Android without the mothership
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The success of Android has brought Linux to many millions of new users and that, in turn, has increased the development community for Linux itself. But those who value free software and privacy can be forgiven for seeing Android as a step backward in some ways; Android systems include significant amounts of proprietary software, and they report vast amounts of information back to the Google mothership. But Android is, at its heart, an open-source system, meaning that it should be possible to cast it into a more freedom- and privacy-respecting form. Your editor has spent some time working on that goal; the good news is that it is indeed possible to create a (mostly) free system on the Android platform.
One might well wonder why this goal is important to some. After all, Google's services define the Android experience; disconnecting from them can only leave an Android device with fewer features and capabilities. There are a few reasons, starting with the fact that some users simply do not trust Google at all and do not wish to share with it the details of their social connections, email interactions, physical movements, and more. Others may trust today's Google while fearing what the company could become after a management change. Regardless of the level of trust, the concentration of personal information found at companies like Google cannot help but attract the attention of governments and criminal organizations. One need not reach the tin-foil-hat level of paranoia to want to opt out of that arrangement.
There is also the simple fact that Google has repeatedly shown a willingness to shut down its (free of charge) services. As this history of Android recently posted by Ars Technica shows, Google-attached Android devices have a finite lifespan; after a while, the remote support they need to function will simply not be available. Depending on free services from others carries certain risks; some of those risks can be avoided by taking a more active role in the selection of the services one depends on.
That said, there is, beyond doubt, a great deal of functionality and convenience built into an Android device. Those of us who remember losing our contacts along with a phone do not wish to go back to those days. Disconnecting from Google can only mean losing some of those features. The important questions are: what's left, and what can be replaced?
Building a Google-free device
For those who want a 100% free Android experience, the Replicant project offers images for a handful of devices. But this project does not appear to have a vast number of developers; releases tend to be slow (the last was 4.2 in January) and a fair amount of functionality is missing. For most users, Replicant is probably not the way to go at this time.
Instead, for most, the starting point for an alternative Android device will be a CyanogenMod release. CyanogenMod is not 100% free; in particular, it contains whatever non-free drivers and firmware are needed to make a specific device work. But, above that level, CyanogenMod is free; it is mostly a build of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) release with a bunch of added goodies. Google's proprietary user-space apps and utilities are available, but they must be downloaded and installed separately. It seems certain that the vast majority of CyanogenMod users immediately do that installation, but it is not necessary to do so. Your editor started this experiment with a fresh CyanogenMod 11.0 M7 release without installing the Google apps.
Leaving out the Google apps will deprive an Android device of much of its functionality. In many cases, such as with Gmail, Google+, GDrive, etc., these apps will be something that one has already decided to live without as part of a plan to disconnect from Google. In other cases, the loss of functionality hurts more. That said, a bare CyanogenMod installation provides a highly functional device. Most of the basic functionality that one might need is there; all that is left is the task of filling in the rest.
Perhaps the first missing feature that will be noticed by many is the app for the Google Play Store — the app used to download and install everything that is not on a device by default. This is a proprietary app that will refuse to function unless the user is logged into a Google account; most of what it installs is also proprietary, of course, and, increasingly, Play Store apps depend on on the proprietary Play Services layer. So the Play Store is not really an option for this use case. (Interestingly, the CyanogenMod 11.0 M7 installation included the Play Store app; from your editor's understanding, Google's licensing says that it should not be there at all, so its presence was a bit surprising.)
So one of the first post-installation steps is to get set up with another app repository; that generally means installing the F-Droid app. The F-Droid repository is limited to free software, though some of the apps may rely on non-free dependencies or services. At a little over 1,000 apps, it is rather smaller than the commercial app stores out there, but it has many of the essentials needed to bring a Google-free device up to full functionality.
Replacing Google apps and services
While it is certainly possible to keep contact and calendar information locally on an Android device, chances are that most users will want to have that information backed up to a server somewhere and synchronized across all their devices. Naturally, if Google is cut out of the picture, Google will not be providing those synchronization services. Happily, the contact-management and calendar code built into AOSP handle these tasks nicely, with no need to install any additional software — if one has a server on the net somewhere to synchronize with. There are a number of alternatives for people wanting to set up their own servers, including ownCloud and Kolab. Commercial services exist for those who do not want the trouble of maintaining a server on the net; your editor set up an account at MyKolab.com for this purpose.
