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You have two choices for phone ecosystem, and they're both bastards about what you can put on your device. Google uses the tyranny of defaults, deeply buried se
by echelon 2y ago
You have two choices for phone ecosystem, and they're both bastards about what you can put on your device. Google uses the tyranny of defaults, deeply buried settings, and scare walls to accomplish much the same thing that Apple does by strictly being draconian. It's mafia behavior over the most important device category in the world.
Both of these companies need to have their asses handed to them. Not just by the US DOJ, but by every country. What we do with our phones is bigger and more important than two companies that got there first. They'll still have their trillions dollar market caps after the DOJ tells them they must allow web installs.
Apple and Google's only role should be to provide a hermetic sandbox with permissions layer and do occasional malware scans. That's it. Once we buy the devices, they're ours, and these companies should have no say as to what innovation takes place and what customer relationships are built after the initial sales are made.
- dismalaf 2y ago[flagged]
- nar001 2y agoWe're not talking about what manufacturers can do, but about what users can do, they're not the same
- dismalaf 2y agoWell only 1 platform lets users do pretty much whatever they want... That's not even up for debate.
- bmicraft 2y agoWell, except for the Play Integrity API (formerly SafetyNet). As soon as you do anything remotely interesting you can't use NFC payments, your bank or even the McDonalds app anymore. This notably doesn't even achieve it's supposed goal of keep anything secure from anyone - bypasses are found usually days after it's "fixed". That only leaves the conclusion that Google wants to make it painful so as to discourage anyone from stepping out of line. Because that's the only thing it actually achieves, and it does so remarkably well.
- sofixa 2y agoRemotely interesting you mean root your phone, I presume? I haven't found the need to root mine, there's plenty of flexibility in unrooted Android. I use the browser (actual browser, with its own engine), password manager, search engine, PWAs, email app, launcher of my choice. I use F-Droid for generic apps (like QR code reader).
- bmicraft 2y agoYou can't even backup apps without root.
- fsflover 2y agoYou mean GNU/Linux? (Yes, some smartphones run it.)
- arminiusreturns 2y agoI'd be willing to be money that if we knew the truth, it would be that three letter agencies have infilled/influenced the big two and made sure phones will remain controlled, leaky ecosystems of surveillance... ..."for the greater good"/"national security" That's why DOJ (same DOJ that let Epstein walk because he "belonged to intelligence") won't do any such thing.