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Google announces Android for Work

googleforwork.blogspot.com

101–110 of 174 posts

Re: Google announces Android for Work

#101
post #97
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even beyond that though, if an iOS app requests ALL possible permissions, it doesn't have the same capabilities that an android app does.

I consider that a weakness of iOS as a platform. There are some pretty cool and useful things you can do with an Android app that you just can't do on iOS, period. Android's permission-granting model does leave much to be desired, though.

> There are some pretty cool and useful things you can do with an Android app that you just can't do on iOS, period.

Such as?

Re: Google announces Android for Work

#102
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I consider that a weakness of iOS as a platform. There are some pretty cool and useful things you can do with an Android app that you just can't do on iOS, period. Android's permission-granting model does leave much to be desired, though.

> There are some pretty cool and useful things you can do with an Android app that you just can't do on iOS, period. Such as?

Running in the background is on I stumbled with porting an app from Android to iOS. what an an iOS app can do while it's not the current app is tremendously limited. This is for battery reasons, and I get it, but it would be nice if the choice was up to the user; instead Apple just decided the practice was unacceptable.

Re: Google announces Android for Work

#103

> a dedicated work profile that isolates and protects work data Oh wow, can this be used to just create a separate profile for every app? That way I can run Uber or Line without giving them every permission to everything? This is the biggest reason I do not install apps. Every "famous" app requests so many permissions it's just stupid. And not to mention the weirdness of some of them, like "WiFi Device Information".…

I understand the discussion of app permissions is not a new one, but today I decided I wanted to try and buy a product through Amazon outside of the browser... Amazon specifically instructs you to navigate to your settings and allow installation of 3rd part apps. Then it directs you to download their .apk - To this point I was almost to the point of excitement that a MAJOR company is showing the public that this is even possible.

Then I opened the .apk. It asked me for what has to be every permission available on Android. Why would Amazon need access to me Contacts? It even asked specifically for permission to my microphone! What?

Re: Google announces Android for Work

#104
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The toolchain won't run on Android anyway. I would enjoy having, say, a Jolla or Ubuntu tablet that would run an Android toolchain. ChromeOS is doing fine in the laptop/netbook form factor. Trying to unify the touch and pointing-device worlds is what made Microsoft late to the party.

Check out AIDE.

I use AIDE and a git client on my tablet to read and run code. But it is a long way from having the refactoring, linting, and good error reporting of a highly mature Java IDE. Could be used to fix a problem in a pinch, but it would need tons of work to match Android Studio or Eclipse.

Re: Google announces Android for Work

#105
post #7

I tried to find any info about license or repos and couldn't find anything. Unlike Samsung's Knox, which is FOSS, how can this be even remotely secure if it is closed source? Seems that Google is full on the "Extinguish" phase with Android. edit: amazing that I'm being downvoted for stating facts yet nobody replies to me.

My guess is that it's because this is KNOX.

Re: Google announces Android for Work

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CyanogenMod's Privacy Guard is useful for dealing with this situation. There is a setting to enable it by default on newly installed apps. No matter what permissions the app says it requires, you are prompted when it actually requests them and can deny them at will or permanently.

When you deny them, roughly how often in your experience does this cause the app to crash or display an error?

[deleted]

Re: Google announces Android for Work

#108

> a dedicated work profile that isolates and protects work data Oh wow, can this be used to just create a separate profile for every app? That way I can run Uber or Line without giving them every permission to everything? This is the biggest reason I do not install apps. Every "famous" app requests so many permissions it's just stupid. And not to mention the weirdness of some of them, like "WiFi Device Information".…

I understand the discussion of app permissions is not a new one, but today I decided I wanted to try and buy a product through Amazon outside of the browser... Amazon specifically instructs you to navigate to your settings and allow installation of 3rd part apps. Then it directs you to download their .apk - To this point I was almost to the point of excitement that a MAJOR company is showing the public that this is e…

If they have not asked for those permissions, then how can they give those permissions to third party apps that you install through them?

Re: Google announces Android for Work

#109
post #7

I tried to find any info about license or repos and couldn't find anything. Unlike Samsung's Knox, which is FOSS, how can this be even remotely secure if it is closed source? Seems that Google is full on the "Extinguish" phase with Android. edit: amazing that I'm being downvoted for stating facts yet nobody replies to me.

how can this be even remotely secure if it is closed source?

It does not work that way. "Many eyes make all bugs shallow" failed to replicate. (I understand this fate is even more common for anecdata than it is for formal studies.)

edit: amazing that I'm being downvoted for stating facts yet nobody replies to me.

My guess would be that you were being downvoted for spreading FUD and/or trolling.

Re: Google announces Android for Work

#110

This would be a lot more compelling if, when I got a Google voice voicemail and saw that in my Gmail app on my "Google Experience" Moto-G and clicked on the "listen to it" link it didn't just vanish leaving me with an open browser and no message. I like my phone, it works for me, but the sheer disconnectedness of it all is really jarring. Things show up in random places, or not at all, (especially media), and there i…

That reminds me of the 14 steps & sub steps to take a screenshot on a DroidX in 2010: http://www.droid-life.com/2010/07/22/how-to-take-screenshots...
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