xman | # 1281 | 2019-05-16, 19:34 | Report

Lots of point currently going on

And yes Android was needed to get to a finished product. No argument there from me. For the record I don't hate any of these service/products, but do question motivation and actually long term benefits of them.

x

British | # 1282 | 2019-05-16, 21:47 | Report

I don't remember anyone here saying that the Pro1 "shouldn't be released with Android"...
No need to feed the troll, mate.

xman | # 1283 | 2019-05-16, 22:07 | Report

Agreed. Just enjoying the conversations . Hard for people to really troll me ... well in a negative way .. lol

x

theonelaw | # 1284 | 2019-05-17, 02:31 | Report

I would not say much,
but the Fxtec Pro is the only realistic hope for
escaping the Android prison.

and it is very obvious that

without Android it has no market chance.


Supporting Chen to get his product out there,
in hopes it will lead to something better
may be the only hope.


As I write this I am dealing with deadly security issues
specific to Android involving international hate crimes.

Android is putting children at risk, globally,
being in bed with people who prey on those who cannot fight back.

pichlo | # 1285 | 2019-05-17, 10:21 | Report

a) and c)

(OK, maybe not FOSS but non-Google. I do not see the world in black and white. One extreme or another.)

Guess what? I once had a job interview at Google itself too. It was still at the time when I was naive and my view of Google was, as endso puts it so eloquently, myopic. I did not get the job and now I could not be happier. Leaving a comfortable position would be much harder than never taking it in the first place.

Wikiwide | # 1286 | 2019-05-17, 12:56 | Report

Good question :-)

I do use DuckDuckGo on my laptop. I should manually change MicroB search engine to DuckDuckGo, but I don't expect there is GUI for that - one has to visit about:config, and then to figure out the way to change icon with X-Term. Packaging a search engine would be tricky because of post-rm algorithms, to return to 'what was here before'. A GUI for easy switch between search engines would be beneficial.

Regarding all the Android hate - and yes, it is hatred, even if somebody says that it's not simply because they haven't used this word in their diatribes against Android and Google and cookies - I do dislike Android. Because: 1) monopolist, to the point that perfectly good call-and-ask-a-human or SMS-and-get-computer's-auto-reply services are phased out in favour of "Install an Android/iOS app or use our website" - where website isn't usable on my Maemo 5; 2) version-fractured, to the point where old hardware doesn't get new OS version, old OS version doesn't get new versions of apps, and old versions of apps aren't archived on the Internet; 3) full of awful, proprietary apps with almost no quality control - ads, malware, spyware, pay-ware abound.

And yes, I tend to write lengthy rants. Because it's time-consuming to condense thoughts into laconic phrases?

It's not absolutely necessary for a phone to support Android to get released. Jolla Phone somehow managed to get manufactured with Sailfish as default. But running Android by default definitely helps a phone to take off. Because people watch a video about this phone and think "Oh, I know Android, I am amazed how much faster it is to use with hardware keyboard! Gimme that!" instead of "Buying hardware just for the sake of running another OS with strange GUI is boring, let them bring OS to my phone free of charge, then maybe I will try it out - no money goes to them".

I wonder how people would react to 'aOS' operating system running on 'aPhone'. Would Apple be able to sue the 'Ipple' start-up?..

Thank you. Best wishes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Per aspera ad astra...

chenliangchen | # 1287 | 2019-05-17, 14:52 | Report

On Topic: 3 latest engineering devices has been dispatched yesterday and all on their ways to the devs for SFOS.

Off topic:
Always enjoying reading pichlo's stories. A joy on TMO really...

Getting "independent" personally is way harder than before. Was in a new spot today with a SFOS device and realised without Google Maps POI it was very hard to look for nearby lunch places. I don't like the feeling of my life completely depending on a particular service. So I went to the nearest Cafe. (And I decide not to put MicroG even, it's against the purpose of the OS)

Guess if one is deep into those so called "eco-system", or whoever only experienced modern monopoly services, will be impossible (or too lazy) to leave...

mscion | # 1288 | 2019-05-17, 15:18 | Report

Thanks for all your efforts.

My 2 cents:

For most folks that are concerned about avoiding ads, having security and privacy, there are probably lots of Android apps that have various levels of encryption or filtering. For example, I use a hacked version of Youtube that shows no ads. Purism/Librem 5 is stongly emphasizing these features. Surprised that not more folks are on that bandwagon. On the otherhand, I also worry that, in legitimate cases, having access to a phones data can be important, for example, in criminal investigations. Where do you draw the line between privacy and saftey of public?

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Last edited by mscion; 2019-05-17 at 20:53.

endsormeans | # 1289 | 2019-05-17, 15:18 | Report

exactly theonelaw..

It is a case of keeping the tech out of the hands of those who cannot control it.

Just as so many inventors had hopes that their discoveries would mean everyone would live better lives ...most cannot or do not wish to see what potential for harm it would do.
Inventors, scientists ...are not professors in ethics.
(Other than the obvious bio and genetic and robotic and A.I. ethics professionals ...)

Otherwise new inventions don't get a serious screening and allowed or not allowed to be integrated into the fabric of society by professionals in ethics.


Inherently the tools we make are not evil ...it is the power hungry, the greedy, the despotic, the ignorant and the evil people who turn the purpose of the tools, and make use of the tools for evil ends.

chenliangchen | # 1290 | 2019-05-17, 15:31 | Report

I think that depends on how abusive the "watchdog" is...

For me personally I am not against a certain level of surveillance cameras, nor a certain use of location services by operators to know roughly where you are. But I absolutely hated things like browser is showing what my wife is searching for in Amazon; the exact shops/buildings I have been; the similar topics that I have been reading. (And I think this is the worst and creating the generation might being generally dumber...)