Nope. Its time to have full ownership over our handheld computers.

This isn't going to happen.

You won't have modern mobile banking or cellular communications in a device without binary blobs or "trusted" compute modules you cannot inspect.

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ulrikrasmussen a day ago | parent | next [-]

That's a lie. Banking apps work fine on desktop browsers with dedicated security tokens such as smart cards or code displays. My banking app runs on GrapheneOS, but my national identity app which it uses for authorization and authentication doesn't. Luckily the national identity supports hardware tokens, so it just means I have to scan an NFC token in my pocket instead of scanning my fingerprint in the identity app.

	▲	consp a day ago \| parent [-]
		Banking apps also work fine on rooted phones which mask most common "detect root" schemes. Don't install sudo for instance, my banking app barked when I did that, removed it and it was fine again (they use the cheap package from one of the many obfuscation firms)

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pharrington a day ago | parent | prev [-]

There are billions of computer users across the world, but only 100 or so technobarons who want full control over our computers. Full ownership absolutely can happen. It was the standard for a couple decades in the past, and it can be the standard again in the future.

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bonoboTP a day ago | parent [-]

It was the standard when it didn't matter and was just a hobby thing for nerds or academics. Now it's "serious stuff" with billions of regular users who use it for real life stuff.

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pharrington a day ago | parent [-]

Without having evidence, for or against your point, I'll confidently say both that you're wrong (about the just for nerds/academics thing), and that mainstream computer use makes demanding full ownership even more important.

	▲	bonoboTP a day ago \| parent [-]
		You wrote "It was the standard for a couple decades", I'm saying that was so because the stakes were lower, it didn't reach the attention threshold of important enough people who can lobby effectively. Also the zeitgeist is no longer where it was in the 90s and 00s.

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echelon a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This.

It's time for an antitrust breakup of Google (and Apple).

These two companies control mobile computing like a dictatorship. This is a sector where most people do all of their computing. This isn't gaming or a plaything - it's most people's lives and trillions of dollars of business activity. All gatekept by two companies.

Here's what needs to happen:

1. We need government mandated web installs of native apps without scare walls ("this app is dangerous and may delete your files") and enabled by default without labyrinthine settings to enable.

2. We need the ability to do payments and user signups without Google or Apple's platform pieces. We should not be forced to lock ourselves into their ecosystems.

3. Google search and Chrome cannot be the defaults on mobile platforms. We need the EU-mandated browser / search picker.

4. First party applications should not be treated as first class while third parties are left to dry. Google and Apple should not be allowed to install their platform components by default - a user must seek them out.

5. No more green text / blue text bubbles. All messaging must be multi-platform and equivalent with no favoritism.

6. Google and Apple wallets should not be the defaults, but rather the user should have the ability to configure their bank, PayPal, Cash App, or whatever payment provider they choose.

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garciasn a day ago | parent | prev [-]

There are options out there for you to do this. Hell, build your own. That’s what nerds did long ago. Keep up the same effort today. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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ori_b a day ago | parent | next [-]

There's a lot of effort going into making it impossible to interact with the rest of the world if you run your own code.

Look up remote attestation.

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garciasn a day ago | parent [-]

Linux changed the landscape of Unix. We can do it with phones too. The defeatist attitude, while potentially true, didn’t land us where we are today server side.

	▲	ThrowawayR2 a day ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Linux was a one-time anomaly in a much simpler, wilder era without overwhelmingly dominant incumbents in the spaces that Linux eventually took over.
	▲	saulpw a day ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Linux was created in 1993, when the computing world was still understandable by a single human. This is no longer the case, hence why we haven't seen any new (hacker) operating systems since then.
	▲	ori_b a day ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		A purely technical solution is insufficient. Put on your suit and prepare to play politics.

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echelon a day ago | parent | prev [-]

> There are options out there for you to do this.

That's like the tiny moments of freedom that Winston Smith has in 1984 before he is captured and tortured.

We live in a mobile computing dictatorship. There isn't time, money, or energy for millions of people to do this.

And so we are taxed, corralled, and treated like cattle. Google and Apple own smartphones and nobody can do anything about it.

The only solution is government dismantlement of the Google/Apple monopoly. That starts with mandates for web installs of native apps by default, without hidden settings menus or scare walls.