• undu@discuss.tchncs.de
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    2 days ago

    Shaming Google will only work for so long. Grapheme is is doomed to fail as long as it has a complete dependence on Google’s whims.

    Have they announced the pivot to a non-android platform? Being security-mind it is frankly bizarre they have long ignored the Google dependency as a huge risk for the project.

    • im_fine_sandy@nord.pub
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      2 days ago

      they have long ignored the Google dependency

      What a silly thing to say.

      I’m absolutely certain that no contributors, and extraordinarily few users, are ignoring the risks implied by the google dependency.

      A pixel with Graphene is the best option for a daily driver for as long as it’s viable. I expect that’s everyone’s understanding of the project.

      I don’t really see how this project can “pivot to a non-android platform”, as I imagine none of their codebase can be transferred.

      Sooner or later the project will become non-viable and we will all switch to whatever the best option is at that time.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Sooner or later the project will become non-viable and we will all switch to whatever the best option is at that time.

        Or everybody who isn’t Google will have to collaborate on a hard fork of AOSP.

        Or some governments will have to finally break out of their oligarchic regulatory capture and step in with antitrust law.

    • notSys@lemmy.cafe
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      1 day ago

      AOSP is the most secure base. GrapheneOS focus is to be the most secure OS. Not to be the best open source mobile OS or even to be FLOSS.

      Notice how they’re complaining only about things that could improve security, not general usablity fixes.

    • asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      I will never understand this argument. Why in gods name would it be better for them to switch to a completely different OS like Linux and essentially have to destroy the entire ecosystem and start from scratch vs just hard forking current AOSP and maintaining it themselves?

      • ikidd@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 day ago

        I agree, but to be fair, the current way involves completely obscured binary blobs for nearly every part of the hardware. Which is the main lock-in to be had on Android devices.

        Even the pixel under GOS is using the proprietary device tree. There’s no getting away from that unless you can RE the hardware and write your own drivers, which is impossibly hard for anything relatively current.

      • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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        2 days ago

        i mean, i think there would be a lot of merit in maintaining a minimal linux platform that’s basically just an android VM, that way it’s basically infinitely easier to port to new devices and sandboxing becomes quite ironclad.

    • Augmented1207@feddit.org
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      2 days ago

      Idk if i am missing someting, but what Plattform other than Android is suitable? Linux is just not there yet and people want a phone they can use easily, which graphene is and Linux is just not there yet i think

      • undu@discuss.tchncs.de
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        2 days ago

        That’s exactly my point, there’s none and GrapheneOS are not working to create a suitable one yet.

        The time to start working on plan B is yesterday

        • MalReynolds@slrpnk.net
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          2 days ago

          Likely plan B is fork AOSP and crossport security fixes, such features as Google deigns to put in AOSP and so forth. They can do that at any time they choose, may as well wring as much work out of the big G as possible, later is better. Remember their focus is security, it just happens to benefit privacy as well.

          Here’s hoping they can hang on long enough that there’s a viable hardened Linux phone to take the role.

      • mmmm@sopuli.xyz
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        2 days ago

        But somehow Android, which is based on Linux, somehow checks those points for them…

        The hipocrisy is too big to ignore and it’s true, with that mindset of just wanting and waiting for someone else to do the hard work for them to just add patches here and there… they’re doomed to fail.

        • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de
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          1 day ago

          I don’t think you understand how different Android and Linux distributions truly are.

          Linux alone refers to the kernel. There are custom AOSP kernels based on the Linux LTS versions with a few extra patches but that is basically all that connects Linux to Android.

          But absolutely everything in userland is wholly diifferent in Android than with any Linux distribution out there.

          And you can’t just replicate what Android did on top of the Linux kernel without Google amounts of resources. Which GrapheneOS does not have in the slightest.

          • 🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            I don’t think you understand how different Android and Linux distributions truly are.

            But they’re both things that drive on the same road, using wheels and engines and steering wheels and seats and doors!

            Yes, and one is a car and one is a semi truck. (I’m not saying either is close to those things, the point is how different Android and Linux are)

        • Auli@lemmy.ca
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          21 hours ago

          Android uses the Linux kernel but is not a GNU Linux distro if you need a distinction.