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App Stats is an Android developer tool which allows you to check application stats and comments from one place. App Stats keeps you informed by notifying you when new information is available such as a new rating or additional comments. The lite version allows you to monitor up to three applications and includes advertisements while the pro version allows for essentially unlimited monitoring and is of course ad free.
Update to Pro (v1.3.0)
Now has a desktop widget =)
Update to Pro (v1.2.0)
Some developers may have a lot of apps to manage stats on such as games with lots of addon content or maybe live wall paper apps, etc. To help alleviate scrolling through a long list of apps, we have added in the ability to label apps and filter the apps list with these labels.
Also, you will find that you can now set per application notification settings. This lets you control when an app update notification is fired so you can now choose specific items to be notified about.
Notes
On certain devices you may not be able to see all of your apps without having root on your device. It is also important to note that if you can not see your app in the market on your device there is no way this app can circumvent that.
If you have any questions, comments or bug reports please contact me here or via our developer email which can be found on the market. (toxicbakery at gmail)
To download, use the attached image or search 'App Stats' on the market and we should be the first two results for pro and lite versions.
Known Issues
- Certain languages may no be available in comments, if you find one please let me know
Upcoming Features
- More graphing options
- Backup search against an app database to find missing data
- Have a feature request? Let me know what you want!
Need another feature? Just ask =)
I love it. But I think that $5 is a bit too much for the full version. I would have gladly paid $2 or $3 even, but anything more takes it out of impulse buy for me.
Don't think I'm bashing your choice, as a dev I understand your need to make money from it, but sometimes the sales you lose from a higher price are worth more than the extra couple dollars you'll make from the higher price.
Thanks for the input! I would have to agree with you that currently $5 dollars is on the high end of price however with the additional features we are working on we feel that it will be a fair price very soon. Depending on what features we end up being able to incorporate we may adjust the pricing.
We almost have the plugin finished that will assist in grabbing your market android id from tcpdump and once we perfect that then it will be possible to search 2.2 apps and copy protected apps when using legit android devices that are rooted. Once this is complete we will have the only app on the market that I know which can essentially hands free get all the needed info to make a 'true' market request that lets you see all applications. This is how sites like androidzoom and like function. Without this additional parameter other apps are limited to 2.1 and less non copy protected applications by design of the market itself.
After that we will be working on letting you attach admob accounts to your apps and possibly google checkout however google checkout looks iffy due to its seeming lack of being able to pull useful information such as 'total sales' etc.
That said, thanks again for the input and if you need help please email me at our developer email for fastest response.
-Ian
One thing that's highly annoying for an application which is not a game, a navigation system, or a media application: Asking for the fullscreen window feature.
Please consider removing it... I don't really see any need for it, and it just breaks the transitions between activities anyway (when you're not making the design consistent). Thank you.
Anyway, once polished up and the bugs cleared up, looks like a useful app
Thank you for the input! We removed the full screen requests on the detailed view and graphs view.
I'm unfortunately out of town currently however either tonight or tomorrow we will be releasing an update that adds in the functionality to search 2.2 and copy protected apps if you have a rooted device. This should alleviate the complaints some people have had about it not finding their apps.
Unfortunately right now having a rooted phone is the only way get the market key we need to make these 'fully enabled' searches due to how the market works currently. The other option is having users use TCP dump to grab the needed packet and then proceed manually with decoding it and running it though protobuf to get the key out.
A few other fixes and tweaks have also been put in place and after we release the updates the Pro version will be available again as we removed it due to a major bug in the licensing we didn't catch before.
Please keep the comments coming! If you don't like something feel free to post it or email us and we will do whatever we can to improve it.
Thank you again to everyone that has voiced their opinion, every bit helps!
Finally got the new version released!
To see copy protected or 2.2 only applications you will need to have a root phone that can already see those apps on the market. For example a 2.1 phone can't see 2.2 applications no matter what you do and theres no way to code around this, sorry.
Once installed, hit menu from the main screen and select settings. Simply hit the "Load Key" Button at the very top and hopefully after a few seconds a Toast should show up saying that the operation was a success.
