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Keep Android Open

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441–450 of 764 posts

Re: Keep Android Open

#441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the world should cared to your needs when literally almost every adult has a phone even in third world countries? Before you say “what about the poor people” in the US at least, even poor people can get a subsidized free phone through the UCF (?) government fund Also see: no I’m not going to waste development time di you can get to a website I develop with JS disabled or so you can use lynx

Because phones keep tracking us and stealing our attention. And everybody should have the option of open computer systems

So exactly how do you think an “open phone” will keep you from being tracked when you are tracked and can be triangulated via cell phone towers?

Re: Keep Android Open

#442
post #438
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.

Don't banks/insurers/whatever have websites that are often mobile friendly?

In EU/UK, some are sadly app only. I avoid those. Many others are pushing apps as a 2FA, even if you use their website. You need to insist to get another authentication system, like TAN. Some governments are also pushing mobile IDs.

The best Linux for phones, SailfishOS, has a fairly good Android compatibility layer that runs many bank apps well. But despite that, it's an uphill battle. The network effect of the duopoly is gigantic.

Re: Keep Android Open

#443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean 80% of adults worldwide are “morons”? Have you ever thought that they may know something you don’t know?

If 80% of adults worldwide somehow became unable to tolerate the slightest inconvenience, then yes, I'd say they would be morons, but I doubt they are. I'm unsure where you're getting the 80% statistic from.

[deleted]

Re: Keep Android Open

#444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean 80% of adults worldwide are “morons”? Have you ever thought that they may know something you don’t know?

If 80% of adults worldwide somehow became unable to tolerate the slightest inconvenience, then yes, I'd say they would be morons, but I doubt they are. I'm unsure where you're getting the 80% statistic from.

I used that little convenience of my smart phone and used the internet.

https://www.demandsage.com/smartphone-usage-statistics/

I am sure you are thinking I’m a “moron” because I didn’t drive to the library and use microfiche to find the information…

Or maybe you would have been okay if I used Veronica and searched Gopher sites like I did pre Web in the 90s?

Re: Keep Android Open

#445
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At most you have people applying tiny patches on top of AOSP, but 100% of the code in the underlying project is still Google-approved, and none of the alternatives have control over that. You are making an orthogonal point. Yes, Google maintains AOSP. No, that does not mean that AOSP OSes that are not in Google's Android program (calling it that to avoid semantics games) have to adopt this change. If you want to hear…

Unless these different Android flavors all have the resources to indefinitely rewrite AOSP and remove all Google code they don't agree with - no, they pretty much have to adopt the changes (see the earlier Chromium example). And if they do somehow manage this after a point all the patching basically becomes a fork, which is exactly what I started the conversation with.

I think is good to extract the value of billionaire companies, why not use it?

Re: Keep Android Open

#446

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…

Why does there seem to be a growing push to tie real-world identity to nearly everything we do online? The justification is almost always "safety". I know this trend has been developing for years, but over the past couple of years it feels like it's accelerated globally.

Re: Keep Android Open

#447
post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> banking/insurance/whatever apps I know banking apps are the typical example, but I've always wondered why. I use my bank's app maybe once or twice a year when I need to Zelle someone, which I only need to do when they don't have Venmo. (Unless we consider Venmo a banking app.) I only have one bank's app installed, the rest of my banks I only interact with over their website, on desktop. As for insurance, I've never…

I haven't had issues with the mobile apps of 3 of the most major US brokerages. They run fine on rooted phone. They do everything I'd want a bank to do anyway. Ditch your bank if they have issues. If their retention department asks why you're leaving, tell them their app doesn't work.

> Ditch your bank if they have issues.

This is what I was thinking as well, TBH. I'm not particularly tied to any of my banks, I already did mostly switch off of BoA because their website was so bad.

Good to hear everyone's responses in the thread though, some stuff I definitely didn't consider.

Re: Keep Android Open

#448
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.

Anything movement that requires people to routinely acquire a second phone is doomed to failure (in the “this will never become a mass movement” sense)

Re: Keep Android Open

#449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yes, getting emails or text messages instead of having app alerts is luddism. Get real, dawg

Uhh yes - when 90% of adults worldwide have moved to smart phones - yes you are the Luddite. Email is for old people has been a meme for two decades https://www.techdirt.com/2007/11/15/email-is-for-old-people/

Anyone who says "email is for old people" is a fool, at least on that subject.

Re: Keep Android Open

#450

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…

Why does there seem to be a growing push to tie real-world identity to nearly everything we do online? The justification is almost always "safety". I know this trend has been developing for years, but over the past couple of years it feels like it's accelerated globally.

There's strong political backing for it now.
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