The instructions provided by MyKolab for setting up synchronization were straightforward enough. For users with information in Google currently, it is easy enough to extract that information and upload it into MyKolab. The end result is contact and calendar synchronization that Just Works and which is outside of the Google sphere. This sort of arrangement might be a good option even for people who do not want to cut the connection with the mothership entirely, but who want to back up their contact and calendar information in a more private place.
The Chrome web browser is not available in CyanogenMod, but CyanogenMod does have the classic "Browser" app that was the standard Android browser not that long ago. This browser is entirely capable; for those wanting more, the Firefox browser is available through F-Droid. For email, the standard Android email client comes with CyanogenMod, but most users will likely want to install the K-9 Mail client instead. K-9 is not an ideal mail client, but it does slowly get better with time. Of course, one needs mail hosting somewhere else on the net to be able to use clients like K-9; such services are available from a wide range of providers for those looking to get away from Gmail without having to set up their own mail server.
Simple file synchronization, like that provided by GDrive or Dropbox, is an important feature for some users. It can be useful to synchronize documents across devices, say, or to automatically upload photographs to a server. The best option would appear to be the ownCloud client, though that, naturally, requires the availability of an ownCloud server on the net. There is also an app for the (discontinued) Ubuntu One service, but that is not likely to please large numbers of people.
One of the hardest applications to replace might be Maps. There are a couple of mapping and navigation tools available in F-Droid; of the two, OsmAnd appears to be the better bet. OsmAnd offers high-quality, audio turn-by-turn navigation; the route planning is fast and it reroutes quickly when the need arises. The ability to download maps and operate offline can be helpful in places where coverage is spotty or expensive. The map data itself comes from OpenStreetMap, so the quality can be variable but is, as a rule, quite high.
On the other hand, the user interface to OsmAnd is confusing and difficult to use. Finding destinations by address is a hit-or-miss affair, and the extensive search capabilities found in Google Maps are absent. The audio instructions are often strange; a sharp left turn (seen in the screenshot to the left) was accompanied by an instruction to "make a U-turn" followed by a right turn. The maps themselves can be cluttered to the point of being unreadable (see example to the right). The core application is open source, but some features are reserved for a proprietary premium edition. Satellite imagery is not available. And so on.
For those who like the configurability and the use of OpenStreetMap data and who are willing to deal with occasional quirks, OsmAnd could well be preferable to the Google Maps app. For the (presumably larger) crowd that just wants to find a nearby sushi bar and be told how to get there, the lack of a full replacement for Maps could be the one factor that keeps them in Google's embrace.
For those who like the video-calling features found in apps like Hangouts or Skype, there are not a lot of alternatives in the Google-free world. A couple of SIP phone clients claim to be able to do video calling, but, it goes without saying, the number of people who can be called with such a client is relatively small.
Beyond that, though, almost any user will miss at least one app that would otherwise be available via the Google Play Store. Just like putting Linux onto a desktop system means giving up the world of proprietary Windows software, setting up a detached Android device means doing without the wide range of apps out there. Even apps that might run happily on a system without proprietary Google software may simply be unavailable; since most devices only allow installation from the Play Store, most app developers do not make their work available anywhere else.
Given that the number of users who go out of their way to install restricted versions of Android must be quite small, it is perhaps surprising that the Android free software community is as successful as it is. Getting the base system from AOSP is clearly a nice start, but there is a wide variety of free add-on software available; much of it is quite capable. A fully free system that is not attached to any company's data centers is attainable now. One can only imagine what might be possible with (1) a bit more attention toward making such systems easy to install and (2) more awareness of the value of such devices. There is a lot to be said about the virtues of a Google-attached mobile device, but it would be good to have well-established alternatives.
(The Free Your Android site is a
useful resource for those wanting to pursue this idea further.)
(Log in to post comments)
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 14:28 UTC (Wed) by grunch (subscriber, #16603) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 27, 2014 6:31 UTC (Fri) by xxiao (guest, #9631) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 14:52 UTC (Wed) by dlang (guest, #313) [Link]
so claiming that the number of people running these systems indicates that they are able to run without playstore apps is really overstating things.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 14:57 UTC (Wed) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link]
...and where was such a claim made? Indeed, I said that, in all likelihood, almost everybody installs the Google apps. I feel like I'm missing something here...?
