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If Google is killing sideloading, then Android is just iOS with ads and spyware. Why the hell would anyone choose that?
fireborn.mataroa.blog/blog/why…
#Android #Google #Sideloading #FOSS #Privacy #accessibility

Why the Hell Does Android Even Exist Anymore? — fireborn

fireborn.mataroa.blog
#Accessibility #android #foss #google #privacy #sideloading

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in reply to Daniel Gibson

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aaron

@Doomed_Daniel because it’s what they are used to I can see. I don’t know how much the affordability argument matters in a lot of cases. Most people finance devices through a carrier anyway. I don’t know about elsewhere in the world, but in the UK, the way carriers are offsetting the cost difference, at least on a month-to-month basis, is that most contracts for android devices are 2 years. iPhones can be 2 or 3. This sometimes, not always, actually results in the cost month-to-month being lower for the iPhone. This doesn’t factor in the extras that they like you to bundle, of course, like Netflix, Apple Music, airpods, an Apple Watch, etc.

For the people buying devices outright, yes. Affordability matters.

@Daniel Gibson
in reply to aaron

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Jack-Frostodon

@Doomed_Daniel And it's the clear winner as far as afordability goes, from an international standpoint. Let us not forget that the biggest threat to alternatives has for quite some time been the FCC. IT's not simply enough for the OS-doopoly to exist, but the cost of getting circulation rights for devices with cellular radios is at or near a 5figure amount which just about kills any effort from smaller companies trying to do alternative phones.
@Daniel Gibson
in reply to Mikołaj Hołysz

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Jack-Frostodon

ANd to think, all this could've been solved with a wireless and/or usb card-reader or similar fdevice. Obviously banks have various practical reasons to require some sort of unshakable protections to satisfy fin-tech regulations, but nowhere within fin-tech regulations does it say that the authenticity mechanism had to be the actual device in question. Making the phone quite literally do it all is the very reason we're in this quandry with no real way through other than out.
in reply to Jack-Frostodon

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Mikołaj Hołysz

@jackf723 Those used to be options, and still are to some extend and at some banks, but AFAIK, our regs require that the external device shows you the amount and payee before you can confirm the transaction, in case the primary device is hacked and silently replaces those. This means extremely specialized devices, which are easy to lose, hard to replace, and may or may not have accessibility.
@Jack-Frostodon
in reply to Jack-Frostodon

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Mikołaj Hołysz

@jackf723 Ah. the way this usually works is that the totp code / signature includes this data in the calculation, so the bank will reject the attempt if these don't match.

This would mean that the device would need to be connectible to the computer / phone, which is a huge hassle. AFAIK South Korea tried something like this once, and it resulted in an entire mess of ActiveX, having to use IE6 when the rest of the world has moved on, and the whole stack not working with newly-released devices (think smartphones).

@Jack-Frostodon
in reply to aaron

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Alex

@Doomed_Daniel Whatever their reasons may be, I do agree with Daniel that in my opinion the general Android userbase does not use Andriod for its openness. And I really hate to admit that, because it means there won't be nearly enough backlash to get Google to walk this change back.

At least with desktop Linux it runs on most x86 computers. With open source android roms... considering how many phones are already super locked down bootloader-wise, I'm scared to see what the future looks like.

@Daniel Gibson
in reply to aaron

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JamminJerry

I am one that knows about ADB, but don't know much at all. I have just used it to install things on a watch, until now they have changed it to where ADB doesn't work quite that way, so you have to use an app called wair 2 installer. and way back in 2014, I did use ADB to install custom roms, but I made batch files, so I didn't mess the commands up. yes, most people aren't going to know about ADB, so for them, it will make things harder for sure. will they want to learn about it is another question, but I was just saying that technically, they aren't getting rid of side loading, they are just making it harder. I personaly don't like it, but at the end of the day, what can we do aside from politely complaining about it? make your voice heard, but don't be rude about it, as then they deffinitly won't listen.
in reply to aaron

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viduno

I've used Android since the Nexus One. I've always relied on side-loading so it's super frustrating that this is getting killed.
I've also genuinely enjoyed Android and never felt compelled to switch to iOS (yet). Good and bad apps exist in both platforms. So does spyware, Apple just controls the iOS spyware. iCloud has always been a pinky promise away from Apple or a third party unlocking it.
in reply to viduno

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viduno

Yes, down-market Android hardware exists that doesn't work as well but I've always only had solid hardware. Nexus, Pixel, OnePlus, Nothing, Samsung have always made solid, usually inventive hardware that Apple borrows from years later. They've been fun and exciting. I can still power them on and use them. And I appreciate that the cheaper hardware enables less affluent to at least use a smartphone.
in reply to aaron

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viduno

and I understand the point you're making. I'm just providing examples from my own experience to illustrate that my experience does not reflect the state of Android you describe. I find value in it beyond just side-loading, although it doesn't make me happy they are eroding that value. I hope they backtrack (unlikely) and still develop distinguishing features for it (possible)
in reply to aaron

gotosocial - Link to source

Winter blue tardis

I heard it on YouTube, I read it in a news feed, but I never actually thought it was official. Goodbye, privacy, goodbye nice people who cared, goodbye, android, you will not be what you used to be. Talkback makes me wanna pull out my hair, let's just say it that way. I tried daily driving pixel for a week, and browsing with talkback? Nope! No way! It just doesn't do with big sites with data, like libraries, explore by touch does not help, because focus is broken and weird. Thanks, but no thanks. Android had actually good apps, more encrypted chat messaging alternatives,@ccessible telegram, I could load anything I wanted, try out apps.If this is official, Apple does win in the accessibility view of things.The whole wanting of IDS? That crosses a whole another line.The world wants to control us, average little humans. Goodbye sideloading, goodbye chat privacy because the EU is shit, goodbye open-sourced phones, custom roms.My poor nerdy friends and people in general, I am truly appalled by what is happening nowadays...
in reply to Yora

gotosocial - Link to source

Winter blue tardis

Not everyone has the time or devotion to be a tech guru. LOL. So, no, not their problem, still stupid googly's problem. I wanna sideload whatever I want without having to buy phones that may or may not still collect my data through some sensor means or whatever is in them. And if you want an android based OS, you have to wait for google to push updates to some stuff. Apparently, they are no longer fan of that, either. Plus, who knows if your custom rom/phone would be accessible? Look at the bigger picture, kindly.
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