Android is FOSS tho
Tell that to Google…
Google having their own proprietary crap embedded in their version doesnt make AOSP not FOSS.
Thats the entirety of the basis for things like GrapheneOS, despite Google gobbling it up.
Not technically no, though neither does it fully embrace the spirit of FOSS either. Anyway I was explaining the appearance of those two being at odds with one another in the meme. Anyone who does not enjoy meme content can simply block this community and move on with the serious side of life.:-)
it can always be forked as a project that does. this is part of the point of foss and why you should be using lineage or graphene instead if you care about this
yeah, again, just like Chromium technically speaking.
Let’s use the lesser, Foss version of Google’s product so they can continue to have a monopoly, so then later they can force you to install a proprietary blob or account apps or services need.
Correct me if I’m wrong but does FOSS not simply mean the following?
software that is available under a license that grants the right to use, modify, and distribute the software, modified or not, to everyone free of charge
source: Wikipedia
From my understanding AOSP’s license grants all those rights. I think what you might be opposed to is that it isn’t developed out in the open, which is a fair criticism.
Well, they wrote the “spirit of FOSS” and you pulled out a completely sterile definition, which has no spirit at all.
At the very least, even with that sterile definition, embracing the spirit would mean making all the software you’re distributing FOSS. Instead, Google has been doing all kinds of bundle deals and whatnot to ensure that most distributions of their FOSS software come with their proprietary parts.
However, going further in embracing the spirit, particularly the “free software” part of FOSS is idealistic. It doesn’t just fulfill that definition to fulfill that definition. Rather, it sees that definition as the baseline, to help ensure that the freedom of users is respected.
AOSP, despite being under an appropriate license, does not respect that freedom.
For example, many users would want their keyboard app (which has access to their typed passwords) to not have internet access. AOSP has a myriad of permissions, but not for internet access, since Google wants their ads to be displayed.In theory, the license ensures that AOSP can be forked, and Custom ROMs do soft-fork it (i.e. make slight amendments to what Google puts out), but due to how much development Google puts into Android rather than there being a development community, it’s effectively not viable for anyone to truly hard-fork AOSP (i.e. take it into a new direction, independent from Google).
If I need to choose, I’ll go with Android but to be quite frank, I would really prefer to have a “real” computer operating system on those devices. For 10+ years I’ve been waiting for a device that I can put in my pocket, use it on the go, with a data connection, and have the possibility to dock it and continue using it as a full fledged computer, with Linux if possible.
I know some high end Android devices can be “docked” and connected to a monitor, but they are far too expensive and/or too rare. Also, you still have to use apps instead of proper computer software. I don’t like the “everything is an app” model, where they all have to have ads and/or paid versions. Android and “mobile” operating systems are a pain to use. I want to have control over my device.
And I also know there are some devices that can to this, but with the level of technology that we have, a device like this should be easy to find. Yet, it’s all niche stuff that isn’t really polished nor working really well. It’s all damn phones and tablets with “mobile” operating systems that locks users. I wonder if phone/tablet manufacturers keep it that way because there’s no demand for this, or if they simply want to continue the milking of the mobile users.
This! Mobile operating systems are trash, and there’s no good reason for it. I always see people parroting the same nonsense, “you have the power of a super computer in your pocket”. Okay, then why can’t I use it like a supercomputer? It’s all crippled toy versions of the desktop applications, social media garbage, or microtransaction stuffed toilet games.
genuine question, what do you expect out of a mobile OS that you can’t do now?
I should be able to use it like a proper computer that can run full-fat applications, with a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. Everyone loves to go on about how powerful phones are, so then why can’t I use that power?
100% agree. Would be nice to be able to just “dock” into a USB-C cable and have a working “PC” at my disposal. Appreciate the response.
“Google is insidious. They’re really an advertising data-collection company, but people think they’re a tech service company. Their whole strategy is to provide stuff like Chrome for free so that lots of people use it and it becomes a de facto standard, and then they flip a switch and quietly mine all of that data.”
15 minutes later…
“Anyway, I prefer Android cuz it’s FOSS.”
People who prefer android because it’s open source usually use open source android because that’s what they want.
That being said, proprietary blobs and black boxes are a pox on basically every usable device these days. I hate it.
Do android stans exist? Had always thought android was the lesser of two evils for most people
its most definitely the lesser, but there are still many people who would suck off Samsung and Google if they had the opportunity to.
trust me I’ve met them
Lol I can’t understand how you get so many upvotes but when I make a meme everybody’s like “what’s a stan???” Linux users are some of the most antisocial people on the planet.
what is a stan tho?
It’s what you take when you’re not afraid
