Recent submissions

Comment · 4 months ago
Comment · 8 months ago
They already can't have had such a requirement, since the Fairphone can be bought with either Google apps or /e/OS.
Comment · 9 months ago
This is about background playback, not adblocking. They can still play ads.
Comment · 1 year ago
Places are increasingly expecting people to have a smartphone, and using an app for things like parking your car, charging you car, going to the gym, paying for stuff, identifying yourself online etc. Sure, for now most of the time you can get away with most things without one (possibly ate the cost of being a second class citizen), but every now and then you run into something that straight up requires a phone.

For example, at the gym I go to they do have a card reader as an alternative to checking in with the app, but at one point it was not working, which meant a smartphone was mandatory to go to the gym. And it was left that way for months; fixing it was clearly not a priority because the expectation of society is that everyone has a smartphone (you'll be met with surprise if you tell people you don't have their app installed, and incredulity at the idea that someone might not have a smartphone). And outside my workplace they put up car charging stations that have no way to pay for charging without an app.

And then (at least here in Sweden) there are increasingly places that accept no payment methods other than mobile payments (Swish here in Sweden), and online services like healthcare services requiring you to authenticate with BankID on a smartphone (or sometimes Freja e-ID, which also requires a smartphone), for things like ordering from pharmacies, doing your taxes online (and getting your tax return sooner), accessing healthcare services etc, and meanwhile physical alternatives like physical pharmacies are increasingly getting outcompeted and shutdown. So you may be able to get by without one, but at the cost of getting cut off from parts of society, and that's likely to increase.

And of course there was recently the news that the UK may require a digital ID (probably on and Android or iOS phone) in order to get employment or residence: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/starmer-digit...

Comment · 1 year ago
Well, maybe the app will keep working and you can update it from Aurora Store, or maybe you'll be fine as long as you don't change your employment or residence. Pretty vague so far.
Comment · 1 year ago
In this case, sounds like you'll not just be required to carry an ID. Everyone in the country will be legally required to carry an Android phone or iPhone.

Well, maybe the app will keep working and you can update it from Aurora Store. Pretty vague so far.

Comment · 1 year ago
And if Google bans you for some reason (which they have been known to do sometimes), I guess you'll be kicked out of the country unless you buy an iPhone.
Comment · 1 year ago
Comment · 1 year ago
Not so much with smartphones though. While there is Android, it's slowly becoming just as bad as iOS, and modern society requires everyone to have one of those (and an aftermarket OS may not be a possibility either due to some apps using Play Integrity API).
Comment · 1 year ago
So why do people hate CSS's trigonometry implementation?
Comment · 1 year ago
So basically to summarize, Google embargoes security patches for four months so OEMs can push out updates more slowly. And if those patches were immediately added to an open source project like GrapheneOS, attackers would gain info on the vulnerabilities before OEMs provide updates (the GrapheneOS project can see the patches, but they can't ship them). But a lot of patches end up being leaked anyway, so the delay ends up being pointless.
Comment · 1 year ago
There were a number of of deaths during the capitol attack, including a police officer who suffered a stroke a day after being beaten by the rioters. And there was certainly a lot more violence.
Comment · 1 year ago
How does this differ from WinApps?
Comment · 1 year ago
I've made sure to configure the browser to allow zooming on any website. Don't understand why websites try to block this.
Comment · 1 year ago
Mostly because the people who want sideloading are using Android. And on Android the situation is constantly getting worse, while on iOS it's largely just sticking to the status quo.

Nevertheless, this serves as an excellent demonstration of the problem with the changes Google are making, since they would allow Google to do exactly what Apple just did.

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