I know for a fact this wont work on all phones. We tested it to work on a Droid and it works on a G1 with Cyanogen 2.2 rom however it will not work on an Eris. That said I'm sure it will fail to work on other phones but I will be working on figuring out the fix asap. If you are one of the unlucky ones with a phone that doesn't work, please email me or message me here and I will do whatever I can to get you setup!
New version is now out and good news! It appears, on our end, that root is no longer necessary to get copy protected and 2.2 applications. This change is still too new to confirm it works on all devices so please send us feedback on if you can see all of your applications without using the root feature.
As always please feel free to leave feedback!
New version released that will hopefully allow more users to successfully find all of their apps with less hassle. Also a few misc bug fixes and FC issues have been resolved.
Update to pro version released, main post updated.
Released new versions of lite and pro, updated main post.
About App Stats and its development
I am from Mobile application Development company in Singapore. I would like share this stats, today more users are available in through mobile apps. and mobile developments also increasing day by day. So this growth of development is lead the business strategy. Know from our Mobile app development how its useful for business environment.
Who else is upset about this?
It's one thing to promote emulators on the Top Paid section... But stolen Pokemon games is another.
Google is currently promoting Pokemon Red and Pokemon Emerald in the Top Paid section of Arcade & Action Games. They each cost $2.99.
I have no problem with emulators, and I have no problem with "GPL" ports. Either seem legal to sell as well, when not provided with proprietary content, such as demos or freeware files to support the GPL engines. But completely proprietary games being sold? I think there's a huge problem with that. It's not like they're buried either. Their within the top 30 paid apps. And it seems quite obvious that Google re-arranges that list themselves at the start of every month.
I don't feel comfortable supporting such a huge corporation that permits and even promotes activities like this.
Not to mention that Mario clone. Mobile Andrio is it? Uses proprietary Nintendo sprites? Not as big of an issue but it is still illegal.
Open != Anti-Law
I doubt the top picks are hand picked. Probably some automated process using certain criteria
avgjoemomma said:
I doubt the top picks are hand picked. Probably some automated process using certain criteria
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While that may be the case, somebody at Google should be keeping an eye on that. The right things to do would be to send an email to market support, or whomever it may concern, and go to the app on the market, and report it!
I definitely share the viewpoint of the OP.
Edit: I've just gone through all his apps and reported them. They're all Nintendo games and he's selling them all to make a personal profit. I bet if Nintendo knew about this, they wouldn't be too happy. Hint hint.
Yeah, you should report them if you see them but I was just trying to explain to OP that it's not Google promoting the apps, it's just an automated process (most likely)
That's what you get when you can upload about anything to the Market
I reported all of the Pokémon games released by that Gaming something author, aswell as some other Super Mario games by the same author. Stated "Copyright infringement". Should get their attention
Well the last top list had 4 GangWars apps at the top? I've been watching every month. Also, Angry Birds being number one on day one? There's a reason Angry Birds makes 1 million $ month from Admob on Android... Because they specifically chose it as the top app. Same thing when Seasons debutted. They had a deal with Angry Birds to be an "Admob success story".
Either way, it definitely makes sense to me that someone at Google handpicked them as they only have 1-5000 downloads, and many, more higher performing apps, are far below it. I investigate the market like all day.
BTW the email of this guy is [email protected]
I found out a few things about him.
First off, he went to a baseball game with Zodttd: http://twitter.com/#!/zodttd/status/21505912283
Second off, he steals and rebrands crap on Cydia: http://macthemes.net/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=740518 http://www.macthemes.net/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=751022
I have no problems with Zodttd's emulators, in fact I support them. I think it's a great feature. However I have problems with ROM Buddy, which Google also handpicked.
I will be calling Nintendo's copyright infringingement report number tomorrow.
Also you gotta think about the 4 digits that this guy is making from this. It's unacceptable. And it's not like Google is gonna take his money and refund everybody.
But yeah, the main problem here is that these games aren't in "the back yard". They're right there up front representing the integrity of the market and Google itself.
