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submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by PlanterTree@discuss.tchncs.de to c/opensource@lemmy.ml

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Keep Android Open

In August 2025, Google announced that starting next year, it will no longer be possible to develop apps for the Android platform without first registering centrally with Google.

This registration will involve:

Paying a fee to Google
Agreeing to Google’s Terms and Conditions
Providing government identification
Uploading evidence of an app’s private signing key
Listing all current and future application identifiers

Sign the open letter. And get active to help oppose the enactment of the policy in other ways listed on the website. Are there any more ways to oppose this?

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[-] it_depends_man@lemmy.world 66 points 5 months ago

The big problem with this is that I don't like android.

It works relatively well, it's support is ok, it's probably better than apple because their garden walls are higher. But it's not at all the operating system I would like to have. It's already too restrictive, I have not seen/found good app building docs that make it actually easy and convenient to create "apps" and that massively rubs me the wrong way.

With that move, google is enshittfying android, but that doesn't mean we have to resist the enshittification and keep android, we can also let them do it and move to something else. In theory, anyway.

So I'd like to see more calls for different OS, forks or stuff like

https://www.fsf.org/news/librephone-project

[-] PlanterTree@discuss.tchncs.de 42 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I agree; the best option is to ditch Android ... those who can do it. Some Banking apps, public transport ticket apps, and post/mail-delivery apps seem to be a hard requirement for people in real live though. Which leads to the question: But what about people who can not ditch their phones and can not afford multiple devices (this decade)? Maybe laws that introduce a hard requirement that everything should work through a (open source) web-browser can help, but then what about "offline" use cases?

It feels like we are building our own digital prison in real time.

[-] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

There really should be a focus on government-level efforts in the EU, to force mobile manufacturers to standardise and open source all firmware sold in its jurisdiction. All OSS mobile OS's (not on custom OSS hardware) rely on Android solutions because mobile hardware is bespoke, closed source, and non-standard from device to device; the opposite to the PC ecosystem that enabled Linux. The Apple/Android duopoly won't be broken if mobile hardware vendors can continue creating custom closed-source firmware for their hardware, and there's simply no reason to allow this anti-competitiveness to continue.

[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 29 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

For now, Android is the best compromise between functionality and openness that's suitable for daily use, especially GrapheneOS. Hopefully some of the Linux alternatives will develop to that point soon, but by all accounts they're not there yet. So it's worth fighting to keep what we have until we can use something more open.

[-] Slysilverat@lemmy.dbzer0.com -3 points 5 months ago

I think they are try & for those that don't know the back end commands, there AI to help. I know others don't trust AI but they are decent with code.

[-] Slysilverat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 5 months ago

I honestly loved the windows phone but sane as you, between Android vs Apple, the choice is only 1.

[-] Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 months ago

The big problem is that there are no entry-level linux phones. All of them I have seen are over 200, and evn those are horribly underpowered. It wouldn't be that hard to make a 140€ phone and upmark it to 180€ for the effort of developing Linux for it?

[-] it_depends_man@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

My problem wtih the existing linux phones is that they are usually clearly labled as "experimental beta device + OS, only recommended for experienced users" and for linux, that's scary to me. I've been using it for over 10 years, but as a user, you know?

[-] hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 5 months ago

Agreed. The UI sucks (peak was jellybean, went downhill since) and it's so hard to create software for it. Also way too complex.

[-] Slysilverat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 5 months ago

When they stopped naming it, it went downhill.

[-] onlooker@lemmy.ml 42 points 5 months ago

Forget it. Privacy-wise, Android is a sinking ship, they can do whatever. I'm out.

[+] mikedd@lemmy.world 26 points 5 months ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

[deleted]

[-] pogmommy@lemmy.ml 17 points 5 months ago

I mean, Linux mobile is the only viable path forward, despite its poor present state

[-] 1985MustangCobra@lemmy.ca 20 points 5 months ago

poor is a understatement, its a pet project at this point.

[-] AnnaFrankfurter@lemmy.ml 9 points 5 months ago

I hate to agree with you but I can't deny the reality. Even with what FSF is trying it'll be really hard for Linux phones to break into current market....

[-] shifty@leminal.space 12 points 5 months ago

GrapheneOS for now until Liberux NEXX becomes a thing or whatever linux phone with good enough security, privacy, and hardware. I'm most hopeful for liberux due to the hardware and the desktop mode so you can use it like a PC.

[-] antipiratgruppen@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

The link is currently dead, but it seems to be the official one.

I couldn't access their crowdfunding page either, so maybe they're dead and gone?

