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"Why is such a hellscape?" Part 4 - Google Play Services

I guess a logical extension of Part 3 - if you've realised that you can freely mix and match open source / closed source code... why not start core functionality into the proprietary bits too? 😈

Play Services now powers so much functionality on Android (location, notifications, app installations) that it's routine for me to find devices completely non-functional until I install "Google Apps"; on this tablet, missing Google Play Services meant the setup wizard crashed for no legitimate reason.

Blessings and praise to the comrades trying to run an arms race with Google – I managed to get my tablet working with the "Nano" version of OpenGapps¹ – but Jeffrey Horatio Christ, how much Don't-Be-Evil-ade do you need to chug to think this still gives Google the right to call their software "open source" and their cartel the "Open Handset Alliance"?

¹opengapps.org/

opengapps.orgThe Open GApps ProjectOpenGApps.org offers information and pre-built packages of The Open GApps Project. The Open GApps Project is an open-source effort to script the automatic generation of up-to-date Google Apps packages. All Android versions and platforms supported.