I'd imagine it would be very easy to make it to the top list if you had a game that had a lot of downloads within a certain amount of time. I'm not sure how they do it but it's something to consider. I don't think Google's place is to censor apps or go through some BS "certification" process. I do expect them to make sure an app does no harm to the system or my information. If an app developer chooses to infringe on a copyright, the holders of that copyright should contact Google to remove the app. Users can also do this but I can imagine that would be a nightmare. Anyways, you've reported the apps and so have many others. I personally go through comments and report the spammers than try to get people to join the $9.99 all apps a year scam sites. We each do our own little part to keep the Market safe, no need to ask Google to go all Apple derp on it.
I don't feel like Google cleans the market at all. I don't feel like reports are read. And I don't feel like the 'mark as spam' does anything other than hide that user's rating from yourself.
The market is a disaster atm honestly. The mess just keeps growing every day.
And it must be Google's place to sensor it: it's THEIR store. Don't forget that Google is cashing in on 30% of this guy's profit.
As for reporting the copyright infringement properly via the webform, they state it is illegal to report it unless you are the copyright holder! Lol.
The Android market is pretty much the pirate bay, but instead of things being free and shared, they're sold. And look what happened to them? Going to jail. And they aren't even USA based.
What annoys me are the stupid "Boost the Cat" and "Shoot the Rabbit" games that keep popping up as just added every few days. It's not updates but some guy who keeps resubmitting these apps as new. I suspect he's also using fake accounts to rate these apps at 5 stars soon after a "new" release.
I didnt know so much Pokecrap existed in the Market.
avgjoemomma said:
I'd imagine it would be very easy to make it to the top list if you had a game that had a lot of downloads within a certain amount of time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. "Top" doesn't just mean tons of downloads, it also takes into account how quickly those downloads happen. If you jump up a few thousand downloads in a single day, especially if it was currently low (such as number of users has more than doubled or quadrupled), then yeah - "Top" qualification.
This is a long shot, but I since the demise of Google Reader (which this app supported) the developer has decided to no longer continue the development of this app. A tragedy; I think we as a community should try and sway him to continue it instead, adding new back ends, both Feedly and TOR (TheOldReader) support would be great. I would love to continue using this app, as it is probably the best RSS reader I have encountered on Android. It is my hope that we can either convince him to continue the project or allow someone else to (any volunteers ?).
Flow Reader gives you an easy way to be on par with your RSS/Google Reader feeds on the go. It was built to provide a minimalist and seamless experience for offline browsing, while delivering additional features not found in similar apps.
Some of the main features include:
- A sleek and fast user interface;
- Offline item content and state caching;
- Multiple simultaneous downloads for fast content synchronization;
- Content filters that automatically mark as read the items you're not interested in;
- Sort items by state (latest/unread/starred) or author;
- Smart algorithms that remove ads and other undesirable content from items;
- No ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Developer posted this statement in the most recent app update:
As you sure know by now, Google has discontinued the Reader service, so this app is no longer functional.
Although I am very happy with the (unexpected) success of this app, I've decided to no longer update Flow Reader. This is due to several reasons: a) I built this app "for fun" and to my very specific RSS reading needs. Although I very happy to see that a lot of other people enjoyed it, I was in no way ready for attention it received (due to multiple technical and logistic reasons); b)This app was essentially just a prototype turned into a final product. The Code is very messy right now and it's becoming harder and harder to make any further changes, let alone any major ones (like background updates). c) The app is *very* tied to Google Reader backend, which means that giving proper support to another service would require a very significant amount of effort.
I am very thankful to all my users (especially the ones who donated and gave feedback!), but I hope you can understand the reasons behind this decision - continuing to work on this app would require a major rewrite and too much time trying to (once again) and make the pieces all fit with "spit and glue".
If you are interested in any future app I might develop, you can be notified about it by sending me an e-mail using the button below. You will know beforehand of any project I might be working on (and maybe even receive an alpha/beta version of it?).
Thank you again - and hopefully this won't be the end
The Developer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those who have used the app please voice your support to continue the project as I have emailed the developer the link to this thread.