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 15:09 UTC (Wed) by dlang (guest, #313) [Link]
> Beyond that, though, almost any user will miss at least one app that would otherwise be available via the Google Play Store. Just like putting Linux onto a desktop system means giving up the world of proprietary Windows software, setting up a detached Android device means doing without the wide range of apps out there. Even apps that might run happily on a system without proprietary Google software may simply be unavailable; since most devices only allow installation from the Play Store, most app developers do not make their work available anywhere else.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 16:30 UTC (Wed) by smoogen (subscriber, #97) [Link]
Thanks.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 6:59 UTC (Thu) by rsidd (subscriber, #2582) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 20, 2014 21:07 UTC (Fri) by dlang (guest, #313) [Link]
What's the point?
Posted Jun 18, 2014 15:17 UTC (Wed) by NAR (subscriber, #1313) [Link]
What's the point?
Posted Jun 18, 2014 15:29 UTC (Wed) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
What's the point?
Posted Jun 18, 2014 15:30 UTC (Wed) by halla (subscriber, #14185) [Link]
What's the point?
Posted Jun 19, 2014 8:27 UTC (Thu) by danieldk (guest, #27876) [Link]
> In addition to these increased security measures, as we recently announced, we’ve now turned off ads in Google Apps services. This means administrators no longer have the option or ability to turn on ads in these services. We’ve also permanently removed all ads scanning in Gmail for Google Apps, which means Google does not collect or use data in Google Apps services for advertising purposes.
Source: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.de/2014/05/protecting-go...
I am not sure anyone was assuming to get a completely free ride with 15GB of 'free' e-mail storage. It's a trade-off. If you don't want the ad scanning, Google Apps is not that expensive and certainly cheaper than MyKollab, while offering more features.
What's the point?
Posted Jun 18, 2014 16:26 UTC (Wed) by Fats (guest, #14882) [Link]
Big difference is that for MyKolab you are the customer, for Google you are the product that is sold to the advertisers.
What's the point?
Posted Jun 18, 2014 18:12 UTC (Wed) by Funcan (subscriber, #44209) [Link]
What's the point?
Posted Jun 19, 2014 8:29 UTC (Thu) by danieldk (guest, #27876) [Link]
What's the point?
Posted Jun 18, 2014 18:15 UTC (Wed) by ssam (guest, #46587) [Link]
What's the point?
Posted Jun 19, 2014 9:43 UTC (Thu) by Seegras (guest, #20463) [Link]
> the real difference between keeping contacts on a Google server and e.g.
> a MyKolab server?
The point? You're missing it by assuming you, or your company, can't run a caldav/carddav server yourself.
What's the point?
Posted Jun 22, 2014 10:17 UTC (Sun) by jospoortvliet (guest, #33164) [Link]
The Kolab CEO goes to jail under Swiss law if he shares any of his customers' data with anybody, within, or outside of Switzerland, governments or private parties.
What do you prefer as location of your data?
What's the point?
Posted Jun 22, 2014 10:32 UTC (Sun) by anselm (subscriber, #2796) [Link]
The Kolab CEO goes to jail under Swiss law if he shares any of his customers' data with anybody, within, or outside of Switzerland, governments or private parties.
Won't the Kolab CEO go to jail under Swiss law if a Swiss judge orders them to turn over customer data as evidence in a trial, and they don't comply?
What's the point?
Posted Jun 22, 2014 13:26 UTC (Sun) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
What's the point?
Posted Jun 22, 2014 13:44 UTC (Sun) by anselm (subscriber, #2796) [Link]
In the US case, we have the FISC, whose job it is to provide judicial oversight of the government's data collection programmes. That makes the access justifiable (from the government's POV, anyway).
Of course, whether a secret court that rubberstamps virtually every request it receives, no matter how sweeping, is actually worth being considered »judicial oversight« by people not affiliated with the government is another matter entirely …
What's the point?
