Database Develop

Google Chrome

Anyone else interested in this browser? It looks like it will kick ass and who knows they might make a mobile app for it...outside of Android.

Reading your post using it now.
I will give it a go, but I do like Firefox.

opera been ok for me 7 years now on pc
and a few on pda

I've been using it for about 30mins now, it has some quirks but overall speed is the fastest I have seen in a long time.
Check out the cartoon about it:
http://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/

Just installed it on my HTC Shift, and it seems pretty good so far.
Regards,
Dave

Yea it is really fast. I like it.

Maybe in the future could be a good option, but now in Beta... I´ll stick to Opera.
There is no options to personalize, change color, etc, speed is good but not as good as they anounce
Don´t let go with Ads mates! Google want´s all the "Internet World", at least they have to pay us for that!!
Cheers,

it is fast though..but cant replace my Opera..no support for Emails so useless..but it has some fetures which makes it a lil nices

I've tried on my Acer One, and it works very fast, both to launch, and to open web pages. It is very low memory consuming, so i think it will be my preferred browser.

My problem with Opera is it's unstable nature with certain sites, especially older forums. Sometimes it can be a major PITA.

I downloaded it last night, it seems much faster than Firefox. I didn't know there were so many ads on some of the forums I visit I'll stick with Firefox so I don't see the ads.
** This morning I noticed that GoogleUpdate tried to access the internet about 12 times last night. This was with Chrome closed!! I don't give any programs access to the internet for updates.

I have found a problem with Chrome and vBulletin boards like XDA.
It is incorrectly turning DST ON in Eastern Australia making all times out by an hour.
In
User Control Panel
Setting DST Correction option to [Always Off] works around the problem for now. Something amiss in the Chrome javascript engine perhaps?
Without making this change whenever I switch between IE or Chrome with a vBulletin board I get an auto DST update message. IE time is correct. Chrome is wrong.
Anyone else wee this?

You might want to check the EULA a little closer there. It is definitely a boilerplate with some wide ranging implications of they enforced it. It also has a number of bugs, such as a carpet bombing vulnerability right off the get go. Nice idea and if they were to put a decent EULA on it, I might use it.... In the mean time, I'll stick with SeaMonkey or Opera.
-Will

IM USING IT RIGHT NOW!!!
It PWNS!!!

The EULA agreement has already been debunked just check section 9.4....here is how another user explained it:
Actually this is pretty flawed. I know this was posted in MANY other places as well, and I can't write to the authors of ALL those posts, but here's where copypasta news and blog entries have their flaws.
If you read section 9.4 closely, you'll see what I mean:
9.4 Other than the limited license set forth in Section 11, Google acknowledges and agrees that it obtains no right, title or interest from you (or your licensors) under these Terms in or to any Content that you submit, post, transmit or display on, or through, the Services, including any intellectual property rights which subsist in that Content
That "limited license" it refers to is what has exploded onto the internet as a violation of rights, privacy, etc. Again, if you actually read section 11, you'll see that the limited license is only for the promotion of Chrome, and this only holds to things that aren't already covered under other rights, such as copyright or intellectual property. Basically, this boils down to: Google can use anything that is online to promote itself, if one of it's users accesses that site. Which, in all honesty, it could do anyway.
This doesn't violate anything. And if you're still scared of it, use Chromium, the active open source project without the EULA that Chrome is based on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for bugs. I have noticed the DST bug, also it seems spell correction doesn't work on some boards I post on. Other then that it's the best browser I prefer.

Sledutah said:
I downloaded it last night, it seems much faster than Firefox. I didn't know there were so many ads on some of the forums I visit I'll stick with Firefox so I don't see the ads.
** This morning I noticed that GoogleUpdate tried to access the internet about 12 times last night. This was with Chrome closed!! I don't give any programs access to the internet for updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit:
I uninstalled it yesterday. After installation it was still trying to access the internet via GoogleUpdate. I went through the registry and there were tons of references to googleupdates and chrome. I deleted all of them and haven't had any more requests. Wow, don't think I'll even reinstall it in the future just for that.

Theres some kind of memory leak
Whenever i run it
My CPU usage shoots WAY UP
Its fast but dam should it be taxing my processor like that

Cool browser

I love it, been using it for about a week now LOL. But there is still a lot of work needs to be done!

Google Chrome is so much faster on many websites, especially on XDA-developers.com, where it is seconds faster when switching between pages in the forum.
And by using privoxy on newspapers, etc., you can get rid of those annoying ads with ease.

Flash 8 for skyfire/internet

since skyfire can play embedded flash 8 (according to their site and demo video) is there a flash player 8 or higher avabile for free download? is flash lite 2.1 higher that flash8?