(Flow Reader dev here)
Right, here's what's going on:
Personally, I'm not very happy with any of the current readers on the Play Store, so the idea of building the next iteration of Flow Reader is one that I really enjoy. Unfortunately, I simply don't have the time that I would need to keep developing it any further. I now have a full time job and not much patience to keep working on the app on my spare time.
The thing is, I have several unique ideas that I believe would greatly improve the experience of Flow Reader. Actually, some of these already graduated from just ideas, as some prototyping is already done and working. I also think there is a decent amount of money that could be made from them, so I'm not very willing to just leave them out in the open.
The fact is, though, it is very unlikely that I'll ever finish this new version of the app that I'm building. I can see two options right now:
OPTION 1 - The cooperation route:
- I will pair with another developer (or a small group of developers). Bear in mind that the code is reasonably complex, so i'd rather work with someone that feels confortable around code.
- The code of Flow Reader will remain closed, but shared with the people that want to be part of this project;
- I will take care of the things that I believe to be my greatest strength: UIX and prototyping. But I will always be open to suggestions on these areas.
- The profit of the app will be split 25% (for me) and 75% (for the other developer(s)).
OPTION 2 - The free route:
- I open up the code of Flow Reader under the condition that it will forever remain open-source and free (under an attribution, no derivatives and no commercial use licence).
- I will no longer will have any direct input or cooperation on the app.
Also, I honestly think it would be better to start the app from scratch. The code is a complete mess right now so trying to build more features upon it would just be less efficient. Still, some techniques and code used in Flow Reader could be reused to save some time.
Choices
I have been a user of Flow Reader for some time and was really sad when it stopped working and that the dev stated that there was no longer going to be updates to continue after the demise of Google Reader.
That said, I totally agree that it should be continued into the post-Google Reader era of RSS news. I originally created a post on Reddit in which I stated that for the continuality of Flow one idea would be to open source the code on a git site to allow others to progress his work further.
Understandably this poses the risk of Flow Reader loosing it's (work)Flow. All that time and effort the dev put in to creating a stunning, and above all easily functional, UIX could well be lost. On the other hand the simplicity of this RSS reader coupled with its parallel article downloading feature would live on and enrich many an Android RSS fans.
So here I am on XDA, stating my opinions for the two options presented.
For the Closed Sourced Approach:
The idea of sharing the workload will mean that whoever is chosen to work on Flow Reader will most likely have a great deal of knowledge to input in to this project. It also means that the UIX will not change without considerable thought first. This I applaud.
The fact that the developer says that the proceeds of the app will be divvied up indicates to a paid app, further indicating to (hopefully) a group of developers with the incentive to push great work "out the door".
For the Open Sourced Approach:
The hands of many a developer could make this app into something even better than it already is....
...or it could ruin it with out the guidance of the one who had the vision in the beginning.
Usually in the open source community when there is a bug and/or a missing feature, if someone with the appropriate know how can fix it, it shall be done.
A question, then, to WildMoves. Would those who have donated need to pay again once it arrives back on the play store? That is if you are going to make it a paid for only app?
Either way, with the way that Flow Reader handles feeds I honestly have never, and believe never shall, discover one better. To which I would like to say that no matter which direction the dev goes, I will support and give as much feedback as I can.
Again, great work mate and keep on coding,
Skinna a.k.a Skinnx86
Skinna said:
I originally created a post on Reddit in which I stated that for the continuality of Flow one idea would be to open source the code on a git site to allow others to progress his work further.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, when I posted my answer I was still trying to develop the next iteration of Flow Reader. I built a prototype to test several ideas before I came to the realization that I couldn't build the full app the way I wanted to in a feasible amount of time and still... well... live. :\ So I am now receptive to offset most of the workload to a developer or group of developers (hence the 25/75 profit split).
Skinna said:
A question, then, to WildMoves. Would those who have donated need to pay again once it arrives back on the play store? That is if you are going to make it a paid for only app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the email addresses of everyone who donated, so I could probably create a mailing list to deliver full versions of the (paid) app outside the Play Store. Assuming that I would have the approval from the other developers, it would be a good sign of gratitude to those who donated, IMO.
