4 ms·

Apple folded way too easily to authoritarian demands and gives us no option to circumvent their walled garden. I've been a long time iPhone user (since the fir

Apple folded way too easily to authoritarian demands and gives us no option to circumvent their walled garden. I've been a long time iPhone user (since the first one) and I'm not going to be purchasing another one.

touwer 1y ago
Same here
giancarlostoro 1y ago
Worth pointing out that Google is doing the same thing Apple is with app removals from their app store, and in the near future it will be harder to install apps outside of their walled garden.
- bigyabai 1y ago
  Google has the AOSP. They did remove the ICEBlock app from their store, but unlike iOS, that was never going to fully remove the app from their ecosystem. If Google forcibly revoked the signature of the app, Android users can still build and access versions of Android with the app. Alternative app stores are a huge boon, but the real coup-de-grace is an Open Source OS.
  - fkyoureadthedoc 1y ago
    > If Google forcibly revoked the signature of the app, Android users can still build and access versions of Android with the app. The admin would effectively achieve their goals if they took the user base down to the 6 people willing to do this for ICEBlock
  - array_key_first 1y ago
    AOSP is a joke. This is coming from a custom rom user. Google has been squeezing custom roms for the past 10 years. They barely work, and this is both on purpose and unavoidable. Google shoves DRM anywhere they can get their grubby little hands into. Also, AOSP doesn't even run on any devices. Anywhere. You need mountains of supplemental proprietary blobs and Google systems to get it onto a phone. Also, Google is trying to kill all apps outside the play store anyway.
    - bitpush 1y ago
      > AOSP is a joke. This is coming from a custom rom user. Its an open source software right? Free for anyone to do anything. Were you expecting a highly polished, it-just-works with free software? Isnt that being a little entitled?
      - array_key_first 1y ago
        > Isnt that being a little entitled? Yes, I am entitled. No, I don't really care that Google has to put in more effort. If it were up to me, we would enforce it by law. The consequences of a completely locked down mobile ecosystem are dire for humanity. Yes, thats the level of things were talking about here. There's those who take the threat seriously, and those who don't. As each year passes by, it becomes more difficult to justify a state of apathy.
        bitpush 1y ago
        Spoken like someone who has never open sourced anything. Why should others work for free for you?
        array_key_first 1y ago
        Free money has fuck all to do with it. This is about freedom and the perseverance of humanity. If it makes you feel better, I do pay many hundreds of dollars a year for open source software. All donations. I'm not saying that to brag or anything, but since we want to start making moral arguments, I think it's likely I'm much less of a freeloader than you. Um, ouch.
  - nozzlegear 1y ago
    Genuine question, not a mobile dev: does this app even work on Android without Google services? The developer said they don't have their own database or location services and had to "[utilize] iCloud in kind of a creative way" to provide alerts that ICE agents were nearby.
xorvoid 1y ago
Same. I am (1) Moving to GrapheneOS. And (2) exploring other alternatives such as PostmarketOS for when Google makes it impossible for Graphene to operate. And (3) even pairing down my smart phone usage entirely. But I'm also thinking a lot about the impact on ordinary non-tech-literate folks. They really don't have great options. I think we need some serious technical focus into FOSS and freedom-respecting alternatives Reach out and let's talk.

touwer 1y ago

Same here

giancarlostoro 1y ago

Worth pointing out that Google is doing the same thing Apple is with app removals from their app store, and in the near future it will be harder to install apps outside of their walled garden.

bigyabai 1y ago
Google has the AOSP. They did remove the ICEBlock app from their store, but unlike iOS, that was never going to fully remove the app from their ecosystem. If Google forcibly revoked the signature of the app, Android users can still build and access versions of Android with the app. Alternative app stores are a huge boon, but the real coup-de-grace is an Open Source OS.
- fkyoureadthedoc 1y ago
  > If Google forcibly revoked the signature of the app, Android users can still build and access versions of Android with the app. The admin would effectively achieve their goals if they took the user base down to the 6 people willing to do this for ICEBlock
- array_key_first 1y ago
  AOSP is a joke. This is coming from a custom rom user. Google has been squeezing custom roms for the past 10 years. They barely work, and this is both on purpose and unavoidable. Google shoves DRM anywhere they can get their grubby little hands into. Also, AOSP doesn't even run on any devices. Anywhere. You need mountains of supplemental proprietary blobs and Google systems to get it onto a phone. Also, Google is trying to kill all apps outside the play store anyway.
  - bitpush 1y ago
    > AOSP is a joke. This is coming from a custom rom user. Its an open source software right? Free for anyone to do anything. Were you expecting a highly polished, it-just-works with free software? Isnt that being a little entitled?
    - array_key_first 1y ago
      > Isnt that being a little entitled? Yes, I am entitled. No, I don't really care that Google has to put in more effort. If it were up to me, we would enforce it by law. The consequences of a completely locked down mobile ecosystem are dire for humanity. Yes, thats the level of things were talking about here. There's those who take the threat seriously, and those who don't. As each year passes by, it becomes more difficult to justify a state of apathy.
      - bitpush 1y ago
        Spoken like someone who has never open sourced anything. Why should others work for free for you?
        array_key_first 1y ago
        Free money has fuck all to do with it. This is about freedom and the perseverance of humanity. If it makes you feel better, I do pay many hundreds of dollars a year for open source software. All donations. I'm not saying that to brag or anything, but since we want to start making moral arguments, I think it's likely I'm much less of a freeloader than you. Um, ouch.
- nozzlegear 1y ago
  Genuine question, not a mobile dev: does this app even work on Android without Google services? The developer said they don't have their own database or location services and had to "[utilize] iCloud in kind of a creative way" to provide alerts that ICE agents were nearby.

xorvoid 1y ago

Same. I am (1) Moving to GrapheneOS. And (2) exploring other alternatives such as PostmarketOS for when Google makes it impossible for Graphene to operate. And (3) even pairing down my smart phone usage entirely. But I'm also thinking a lot about the impact on ordinary non-tech-literate folks. They really don't have great options. I think we need some serious technical focus into FOSS and freedom-respecting alternatives Reach out and let's talk.