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posted by martyb on Monday September 12 2016, @11:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the avoided-Betteridge's-Law-of-Headlines dept.

I've been an Android user since Froyo, over several devices. I'm beginning to think that there must be a better way.

First, although I liked Android, especially the part that was Open Source, I'll suggest that the whole Android ecosystem represents a dead end.

At a minimum, it seems like madness to rely on two or more layers of outside partners to deliver software patches and updates. It's just not reasonable or safe for end users to wait for months or years until device makers and wireless carriers deliver patches from Google - if they ever do.

That there's no way a user can update their system without their cooperation is just not acceptable today.

Second, even if an update or patch does arrive, it brings with it the likelihood that some feature or application that you have been using will be hobbled, eliminated, or just plain be made unusable by Google. Services provided by Google are subject to changes that, depending on your circumstances, make them significantly less usable. (Gmail being a prime example) Standalone apps like Reader or MyTracks may just stop working one day if Google loses interest.

Finally, there's the Play store, and the millions of apps available to users. I think that most people would agree that trying to find a usable app for a specific purpose is an exercise in frustration.

[Continues...]

The current system pretty much requires you to guess on a search term to find an app, then wade through dozens or hundreds of possible results.

App ratings are filled with obvious astroturf, or one word disses - neither of these help you tell if an app actually works. Without someone actually moderating the ratings system it is pretty much of no value.

There's no practical way to tell if an app is a finished product, or an abandoned half-baked pastime. Our only option, even with paid apps, is to install it and find out if it works.

There is speculation that Google may be preparing to abandon Android, but will a new Google OS really be any better for end users?

The problem is that Android has more or less become the only game in town, so what alternative will we see emerge?

Obvious notes:

a) Cyanogenmod - been there, done that. Not a realistic option for the vast majority of end users. And honestly, I just don't have the time and inclination to root and install it these days.
b) iPhone - actually owned a Powerbook for three years as my primary machine. Gave it my best go, but just don't like the way Apple machines do things. YMMV.
c) BlackBerry - actually really loved the BlackBerry, except that it REALLY didn't play well with Google contacts, and they refuse to support either Linux, or individual end users.
c) Linux - yup. Guess I'm spoiled. Stuff generally doesn't break, and if I need a specific tool or function — someone, somewhere has almost always created it.


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  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Monday September 12 2016, @01:27PM

    by VLM (445) on Monday September 12 2016, @01:27PM (#400680)

    There is speculation that Google may be preparing to abandon Android, but will a new Google OS really be any better for end users?

    Correct that the OS has exactly one monopoly business model provider. Incorrect that changing the OS code will have any effect other than coincidental on changing the screwed up business model.

    One important issue OP missed is social. Social in that yes the store is full of junk thats useless to me and vital to someone, much like a shopping visit to an old time hardware store or a car parts store. I'm looking for 1 specific thing and the other 99999 products get in the way. What does work is social. So at least when I got used to Android (some years ago) you use baconreader to look at pr0n on reddit, doggcatcher to listen to podcasts, Ambling book player to listen to downloaded mp3 format audiobooks of questionable origin, Moon+ for reading ebooks of questionable origin, connectbot as kinda the industry standard SSH client. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure there's at least 10K google play store app entries for those fields but you need ONE social friend to boil this down for you. ONE. Then all you do with play store is search for "doggcatcher" or "connectbot" and its all done. I would never confuse crappy clickbait journalism for social interaction so don't just google for "top 10 ssh android apps" because that'll be clickbait crap even if they accidentally recommend connectbot.

    Another important issue OP missed is long term economic stability. Note my app suite listed above hasn't changed in maybe 3 years. That means the developers haven't made a penny in 3 years. That means if the market barely made enough money to get by, 3 years ago, they're on ketchup and ramen now and soon will be gone. So your software is in a rotation of new and profitable, abandonware, finally gone, then repeat. One counterexample is I pay an annual fee to RadarScope theoretically for some BS added features, but in practice to make sure I'll still be able to run RadarScope in 2020 so the devs get to eat lunch on me in perpetuity. Something to think about with subscription fees is it'll be a win for something you'll use forever like a podcast player, but it'll be a disaster for flash in the pan games like angry birds or pokemon. So the marketplace has both models and needs both models but "most" software isn't billing correctly with the right model. I "should" be paying connectbot $0.25/mon to patch and upgrade in perpetuity but I'm not. A quarter per month doesn't sound sustainable until you multiply a million sysadmins and suddenly a quarter-mil per month to apply openssh patches and recompile isn't so bad.

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