Comment on Microsoft cuts ties with the Surface Duo after just 2 Android version updates

ares35@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

• Synthead@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  You know, I don’t disagree with vendors putting whatever hardware they want in their devices, and I don’t mind vendor-customized software. But what I do mind is the barrier of supporting these devices without relying on the vendor.

  If I buy an x86 computer, I can use it basically however long I want to. I can put a variety of operating systems on it, and I don’t really need to rely on vendors much aside from binary driver blobs, which isn’t really that much of a problem these days.

  I really wish that Android wasn’t so customized per device. I wish I could just install upstream Android on anything that can run it, instead of special binary images for each vendor’s make and model.

  Imagine buying that aforementioned x86 machine, but you had to run a giant, customized binary blob specifically made for a laptop’s make and model. And you had to throw it away after a few years not because you need more resources, but because you cannot upgrade the OS anymore.

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  • Savaran@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    The reality is that we need laws that force them to either to continue to offer affordable support or publish all the specs and documentation when they drop support. Vendors shouldn’t be allowed to do otherwise.

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    • imgonnatrythis@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      That sounds pretty reasonable. I feel so owned by technology lately. It used to be exciting to have tech that you could decide when you wanted to retire it and focus spending on something new and different that served a different purpose. Now I feel like I’m stuck with all the same basic gadgets but I just need to keep throwing money at them to replace them every few years. It’s about as unexciting as having to spend money on an oil change. I’m pretty primed by this as recently my electric objects picture frame just pulled the plugs on their server recently with no notice and bam, I have a black screen in my living room instead of pictures of my dog, family, and favorite artwork.

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  • Aopen@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    I wish I could just install upstream Android on anything that can run it, instead of special binary images for each vendor’s make and model.

    Why doesnt it work like that though? Combined with mandatory open bootloader it would free people

    ^pls,eu🥺^

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    • mplewis@lemmy.globe.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Generally, the hardware in a small, power-efficient, SoC embedded device is going to be a lot more particular and a lot less general than your gaming computer’s motherboard. It’s harder to write general OS software for specific integrated systems rather than a big set of chips which provide an individual chip for the BIOS, specialized chips for the PCI ports, etc., all of which have become more standardized over time.

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• verysoft@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Yup. All these devices that release, like do we need 6 different iphones every year, 20 different samsung phones, etc.
  It's a fucking joke.

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  • gregorum@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Then stop buying six different iPhones every year and 20 different Samsung phones every year.

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    • verysoft@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Fuck my bad, can't help myself.

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      • gregorum@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        I get it; it’s very tempting 😛

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