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Keep Android Open

keepandroidopen.org

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31–40 of 72 posts

Re: Keep Android Open

#31

Post by bayindirh »

jerojero wrote: post #24
srslyTrying2hlp wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I have a Pixel 8 pro, last year I went to NYC with a friend who had an iPhone. We went to some of the museums and as we were taking pics, the difference in color accuracy were dismal. The Google phone was much, much, worse. I think google used to be known for their good photography and I was very happy with my earlier pixel 6. But something happened. I'm sorry to say, but when it comes to photos and videos I think th…

I have recently upgraded to an iPhone 17 Pro Max from iPhone X (yes, I buy once a decade or so), and I also take photos with a A7-III.

The latest iPhone takes shockingly good photos. It's not a full frame mirrorless by any stretch, but it's really in another league when it comes to mobile photography.

Re: Keep Android Open

#32

Post by bigfishrunning »

bjornroberg wrote: post #9
ssiddharth wrote: post #3

Somewhere along the way, installing became side-loading and the rot started taking hold.

Yeah, this. The vocabulary ratchet is underrated as a policy tool. "Install" became "sideload." "Sideload" became "install from unknown sources." "Unknown sources" is becoming "unverified packages." Each rename shifts the Overton window a little further from "this is the normal way to put software on a computer you own" toward "this is a suspicious deviation Google has graciously decided to tolerate for now." By the…

On the other side of the coin, those of us doing tech support for unsavvy family members do not want them installing software from any source but some vetted app store. Making it a bit harder is a real boon for those of us that still carry the mental scars of so many Bonzi Buddy removals.

Re: Keep Android Open

#33

Post by nslsm »

freedomben wrote: post #2

Hypothetically, if Pixel phones became the go-to phone on Android, would G be less or more likely to keep it open? I have a bad feeling that the former is more accurate. The fragmentation somewhat forces the openness, or at least a baseline of openness. If pixels went to 98% market share, a rug pull seems easy and desirable for the management classes. I'll admit that my cynicism is in no small part to having seen And…

> It kills me to think that the bad parts of Apple are so interwoven into Android through cultural assimilation.

It’s more like Android is worse so they don’t want to use it. Dogfooding is good, of course, but if they don’t force them to do it, they will naturally choose the best phone. Which is not an Android.

Re: Keep Android Open

#34

Post by freedomben »

srslyTrying2hlp wrote: post #18
freedomben wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

F-Droid really does have some great stuff, and you can know that the default posture is user respect rather than the opposite situation of the Play Store. I've started almost exclusively using F-Droid, excepting only for a few core apps that aren't available there (much to my disappointment). If you haven't searched/browsed F-Droid in the last few years, do it . You'll likely be pleasantly surprised.

F-Droid is amazing. I basically wont install anything from the playstore unless its my bank or something. Video games on F-Droid are how Android games should be. They have the spirt: No ads, no micro transactions, etc.. Kids educational games are the same. I have been using those games only for years and I've had 0 issues. Playstore games, you get an update and now your progress is frozen unless you pay. Guitar tuner…

Fully agree. Can you recommend some games, and kids educational games? I've tried a few and like them, but would love some recs.

The ones I like: Breakout 71, Chess, Word Maker, Word Tracer, Roboyard, FaFa Runner (short but briefly fun), Minesweeper (Privacy Friendly), Simon Tatham's Puzzles, SuperTuxKart, Tux Rider.

Re: Keep Android Open

#35

Post by takluyver »

lapcat wrote: post #25
bparsons wrote: post #5

It feels like there is a wide open opportunity for some new OS's to enter the mainstream marketplace. I see nothing but dissatisfaction with the incumbents.

In order to enter the mainstream market and challenge the consumer OS duopolies, a new OS needs at least two things: 1. Retail presence 2. A large advertising budget This is why it's so difficult to challenge the existing duopolies on desktop and mobile. If a consumer can't walk into a retail store, see a device on the showroom floor with the new OS installed by default, and buy a device with the new OS installed by…

And to underscore the scale of that challenge, Microsoft couldn't make Windows Phone a significant competitor to Android & iOS.

