of a mapping or navigation map, they're the job for a data mining app.

OSM often has better paths than Google Maps, but Google's commercial and transportation databases aren't going to get beaten by any open source service any time soon.

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#244

Post by geokon »

commoner wrote: post #234
geokon wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

since you seem knowledgeable.. I noticed when apps are installed on Chinese androids they generally magically work just fine. I remember reading that at install time the app detects if it's on a western or Chinese phone and it reconfigures itself accordingly (this was with Signal) The issues appear when you install on a western phone and disable Google play services and the apps keep trying to access them For instanc…

It depends on how the developer chooses to implement the notifications and on how the app is distributed. The Play Store distribution of Signal uses Firebase Cloud Messaging (via Google Play Services or microG) and falls back to WebSockets if FCM is unavailable. The website distribution[1] of Signal only uses WebSockets. I don't think Signal tries to detect whether the phone is Chinese, only whether FCM is available.…

Ohhh, releasing multiple apks. That hadnt occured to me but it makes sense. I do use the Huawei app store which may be why I generally don't have issues

Im still not super clear why Instagram/Messenger don't give notifications. It could be that they started using Google services at some point and I hadn't noticed, though I'd find that surprising given theyre competitors. Maybe I should try this AppManager. Also LINE will not work - but I've never had that work in the past. Another workaround that sometimes works is finding a "Lite" version or the all. But they've been mostly deprecated in recent years

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#245

Post by flas9sd »

fsflover wrote: post #197
flas9sd wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there's irony in having "degoogled" Phones built upon a platform that is at the technical discretion of Google, but you'd discount a lot of mindshare that grew around Android to say GNU/Linux is the only way long term. I don't know if the community could sustain a AOSP hardfork (or if it's necessary), but combining a mainline kernel with open firmware is a possibility for Android handhelds too.

The software is not a problem, the hardware is. You should be able to run AOSP on Pinephone and Librem 5 just fine. They do not depend on the proprietary drivers and can run mainline Linux.

the road to nowhere is proprietary firmware for hardware, not if it's running an aosp customrom or gnu/linux. I wanted to make this distinction as your parent comment read as if the gnu/linux part is a precondition. I agree on the downside of having less or no say in android product direction, but it's up to the firmware (and carriers frankly as they control the mobile towers) when obsolescence for a device happens.
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