But you’re still limited by the designer of that shell? Or userspace? Or kernel? Or cpu architecture? I mean, how deep should you go before «it’s however YOU want»?
There are some really powerful UIs that are extremely flexible, like spreadsheets, or ComfyUI, or certain issue trackers. On the whole however I would say they all still are mostly their own interaction silos and integrations with other programs have to be explicitly built for each app.
The great thing about a shell is that you can glue together programs that don't know about each other. This is not a silver bullet, with shell programs being text oriented etc., but it does give rise to some powerful possibilities that don't really work with UIs.
That’s because those who (our countries that enforce it) eat less, have smaller properties, less productive cars and infrastructure etc, those are the countries that will have the short end of the stick in 10-20 years time - just look at Europe. The tragedy of the commons at a global scale.
You are worse, sorry to be harsh. It would be better for your kids (and yourself) if you locked yourself away for a set time to TikTok on your phone 100%, and them after you put your phone away and you are 100% with your kids.
Thanks for this. I wish it was an easy way to market this info to the wider non technical audience. It is a huge selling point for GOS that is difficult to package and make attractive (because it is difficult to understand / care about).
Well… you can run android without google? The problem is that essential security services require apple or google devices and you as a member of society need the security services.
You can only run LineageOS on smartphones that allow unlocking the bootloader (which is more and more rare), and properly release the kernel source-code (many still don't, especially low-end MTK-based phones...)
Yet on LineageOS you're not affected. It seems you can build Android that isn't affected by Google, at least if you're willing to personally adjust the code to do what you want. You'd have to get exceptionally busy before it's not recognisable as an Android distribution anymore
> I think I’m getting to the point where I’m thinking of ditching Apple again
I would wholeheartedly recommend going for a Pixel with GrapheneOS. I have been an /e/OS user on a Fairphone for 5 years before reading a lot about GrapheneOS and switching to GrapheneOS. It's honestly so much better!
If you go from iPhone to GrapheneOS, you get better security. If you go from iPhone to anything else, you get worse (to extremely worse) security.
Aurora 'Store' is a client for Google Play that lets you filter on apps without ads or in-app purchases. My experience is that that's be a decent proxy for "don't show me all the bullshit".
It's also a good proxy for "no results" but then at least you know there is no free app that does what you want just yet :)
Anyway that's what I use to get the proprietary government and other societally required apps, and while I'm not on Lineage right now, it's meant to work there
Maybe a case for the EU? I mean, they like creating laws limiting the power of big tech. Maybe there should be a law that requires all services that are used by public institutions and commercial transaction providers to be transparent to the public and therefore open source. And as a platform provider, they should be required to offer APIs to let users install alternative implementations.
Might require some fine-tuning, but you get the idea.
You are right. I feel much safer now! /s
I really need to look into those other versions of Android or even Huawei. I have a feeling they might not quite work in Canada. Part of the reason I am incensed about this, is that right now there are all sorts of measures globally, under the guise of safety, that seem to be about something completely different.
Convincing developers, especially bank and gov apps, is near impossible and won't scale well. Going after Alphabet for not meeting DMA obligations seems the easier path. Might not go anywhere but worth a shot.
> Convincing developers, especially bank and gov apps, is near impossible and won't scale well
Not impossible though, my bank and govt eID app did do safetynet, but after enough users complained in both apps you can now skip a warning and use it without issues
1. Provide or find pro bono legal resources deeply familiar with EU DMA and similar antitrust regulations, willing to proof-check and improve this report, and perhaps advise on better channels to submit it.
2. Locate more affected end-users, including applicable members of the GrapheneOS Foundation and developers behind other distributions, make them aware of these efforts so that hopefully we submit a joint complaint. (Might get more traction, though AFAICT reporting is limited to EU citizens).
Happy to fork this into its own repository if it helps with collaboration.
A heads-up: the FSFE has already submitted a case for device neutrality regarding both, the ability to completely uninstall AI features and the unlimited interoperability decoupled from ADV: https://fsfe.org/news/2026/news-20260615-01.en.html
“Interoperability must be decoupled from developer verification procedures. We need clear, precise, and inclusive rules to prevent circumvention by gatekeepers and to ensure that interoperability becomes a concrete reality in practice” states Lucas Lasota, FSFE Legal Programme Manager
Graphene OS user here. Almost all of the apps I tried work fine. All the banking apps I use work. Have you tried reaching out to the app developer or the service and explaining what Graphene OS is and asking them to support it? I was able to persuade one app to do it.
Problem is that all banks require a national centrale controlled service for login (BankID in Norway). And it is this service that I cannot get to work running GrapheneOS. It worked a couple of months ago, but not anymore. And all customer services and complaints are directed to your bank who 1) has no idea what i am talking about and 2) no control over BankID verification requirements.
I’ve nearly decided to switch back to the code brick instead of BankID app. It’s less convenient, but with the way things are going, I’m just not sure I want to exist in the digital world much longer.
I switched to GrapheneOS a couple months ago, and the only real downside is that MitID (danish verison of BankID) doesn't work. I got the code brick and attached it to my keyring and it's honestly not that bad, I usually have the keys close by anyway. Also most apps that need MitID allow you to create a pin to log in without reverification once you've logged in once.
I did actually alert BankID about this potential lock-in issue back when they announced they would be abandoning the SIM-based (and thus phone-independent) solution, to little understanding and just general comments about the cost of keeping the SIM-based solution alive. I guess now with eSIM being prevalent it wouldn't have made much difference anyway.
But just the thought of the potential to be completely locked out of everything from banks to online payments, logins to the public health system, tax filings (and basically all public sector services) just at the whim of Google or Apple's automated algorithms misunderstanding some random account activity, is a thought that should make everyone (and especially those in countries dependent on systems like BankID) afraid and demand at minimum:
Rights to:
- Due Process
- Accountability from Google & Apple and fines for when they do wrong
- Multiple warnings (with a right to know what you're being accused of) before being locked out
- Well-functioning complaint procedures with strict time frames
- Make the mere concept of banning users "for life" illegal
...from Google and Apple (and strict fines for them not adhering to them). Feel free to add more to the list.
Else we as a society can't depend on a smartphone as the main key to our lives anymore.
lol, this problem stopped me from installing GrapheneOS early.
But now.. I removed banking apps by myself because my state require room them to collect phone fingerprint and access to location EACH time they opened.
So... looks like now nothing stops me
I would consider many scenarios impossible. How do you proceed when 2 bishops are on the same diagonal protecting each other? That was what I got after capturing the initial horse.
Pseudoproductive jobs consisting of stuff like replying to irrelevant emails, filling out unnecessary paperwork, writing reports no one will ever read. Coincidentally, people on these jobs often sees the biggest upside with AI.
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