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LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

lineageos.org

61–70 of 118 posts

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#61
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

would be great if software developers named their project simply based on what their project actually does (e.g. "Word"). For example: "OpenPhoneOS".

> OpenPhoneOS So it doesn't work on tablets? Is it open to hackers? What's an OS? There's a reason Amazon isn't called "books.com" - definitive names rarely make for good brands. They limit your options and can carry preconceptions.

fair points...that was just the first thing that came to my mind. Better might be something along the lines of: LibreMobile

Of course you don't want too definitive to limit your options. But what I'm criticizing is things like "Cyanogenmod" (what does green-blue have to do with it? is is some type of element?) or "Android" (is it a robot?). Apple won a lot of users simply with a simple definitive name "iPhone". And you can have definitive names that leave options open, e.g. "YouTube" or "The FaceBook".

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am aware but at least I won't get hacked which is more important than performance.

But even if Apple may be better than most android manufacturers, Apple still doesn't support devices it considers "Obsolete"...and there is nothing you can do about it other than buy a new phone since the bootloader is locked down. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iOS_devices anything before iPhone 5 is considered "Oboslete" and they don't seem to be releasing updates. On the other hand, I've been h…

For the record, the Galaxy S III was released in the same year as the iPhone 5 (2012), so for now your device hasn't lasted any longer than an iPhone. But I don't doubt that it will.

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#63
post #33
post #23

If google wants Android to survive as a platform, they should be directly giving money to projects like this, they are what make it bearable.

Surely the answer to Android's woes isn't more platform fragmentation.

I have never understood the desire to have 1 Homogeneous Platform with no variety, no customization, no personality.

To have a large corporate overlord dictating how I use the device I "bought"

I see these same statements in the Linux Desktop world where everyone bitches about how All the Distro's are different, and how the Arch way is different from the Debian Way, and different from Red Hat, Canonical etc.

That is what I LIKE about Linux, that is what is LIKE about Android.

If i wanted a Corporate Overlord I would use an Apple or Microsoft commercial garbage

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#64
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not directly an answer, but one of the big issues with security patches for custom ROMs is the amount of patches they don't (read can't) ship. The proprietary blobs are very often not patched when the device is vendor-supported, and once it reaches end of life from the vendor (but the community ROMs give devices significantly extended longevity), there's no more patches to these blobs. Blobs incorporate the modem, ba…

The only solution seems to be reverse engineering the blobs and mainlining Linux kernel drivers, without both of those security updates get much much harder to impossible. I've no idea how to achieve that on volunteer time, maybe a crowdfunded reverse engineering and mainlining org could work?

One problem is that RE is time consuming (regardless of whether or not someone is paid to do it), and the useful life of phones tend to be much shorter than other kinds of devices, so digging apart a blob on one phone is likely to have a limited useful lifetime.

And for phones that the manufacturer actively supports, often a new version (especially if it's a new Android version) means new blobs to RE.

When you consider a lot of phones lose a ton of their user base after 2 or 3 years, it becomes much less attractive to even bother.

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#65
post #63
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely the answer to Android's woes isn't more platform fragmentation.

I have never understood the desire to have 1 Homogeneous Platform with no variety, no customization, no personality. To have a large corporate overlord dictating how I use the device I "bought" I see these same statements in the Linux Desktop world where everyone bitches about how All the Distro's are different, and how the Arch way is different from the Debian Way, and different from Red Hat, Canonical etc. That is…

Because there's a very finite amount of open-source developer time in the world, and expending it all over the same territory over and over is foolish.

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#66
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But even if Apple may be better than most android manufacturers, Apple still doesn't support devices it considers "Obsolete"...and there is nothing you can do about it other than buy a new phone since the bootloader is locked down. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iOS_devices anything before iPhone 5 is considered "Oboslete" and they don't seem to be releasing updates. On the other hand, I've been h…

For the record, the Galaxy S III was released in the same year as the iPhone 5 (2012), so for now your device hasn't lasted any longer than an iPhone. But I don't doubt that it will.

SII last got an update a month and a half ago (https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=i777)

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#67
post #65
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never understood the desire to have 1 Homogeneous Platform with no variety, no customization, no personality. To have a large corporate overlord dictating how I use the device I "bought" I see these same statements in the Linux Desktop world where everyone bitches about how All the Distro's are different, and how the Arch way is different from the Debian Way, and different from Red Hat, Canonical etc. That is…

Because there's a very finite amount of open-source developer time in the world, and expending it all over the same territory over and over is foolish.

Developer time is not a finite resource. People contribute to projects that they are passionate about. Fragmentation can encourage engagement. It's not like unpaid xfce and kde developers would start kernel hacking if everyone converged on gnome, even if it would benefit the ecosystem. Many would pursue other hobbies.

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#68
post #52
post #23

If google wants Android to survive as a platform, they should be directly giving money to projects like this, they are what make it bearable.

google offered to buy Cyanogen. ( http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/10/google-reportedly-tri... ) Also, recall that Cyanogen (the company, not the mod) said that they were going to "put a bullet in Google's head". I bet Google has tried to offer support to them and Cyanogen turned it down.

I can't fathom why Google would buy them. Why not make a version of AOSP that people can actually use, like Cyanogenmod?

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#69
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because there's a very finite amount of open-source developer time in the world, and expending it all over the same territory over and over is foolish.

Developer time is not a finite resource. People contribute to projects that they are passionate about. Fragmentation can encourage engagement. It's not like unpaid xfce and kde developers would start kernel hacking if everyone converged on gnome, even if it would benefit the ecosystem. Many would pursue other hobbies.

Developer time is finite. Fact. There's no basis to question this. There's limited numbers of people on the planet and they have limited time. Sure, the number of contributors can grow (we haven't reached peak-developer numbers), but it actually grows more with success than with failure. Fragmentation is fine if there's actually enough resources for at least one project to really succeed. In most cases, and probably in the case of community-centered free/libre/open Android variants, there's a shortage of developer time and a real worry about it being fragmented into multiple projects instead of being more cooperative.

Re: LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was

#70
post #23

If google wants Android to survive as a platform, they should be directly giving money to projects like this, they are what make it bearable.

Maybe make it a law that company needs to maintain certain level device security via software update for N years for internet connected devices. Or they are required to release those device's source code to (and pay for) the "communities" for the maintain the security updates. If they don't do it, they are responsible to damage caused by those devices because of security issue or the customer's loss of data/privacy d…

> Maybe make it a law that company needs to maintain certain level device security via software update for N years for internet connected devices.

Just expand the warranty laws – security updates are fixing a manufacturing defect that makes the device unusable.

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