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Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

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Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#231

Post by iamnothere »

brewdad wrote: post #230
iamnothere wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hasn’t seen progress? Portland has a fantastic transit system and all the amenities you could want from a modern city. Yet cash is common, a few of the best places are even cash only.

I’ve found more places going cashless in Portland than are cash only. The one cash only place I regularly visited for decades finally gave in and started accepting cards.

That is strange, because Oregon has required cash to be allowed as a form of payment statewide since 2022 (SB 1565). There are a few exceptions but most public facing businesses are covered. Maybe they will do cash if asked but they don’t make it obvious?

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#232

Post by bigbadfeline »

api wrote: post #163
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #76

The challenge isn't buying it, the challenge is being able to do phone things with it. Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone. Most things will work but it takes one critical service that doesn't have a viable workaround, and you're forced to buy (and possibly carry) a "mainstream" phone just for that. Banking, government, authentication, postal service and public transit apps are just some of t…

It's mind blowing that we've allowed the development of a de-factor personal ID device absolutely controlled by an oligopoly of two private corporations. Do people realize that this means either of these companies, since they can remotely turn off your account or device, can deplatform you from society including from many government services? It's an astounding amount of power we have simply ceded to these two compan…

> It's an astounding amount of power we have simply ceded to these two companies.

We didn't do it, our representatives did it for us, mostly unaware of what they were doing and still without a clue about what to do with whatever they've created. No they can't, and they won't, academia BS isn't helping anyone either.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#233

Post by atmanactive »

igor47 wrote: post #221
w4rh4wk5 wrote: post #115

At this point, I am thinking about connecting a stock Android phone to a server and access it via scrcpy from my laptop whenever I need to interact with some stupid app bs that could've just been a website. At least this way I can keep the majority of bloat away from primary communications device.

Or maybe just an android emulator? I wonder if this would actually work...

Most probably not due to device attestation.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#234

Post by pjmlp »

zb3 wrote: post #195
pjmlp wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The next version of it, HarmonyOS NEXT is microkernel based, and they have two new languages of their own. ArkTS, inspired in Typescript and similar nodejs runtime. Naturally due to performance problems, they decided to come up with another one, also Typescript inspired, but ahead of time compiled, GC and effects. It is called Canjgie. This naturally is a big effort rebooting the whole ecosystem, it only works becaus…

Ok, but that HarmonyOS NEXT is closed source and Huawei devices don't allow system modifications, right? There's "OpenHarmony", but the question is whether we can practically run it on Huawei devices..

Most likely, but that wasn't the point I was answering to.

Open Harmony apparently is Huawei trying their own version of something like AOSP.

Most of the documents seem to only exist in chinese.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#235

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

medvidek wrote: post #200
jolmg wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This probably depends on location, but generally, you cannot log in to your bank account on your laptop/computer without using your phone's banking app for 2FA. That's the status quo among banks. Whether it may be possible to convince a bank to give you a hardware token instead if they even still make them is not an assured thing.

I have several accounts in different banks (across two different countries) and never had problems with using SMS as a second factor for internet banking. Definitely not status quo, at least in Europe.

Interesting that you mention Europe, because if I remember correctly, at least in Germany, all banks that I'm aware of dropped SMS support when PSD2 was introduced.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#236

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

bdangubic wrote: post #140
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> can and should fight I disagree, because the impact on my quality of life from fighting the fight is just not a level of sacrifice that is sensible. > There are now and there always will be alternatives The problem is that those "alternatives" often come with serious downsides, from higher cost, to massive inconvenience, to having to work around simply not having a service. And while most of the time it's possible…

> I disagree, because the impact on my quality of life from fighting the fight is just not a level of sacrifice that is sensible Interesting. I feel then that if this is the case we cannot complain then, no? If the fight is not worth fighting (I think that it is) than complaints about it are pointless (for the lack of a softer word…)

You're essentially blaming the robbery victim for handing over their wallet rather than fighting the knife-wielding robber.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#237

Post by bornfreddy »

subscribed wrote: post #210
gunalx wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as I like graphene it is literary running on google hardware (atm) and uses asop. Even if it is a really good option is you want to run degoogled and secure android.

I mean.... Android is aosp. And if you want to run degoogled GrapheneOS you just don't install Google services. Out of the box it does NOT contain any - but /e/OS ships with the privileged microG, which means that Android Auto or Google Play Store have privileged access to the phone. So I'm not sure how can you suggest GOS is less "degoogled" while not shipping anything but allowing to install sandboxed / constrained…

That privileged plug in /e/os makes push notifications work, and you can enable just those and leave Android Auto, G Play Store and whatnot disabled. Not much privacy risk - I think?

On the other hand, while GOS is running Google services sandboxed, they are still running and have access to internet. If you try enabling them only when you need push notifications, they will break - notifications stop coming.

Neither system is optimal - can we please get microG sandboxed on GOS, pretty please?

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#238

Post by nyanmatt »

abc123abc123 wrote: post #182
dandandandan2 wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone Hyperbole doesn’t help. I’m a 44 year old former software engineer now with a modest social media following (100k per platform). I don’t have a phone. I’ve never had a smart phone, last dumb phone gone in 2015. I have to hassle my bank to let me use email instead of SMS for 2FA, and I hand jot notes for driving directions sometimes. Otherwise, I’m immense…

This is the way! I do not have a smartphone. I print maps, use email, print boarding cards, do my banking and shopping with a web browser, pay with cash or a debit card. I think people have been brain washed to believe they can no longer live life without being enslaved by a surveillance device. Lost? Ask for directions. Need a map? Go to a hotel or a tourist center, or print one in advance.

Walking into a hotel lobby to get a map printed seems like a much greater surveillance risk than looking up directions on my phone. The cameras, the printer, the hotel staff, the other hotel guests; they’re all third party to your private information. Is that really any better than Apple or Google telemetry?

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#239

Post by tardedmeme »

aembleton wrote: post #188
abc123abc123 wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the way! I do not have a smartphone. I print maps, use email, print boarding cards, do my banking and shopping with a web browser, pay with cash or a debit card. I think people have been brain washed to believe they can no longer live life without being enslaved by a surveillance device. Lost? Ask for directions. Need a map? Go to a hotel or a tourist center, or print one in advance.

When you go on holiday, do you have to find an Internet café to print off your boarding pass for the flight home? Or do you select destinations covered by airlines that allow you to get a boarding pass more than 48 hours in advance?

Which airline requires you to print your own boarding pass and won't let you on the plane without a phone? Now I haven't flown in years but last time I did, the normal procedure was to show up at the airport either with your printed ticket or just your reference code and ID, and either use a kiosk or talk to a person to get your boarding pass, and also to check in your bags.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#240

Post by zombot »

alnwlsn wrote: post #66
echelon wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Enjoy your freedom, break free from Google and Apple. You can't escape it. Your friends and employers and banks use it. The state will soon mandate it for ID. It's the accepted worldwide compute platform, and you're being the nail that sticks out. Your usage is subject to breaking randomly, being unsupported, losing access or being banned by stepping outside the traffic lines, etc. They'll use attestation, certs an…

If a phone can make calls, send texts, read emails, and take pictures it already covers 98% of my use cases.

Enjoy being the lucky minority while it lasts.
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