Posted Jun 27, 2014 12:31 UTC (Fri) by whyagaintang (guest, #97642) [Link]
quote:
Switzerland, like nearly all of its European neighbors, has a de facto gag order on user notification. Meaning that if I have my e-mail at Swiss Company X and I’m being investigated, there’s essentially no chance that I will find out about such surveillance until after the investigation is complete
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 15:44 UTC (Wed) by josh (subscriber, #17465) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 19:27 UTC (Wed) by cworth (subscriber, #27653) [Link]
1. Make a backup copy of /data/system/accounts.db
2. Run the Play Store application, (which will prompt to create a Google account).
3. Install the application of interest
4. Restore /data/system/accounts.db from the backup made in step 1
5. Delete the Google account at http://accounts.google.com
The dance with accounts.db is due to the fact that the Android software balks at removing a Google account, (suggesting that a Google account can't be removed without a factory reset). If one already has a Google account in accounts.db it can be fairly easily removed by transferring the file to another computer, running sqlite3 on the file to manually tweak the database content, then transferring the modified file back to the Android device.
This doesn't let you install an application without using the Play store application as desired in the post above, but perhaps this process would be useful for some.
And obviously, for anyone going through this effort, it would be preferable to never create the Google account in the first place. So it's advantageous to use applications from F-Droid whenever possible. It's also a great idea to encourage the authors of applications of interest to distribute them through F-Droid, (or, at the very least, make them available for direct download from their own web pages).
-Carl
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 20:30 UTC (Wed) by josh (subscriber, #17465) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 23:44 UTC (Wed) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
Use two-factor authentication?
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 0:18 UTC (Thu) by pseelig (guest, #6796) [Link]
And then again, how could one ever trust a device that makes it so difficult to be managed by its own users, and which is designed to be remote controlled by third party entities?
In the end i'm back to preferring a laptop just for the comfort of a real keyboard and a true flexible Linux system.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 21, 2014 14:30 UTC (Sat) by clump (subscriber, #27801) [Link]
In the end i'm back to preferring a laptop just for the comfort of a real keyboard and a true flexible Linux system.I agree completely. I do pretty much as our editor has done in this article, though I'm sure we all agree we're in the minority.
I've found a Haswell-based Chromebook running Fedora to be extremely useful and portable. While not nearly as convenient as a phone, it allows me to easily plug in other devices, has a good keyboard, and provides great battery life.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 5:05 UTC (Thu) by kpc (guest, #46024) [Link]
APK Downloader service: http://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/
APK Downloader Chrome extension: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/apk-downloader/...
BlankStore (NOGAPPS project): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375
The latter is deprecated, but it still works. Initial setup requires a bit of elbow grease.
> Interestingly, the CyanogenMod 11.0 M7 installation included the Play Store app
This is very surprising. I just flashed cm-11-20140618-NIGHTLY-hammerhead.zip (Nexus 5) today and it has no Google packages.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 9:50 UTC (Thu) by Seegras (guest, #20463) [Link]
That was enlightening. Not particularly because of BlankStore, but because of the maps API and the NetworkLocation.apk.
With these, I got a load of applications running (namely, the time tables for ZVV and for the german railways).
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 11:02 UTC (Thu) by job (guest, #670) [Link]
Get the Chrome extension from XDA-Developers instead. It's easy to find with Google.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 19:34 UTC (Thu) by kpc (guest, #46024) [Link]
https://lekensteyn.nl/apk-downloader/
Note that if a third party modifies an APK, they will not be able to generate a new signature that can be validated with the original author's certificate. This means:
- If you already have an official release of the app installed, and evozi serves up a malware-infested update, it will not install due to a certificate mismatch
- If you install a malware-infested version (fresh) and then later try to update to an official version, you will see a certificate mismatch at that time
- For the same reason, you cannot easily switch between official author-signed APKs and F-Droid builds of the same package, because F-Droid always signs the binaries with their own key. FAQ entry: https://f-droid.org/wiki/page/FAQ_-_App_Developers#What_a...
Older Android releases have signature validation bugs that may allow these protections to be bypassed:
Android without the mothership
Posted Aug 3, 2014 17:41 UTC (Sun) by Tuxicoman (guest, #98170) [Link]
You can also use GooglePlayDownloader.It's fully open source and in Python. So you can ensure you get the APK straight from Google servers without malwares a third party could inject in.
