Torsten wrote an interesting blog post about the tendency that more and more relevant functionality on Android is moved to the proprietary Google Play Services: https://blog.grobox.de/2016/the-proprietarization-of-android-google-play-ser...
I am interested in your views on this.
Regards, Matthias
Nice read!
I agree. Now a happy owner of the Fairphone 2 with Open Source Android build http://code.fairphone.com/, the app-ecosystem is still a struggle. To the point where people are writing up great posts how to circumvent the issue by using NoGApps and microG. https://forum.fairphone.com/t/pencil2-living-without-google-2-0-a-googl e-free-fp2/11587/301 Getting hands on APK's outside of F-Droid is something I haven't looked much into yet. Signal is mentioned in the linked post, but that is partly because the project is unwilling to allow distribution via F-Droid, even aside from the Google Services integration. Still the end-result is that I can only use Signal on a non-free device :(
So indeed, the ecosystem is degrading, both on the side of the hardware (drivers and such), as with services and the app-ecosystem. The free- software die-hards can cope, but it remains a struggle.
On the upside, I have bought a commercial phone (Fairphone 2) and transitioned to a free solution with just a couple of clicks on the phone. I hope that that in this way the Google Play store will have more competition, also of free alternatives, to the point where we can no longer speak of lock-in.
On di, 2016-06-21 at 07:27 +0200, Matthias Kirschner wrote:
Torsten wrote an interesting blog post about the tendency that more and more relevant functionality on Android is moved to the proprietary Google Play Services: https://blog.grobox.de/2016/the-proprietarization-of-android-google-p lay-services-and-apps/
I am interested in your views on this.
Regards, Matthias
On Tuesday 21. June 2016 12.48.13 Nico Rikken wrote:
Nice read!
I agree. Now a happy owner of the Fairphone 2 with Open Source Android build http://code.fairphone.com/, the app-ecosystem is still a struggle.
I was going to ask you whether you got your Fairphone, and so this is really good timing!
I don't have an opinion about the services, but I did wonder about the "Fairphone Open Source OS" that came up in their blog:
https://www.fairphone.com/2016/04/28/releasing-the-fairphone-2-open-operatin... system/
It appears that despite Qualcomm's apparent helpfulness there are still opaque proprietary binaries involved. And attempts to exclude them didn't seem to lead anywhere:
https://forum.fairphone.com/t/fp2-compiling-a-blob-free-variant-of-fairphone... os/13717
Maybe I have failed to navigate the horrible forum interface correctly and that there is a build without the blobs.
It's interesting that companies like Sony also claim to support the Android Open Source Project stuff, although that leads to interesting consequences:
"There is an DMCA filled by Qualcomm for the device amami(z1 compact) hence the repository has been shutdown and sources cant be synced."
https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/General-Discussion/DMCA-Amami/m-p/1100403
(This was subsequently resolved in some fashion.)
It's good that Fairphone have taken the software sustainability side of things a lot more seriously, even though there appear to be people (in evidence amongst the comments on the Fairphone blog post) who don't see the connection between making sure that a device has viable software and how long that device lasts, not to mention all the freedom-related aspects of choosing what software one runs and, relevant to the topic, what services it depends on.
Of course, service availability also affects device longevity, as people whose Apple products no longer talk to Google services can attest.
Paul
Hi Paul,
Indeed, binary blobs are still present. I was aware of this upfront, as the Replicant folks were already warning that Qualcomm was not going to be a suitable partner for avoiding binary blobs. (always good to talk to the other camps) The purist route would be the GTA04, but André wasn't satisfied with his. So I've settled on the blobs, in order to allow freedom on the top of the OS stack, and support these efforts of Fairphone.
Indeed the strong free software supporters seem to be in the minority, but developing long-lasting hardware without the complementary software stack is pointless for a device with software as its primary feature, whilst being exposed to the internet.
Time will tell how this will pan out. The FP2 hardware is awesome in that I've taken it apart on multiple occasions already. Always good for a round-table at the local LUG ;) And a production flaw was replaced at their office by swapping out the screen. Projecting such a view and attention to detail onto the software stack, I have high hopes.
The referred Sony forum post doesn't seem to be available any more. But if I understand correctly, Sony was trying to do the right thing, but were eventually screwed over by one of their subcrontracters?
Kind regards, Nico
On di, 2016-06-21 at 14:02 +0200, Paul Boddie wrote:
On Tuesday 21. June 2016 12.48.13 Nico Rikken wrote:
Nice read!
I agree. Now a happy owner of the Fairphone 2 with Open Source Android build http://code.fairphone.com/, the app-ecosystem is still a struggle.
I was going to ask you whether you got your Fairphone, and so this is really good timing!
I don't have an opinion about the services, but I did wonder about the "Fairphone Open Source OS" that came up in their blog:
https://www.fairphone.com/2016/04/28/releasing-the-fairphone-2-open-o perating- system/
It appears that despite Qualcomm's apparent helpfulness there are still opaque proprietary binaries involved. And attempts to exclude them didn't seem to lead anywhere:
https://forum.fairphone.com/t/fp2-compiling-a-blob-free-variant-of-fa irphone- os/13717
Maybe I have failed to navigate the horrible forum interface correctly and that there is a build without the blobs.
It's interesting that companies like Sony also claim to support the Android Open Source Project stuff, although that leads to interesting consequences:
"There is an DMCA filled by Qualcomm for the device amami(z1 compact) hence the repository has been shutdown and sources cant be synced."
https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/General-Discussion/DMCA-Amami/m-p/1100 403
(This was subsequently resolved in some fashion.)
It's good that Fairphone have taken the software sustainability side of things a lot more seriously, even though there appear to be people (in evidence amongst the comments on the Fairphone blog post) who don't see the connection between making sure that a device has viable software and how long that device lasts, not to mention all the freedom-related aspects of choosing what software one runs and, relevant to the topic, what services it depends on.
Of course, service availability also affects device longevity, as people whose Apple products no longer talk to Google services can attest.
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