Reasonable Thoughts
Well a man has to live. To spend your free time developing and building something you would expect some payback of some sort. But thank you for remembering us early adaptors. I know I for one will be thankful, I can but imagine others will be too.
As much as I was appreciative of the beta's being sent to us, but in case you did not hear, Facebook updated some peoples app out side of the play store. Now Google have banned out-of-market beta testing. I believe that sending an apk to install initially will work and should update through the play store correctly.
Due to receiving some questions after making this post, I've decided to do a write up on building an Android app from scratch, starting with no knowledge of computer programming or Android. Hopefully this will answer some questions for those interested in doing the same. Before I start, some background.
I'm a design engineer working for a major aerospace company in France, and 7 months ago, after quitting EVE for good (about 10th time I’ve said that), I decided to start a new project in my spare time to occupy myself and to keep EVE at bay. Since mobile apps are taking over the world, I thought it could be interesting to build one, from scratch even though I don’t have a programming background. So, after doing some research, my quest began. I generally spent a few hours per week doing the courses, and towards the end, I spend 10+ hours per week to finish the app. At all times it was done in my spare time and not at work.
Introduction to computer science and Java
To start with, I took a computer science course online for free. I did the CS50 course from Harvard and it really helped me gain some knowledge of computer science and programming in general. Along the way I learnt some C, and the basics on how computers work. The course is really well made and it guides you nicely at each step. You can do it at your own pace and best of all, it’s free.
Secondly I took another online course, this time on Java. Java is the language Android uses for apps, so I enrolled on Introduction to Programming with Java - Part 1 and Part 2. This helped understand the concepts of programming using an Object Orientated language and how to build a basic program in Java. Again, it’s a free course.
Finally, to finish off, I took a course on programming for android, specifically, Introduction to Mobile Application Development using Android. This explains the concepts in Android such as app life-cycles and so on. Again, it was free.
Starting the app
The tools I used to build the app were Android Studio, Stack overflow for general knowledge, Android Developer for API info, Photoshop for the graphics, and the most valuable tool of all, Google search.
Something I wish I had done before starting the app is to plan everything in advance. When doing design work it’s always better to plan everything in advance such as how many screens you will have, what will be on each screen, what will each button do, what links to what, and so on and so forth. I didn’t really have a good idea of what I wanted to do, so while originally I just wanted to make a very simple app with 1 screen, it ended up as having 3 separate screens, each as a separate fragment and a drawer and IAP and… basically it grew and grew until I had to redo things over and over. The more you can decide before you start the app the better, make sketches on Photoshop or a similar program, decide on the app diagram and flow, and what it will look like, before you jump into Android Studio.
Once you get used to Android studio things are really straight forward and easy to do. The layouts are the easiest part, whereas I found the Java programming pretty difficult, and I did have to change one or two things because I didn't know how to do them programmatically. Lastly, for major things that I wanted to keep but just didn’t know how, my fiancée helped me out a bit. If you are really stuck, then getting a friend to give you some advice is useful. Lovester was born.
I translated the app into French and Portuguese, since I speak both, and since Spanish and Italian are quite similar to Portuguese, I translated the app into Spanish with the help of Google translate for some of the unusual words. I haven’t finished doing the Italian translation yet. I also got a friend to do the German translation, but again, he hasn’t finished it yet. Using the knowledge of people you know is often a useful tool to have.
Android Developer
To list your app on the Play store and become a Google Android developer costs €25. You get access to the developer console and all the tools that come with it. It took a bit of time to iron out the bugs and I had 4 separate android devices at home which really helped with sorting out layouts for different screen sizes and so on. I finally published the app 2 weeks ago, Lovester.
