Google Ejects Open-Source WireGuard From Android Play Store Over Donation Link In App

[Luke]

With all due respect, I think the scale of what you contribute to MATE project can't be compared to developing Wireguard (not just contributing fixes and things).

It makes no sense to make a new and shiny VPN that is better than others and then just ignore multiple billion users just because you don't like Google or something.

Well, it does if you originally wrote the VPN to use it yourself out of dissatisfaction with all others.

That's how I got into working on MATE, though at least that already existed I had to teach myself C programming from scratch to do so. Inspiration was seeing just how slow a wobbly windows plugin for Cinnamon on a big AMD Bulldozer machine with a midsize AMD graphics card after seeing the compiz versions run smooth on an old AMD Athlon 64 single-core or even Thunderbird with Nvidia 6600LE graphics. That combined with video stutter made me decide that a desktop written in JS was an example of "pages law" and if I wanted something better I would have to do it myself. I loved the GNOME and Cinnamon "shell themes" and MATE did not support that, so I wrote the support for MATE with GTK3 to do that and put the theming in my GTK theme. I got into theming with GTK3 came out and UbuntuStudio decided not to write a GTK3 version of their old theme. All of this I put on Github, but was written to run on my own machine. Then came all that debugging as GTK changes broke things and I was unwilling to wait for others to fix them (or maybe never).

If MATE had not existed but I had started with a solid background in C programming, I would in fact have had to write a DE from scratch and having it on hand would not keep it to myself.

[Luke]

With all due respect, I think the scale of what you contribute to MATE project can't be compared to developing Wireguard (not just contributing fixes and things).

It makes no sense to make a new and shiny VPN that is better than others and then just ignore multiple billion users just because you don't like Google or something.

Previous reply rejected so short version:
Well, it does if you originally wrote the VPN to use it yourself out of dissatisfaction with all others.

[Luke]

Heh, that would be really cool.

The biggest achievement I got about chat/video applications was to get everyone I know still using Skype to migrate to Watsapp or Telegram so I could finally uninstall that piece of garbage app from the phone.

I just tell people I cannot be reached by Skype or anything owned by Facebook, so if that's all you have we don't communicate electronically

[Luke_Wolf]

Until you show me a "proper computer" that is smartphone-sized and can run most applications that actual real-world people use to communicate and share videos and images and do videocalls, your point is null and void, and you are just proving us that you are too old to comprehend the modern world.

Not that I agree with kpederson but...

https://www.dragonbox.de/en/pyra

https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Portable-Gameplayer-Notebook-Graphics/dp/B07CK7DRYS

along with plenty of other examples of handheld computers do exist... they're just really niche.

[hotaru]

https://www.dragonbox.de/en/pyra

https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Port.../dp/B07CK7DRYS

it looks like you missed the "can run most applications that actual real-world people use to communicate and share videos and images and do videocalls" part of the post you were replying to.

[starshipeleven]

it looks like you missed the "can run most applications that actual real-world people use to communicate and share videos and images and do videocalls" part of the post you were replying to.

Luke_Wolf

This.

The ones running Linux would have issues with basic SMS communication (which is still critical as it's now used by all banks and security double-factor auth systems) as there is no GUI for that afaik, and even running a modem at all it's not necessarily plug-and-play.

They would still be completely unable to use Whatsapp, Telegram, Wechat, and whatever, so their value as communication device if I want to interface with other people living around me is 0.

They can actually (kinda) use Skype if it has a web-based interface but Skype sucks and I don't want to recommend it.

The ones running Windows 10 would technically be able to install some (Telegram, Wechat, Watsapp for Windows is discontinued in december 2019), but then again it's Windows 10, it's not better than Android on everything, especially for mobile devices. What's the point.

[starshipeleven]

I just tell people I cannot be reached by Skype or anything owned by Facebook, so if that's all you have we don't communicate electronically

No shit Sherlock.

The issue is that I need to be able to communicate with people because of job and family, like I guess most other normal people.

I'm the one that has something to lose (i.e. job and money) if I can't use conventional means to communicate.

tl; dr I can't tell all people around me to fuck off and still eat food regularly. If you can, then you are special.

[starshipeleven]

it does if you originally wrote the VPN to use it yourself out of dissatisfaction with all others.

None does that, it's a subset of a subset of a subset.

Basically, a rare corner case.

[bug77]

Is Amazon's Android different from any other OEM's Android? Because if they suck at doing what everyone else is also doing it's their own issue.
Afaik it's just reskinned at best, you can install playstore on it if you root the device (or not, apparently). https://mashtips.com/install-android...n-kindle-fire/

It's very, very different. It tried to forego everything Google, unlike Samsung (and other) that ship with duplicates of Google's apps.

No wait. What's wrong with the AOSP Messaging app? https://android.googlesource.com/pla...pps/Messaging/

Ok, bad example. For a while the apps were different in AOSP and Google's Android, it would seem that's not the case anymore.

[Luke_Wolf]

Luke_Wolf

This.

The ones running Linux would have issues with basic SMS communication (which is still critical as it's now used by all banks and security double-factor auth systems) as there is no GUI for that afaik, and even running a modem at all it's not necessarily plug-and-play.

for kpederson he would still have a feature phone to handle SMS so that's a non-issue.

They would still be completely unable to use Whatsapp, Telegram, Wechat, and whatever, so their value as communication device if I want to interface with other people living around me is 0.

They can actually (kinda) use Skype if it has a web-based interface but Skype sucks and I don't want to recommend it.

This is simply Incorrect. Telegram, Discord, and Slack which are the big 3 currently are all available on the desktop, and the Linux desktop even. Flatpaked even. Skype does have a Linux desktop version. Again Flatpaked. WhatsApp has a web interface if you really must use it, and should you really be using WeChat? and if you really must... there is a snap for it.

And before you go "buh buh ARM" realize that you can install Linux on the GPD Win example too, and use all your x86 software to your delight, and that these are just two examples of the market segment. Usually these kinds of devices were running Windows CE, but with the restructuring of the windows segment I would assume the modern ones are using Windows 10 S generally... but I've not seen them so can't confirm.

The ones running Windows 10 would technically be able to install some (Telegram, Wechat, Watsapp for Windows is discontinued in december 2019), but then again it's Windows 10, it's not better than Android on everything, especially for mobile devices. What's the point.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