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Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

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Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#681
post #607

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's OK. This is the dying, last gasp effort that a company makes when it has no way to innovate, no way to add any real value, no capacity to drive change internally, and has become completely non-user focused. In short, it's what companies like IBM and Broadcom are now. Shallow husks of their former self, mere holding companies for patents, with a complete lack of care and concern about any end-user retention. Goog…

The problem is that these companies can remain on life support for decades, phoning it in and making things continuously worse as their desperation grows. If they follow the path of IBM and Broadcom, they will move away from the consumer market and focus more on the enterprise. If Google fully realized that vision it would be extremely disruptive. Them shutting down Google Reader practically killed RSS for quite a wh…

> mail, maps, docs, search, etc. It would be pandemonium

I would hardly notice, TBH.

There are alternatives for all of that.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#682

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it unsustainable when iOS has enforced even stricter rules for its nearly 20 year lifespan?

Android has about 2/3 worldwide market share and it hasn't had anything like this before. Many people, myself included, chose it exactly because it allows the installation of modded, pirated, or otherwise non-store-worthy apps.

>Many people

But also a tiny percentage of the whole.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#683
post #634

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think regular desktop computer should be locked down like this too? Scammers can also tell people to run Windows programs. Should that be banned too? I'm fine with an opt-in lock-down feature so people can do it for their parents/grandparents/children. Also, just let people get used to it. People will get burned, then tell their friends and they will then know not to simply follow what a stranger guides them t…

Keep in mind that Android has like a billion users who have never touched a Windows computer. (And unmanaged Windows was/is also a disaster zone.) Coming at this from a internet forum perspective is missing the scope of the problem. > I'm fine with an opt-in lock-down feature Me too, but it's really just some UI semantics whether this is 'opt-in' or 'opt-out'. Essentially it would be an option to set up the phone in…

There is a big difference between opt-in and opt-out that isn't semantics. You can't slowly discourage, deprecate and delete the default the way you can an opt-in, because too many people keep using it.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#684
post #387

The part in the flow where you select between allowing app installs for 7 days or forever is a glimpse into the future. That toggle shows the thought process that's going on at Google. I can bet that a few versions down the line, the "Not recommended" option of allowing installs indefinitely will become so not recommended that they'll remove it outright. Then shrink the 7 day window to 3 days or less. Or only give us…

what's your solution to combat scammers?

Force the phones to be open so I can install my own OS on them.

Then Google can do whatever they want with their OS and I can do what I need with mine. You might actually get phone OS competition. This is what the walled garden is actually meant to prevent.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#686

24 hour mandatory wait time to side load!? All apps I want to use on my phone are not in the Play Store. So I buy a new phone (or wipe a used phone) and then I can’t even use it for 24 hours?

1) The one-time, one-day waiting period only applies if you go through the advanced flow to allow installing unregistered apps. You can still install registered apps (ie. apps made by developers who have verified their identity) even if they're distributed outside the Play Store. 2) You can use ADB to immediately install unregistered apps. ADB installs are not subject to the waiting period.

I want to use the apps that don't hellbent on your Google right away. This is MY phone. I paid my money. I don't want Google to dictate what I should do.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#687

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.' - Benjamin Franklin

'essential' means can't be bothered to wait 24 hours (once)?

>"'essential' means can't be bothered to wait 24 hours (once)?"

Essential means to get fucking lost and let me do with the hardware I paid for whatever I want.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#688
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People who are unwilling to figure out the risks just should not use smartphones and the internet. Sounds great in theory, but just today I was reminded how impossible this is when walking back from lunch, I noticed all the parking meters covered with a hood, labelled with instructions on how to pay with the app. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/city-of-regina-r...

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Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#689
post #87

At this point I'm convinced that there's something deeply wrong with how our society treats technology. Ruining Android for everyone to try to maybe help some rather technologically-hopeless groups of people is the wrong solution. It's unsustainable in the long run. Also, the last thing this world needs right now is even more centralization of power. Especially around yet another US company. People who are unwilling…

This isn't about helping people, that's just the cover story.

This is about Google wanting more control over their ecosystem.

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