Job half done
One of the things I hadn't anticipated or planned for is just how hard it is to get visibility on the Play Store. Making an app is only half the job, advertising, and getting better visibility for the app is the other half. It’s seriously difficult for small apps to get anywhere near the top of search results, even if you include many keywords and do Play Store Visibility Optimisation. It turns out that 80% of app downloads come from search, so it’s critical to get it right when describing your app on the play store, and get people to review the app. I made accounts on all the major social networks and joined groups to try get some visibility, but it’s an area I don’t really know (I don’t even have a personal Facebook account) so I'm reading up a bit on how to improve search visibility for the app and building links. I advertised a little using Google Adwords , using a free €75 from Google if you spend €25, but I wouldn't say that’s the best way to get new downloads. In two weeks the app is at nearly at 500 installs and I've made over €10 .
Overall verdict
Overall I'm really happy with the way things have gone. It was really satisfying to start on a completely new field and actually build something that people can use and (hopefully) enjoy. I didn't do it to make money, just to gain knowledge so I think I achieved my goal. It costed me €50 in total, €25 for developer fee, €25 for advertising. In the next 2 months or so, when I have a bit of extra time, I'm going to update the app with some new features and see where it goes from here. Also, I haven’t logged in EVE for 7 months.
Video made using PowerDirector (18+):
Hi,
The vast majority of my apps come from F-droid and Github but a few ones can only be downloaded on the Google Play Store.
I don't have Google services on my device so I'm looking for a reliable tool/website to update those apps. I know Raccoon but a PC is required and I don't have one during the week.
I found APKpure a few weeks ago. Apparently all apps have to pass a signature verification so they guarantee safe downloads. It seems legit and I did compare the SHA1 of their apk and the one downloaded from Google Play. The apk hasn't been altered. One positive result doesn't mean that we can't have negative ones though
I don't like "mirror websites". The owner of apkpure, apkupdate and apkplz seems to be the same so it's more complicated for me to trust those sources. Why do they need all these websites? I didn't find any legal information BTW...
No paid apps can be downloaded on these websites so my only suspicion is that they could add malwares into some (famous) apps. Of course, original apps can also have malwares on Google Play.
For the record, I uploaded the few apks I downloaded to VirusToral and nothing has been detected.
Last but not least, Apkpure provides a dedicated app to install and update apps, which is great even if they suggest me new versions that aren't officially available yet. (probably related to a region restriction or a delay from Google to push the app update for all countries).
What do you think about these websites? Do you know a safer way?
I don't have google apps also, using apk pure for now, everything is well.
BlankStore should work for most free apps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375
Wakamatsu said:
BlankStore should work for most free apps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know but it uses Gmail IDs (with a connection to Google servers). Last but not least, the project is discontinued for several months.
I was going to give a try to Blankstore this weekend and it doesn't seem to be a reliable alternative in the medium term.
Primokorn said:
Yes, I know but it uses Gmail IDs (with a connection to Google servers). Last but not least, the project is discontinued for several months.
I was going to give a try to Blankstore this weekend and it doesn't seem to be a reliable alternative in the medium term.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Primokorn ,
what about its alternative.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3217616
would really be interested in your opinion (if you look into it and dont mind ).
"err on the side of kindness"
Primokorn said:
Yes, I know but it uses Gmail IDs (with a connection to Google servers).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I created a throwaway gmail account for this but I get your point.
Primokorn said:
Last but not least, the project is discontinued for several months.
I was going to give a try to Blankstore this weekend and it doesn't seem to be a reliable alternative in the medium term.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's discontinued in the sense that he will not move further with that particular project in favour of another but he will still make fixes when a Google update breaks BlankStore function. It's been "discontinued" since version 0.7.1.
I have a old device just for this purpose.
It has no info on it
Everything possible has been removed that's not needed
(Like calender and contacts etc)
All it does is connect to Wi-Fi to get apps from Google play
Even paid apps.
And I harp non stop to developers and leave feedback on apps that don't support offline use.
(Is in app purchases, online verification, etc things that can be stored on device over getting from internet every time)
I don't see the point of getting apps elsewhere when they will do the same thing to you as Google..But with less oversight.
Virus checkers are pointless when apps are Trojans..
Or have them built in.
I consider any software that mines any thing from your device, without declaring exactly what it is doing every time, nothing other than a Trojan.
Google and it's partners will always push for a proprietary distribution system claiming it will keep you secure
When I'm truth what it does is you your money going to them
When I've had to I've gotten my apks from some very unusual places.