When searching for it, multiple sources mention there's a risk of it being a scam, but it's hard to tell:

Update from 27 January 2025: Beware of possible fraud As user ElCanch0 writes in the comments of this article, there is a possibility that the Nexx or the upcoming crowdfunding campaign is a scam.

On news.ycombinator.com, several critical voices point out inconsistencies. Raddish2 writes in the thread that the Liberux employees listed may not exist (he was unable to find any information online) and that the company address may be an ordinary residential building. The address given is not listed in the public cadastre, although Spain normally lists not only buildings but also their floor plans. However, user InceptTM points out that the people can at least be found on LinkedIn. Another user says that he asked around and found out that some people from the company were involved in the bank fraud of Rodrigo Rato, who was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in 2017.

Source (Digitec.ch)

Another source (Liliputing.com) mentioning the possibility of it being a scam.

It's also possible they just didn't reach their crowdfunding goals, and had to end the project.

If anyone here knows more about this, I'm interested!

[-] chM5tZ8zMp@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 months ago

The link is currently dead, but it seems to be the official one.

That's odd. The site loads fine for me.

[-] antipiratgruppen@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 months ago

I still get "This site can’t be reached" (ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED). Not sure why, but maybe their domain is included in some blocklist I use in Adguard Home on my router? I haven't checked that.

[-] shifty@leminal.space 1 points 5 months ago

Thanks for the info and details. I'm hoping its real but maybe its best to wait till the 2nd round of production or something, let the journalists and tech reviewers be the guinea pigs for the next crowdfunding.

[-] Slysilverat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 5 months ago

I've heard that Graphene is working on going outside of Pixel only project.

[-] something_random_tho@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

https://furilabs.com/shop/flx1s/

It’s a Linux phone on Debian that uses Android drivers, so all the normal functions (calls, SMS, etc.) work perfectly. Battery life is a full day.

[-] onlooker@lemmy.ml 7 points 5 months ago

Ideally, to a Linux phone. If not, a regular dumb phone. I'm staying with Android until September 2026 at the latest, so I have time to figure it out.

[-] Gilbert@social.cologne 3 points 5 months ago

@mikedd @onlooker did somebody try LineageOS? Any thoughts?

[-] kilgore_trout@feddit.it 2 points 5 months ago

It's Android.

[-] samsapti@feddit.dk 1 points 5 months ago

But without Play Protect (unless you sideload gApps).

[-] Slysilverat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 5 months ago

I understand your frustration. I think this pill would be easier to swallow, if USA sold all phones unlocked, so you could add graphine os, etc. If I'm paying gaming PC proces for a handheld, I want full control.

[-] Meatwagon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Google can't even keep its play store free of malware as evidenced by my mother getting popup malware every two weeks from ads on some showopera app she got from the play store, but sure enforcing their malware ridden play store on us will surely protect us.

i use my phone for drawing with its inbuilt stylus, so swapping to anything else will probably disable that feature for me.

[-] Jhex@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago

Letter to whom? unless this letter will legally bind Google to stop its current plans, all this is going to do is serve as a convenient spam list

[-] kepix@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

what do you guys think this gonna do?

[-] bl4kers@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 months ago

Facebook abandoned their Libra cryptocurrency plans due to social and political pressures

[-] PanArab@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

If the industry gets together this could be Google's PS/2 and OS/2 moment.

Historical context via Wikipedia:

The PS/2 line was created by IBM partly in an attempt to recapture control of the PC market by introducing the advanced yet proprietary Micro Channel architecture (MCA) on higher-end models. These models were in the strange position of being incompatible with the hardware standards previously established by IBM and adopted in the IBM PC compatible industry. Most major PC manufacturers balked at IBM's licensing terms for MCA-compatible hardware, particularly the per-machine royalties. The OS/2 operating system was announced at the same time as the PS/2 line and was intended to be the primary operating system for models with Intel 80286 or later processors. However, at the time of the first shipments, only IBM PC DOS 3.3 was available. OS/2 1.0 (text-mode only) and Microsoft's Windows 2.0 became available several months later. IBM also released AIX PS/2, a UNIX operating system for PS/2 models with Intel 386 or later processors.

[-] Slysilverat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 months ago

Do any of you think Windows phone OS will try again?

[-] Bongles@lemmy.zip 18 points 5 months ago

THIS Microsoft? I wouldn't touch it if they did.

[-] Slysilverat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 months ago

I think I salty that because Window Phone tanked, Nokia tanked with them in USA. My last Nokia was made out of a bowling ball! Microsoft apparently wants completely out if hardware. They thrown no cares to the Xbox console either. I understand gamepass killed Xbox. I just expected Microsoft to be further ahead than they are.