Straight from the playbook. Announce something terrible, then back off with something bad. Everyone calls it a win.
See: Wizards if the Coast, Unity
Rockstar too
And 5 years they'll try it again.
Do terrible thing A to test the sentiment, probe the reaction, backpedal a bit, admit caveats and facilitate pre-planned option B, try again after a few days and gocus on it died down.
At one point we'll need diff monitoring on the TOC and all other legal imprints :|
For now. You just wait. Evil corp is gonna evil corp it all up.
I miss the days when their slogan was "Don't be evil"
Yeah, Google used to be the "Cool" company back then. I used to root for them.
Lots of companies feel the need to serve their users on their way up.
Once they feel they got much or most of the market on lock, they no longer need to justify themselves to their users, and a cycle of pure valueless exploitation begins, aka enshittification.
Good, but I still don't trust Google and I really want Linux (you know what I mean) on my next phone.
Google: "Based on this feedback and our ongoing conversations with the community, we are building a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn't verified.
And we will NEVER trust you again because we know you'll retry this next year or so in a few smaller steps that all have cutesy innocent names that are supposed to lull us in a false sense of security
Fuck Google, stop paying them for anything, stop using their services wherever possible.
It's always the same, big shocking announcement, public outcry, pushing forward with a less shocking version, public acceptance, and then rolling out the rest of the initial plan. Why do we keep falling for it?
Give a fascist an inch...
Its like getting robbed at gunpoint. Not much you can do about it.
This is...actually a really good analogy for consumerism. When the market has little to no competition and seemingly insurmountable barriers to enter it, it can really feel like a hostage situation. At best it's like two dudes sitting behind a desk, ripping off their hook-and-loop patches to caress their nipples while listening to our feedback.
It's not sideloading, it's installing. Stop giving into this idea that installing other apps is somehow bypassing normal methods!
I heard that if you don't get your groceries via Walmart+ delivery, then it's smuggling.
Great analogy
So I just read what they are going to do and this article is just clickbait. Basically they still want you to dox yourself but it'll still work like iOS Test Pilot. Google is still full of shit and lies but hey at least you don't have to pay them money until enough users download your app if you want more.
So it'll basically still kill apps like F-Droid or you downloading an app from the internet to run on your phone. You'll basically have to signup to install third party apps on your device per app in general and alot of the convenience and developer community will still just leave android as a whole.
All in all really bad decision on Google's part while also extending this to things like fireOS or whatever the fuck the Quest 2 and 3 will run as a skin of android. This will make sure they would be forever stuck on older versions of android; lest they have to contend with the new upcoming android features that will enforce this that will be baked into the operating system next year. Even without Google Play Services like I read.
Personally I don't think developers should have to sign up to Google and provide ID cards to basically have a limited amount of users use their specific app outside the app store.
Google obviously is feeling threatened by better apps that more people are using on platforms like F-Droid compared the outright subscription based shitware and adware on the playstore. Which is why they are doing this. But like platforms before like inturn Symbian. I personally think it'll fuck them over so hard that'll they'll never recover while China or whomever else makes a new platform for you to run android apps on for a time before going all proprietary fucked up Linux. Just like Android again.
They'll probably also release a new API to allow apps to check if user have enabled sideloading. Then overzealous apps like fucking mcdonalds will throw a hissy fit about it and refuse to work unless you turn it off. Also your bank too, just to really make it as hard as possible to include sideloaded apps. Sideloading will remain available, but so painful, most people just give up.
Just recently mcdonalds app stopped working when installed in a secondary profile. Long history of them trying to detect root hiding methods too. Fuck them. Once this sideload block thing arrives, mcdonalds would be the first to block it.
Let em all shut me down. If they don't need my business, I don't need theirs. I just found out that Casio makes a g-shock with Bluetooth and you can screw with it using python and an unlisted API.
One more nail in the coffin for my smartphone footprint. I just want an 8" linux tablet, a watch that can give me messages from signal and a battery powered access point.
No freaking way this was because of "feedback". This was because the European Commission will keep escalating their fines if Google keeps at it with the monopoly bullshit.
The EU is just a bit behind being maliciously lobbied to death (eyeroll).
(See Digital Omnibus Act)
Don't consider this a win, guys, this is more of an 'Oh shit, we're screwed if we follow through with this right now' moment, there's nothing stopping them from walking this back at a later, less turbulent date when no one's paying attention, and locking Android down anyways, as this directly reminds me of the situation which caused WEI to be scrapped.
Also, the EU pushing Chat Control through the back door might embolden Google to both try an Android lockdown just like was going to roll out before, and try WEI again, and get both actually pushed through somehow.
I wouldn't even be surprised if MS were emboldened to try to lock down PCs... Again....
Thank god. I would've ditched Android for good if this went through, and while it sounds like it would be annoying for casual users to enable unverified apps, at least we can still install them.
You would have ditched Android for ios if it were implemented?
At least the apple ecosystem all works. Androids full of shit that will never be fixed. Looking at Google cast in particular. There have been many others too.
Ive been using Android for more than a decade, fwiw
Not hardly. I've been looking for a reason to support Linux phones, and that would just have been the thing to do it.
Eh, I'm probably gonna ditch that smartphone thing anyways, at least for a while. Android becoming a closed-off garden was the last straw and I was kinda looking forward trying to go without a phone to test if I can adapt. I started leaving the house without my phone more and more and I kinda like it.
Sure, it's fun and convenient to have the Internet in my pocket. Heck, it's even required in some cases, but this digital mess we are currently in is too much for me. I remember how I was looking forward having one back then; I was really looking forward having acces to the Interney wherever I was, but nowadays I kinda miss being less conected from all the bullshit especially when outside.
I guess I could get a linuxphone one day if I miss having a phone (if I somehow manage to completely remove the smartphone from my life in the first place).
Google: “Based on this feedback and our ongoing conversations with the community, we are building a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified.
I've been side loading apks since I bought my first Android phones and am much more concerned about malware "safe" apps from Google's Play store. Google's quality control is shit.
Uh-huh, sure, just about protecting the users. Nevermind that actual malware is regularly found on play store, and exactly 0 times -- on f-droid they're "protecting" the users from.
I have been looking at getting a flip phone and ditching this "Smart phone" bullshit altogether, I still might. I'm sick of this rug pull bullshit and no one can convince me they aren't just going to try again.
Users only need to eat half of a shit sandwich!
This is less terrible news, not good news.
This new 'flow' will require drinking a verification can (of piss) every time you want to use a sideloaded app
I'm just waiting for the moment Valve also decides to enter the mobile market :)
… continues to make Play Integrity an integral part of Android and making all the stupid banking and govt apps requiring having it on your phone thus making it harder to de-google.
still no… fuck you.
I have an app on F-Droid. Nothing special, basically something I wrote for myself. I was thinking about putting it on Play Store so I can share it with friends that don't use F-Droid but with those new requirement I'm 100% not doing that. Fuck Google.
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