Slashdot Mirror
Google's Fuchsia OS On the Pixelbook (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from 9to5Google: Our early look at Fuchsia OS last May provided a glimpse into a number of new interface paradigms. Several months later, we now have an updated hands-on with Google's future operating system that can span various form factors. This look at the in-development OS eight months later comes courtesy of Ars Technica who managed to get Fuchsia installed on the Pixelbook. The Made by Google Chromebook is only the third officially supported "target device" for Fuchsia development. As our last dive into the non-Linux kernel OS was through an Android APK, we did not encounter a lockscreen. The Ars hands-on shows a basic one that displays the time at center and Fuchsia logo in the top-left corner to switch between phone and desktop/tablet mode, while a FAB (of sorts) in the opposite corner lets users bring up WiFi controls, Login, and Guest.
Only Guest is fully functioning at this stage -- at least for non-Google employees. Once in this mode, we encounter an interface similar to the one we spotted last year. The big difference is how Google has filled in demo information and tweaked some elements. On phones and tablets, Fuchsia essentially has three zones. Recent apps are above, at center are controls, and below is a mixture of the Google Feed and Search. The controls swap out the always-displayed profile icon for a Fuchsia button. Tapping still surfaces Quick Settings which actually reflect current device battery levels and IP address. Impressively, Ars found a working web browser that can actually surf the internet. Google.com is the default homepage, with users able to visit other sites through that search bar. Other examples of applications, which are just static images, include a (non-working) phone dialer, video player, and Google Docs. The Google Calendar is notable for having subtle differences to any known version, including the tablet or web app.
Only Guest is fully functioning at this stage -- at least for non-Google employees. Once in this mode, we encounter an interface similar to the one we spotted last year. The big difference is how Google has filled in demo information and tweaked some elements. On phones and tablets, Fuchsia essentially has three zones. Recent apps are above, at center are controls, and below is a mixture of the Google Feed and Search. The controls swap out the always-displayed profile icon for a Fuchsia button. Tapping still surfaces Quick Settings which actually reflect current device battery levels and IP address. Impressively, Ars found a working web browser that can actually surf the internet. Google.com is the default homepage, with users able to visit other sites through that search bar. Other examples of applications, which are just static images, include a (non-working) phone dialer, video player, and Google Docs. The Google Calendar is notable for having subtle differences to any known version, including the tablet or web app.
The problem to solve is why vendors, including Google's own Nexus devices, can't manage to keep hardware support going past about 2.5 years. We're supposed to dump our devices in a landfill every 2 years because they are saddled with unresolved security flaws?
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Could you give an example of crapware you've found on say a Chromebook? Or how about on a Nexus device?
I consider most of the Google apps for shit I don't want that hooks into their services that I don't use (be it their music store, their book store, their buggy calendar app, etc.) to be crapware. Don't even get me started on "Instant Apps" (instant ads), which isn't even listed as a separate app that needs to be enabled/updated - it's baked in deeeeeep, bluetooth "beacon" (more ads) shit, notifications (more ads) triggered by GPS when you're near a store, etc.
Android is an ad and spying platform for Google and it's getting worse and worse. The 4.2 era was the last time users had any semblance of control over it. I'd still be running that if it weren't for the fact that it's got more exploitable bugs than a Starship Troopers movie.
I have 22 Google apps on my phone, not counting shit that's not normally shown as an app (all the com.google.esoteric.name.no.one.knows.what.I.do.apk shit). From Android Auto (which cannot be disabled on my phone - if I plug it into my car, even as a passenger, my phone is completely LOCKED DOWN because there are no useful Android Auto apps and none at all which work with my car) to Android Pay to "Google" to Chrome to Photos, Slides, Docs, Sheets, Play Movies & TV, Play Games, In Apps, Music, Youtube, etc. etc.
I only really want the Play Store, Hangouts (which they keep making worse), Google Maps, and maybe GMail (but it doesn't reliably sync, so fuck it). If you're on a modern Nexus/Pixel device, you're also getting way more shit, from Allo to Duo to the shitty G launcher + themes to the Google Assistant to Messages.
Fuck all that noise.
The point about android is that it is pretty open, and can be installed on devices that are not made by Google. If you're going to limit the devices that can run Fuchsia to only those made by Google, then that's no different than Apple's iOS on it's iPhones.
Android is not open. Android is not free. Android cannot be legally installed on a non-Google approved device.
AOSP is open. AOSP is free. AOSP is not Android.
because the world needs yet another proprietary walled garden operating system that allows the manufacturer of the device to retain control over the purchaser's property.
wtf! how can anyone outside google think that this could possibly be a good thing?
fuck. that.