But then you can get some very bad software from very official places.
mrrocketdog said:
@Primokorn ,
what about its alternative.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3217616
would really be interested in your opinion (if you look into it and dont mind ).
"err on the side of kindness"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use microG framework for several weeks now
Wakamatsu said:
It's discontinued in the sense that he will not move further with that particular project in favour of another but he will still make fixes when a Google update breaks BlankStore function. It's been "discontinued" since version 0.7.1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know that. Thanks for the heads-up! I wanted to give a try this weekend but I had serious with my laptop I keep that in mind for the next time.
nutpants said:
I have a old device just for this purpose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What an expensive alternative! I'm used to sell my current device to buy a new one and that's not handy IMHO.
nutpants said:
And I harp non stop to developers and leave feedback on apps that don't support offline use.
(Is in app purchases, online verification, etc things that can be stored on device over getting from internet every time)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Solutions exist for devs to not use Google Play online verification but they want to use it to punish users who download warez. Even if I can understand this point of view, we wouldn't have warez with FLOSS softwares.
nutpants said:
Google and it's partners will always push for a proprietary distribution system claiming it will keep you secure
When I'm truth what it does is you your money going to them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done some fruitful research to prepare an article about GAFAM and other big companies. In addition, Google doesn't protect our freedom of speech (I noticed this many times with 'ordinary people').
Now that I clearly know what they did/do/will do, how could I still use their services?!? My next Android work will be published under GPL v3, I already stopped any operations on Google Play and I try to push devs to offer free/libre softwares. Marcel (M66B on XDA) is the perfect example of an awesome developer :good:
Primokorn said:
I use microG framework for several weeks now
What an expensive alternative! I'm used to sell my current device to buy a new one and that's not handy IMHO.
Solutions exist for devs to not use Google Play online verification but they want to use it to punish users who download warez. Even if I can understand this point of view, we wouldn't have warez with FLOSS softwares.
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I rarely sell my devices, (i have 6 of 9 that I play with somewhat regularly sadly)honestly i keep the last one as a back up in case the new one has issues or a failure. And when I do think of it, it not worth the money to make it worth the time..
I still have my Windows mobile 2003 Siemens sx66
(Not that is have been turned on in years)
But really it's an investment in my security.
(And I no longer get the hottest newest devices asap anymore, that's a zero sum game that has few benefits beyond bragging rights)
My tablet dual boots between Google play only rom and everything else internet rom also.
I have yet to hear of a protection scheme that had not been broken in hours. I think bluray was the last major public disaster. If the time spent on protection was spent on quality assurance I think it would be a different landscape in the digital world.
Even with floss you have warez.. just in different forms. Mods,hacks, cracks, custom roms It all just words that describe one developer modifying others work without permission for features that are not present, either added or removed.
It's point of view.like anything.
Myself, I stand back and promote security,offline abilities and operation and open source.
It's where my money goes, my time and my vote. Every chance I get.
XDA: Focus on making independence accessible to android users!
@Primokorn: Thanks a zillion for starting this crucial discussion. I don't know how often i pointed out these issues.
Of course, i also have some aesthetic preferences. But diving through endless reefs of startup animation replacements, battery monitor alternatives and half-baked theme studies is not what i expected xda-developers.com to end up, 12 years after i started being around.
In my eyes, the whole aftermarket ado should be concentrated on maintaining the independency of the most popular mobile operating system of the universe by it's users. Crucial topics be
Liberating the app distribution architecture
Optimizing the permission restriction system
There are great approaches like the Aroma Installer, that have been employed to supply user friendly means for debloating and debranding. Have a look at the Screenshots of stockymod.
@nutpants:
And I harp non stop to developers and leave feedback on apps that don't support offline use.
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I do the same thing to official institutions when they release apps. If i wasn't in that hyper-busy age around 40, i'd start a little riot about publicly funded software that ends up being published behind the wellknown golden cages exclusively. The necessity to change this in a grassroot movement is obvious.
Apkmirror.com
Did not know these existed, going to check this out!