alt Hacker NewsI am seriously saddened by the complete takeover of mobile computing by Apple and Google. There is no freedom on your own device to choose your own software, except inside the very narrow constraints allowed.
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We were fine without it, we can still be fine without it.
Nothing is stopping you from buying an mp3 player, a small point and shoot, and running Linux on a 12 in ultra portable.
What freedom do you need beyond replacing the OS, which is possible on all phones Google sells? If you want to replace the radio firmware, that isn't something that would be possible without that duopoly either.
That's what de-facto monopolies do.
What is more surprising is that competitors do not arise. Democracies in general have totally messed this up. The USA should be fined for exerting a monopoly onto other countries. And then fined for penalising US customers with that monopoly at home.
Thankfully, Linux phones are becoming more and more viable as a daily-driver. We just need more folks to start using them.