I coded the graphical interface and packaging of this software.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 5:32 UTC (Thu) by amit (subscriber, #1274) [Link]
I also use the AFWall firewall on both the devices so only a subset of apps have access to the Internet.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 19:37 UTC (Wed) by Seegras (guest, #20463) [Link]
> an app from the Play store without using the Play application.
Me neither. I've got some out of my backup, but installing a new, non-free app, I couldn't manage yet.
This is just stupid. What am I going to do if I'm a developer, and want to test my systems with as many apps as possible?
There is no reason, apart from being an asshole, to not allow .apk downloads on any other device (given one supplies the credentials for paid apps).
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 19:46 UTC (Wed) by Seegras (guest, #20463) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 19:55 UTC (Wed) by alonz (subscriber, #815) [Link]
Actually there is a reason for blocking direct downloads – it prevents people from redistributing the paid apps for free through other markets.The companies (and individuals) who develop apps and put them on Play really want this.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 20:31 UTC (Wed) by josh (subscriber, #17465) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 16:53 UTC (Wed) by pabs (subscriber, #43278) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 20:46 UTC (Wed) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 23:55 UTC (Wed) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 20, 2014 22:08 UTC (Fri) by anselm (subscriber, #2796) [Link]
Earlier versions of the app had issues calculating long routes, so users were encouraged to supply waypoints every 200 km or so. According to the change log on the Play Store, this appears to have been fixed in the current version. (The one review I saw complaining about the 200-km issue was apparently for the older version.)
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 1:52 UTC (Thu) by pabs (subscriber, #43278) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 21, 2014 8:59 UTC (Sat) by zack (subscriber, #7062) [Link]
FWIW, that specific anti-feature is trivial to work around by installing maps via USB connection to the phone. I've some scripts that makes it easy doing that here http://git.upsilon.cc/?p=utils/osmand-install-map.git;a=tree
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 27, 2014 10:22 UTC (Fri) by MKesper (subscriber, #38539) [Link]
As newer maps aren't compatible with the f-droid version anymore, at this time I use the f-droid version for downloading maps only. :(
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 18:19 UTC (Wed) by alogghe (subscriber, #6661) [Link]
I do think however you gave very short shrift to two great programs (to your own detriment).
Firefox is an excellent full time replacement for chrome and I find it to be rather better then it's desktop version (in the mobile space). Sync setup is lovely as it is for desktop versions.
K-9 is waaaaaay better then gmail or the android base email program. Of course we all like our desktop setups but its excellent for a mobile imap client.
Cheers
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 19:08 UTC (Wed) by sjj (subscriber, #2020) [Link]
Thanks for the article, I've been procrastinating on getting CM installed on my phone. Seems like every app in the Play store wants to exfiltrate your personal data and social graph nowadays. I looked at a couple World Cup apps for example. Why does FIFA want my contacts and call info?
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 20:02 UTC (Wed) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link]
You can install CyanogenMod with gapps like most people do. Then you get the playstore and other Google goodies, but without vendor modifications. Outside Android, people install "mods" to distinguish themselves from the crowd, but on Android, "mods" establish consistency across devices. Thanks to CyanogenMod, my Kindle Fire is very similar to my Samsung S4 mini.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 21:21 UTC (Wed) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
And yes, it has Angry Birds.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 21:42 UTC (Wed) by sjj (subscriber, #2020) [Link]
Thanks, this essential piece of software was somehow overlooked by Jon :). Productivity, schmoductivity.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 4:17 UTC (Thu) by JdGordy (subscriber, #70103) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 18, 2014 23:50 UTC (Wed) by bojan (subscriber, #14302) [Link]
That being said, the fact that one needs Google+ profile to use Hangouts is truly annoying. I mean, even the stupid iMessage is better than that. Why do I need to click a thousand idiotic controls to disable pretty much everything on my profile (which I never use)? Oh - right - because I'm the product. OK...
I'm personally down to just using Google Calendar and Contacts (too lazy to set up LDAP/DAV stuff right now). The usefulness/convenience of Android phones goes down rather quickly without Google services, especially for non-technically minded users (99%+, I guess).
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 0:19 UTC (Thu) by sjj (subscriber, #2020) [Link]
Yes, this is true, but at least it's possible, if somewhat painful, unlike other major phone platforms and their respective corporate overlords. And after something like 17 years using a Linux desktop/laptop, I'm already oblivious to that kind of pain. Bring. it. on.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 0:40 UTC (Thu) by bojan (subscriber, #14302) [Link]
Ha, ha... Nice one!
