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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.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Hyperturtle on Monday September 12 2016, @01:29PM
Android was released to sell stuff, including hardware. Not the OS, unless it's the selling of the OS as a concept so that people would use it. Give away the handle and charge for the razor, etc.
People are addicted to the handles that form the base of Google's control of what you do with the blades now. The plan is for you to replace the blades regularly, in this case, every 18 months is what their general going rate is.
The "Obvious notes" fail to take into consideration that Google doesn't care about those other things and they are not going to help you solve any problems unless it's going to give them more data; the use of other products limits that collection. The goal is to get you using the OS, and replacing the hardware as frequently as allowed, if not more frequently. Providing cross-compatibility is mostly done to keep torches unlit and pitchforks in the hay, and not pointed at the industry. It'd break sooner (software or hardware or both) if they could get away with it.
The one, true, designed, tested and marketed solution is to replace the phone to get the new version, because the old version doesn't deliver ads to you as effectively as the new one and it won't be able to do all that tracking on the slower processor and such, and it will provide a terrible experience for the most part if you shove a modern OS on what is now a disposable phone. For a comparison, Look at what javascript did to the internet and the web; the requirement to upgrade is very hostile to the degree they don't even ask anymore unless you disabled the updating. You wake up one day with a new browser version and it may not even tell you about it. Oh now now its too slow. Time to upgrade--not everyone can afford this, but the push is less than subtle. Only old people that dont use the new features are expected to hang onto elderly phones--but if they want to do video chats with the kids and grandkids, they can be relied upon to drop the cash on what works and use a jitterbug to make actual calls.
Few things get people to upgrade their phone other than the phone being terribly slow because it affects almost everything on it. That reason to upgrade can be arranged via software.
Luxury items may have a longer life because their hardware is superior, but the door closes on those as well after a few years, rather than 18 months. Someone has to evangalize and not be on the payroll--those are the people buying Nexus devices, generally speaking. Want the latest in diamond collars and leashes? Buy a new phone or get a Nexus. They will say everything is great, and their harwdare is. People like them are fantastic marketing vehicles for cheaper hardware because they know how the latest OSes work and recommend the use to others.
In any event-- the author seems unfamiliar with the concept; if he looked at how Apple is doing things as a comparison, people wait in lines to get the newest hardware that has the latest software on it, even if the improvement is mostly marketing related or introduces new proprietary features to ensure continued purchasing of applicable accessories. You can upgrade some of the older hardware, but most (non-technical) people frown upon this and just buy new shiny.
The end is already in sight -- it involves the end of the use of his current phone in favor of a replacement model.