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Keep Android Open

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Re: Keep Android Open

#361

Post by j_maffe »

Markoff wrote: post #355
edent wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My bank sends me an alert when my card is used to make a transaction - handy for spotting fraud. I get an alert when a payment comes it - handy for knowing if a client has paid. I can quickly check my balance - handy for knowing if I can afford another round of drinks. I can repay a friend in two taps - handy if they've paid for dinner. Is anything essential? No. Is it something people use multiple times per day? Yes…

I can get alerts in email or messages, no need dedicated app for that, I can track there also my balance, so only useful thing app provides are easy wire transfers from phone, which I never do, if I wanna transfer money is much more convenient work big display, proper keyboard and mouse than from phone.

That's great for you but unfortunately the overwhelming majority of people do indeed regularly use these features.

Re: Keep Android Open

#362

Post by spystath »

fermigier wrote: post #62

It is a disgrace how Google has managed this situation. To recap the storyline, as far as I understand it: last August, Google announced plans to heavily restrict sideloading. Following community pushback, they promised an "advanced flow" for power users. The media widely reported this as a walk-back, leading users to assume the open ecosystem was safe. But this promised feature hasn't appeared in any Android 16 or 1…

There is an implicit shame in disgrace but faceless entities have no shame. They'll just put out another press release written in corporate newspeak by an LLM and move on withe the plans anyway. This is standard Google behaviour. They do it with Chrome, they do it with Android, they'll keep doing it with all their captive markets. I fear that in practice even having an "advanced flow" will make little difference as some applications will refuse to work if you have it enabled anyway (in the same vein if debugging is enabled, for example).

Nothing about Android is open except the absolutely minimum amount of linux kernel that's required to boot the thing. Then it's blobs and restrictions all the way to the screen.

Re: Keep Android Open

#363

Post by rightbyte »

xprnio wrote: post #353
Aerroon wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2FA is a requirement in Europe. I can't log into my bank account without my phone being able to run the app.

But 2FA is moot if it’s the same device as your bank app, is it not?

Yes. Please tell my bank that.

Re: Keep Android Open

#367

Post by [deleted] »

Denatonium wrote: post #329
cwillu wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It won't though, because there's a ecosystem of banking/insurance/whatever apps that have bought into the android/iphone lockdown mindsete that people will simply be locked out of. Open alternatives can grow when there is a viable means of slow growth, and cutting off the oxygen to such things is the implicit intent.

The best solution for this is to buy a $30 burner phone at Walmart and use it unactivated, tethered to your main de-Googled device. You can use the burner for only tasks requiring Play Integrity. Make sure to leave one star reviews on all such apps that you run into.

[deleted]

Re: Keep Android Open

#368

Post by tadfisher »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #249
bityard wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole point of TFA, if you read it, is that they SAID they would do that, but there has since been ZERO evidence that they actually will. This feature is not present in anything they have released since that statement.

On the other hand, blocking installation of non-notarized apps is not present in anything they released since that statement either, as far as I know.

It's already implemented in 36.1:

https://developer.android.com/sdk/api_diff/36.1/changes/andr...()

Re: Keep Android Open

#369

Post by fenykep »

spacebuffer wrote: post #161
arcanemachiner wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this finally pushes adoption of truly open Linux phones, then this will end up being a good thing, and the greatest favor that Google could do for the open source community. Tragically, Linux phones have languished and are in an absolute state these days, but a lot of the building blocks are in place if user adoption occurs en masse. (Shout out to the lunatics who have kept this dream alive during these dark years…

For me as a desktop linux poweruser, I find this potential transition pretty intimidating, I've never flashed a phone with a custom rom let alone switch to a completely different OS, and I am not sure if the phone can even be reset to its original OS, if things go south.

/e/OS at least has a browser based installer[0] for quite some supported phones. I definitely recommend trying it out, installing a custom os on my phone gave me the same feeling when I first ran debian on a laptop struggling under windows (even though the performance gains aren't that apparent in my opinion).

[0]https://e.foundation/installer/

Re: Keep Android Open

#370

Post by b00ty4breakfast »

Markoff wrote: post #355
edent wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My bank sends me an alert when my card is used to make a transaction - handy for spotting fraud. I get an alert when a payment comes it - handy for knowing if a client has paid. I can quickly check my balance - handy for knowing if I can afford another round of drinks. I can repay a friend in two taps - handy if they've paid for dinner. Is anything essential? No. Is it something people use multiple times per day? Yes…

I can get alerts in email or messages, no need dedicated app for that, I can track there also my balance, so only useful thing app provides are easy wire transfers from phone, which I never do, if I wanna transfer money is much more convenient work big display, proper keyboard and mouse than from phone.

We've cultivated a tech culture that can't stand the slightest inconvenience. People will give up nearly everything if it means avoiding the least bit of effort.

We are so boned

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