On Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 10:35:01AM +1100, Noah O'Donoghue wrote:
On 19 December 2014 at 10:24, Ben Finney <ben+freesoftware@benfinney.id.au> wrote:
The advantage of Android, as contrasted with iOS, is that it's quite straightforward to never use Google Play, and there are plenty of apps available from non-Google app stores.
Ben, it sure doesn't seem that way. eg http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/googles-iron-grip-on-android-controll...
In fact, you have to go out of your way to avoid Google's ecosystem and buy a phone like the blackphone..
You both seem to be talking about two different things. Ben was saying that you can run whatever app store you want - you are not forced to use Google. This is absolutely true. On my Sony Xperia Z1 Ultra "phablet" running Android, I had no trouble at all disabling all the Google Play apps and installing F-Droid. No firmware hacking or rooting, etc. The Humble Bundle also have their own "store" on Android for apps you have purchased, completely outside of Google's ecosystem, for example. On the other hand, you seem to be saying that you can't avoid Google's ecosystem because Android is becoming increasingly proprietary. While I don't deny claims that Google is replacing free software apps with proprietary versions, Google does not force you to use them to date. I use F-Droid to switch back to the old free software "Music" app, and use the free software K-9 Mail app exclusively for e-mail. Most/all of the proprietary apps cannot be uninstalled without firmware hacking, but can be disabled to prevent them from running or even appearing in the application launcher. But this is all beside the point. The point is that you don't need Google's ecosystem to install apps on Android. You do need Apple's ecosystem to install apps on most Apple devices. -Adam