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Honestly, this is why I have always avoided Android devices: because there are too many variances. - some you can root, some you can't. - some have 3rd party

by Esau 10y ago

Honestly, this is why I have always avoided Android devices: because there are too many variances. - some you can root, some you can't. - some have 3rd party junk, some don't. - some get updates, some don't. Being a fan of free/open source software, I want Android to succeed, but they have turned a good thing into a fucking quagmire.

sjwright 10y ago
Whether the modern Android experience has roots as a free/open source system is becoming a bit of an academic exercise. In a practical sense, useful distributions of Android and iOS are both combinations of open and closed source components.
- jhasse 10y ago
  Android is a lot more open though.
  - sjwright 10y ago
    My point is that, for some people, anything which is not fully open source might as well be closed source and arguing about percentages is academic.
    - xyzzy_plugh 10y ago
      The point is that it is a benefit to society as a whole. Android being open source as-is today is hugely beneficial. It has transformed the mobile and embedded/consumer device landscape. I have a hard time believing that the impact to everyone would be the same if it was closed source.
      - sjwright 10y ago
        I agree that society benefits from freer software. But transformed the landscape? It's unquestionable that the iPhone truly transformed the mobile landscape. Closed-source Android has eaten up a huge amount of market share across the spectrum (particularly in low-cost high-volume sales). Open-source AOSP is a relative footnote. It has barely transformed anything.
Lerc 10y ago
Variance is one of the trademarks of a successful open source project. It is people taking an existing thing and adapting it to their individual needs. That's what made Linux run on Phones, routers and tiny little gadgets. Sure you cant run Gnome on them but you shouldn't be expecting them to. If you want a known quantity with common support, buy a standard mainstream model. If you want the best thing for your needs you may have to do some research. It's like picking a Linux distro. I'd rather have variance than only Ubuntu.
chimeracoder 10y ago
> - some you can root, some you can't. Don't worry. At the rate we're headed, soon nobody will root their devices anymore, because practically every app they want to use will refuse to work on a rooted device.
- idle_zealot 10y ago
  It's pretty easy to spoof a non-rooted phone to these apps though, provided you can install Xposed.
  - thescriptkiddie 10y ago
    Doesn't work with Android Pay, though.
    - tonyplee 10y ago
      Do you still trust Android Pay with the news on how Google arbitrarily close people's google account?

by Esau 10y ago

sjwright 10y ago

Whether the modern Android experience has roots as a free/open source system is becoming a bit of an academic exercise. In a practical sense, useful distributions of Android and iOS are both combinations of open and closed source components.

jhasse 10y ago
Android is a lot more open though.
- sjwright 10y ago
  My point is that, for some people, anything which is not fully open source might as well be closed source and arguing about percentages is academic.
  - xyzzy_plugh 10y ago
    The point is that it is a benefit to society as a whole. Android being open source as-is today is hugely beneficial. It has transformed the mobile and embedded/consumer device landscape. I have a hard time believing that the impact to everyone would be the same if it was closed source.
    - sjwright 10y ago
      I agree that society benefits from freer software. But transformed the landscape? It's unquestionable that the iPhone truly transformed the mobile landscape. Closed-source Android has eaten up a huge amount of market share across the spectrum (particularly in low-cost high-volume sales). Open-source AOSP is a relative footnote. It has barely transformed anything.

Lerc 10y ago

Variance is one of the trademarks of a successful open source project. It is people taking an existing thing and adapting it to their individual needs. That's what made Linux run on Phones, routers and tiny little gadgets. Sure you cant run Gnome on them but you shouldn't be expecting them to. If you want a known quantity with common support, buy a standard mainstream model. If you want the best thing for your needs you may have to do some research. It's like picking a Linux distro. I'd rather have variance than only Ubuntu.

chimeracoder 10y ago

> - some you can root, some you can't. Don't worry. At the rate we're headed, soon nobody will root their devices anymore, because practically every app they want to use will refuse to work on a rooted device.

idle_zealot 10y ago
It's pretty easy to spoof a non-rooted phone to these apps though, provided you can install Xposed.
- thescriptkiddie 10y ago
  Doesn't work with Android Pay, though.
  - tonyplee 10y ago
    Do you still trust Android Pay with the news on how Google arbitrarily close people's google account?