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 5:25 UTC (Thu) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
[1]Unfortunately, the "its not ready" excuse is used, but the core libs have been showing up on github, so its not a completely empty promise.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 8:35 UTC (Thu) by bojan (subscriber, #14302) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 9:37 UTC (Thu) by DavidS (guest, #84675) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 12:38 UTC (Thu) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 6:14 UTC (Thu) by magnus (subscriber, #34778) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 20, 2014 3:19 UTC (Fri) by raven667 (subscriber, #5198) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 20, 2014 12:40 UTC (Fri) by mpr22 (subscriber, #60784) [Link]
There is no ethically legitimate reason for Android to continue to require a cross-dev environment at this point.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 20, 2014 13:53 UTC (Fri) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]
It's not question of ethics. It's question of technology. Right now most Android installations are 32bit ones and even few 64bit ones (which are rare) are not powerful enough for Android development. I'm pretty sure 5-7 years down the road (when it'll be feasible) Android will become self-hosted.
That's what happened with PC quarter century ago, after all.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 20, 2014 13:58 UTC (Fri) by mpr22 (subscriber, #60784) [Link]
What constitutes "powerful enough" for Android development? I mean, I'm not demanding a full bells-and-whistles IDE here. (And yes, the inability of Android to build itself, or to build Android applications, is the single biggest reason why I haven't even looked at developing for Android. Dealing with proprietary RTOSes for thirteen years has given me a distinct aversion to compulsory-crossdev environments.)
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 20, 2014 16:10 UTC (Fri) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]
If you want to develop for Android then you can do that on pretty lean system. If you want to build Android itself then you'll need 64bit linker and gigbytes of RAM (on my laptop with it's 16GB of RAM this feels somewhat painful since build process pushes everything else to swap, on my main development system with it's 64GB of RAM it works without pushing anything to swap; probably 8GB will be enough althugh I'm not too sure).
Still it should be possible to create SDK for Intel-based devies, but these are rare. And one could not create an SDK for ARM devices since there are no OpenSDK for ARM!
ARM64 version of OpenJDK, on the other hand, exist (recently RedHat released it) but then devices with ARM64 support are not yet here (but will be soon)!
This will give us two basic pieces needed for self-hosting, but there probably will be some other, less serious obstacles. As I've said: I expect to see self-hosted Android in 5-7 years, perhaps even 3 if we are lucky. And that will be a watershed moment because shortly after that traditional desktop Linux will become pointless. Clocks are ticking.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 21, 2014 5:52 UTC (Sat) by rqosa (subscriber, #24136) [Link]
> And that will be a watershed moment because shortly after that traditional desktop Linux will
… just pick up whatever components are necessary to run Android apps, and then your Linux distro for your ARM/AArch64 desktop/notebook hardware will run Android apps alongside all the rest (just like running X apps / command-line apps / whatever else alongside Cocoa apps on Mac OS X). At that point, any difference between Android and "traditional desktop Linux" (except possibly for stuff related to the Google "mothership") will have effectively ceased to exist.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 26, 2014 11:46 UTC (Thu) by accumulator (guest, #95885) [Link]
Smartphone without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 9:12 UTC (Thu) by rdorsch (guest, #5833) [Link]
the GTA04 project provides also hardware without a mothership
http://projects.goldelico.com/p/gta04-main/
and does great work on replicant support
http://lists.goldelico.com/pipermail/gta04-owner/2014-May...
(beside other OSes) on that hardware.
Enjoy
Rainer
Smartphone without the mothership
Posted Jun 19, 2014 16:42 UTC (Thu) by njwhite (guest, #51848) [Link]
Well, it does some work on replicant support. My understanding is that power consumption is still awful. And of course it needs nonfree firmware for the wifi, so it's not like it's completely useful with it (that is true of all replicant supported phones).
The modem is also completely proprietary, of course, though it is at least not configured to share memory with Linux OS like many android phones.
I'd like GTA04 to be good, but ultimately I think it needs several more people building and supporting it to be worthwhile. An mostly open hardware phone that can run android is nice and all, but I don't think it's interesting enough until it's fully open and works well with one operating system, which evidently cannot be done with the current resources.
