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Google must open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge

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Re: Google must open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge

#451

Post by mdwrigh2 »

bugtodiffer wrote: post #408
forty wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They could preinstall a bunch of competitors and you'd choose the ones you keep at first startup (like Microsoft had to do with browser). This would allow fairer competition for competing stores. Also they need to make sure the playstore is not required for the phone to work correctly which I'm not sure is the case on stock Androids currently.

Sadly, most users should have Play Store and nothing else IMO. I respect the Play security team. What I could see: make Play Store and Play Services uninstallable like any other app.

You can disable them, which is functionally uninstalling. Actually being able to uninstall them isn't technically possible because their base images live on a read-only partition so they survive factory reset (which erases all RW partitions). The OS could _pretend_ they're uninstalled, but that seems strictly worse than the existing presentation which more accurately reflects reality.

Re: Google must open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge

#452

Post by dns_snek »

idle_zealot wrote: post #351
diebeforei485 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that we will have proprietary software (distributed for free) doing bad things, and people blame their phone being slow. I don't like that app stores engage in rent seeking behavior when it comes to payments, but that is a separate issue.

> The problem is that we will have proprietary software (distributed for free) doing bad things, and people blame their phone being slow. The solution to this remains the same as ever: curation of software packages. You can install any app you want, but you're probably going to use some front-end to manage that (Play Store, App Store). It's up to those platforms to curate what apps they host, and up to the user to de…

Why is this being downvoted? It doesn't break any guidelines, and it's obviously correct to boot.

Curation is the status quo, the only thing that would change is that people could choose to trust another entity to curate their apps.

Re: Google must open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge

#453

Post by red1reaper »

eru wrote: post #318
ethbr1 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's probably not a great idea to point at a monopoly, as a defense of one's own monopoly, and claim "Yeah, but he did it worse." Both Google and Apple's platforms need to be cracked open to competition.

Two 'monopolies' in app stores aren't a monopoly. They are at most a duopoly..

Not really because they are different monopolies. The IOS apps and Android apps are different markets

Re: Google must open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge

#454

Post by [deleted] »

throw653649 wrote: post #26
tmtvl wrote: post #6

Wait, so the Google Play Store, which you can install alternatives to (F-Droid, Aurora, Amazon,...), and where you can easily install apps through other means (such as downloading an APK through your browser and running it from the file manager) is an illegal monopoly while the Apple App Store isn't? Well, I guess Google's market cap is only 2 trillion compared to Apple's 3 trillion, so I guess that's fair.

I don't usually care about politics at all but is there any concrete evidence supporting either potential future administration being tougher on Apple? The previous president doesn't seem to like Apple very much (and his administration filed DOJ v. Google #1 near the end), but at the same time the current administration's DOJ was responsible for filing the DOJ v. Apple lawsuit. Edit: Can the downvoter please explain…

[deleted]

Re: Google must open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge

#455

Post by thegeekpirate »

xethos wrote: post #204
Phrodo_00 wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google appears open yet is closed in practice How is Android closed in practice?

For years, OEMs were made to install a number of Google apps onto the homescreen at predefined places. One of which is the Play Store. Amazon (for example) absolutely did not have this advantage, despite this kind of thing happening on non-Google hardware. Or we can look at why Google's Play Store is allowed to auto-update apps without user interaction, and... that's it. That's the only store that's allowed to do tha…

That isn't true anymore, F-Droid for example auto-updates

Re: Google must open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge

#459

Post by ethbr1 »

eru wrote: post #407
unplug8224 wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The original iPhone was sold exclusively with an AT&T bundled plan in the US

OK. Was the data plan exclusive to the iPhone? (Or was it just the iPhone being exclusive to the data plan.)

It was exclusive to the iPhone, in that the iPhone + ATT plan was the only unlimited data plan you could get at release on a non-carrier controlled general purpose smartphone.

Which is to say, not one that locked away features and functionality (ringtones! games!) to create additional revenue channels for carriers.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but per memory Jobs used iPhone exclusivity to crack carrier "Our pipes" models open.

Re: Google must open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge

#460

Post by jncfhnb »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #54
talldayo wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it started out this way, from the beginning, and developers accepted it. Developers did not accept it. Some did, but any amount does not constitute complete acceptance. From the very beginning, iOS had people developing alternatives to the App Store a-la Cydia. Apple's terms were always controversial. Apple's constituent of app developers does not even remotely reflect the attitude (or assent) of the development co…

The legal agreement, and the fact developers signed it, even if begrudgingly, back when iOS did not have a monopoly in any way, is the only assent the law needs to consider. Student loans certainly don't have much assent 5 years after graduation.

You seem be under the delusional understanding that a contract, if agreed to, must be legal and enforceable.
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