Guess I'm getting an iPhone. If both are locked down, I may as well have the one that has a decent watch.
Pixel watches are pretty good now, and I didn't much like the changes made in WatchOS 10.
But, it's a fair point.
Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
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Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#732Now and then I remember this Hyperion book by Dan Simmons where everyone had a cross-like gadget glued to their chests, controlled by a TechnoCore - a civilization of AIs, which enabled people to cast themselves through space portals. As the story unfolds, this cross-like (very nice choice) gadget is revealed to essentially enslaving them. The story unfolds in 28th century, but it all seems have started in the 21st o…
I'm certain that Google would turn their users into resurrected brain-dead meat computers if that would improve their quarterly profits
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#733Even aside from the privacy implications (which aren't trivial themselves,) Doesn't this make it prohibitively difficult to do local builds of open source projects? It's been a long time since I've done this, but my recollection was that the process to do this was essentially you would build someone else's (the project's) package/namespace up through signing, but sign it locally with your own dev keys. A glance at th…
If so, then this change will likely make it illegal to distribute APKs of GPLv3 software, since the recipient couldn't run their modified version.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#734Maybe it is time for a new entry into the Smartphone OS market?
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#735> This requirement applies to “certified Android devices” that have Play Protect and are preloaded with Google apps.
I would be fine, if it was mandatory for Android manufacturers to allow installing alternative OSes. Normies could benefit from the added security on their certified Android device, and advanced users could install GrapheneOS.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#736So that's it then. If this actually goes through, there will be no option in the mobile OS market for an OS that both: a) allows the installation of apps without any contractual relationship with any party, and b) allows the use of mainstream and secure apps like banking
Banking apps were at the forefront of freedom-eroding "safety" for a long time now.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#737Every day we stray farther from the premise that we should be allowed to install / modify software on the computers we own. Will once again re-up the concept of a “right to root access”, to prevent big corps from pulling this bs over and over again: https://medhir.com/blog/right-to-root-access
Tell that to all those assholes that are making malware and scamming society on billions.
Most of users are not able to keep themselves safe in the internet - they want to install all kind of crap without thinking too much.
All of this is companies making it possible that average Joe could just click links, install any kind of crap and still be somewhat secure.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#738Everybody complaining of this is admitting they are doing nefarious actions. Those of us playing by the rules see no issue with this - In fact I welcome it!
Sorry if I didn't recognize your sarcasm, but if you’re serious, you’re probably also assuming that rooting is usually done for criminal activity. In fact, both rooting and easy app creation/side-loading are often tools to solve inconveniences. I didn't plan to root my last phone until I encountered some restrictions in the manufacturer’s version of Android that couldn’t be resolved without rooting.
Regarding the topic, I can easily imagine a legitimate app on Google Play with available source code, where you find something inconvenient and your attempts to suggest a fix to the developer did not lead to the desired outcome. Currently, you or your developer friend can simply fork such an app, fix the issue, and release it for the general public without any extra paperwork. This Google policy would make such a developer suspicious/disabled by default (if the developer is not already verified), unless proved otherwise.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#739Blame Apple for this garbage. They have paved the way by trying to circumvent the DMA.
Hopefully the EU slaps everyone with massive fines for these obvious anticompetitive plays. Best case scenario would be an outride ban giving local companies space but I doubt this will happen given how spineless the current commission is.
Clearly for American companies to be tightening the noose like that quoting the approval of authoritarian countries, it means they’re starting to feel the fire. It’s hard to not see the obvious link with them losing against Epic here behind the usual security smoke screen.
Both Apple and Google should have been broken to pieces for their egregious anti competitive behaviour a long time ago anyway.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#740I have been preparing myself psychologically for this for a long time. I will have to carry a shitty Google phone for anything that requires access to apps, and a proper Linux phone for my own use like browsing and reading/watching videos/listening to music.