My experience
Posted Jun 19, 2014 11:25 UTC (Thu) by job (guest, #670) [Link]
I used an Android phone for a couple of years without the Google parts and found the experience overall quite smooth. Just like the author I used a plain Cyanogen install.
At the time Android was version 2 and sync of contacts and calendar had problems, even with the available third party tools. Since version 4 Android has much better support for this, but if backups are all you need you could always just copy them to the SD card. You also don't need to use an app store, just download the apk files in the web browser (or install with adb).
Most of the recommended software in the article is what I used. I also used SMS Backup + to sync call history and SMS.
In the end I found that I could continue to live happily self-hosted, even on Android, and it's so easy anyone could do it. The only service I really longed for was actually the Play store. There are so much software you need on a daily basis where I live, to pay for the subway, do your taxes, use library services or whatever and it's all distributed through Google Play. Having a modern smartphone and not being able to use those services made me sad, and I have since caved in for that.
My experience
Posted Jun 19, 2014 16:46 UTC (Thu) by njwhite (guest, #51848) [Link]
Out of curiousity, how are any of those applications worthwhile? I don't have a smartphone, and I sometimes struggle to see what the fuss is about.
For the subway and library, is the benefit just one less card to carry around?
And what tax preparation stuff is good to do with a phone? That sounds like a very odd way to do taxes to me.
My experience
Posted Jun 19, 2014 17:04 UTC (Thu) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
While traveling, an app which told me where various the public transit buses were was nice to know whether I had time to grab something to eat before it arrived.
My experience
Posted Jun 20, 2014 2:27 UTC (Fri) by dvdeug (subscriber, #10998) [Link]
My experience
Posted Jun 21, 2014 9:38 UTC (Sat) by niner (subscriber, #26151) [Link]
My experience
Posted Jun 21, 2014 9:58 UTC (Sat) by dvdeug (subscriber, #10998) [Link]
My experience
Posted Jun 21, 2014 10:03 UTC (Sat) by niner (subscriber, #26151) [Link]
My experience
Posted Jun 21, 2014 10:35 UTC (Sat) by dvdeug (subscriber, #10998) [Link]
My experience
Posted Jun 21, 2014 10:41 UTC (Sat) by niner (subscriber, #26151) [Link]
With the context now hopefully more clearly defined, I can only echo the original question: why does one _need_ all those specialized apps, if the services are usually available as web sites as well?
My experience
Posted Jun 21, 2014 12:07 UTC (Sat) by dvdeug (subscriber, #10998) [Link]
(I did not mention bus schedules. I mentioned the computation of finding the optimal set of bus routes and times to get from one place to another, a frequently very different problem.)
My experience
Posted Jun 21, 2014 13:11 UTC (Sat) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
My experience
Posted Jun 21, 2014 15:12 UTC (Sat) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]
With the context now hopefully more clearly defined, I can only echo the original question: why does one _need_ all those specialized apps, if the services are usually available as web sites as well?
Because UI designed for a desktop is usually hard to use on a smartphone. And when companies are faced with a dilemma: to create a mobile web site or to create an app they often create an app—because it's simpler. Apple initialy favired mobile web, but quickly found out that it's just does not work.
Mozilla tries to make creationg of a mobile web sites as easy as creation of a mobile apps but gap still is stricking.
My experience
Posted Jul 2, 2014 13:41 UTC (Wed) by nye (guest, #51576) [Link]
You mean like e-mail, feed readers, text editors, IDEs, word processors, image editors, games, etc?
Basically every application category has a web equivalent - why does one need any application other than a browser at all?
My experience
Posted Jun 27, 2014 11:19 UTC (Fri) by MKesper (subscriber, #38539) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 20, 2014 3:55 UTC (Fri) by raven667 (subscriber, #5198) [Link]
The only effective technical way to keep your personal data out of the hands of Google (or the NSA) is to restructure your life around security as the primary focus, use Tails and Tor, stay away from most websites, use burner phones etc. No one wants to live like that, long term.
