Kevin Steen: > On 01/09/17 14:00, Hans-Christoph Steiner wrote: >> >> ChromeOS (the OS for Chromebooks) now has a complete Android runtime. >> There are also persistent rumors that Google is merging ChromeOS and >> AndroidOS into a single system. The scary thing is that ChromeOS's >> Android runtime does not allow users to install apps outside of Google Play. >> >> "Unknown Sources" is essential to a lot of the things that we do: >> >> * nearby app sharing like F-Droid, Zapya, Share-It, etc. >> * alternative app stores like F-Droid and all those companies >> * easy testing via direct APK install, Hockeyapp, etc. >> * self-updating apps like Zom, Signal, etc. >> >> Anyone with a google account and an interest in keeping ChromeOS as open >> as Android, please star this issue: >> >> https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=761329 >> >> .hc >> > > I think Google is already well into using its monopoly to strangle out > competitors and they're not going to reverse on that. Things like Doze > mode and having to use Google Cloud Messaging to get any kind of > usability are only marketed as benefiting users - the main beneficiary > is Google. Non-Google apps are being pushed into second-class citizen > status by making them appear unreliable. > > What I don't understand is why the alternate ROM suppliers don't seem to > want to fix these shortcomings, either. I stand to be corrected, but I > don't think CyanogenMod ever got around to providing the Ad-hoc Wifi API > which Google refuses to provide, either. > > I think if we want to create freedom-preserving apps, we're going to > have to encourage alternate ROMS and tell people to only buy phones > which can be freed from Google's control. Then we still have to tackle > the control from the baseband processor...
Google does have control, but that does not mean we do not have some leverage. The lockdown of GCM and doze mode is indeed a threat. The reason why ROM devs do not add features like adhoc wifi is that it requires a lot of testing and integration work. Few people like to do that kind of work in their free time, so for that to happen, people have to get paid. .hc -- PGP fingerprint: EE66 20C7 136B 0D2C 456C 0A4D E9E2 8DEA 00AA 5556 https://pgp.mit.edu/pks/lookup?op=vindex&search=0xE9E28DEA00AA5556 _______________________________________________ List info: https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/guardian-dev To unsubscribe, email: [email protected]
