The broken review process of Play Store and App Store honestly feels like something taken out of a libertarian's nightmare about a government service -- you get stuck in an opaque bureaucracy, no one will talk to you like a person if you have any problems, and you are basically forced to use it (less so on Android, if you're okay losing the people who only use Google Play). And at the end of it all, the "service" you get is that you got to get through it. I guess this is what happens when monopoly.
It's cool that to see people opting out of that.
Oh, and by the way, I don't have an opinion on Conversations as I don't use it, but while f-droid is cool, I like it best when developers publish APKs directly. That way, I can install/update via Obtainium and not involve any third party.
I prefer fdroid than obtainium. It takes time to get updates, but I see this as feature. Hostile takeover of fdroid's infra seems less likely than hostile takeover of a repo on github. I'm no security expert at all so maybe I get this all wrong.
libertarian's nightmare about a government service
This made me chuckle, I love your phrasing. The idea that kafkaesque bureaucracy is exclusive to government services is so out of touch with reality; it boggles me that it managed to get so widespread, and yet here we are.
I prefer fdroid than obtainium. It takes time to get updates, but I see this as feature. Hostile takeover of fdroid's infra seems less likely than hostile takeover of a repo on github. I'm no security expert at all so maybe I get this all wrong.
I am also not a security expert, but the security advice I've seen recommended directly downloading APKs because if you trust the developer, you can verify their signature before installing (obtainium has an option for that via AppVerifier, though I admittedly don't use it).
I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember people raising a concern that a hostile take-over of f-droid would be dangerous because then all the APKs there are at risk.
I don't have a strong opinion on this. f-droid is fine, and I do use it a lot. I mostly want have fewer dependencies on centralised infrastructure.
lake | 4 hours ago
100% agree with "fuck the gatekeepers."
The broken review process of Play Store and App Store honestly feels like something taken out of a libertarian's nightmare about a government service -- you get stuck in an opaque bureaucracy, no one will talk to you like a person if you have any problems, and you are basically forced to use it (less so on Android, if you're okay losing the people who only use Google Play). And at the end of it all, the "service" you get is that you got to get through it. I guess this is what happens when monopoly.
It's cool that to see people opting out of that.
Oh, and by the way, I don't have an opinion on Conversations as I don't use it, but while f-droid is cool, I like it best when developers publish APKs directly. That way, I can install/update via Obtainium and not involve any third party.
nicoco | 4 hours ago
I prefer fdroid than obtainium. It takes time to get updates, but I see this as feature. Hostile takeover of fdroid's infra seems less likely than hostile takeover of a repo on github. I'm no security expert at all so maybe I get this all wrong.
This made me chuckle, I love your phrasing. The idea that kafkaesque bureaucracy is exclusive to government services is so out of touch with reality; it boggles me that it managed to get so widespread, and yet here we are.
lake | 3 hours ago
I am also not a security expert, but the security advice I've seen recommended directly downloading APKs because if you trust the developer, you can verify their signature before installing (obtainium has an option for that via AppVerifier, though I admittedly don't use it).
I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember people raising a concern that a hostile take-over of f-droid would be dangerous because then all the APKs there are at risk.
I don't have a strong opinion on this. f-droid is fine, and I do use it a lot. I mostly want have fewer dependencies on centralised infrastructure.
Ha, thank you!
singpolyma | 2 hours ago
Obtainium can fetch from fdroid as well