641–650 of 907 posts
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Wasn't aware of that, can you send a link explaining?
For a while Netflix didn't support 1080p on browsers other than Edge on Windows or Safari on Mac. This has changed somewhat but they still reserve their resolution content for their "blessed" OS/browser combinations https://help.netflix.com/en/node/30081
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Back in '99 Linux didn't run Excel/Word/Powerpoint or most games, but I ran it anyway. What others call showstoppers are for me inconveniences. I have a motorolla edge 2024 that I'll load whatever open source phone OS will work well enough to place calls and browse the web. I'll keep another phone for the rare times some corporate/government overlord requires it. Many folks who refuse to use smartphones, similarly ow…
Technology has a ratchet effect at scale - as a solution becomes widely adopted, it switches from being a convenience to being a necessity, because people start building more stuff on top of it. It's as true of to-the-minute accurate clocks as it is of smartphone banking. You can still run a version of Word from 2004. It's fine, if all you need is to write some thoughts down for yourself. But the moment you need to c…
I've used it in the last three years to automate document generation in an enterprise because the latest versions of word:
1). Randomly break during automatic updates you can't really turn off.
2). Automatically upload everything to the cloud even when you tell them no.
This isn't the 90s when closed software was better. We are firmly in the enshitification stage of windows and office. Open source is better and is the only sane choice for enterprise.
Those are not words I thought I'd ever write in 2005 or 2015, but here we are.
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Looks like GrapheneOS will be available on another "major Android OEM” soon [1]. Regulation should prevent Google from subsidising manufacturers to use Android. Arguably the recent antitrust legislation [2] applies in this case because they're effectively paying manufacturers to place that horrendous and impossible to remove search bar on the home screen. [1] https://www.androidauthority.com/graphene-os-major-android…
GrapheneOS is in some ways not an open OS. The official builds don't provide root access. So for example apps are able to hold your data hostage from you. I get that this is in the name of security hardening. And you can make a build that has limited root access and is officially supported. But GrapheneOS isn't the end-all solution to computing freedom. Although hopefully on those devices you will be able to install…
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This is only until the only 2FA solutions that the bank requires you to use to log in and authorize transactions only come as smartphone apps.
to your point, not exactly a one-to-one, but several discount airlines (e.g., RyanAir, PLAY, Allegiant, Frontier, Spirit, Wizz, Flair, AirAsia) already require an app to check in for a flight, or pay a fee. No app (or the horrors, no mobile), it cannot be done on a regular computer, must go to a ticket counter and pay a fee.
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This is the place where I think lawmakers needs to be involved. Bearing in mind that laws aren't engineering specs, being able to pay for things and use a bank are about as close to fundamental rights as anything is for participants in society. If you have to buy a second device to use Netflix, so be it, but we need laws that guarantee people can make digital payments without Apple or Google's permission. There are s…
Secure boot and OEM bootloader unlock should be able to work with images so you can lock a phone after the upgrade again. I managed to get a US refubished Pixel 2 somehow with a fuselocked bootloader here in Ireland. I bought it second hand but I've no idea how it got that way. But I'm suck on the Pixel image and I wanted to use it for ROM testing etc.
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Slackware always brings out the inner teen in me. I feel giddy like in the old days. I need to install and maintain it somewhere some time, just for kicks. I support FOSS wholeheartedly, and believe that it's possible to have a device which is completely Free (not Open but, Free) from hardware design to firmware and software. On the other hand, there are some nasty realities which bring hard questions. For example, r…
I don't think open source and not allowing people to break laws with impunity are at odds. Because there are laws governing airwaves. I think there would need to be some sort of legal entity (foundation?) that would need to steward open firmware + enable it to be locked down so regulations can be followed, but I don't think the two are somehow irreconcilable. The first example that comes to mind is how all the linuxe…
I'm going to say something that probably will get me down votes: Why do we have to beg Google to keep Android open? Seriously. So many open source projects have risen out of real and concrete needs and successfully made their way into our every day lives. A new platform needs to rise that breaks out completely from Google. I've given PostmarketOS a go (with a PinePhone) and while today I can't say it isn't a daily dr…
Answer: bank/financial apps, enterprise apps, government apps and copyrighted media (music, video, games, books, ...). Those are the players that demand excessive control over end-user devices, and thus the ultimate driver behind the problem we're discussing. It's not that a new mobile platform couldn't possibly succeed. It's an open platform that cannot, because aforementioned players don't want it, and without them…
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It's called GNU/Linux.
>It's called GNU/Linux. The overwhelming majority of users call it "Linux" and don't care what the operating system's pronouns are. Many Linux systems are running today without GNU coreutils or userland. It's time to stop posting this flame bait.
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to your point, not exactly a one-to-one, but several discount airlines (e.g., RyanAir, PLAY, Allegiant, Frontier, Spirit, Wizz, Flair, AirAsia) already require an app to check in for a flight, or pay a fee. No app (or the horrors, no mobile), it cannot be done on a regular computer, must go to a ticket counter and pay a fee.
This isn't a problem, these apps will probably run fine under emulators. It's only wildvine/play protect stuff that barfs.
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> Feel free to complain, but don't forget you can make choices. Of course. I can make a choice. When the choice is between being able to login to secure services with my SIM embedded e-signature, use mobile banking and conduct official business and not being able to do any of these things, making choices are easy. Running Linux on desktop is easy mode when compared to phones, and yes, I started using Linux on desktop…
When that security model is based around SIM swappable hardware, this sounds at least questionable. Mobile security seems like a contradiction in itself. I would say this is also why Google is so eager to also lock down the last degree of freedom. So the joke is on you when you use it for online banking