Re: Keep Android Open

#36

Post by ryukoposting »

kspacewalk2 wrote: post #14
srslyTrying2hlp wrote: post #4

We need a financial way to reward the resistance. Big corps do not care, as we saw them cave to Apple. Anyway, I did my part, basically I only use FDroid. I filled this out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN3UQeNspQsZCO2ITk... >Combat astroturfing: when you encounter suspect posts on community forums and social media in support of the policy (“Well, actually…”), challenge them and do not be shy. Someone co…

Well, actually I've long held the view that accusations of astroturfing, shilling, being a Chinese/Russian/CIA/MAGA/Soros/Martian bot, etc, are just people being too lazy to take on arguments they dislike with well-reasoned arguments of their own, but needing some sort of a quick "exit strategy" out of a conversation. Maybe this isn't true on Facebook, but here or on Reddit it is always far more likely that you're ta…

> far more likely that you're talking to an actual, possibly very wrong/bad, human being.

Is it? I can't name another social media site that is simultaneously more ubiquitous than HN and bereft of any anti-spam measures.

Re: Keep Android Open

#37

Post by freedomben »

jerojero wrote: post #24
srslyTrying2hlp wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I have a Pixel 8 pro, last year I went to NYC with a friend who had an iPhone. We went to some of the museums and as we were taking pics, the difference in color accuracy were dismal. The Google phone was much, much, worse. I think google used to be known for their good photography and I was very happy with my earlier pixel 6. But something happened. I'm sorry to say, but when it comes to photos and videos I think th…

Interesting, I also have a pixel 8 pro, and my photos often look better to me than my friend's iPhone. Not sure what phone he has though, it might be an older one (though P8Pro isn't exactly bleeding edge anymore either).

Re: Keep Android Open

#38

Post by awkwardleon »

bparsons wrote: post #5

It feels like there is a wide open opportunity for some new OS's to enter the mainstream marketplace. I see nothing but dissatisfaction with the incumbents.

There's so much lock-in/captive-audience on these platforms I don't see this happening with mobile phones as they exist today. The only thing that will crack it is the "Next Big Thing"™, and who knows what/when that will be (AR glasses? Brain chips? Some AI wearable?)?

Re: Keep Android Open

#39

Post by oorza »

einpoklum wrote: post #19

This initiative is well-appreciated, but - are we not barking up the wrong tree? Should the effort really be focused on pressuring Alphabet to modify an ecosystem that they already partially closed, and that they already have overall control over - rather than promoting a properly free alternative? I mean, non-Android Linux phones are already a thing, albeit clunky and not very popular. Would it not make sense to get…

Which of these political entities is in a better situation because of an open phone rather than partnering with Apple and Google? Anyone with the funding to make a Linux phone happen loses money and/or power making it happen. And users do not care, less than 2% of users will ever leave iOS or Android for Linux unless it's a substantially easier and more accessible experience for them, and we all know that will never happen.

Re: Keep Android Open

#40

Post by bayindirh »

nslsm wrote: post #33
freedomben wrote: post #2

Hypothetically, if Pixel phones became the go-to phone on Android, would G be less or more likely to keep it open? I have a bad feeling that the former is more accurate. The fragmentation somewhat forces the openness, or at least a baseline of openness. If pixels went to 98% market share, a rug pull seems easy and desirable for the management classes. I'll admit that my cynicism is in no small part to having seen And…

> It kills me to think that the bad parts of Apple are so interwoven into Android through cultural assimilation. It’s more like Android is worse so they don’t want to use it. Dogfooding is good, of course, but if they don’t force them to do it, they will naturally choose the best phone. Which is not an Android.

The sad thing is, I started with Android believing it more than Apple's ecosystem, and after my first Android phone, I quickly jumped ship to iPhone.

My parents use Android devices and I manage them. With every iteration, Apple went to the way of PalmOS' refined flows as much as possible, and Android became what Windows CE aspired to be. A complex multi-layer wafer you can't understand which layer comes from where, and it's all different and non-standard between vendors.

Not the least, Android is mobile land of mini tools you have to install to be able to have a power-user friendly platform. Reminds me my old Windows days where I had to install utilities half day to be able to make the installation usable the way I want.

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