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MicroG Project: A re-implementation of Google’s Android apps and libraries

123 points by ProfDreamer 11y ago

fallenshell 11y ago
This is great. This can be shipped on custom ROMs with only attribution required, correct? Can we (ROM builders and developers) incorporate this at the current state of the project?
- ysleepy 11y ago
  The current state is not for the faint of heart. There are occasional Issues which need some logcat analysis. - But I'm running it for many months and it works out for me. It is not feature complete though, just mostly. But I think if the ROM Developer community takes an active interest many edge cases could be polished out.
  - fallenshell 11y ago
    Hmmm... Nice. I might be integrating this into special builds for testers.
- ashitlerferad 11y ago
  Looks like it is all under the Apache 2.0 license. You will of course need to verify that and comply with the Apache license and any other licenses you find in the code.
brad0 11y ago
Interesting. I'm guessing that we can ship this with androidx86?
feylikurds 11y ago
What is it that would stop Google from turning off access to the Google Play Store by way of Store (Phonesky), especially if MicroG becomes popular?
- realusername 11y ago
  Technically, they probably won't see the difference between Phonesky and the actual Google Play Store if they mimic enough the APIs. The problem is more legally if that's possible, I'm not a lawyer but technically, it will be really difficult to stop.
  - ikeboy 11y ago
    They can always add some obfuscated code in their proprietary version and require a code every so often or something similar. Google has been known to do this https://moderncrypto.org/mail-archive/messaging/2014/000780.html https://moderncrypto.org/mail-archive/messaging/2014/000780.... "As an example, I created a system that randomly generates encrypted JavaScripts that are designed to resist reverse engineering attempts." If they provide a binary blob that resists reversing, there might not be a way around including that blob.
    - realusername 11y ago
      That's indeed true. Android phones are not still really updated often and I guess they need to keep backward compatibility for lots of things limiting their options for this kind of tricks.
- DoubleMalt 11y ago
  Legally they can change the rules of accessing their api, thus making using Phonesky a felony accoring to the CFAA.
breakingcups 11y ago
I was hoping something like this would come off the ground. It's good to have alternatives!
zserge 11y ago
So this does not affect app developers, but rather firmware developers, right? Also, do these libraries end up talking to Google backends or there is a choice to use some other backends with compatible API? Sorry for a newbie question, I tried my best to avoid Google APIs in my APKs so far, so I don't really know much about them.
- j_s 11y ago
  GmsCore is helpful for Android users who want to stay away from Google (even when application developers don't!). For example, it makes it possible to use Signal without depending on Google Cloud Messaging. (This is also helpful when Google stuff may not necessarily be available, such as on Amazon devices.) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10665520 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10665520 https://o9i.de/2015/10/23/howto-gmscore.html https://o9i.de/2015/10/23/howto-gmscore.html
- akerro 11y ago
  >do these libraries end up talking to Google backends or there is a choice to use some other backends with compatible API? Depends what backend service you choose: https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=nlp&fdpage=1&page_id=0 https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=nlp&fdpage=1...
anilgulecha 11y ago
This is good, and it makes sense for many apps that are unavailable on f-droid, amazon store, replicant, cyanogenmod and others.
ysleepy 11y ago
I'm using this and its pretty great. Normal Play Store works for me. The installation procedure with Needle is not for the average User but doable. The apk must be in system-priv or somewhere for everything to work, I always forget, but the XDA Thread has the Info on that. For me this is exactly what I wanted, Push Notifications and Play Store. The other google cruft can stay where it came from.

123 points by ProfDreamer 11y ago

This is great. This can be shipped on custom ROMs with only attribution required, correct? Can we (ROM builders and developers) incorporate this at the current state of the project?

ysleepy 11y ago
The current state is not for the faint of heart. There are occasional Issues which need some logcat analysis. - But I'm running it for many months and it works out for me. It is not feature complete though, just mostly. But I think if the ROM Developer community takes an active interest many edge cases could be polished out.
- fallenshell 11y ago
  Hmmm... Nice. I might be integrating this into special builds for testers.
ashitlerferad 11y ago
Looks like it is all under the Apache 2.0 license. You will of course need to verify that and comply with the Apache license and any other licenses you find in the code.

brad0 11y ago

Interesting. I'm guessing that we can ship this with androidx86?

feylikurds 11y ago

What is it that would stop Google from turning off access to the Google Play Store by way of Store (Phonesky), especially if MicroG becomes popular?

realusername 11y ago
Technically, they probably won't see the difference between Phonesky and the actual Google Play Store if they mimic enough the APIs. The problem is more legally if that's possible, I'm not a lawyer but technically, it will be really difficult to stop.
- ikeboy 11y ago
  They can always add some obfuscated code in their proprietary version and require a code every so often or something similar. Google has been known to do this https://moderncrypto.org/mail-archive/messaging/2014/000780.html https://moderncrypto.org/mail-archive/messaging/2014/000780.... "As an example, I created a system that randomly generates encrypted JavaScripts that are designed to resist reverse engineering attempts." If they provide a binary blob that resists reversing, there might not be a way around including that blob.
  - realusername 11y ago
    That's indeed true. Android phones are not still really updated often and I guess they need to keep backward compatibility for lots of things limiting their options for this kind of tricks.
DoubleMalt 11y ago
Legally they can change the rules of accessing their api, thus making using Phonesky a felony accoring to the CFAA.

breakingcups 11y ago

I was hoping something like this would come off the ground. It's good to have alternatives!

zserge 11y ago

So this does not affect app developers, but rather firmware developers, right? Also, do these libraries end up talking to Google backends or there is a choice to use some other backends with compatible API? Sorry for a newbie question, I tried my best to avoid Google APIs in my APKs so far, so I don't really know much about them.

j_s 11y ago
GmsCore is helpful for Android users who want to stay away from Google (even when application developers don't!). For example, it makes it possible to use Signal without depending on Google Cloud Messaging. (This is also helpful when Google stuff may not necessarily be available, such as on Amazon devices.) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10665520 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10665520 https://o9i.de/2015/10/23/howto-gmscore.html https://o9i.de/2015/10/23/howto-gmscore.html
akerro 11y ago
>do these libraries end up talking to Google backends or there is a choice to use some other backends with compatible API? Depends what backend service you choose: https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=nlp&fdpage=1&page_id=0 https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=nlp&fdpage=1...

anilgulecha 11y ago

This is good, and it makes sense for many apps that are unavailable on f-droid, amazon store, replicant, cyanogenmod and others.

ysleepy 11y ago

I'm using this and its pretty great. Normal Play Store works for me. The installation procedure with Needle is not for the average User but doable. The apk must be in system-priv or somewhere for everything to work, I always forget, but the XDA Thread has the Info on that. For me this is exactly what I wanted, Push Notifications and Play Store. The other google cruft can stay where it came from.