The best way to take control of this situation is non-technical, enact serious privacy regulation that includes all-access audits which enforce rules for these organizations like Google (or NSA) on what they can and can't do. Informed consent is the most sensible way forward but I don't expect that to happen any time soon in the current political climate.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 27, 2014 12:37 UTC (Fri) by whyagaintang (guest, #97642) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 20, 2014 5:32 UTC (Fri) by dilinger (subscriber, #2867) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 27, 2014 4:28 UTC (Fri) by oska (guest, #25556) [Link]
Discussion on Hacker News.
The Missing Maps Application
Posted Jun 27, 2014 12:10 UTC (Fri) by wrd (guest, #96115) [Link]
The Missing Maps Application
Posted Jul 23, 2014 2:55 UTC (Wed) by blujay (guest, #39961) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 30, 2014 7:56 UTC (Mon) by Supernode (guest, #97676) [Link]
1) I want to sync my calendar with Thunderbird. Has anyone a working example on how to achieve that?
2) OSMAnd has lots of detail but is pretty slow. I think they would need some kind of "light" version and add details by demand.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 30, 2014 13:38 UTC (Mon) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
For the calendar syncing, I use a DaviCAL install on my server and sync using that (also does CardDAV for contacts).
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 30, 2014 16:43 UTC (Mon) by spaetz (guest, #32870) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 30, 2014 12:18 UTC (Mon) by l0b0 (guest, #80670) [Link]
The last straw was trying to find a *reference* web site for Odin, and ending up getting an antivirus warning when downloading from the top Google result. Downloading the same version from the "official" forum post did not result in such a warning.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 30, 2014 13:33 UTC (Mon) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]
CyanogenMod is not about leaving Google mothership. If you'll read the whole story you'll find out that CyanogenMod does not roll in Google's apps into the default install because Google wanted it that way.
Basically CyanogenMod community acts as any other closed-system modders community. I'm not sure why are surprised, really. XBox360 or Wii mods could also be downloaded from various scary sites, often are shipped without accompanying source code and so on.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jul 1, 2014 12:05 UTC (Tue) by Rondom (subscriber, #58441) [Link]
http://glassechidna.com.au/heimdall/
As far as I know Odin is a Samsung-internal software that was leaked. Thus, there is no official website.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jul 7, 2014 14:40 UTC (Mon) by tomgj (guest, #50537) [Link]
What is being restricted and where here?
Android without the mothership
Posted Jul 15, 2014 20:25 UTC (Tue) by garyamort (guest, #93419) [Link]
While I often am not nearly as concerned as many about the GNU definition of open source, I think it is very important for there to be the option to avoid all these vendor specific lock ins.
Even if few people actually opt out, as long as the ability is there it helps to make sure companies don't go too far in their data mining.
BTW another option is Firefox OS, which is also based on android with the primary difference being replacing the android desktop with a lighter html5 based desktop.... not as feature rich as android, but for many people more then sufficient.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jan 6, 2015 13:34 UTC (Tue) by MShekow (guest, #100480) [Link]
There are many good clues in this article! I've been working on how to remove Google from my Android device for a few months now as well. I've summarized my findings on my website (click here to get to the article), in case you want to find out more!
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 4, 2016 22:04 UTC (Sat) by Sloyment (guest, #109146) [Link]
I would like to have a handheld device with a real keyboard, HDMI out, USB connectors, Ethernet connector etc. that runs Debian GNU/Linux from an open boot loader. Imagine something like an Atari Portfolio, but with a modern, powerful processor and a full HD touch screen.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 5, 2016 11:49 UTC (Sun) by tao (subscriber, #17563) [Link]
I guess the closest device to what you're asking for would be that old Sony Vaio where the display was roughly the size of the keyboard and the device weighed something like 500g. They don't make it any more though; it was extremely expensive, and the market was probably small (plus it sadly suffered from some hardware that's non-ideal).
FWIW having a full-HD screen for something like a portfolio would yield pixels that are extremely wide...
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 5, 2016 16:19 UTC (Sun) by flussence (subscriber, #85566) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 5, 2016 16:27 UTC (Sun) by tao (subscriber, #17563) [Link]
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 6, 2016 13:01 UTC (Mon) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
I read reports that Apple was looking to buy the PowerVR company. Here's to hoping it goes through and they refuse to sell it to anyone else.
Android without the mothership
Posted Jun 6, 2016 19:52 UTC (Mon) by excors (subscriber, #95769) [Link]