I thought they incorporated Silver Light inside skyfire instead of Adobe Flash.

baymon said:
I thought they incorporated Silver Light inside skyfire instead of Adobe Flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from their newsletter tonight :
We were excited to launch the photo/video widget and add Silverlight support to Skyfire without a client upgrade. These additions gave our users the ability to watch any of the 2200+ hours of Olympic coverage provided by NBC.
As far as I know, skyfire uses both... I can watch all youtube/myspace videos AND watch streaming live MLB from MLB.tv I'm a VERY happy camper

Skyfire is a a server-side rendering browser. The reason that flash and all that works so good with Skyfire is because their desktop servers are viewing the pages and streaming a condensed version of it to your phone screen.
So no, there is no way (yet) that I know of to download Flash 8 nor Silverlight for the PPC.

dzelaya18 said:
Skyfire is a a server-side rendering browser. The reason that flash and all that works so good with Skyfire is because their desktop servers are viewing the pages and streaming a condensed version of it to your phone screen. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also enjoy knowing that they stream all my passwords, webmail, banking etc through their servers too.
I'm sure they're legit, but it still not quite kosher.

dzelaya18 said:
Skyfire is a a server-side rendering browser. The reason that flash and all that works so good with Skyfire is because their desktop servers are viewing the pages and streaming a condensed version of it to your phone screen.
So no, there is no way (yet) that I know of to download Flash 8 nor Silverlight for the PPC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm. Hadn't realised that. Hadn't been taking much interest as we outside the USA have not been allowed to participate.
Do we assume they will be charging a hefty fee for this product/service when it comes out of beta?

snachez said:
I also enjoy knowing that they stream all my passwords, webmail, banking etc through their servers too.
I'm sure they're legit, but it still not quite kosher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bingo. Which is why I rarely use Skyfire, only for occasional Youtube visits or if I really need to catch an engadget video or something. Opera 9.5 handles my browsing needs for the most part.
I will never use Skyfire for anything serious or any site that requires a password. I simply do not trust them...I mean, you put your password in a site, and the Skyfire servers have to enter (and store, as I'm sure they keep a log of all input information) that for you on the actual web page.
Not safe, gents. I'm sure they're totally legit, but why take a chance just to watch Youtube?

I read their privacy policy and I dont like it either, especially the part where it says promotional sms messages and they don't allow you to sign up without sending a sms.
no thanks,

What I don't like about logs like that is, no matter how well laid out the security policy is, and how great thier intentions are, there is still a chance the data will leak.
Recently an unknowing user sold a company laptop on ebay for 60 bucks. It had hundreds of thousands of social security numbers, account numbers, and answeres to user's secret questions.
This was a very large finacial firm, with a solid security policy and the best intentions of keeping user's information secure.
Too bad a non technical person got a laptop with some old info on it, and decided he should sell it for little to no money.
This does not include hackers and other nefarious people. Just because they want to keep our data secure, does not mean they are capable of doing so. They may not have the technical expertise to maintain a secure network, or they might not have enough money to purchase good equipment to help keep the bad out.
Humans work at companys, and some of them are assholes. End of story.

ok i kno they support flash like youtube, but i meant specifically flash games.
such as teagames.com and addictingames.com both of these get stuck saying i need flash player 8. im just a little confused.

How to blaze browsing and still have javascript on demand

Javascript slows your browser down, way down. This is true on any device, Touchwiz enabled devices especially. So what to do? Disabling Javascript will speed things up (dramatically) but then you hate missing all of the cool things javascript allows you to do such as view certain videos, use drop down menus, activate buttons, access special content - the list goes on.
Turning Javascript off in settings and then re-enabling it when you need it doesn't work because it is a multistep hassle. If only there were a way to leave Javascript off by default and then when you reach a page where you need it, turn it back on on the fly?
Well, if you use Dolphin Browser there is and it's pretty simple. Just create a gesture for enabling/disabling javascript. When you get to a site where you need it, click the little gesture button on the menu bar, draw your gesture and refresh. And there you go, Javascript is back on and ready to use.
If this all sounds like a pain, just try browsing with Javascript disabled. It is almost hard to believe how quickly pages load. In my honest opinion, the extra small step is very worth it.
Here's a quick video demonstrating this is action:

I'd like to try this, but how do you program the gesture?

ganstar said:
I'd like to try this, but how do you program the gesture?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's easy. First download Dolphin Browser. Then click the little gesture button on the menu bar. It looks like a finger inside a circle. Once that opens, click the little setup button that looks like a gear at the top right. Select more actions, scroll to the bottom of the list and pick enable javascript. Create your gesture and save it.
Stick with something simple Dolphin won't confuse with existing gestures.

Thanks, all done!

ganstar said:
Thanks, all done!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. I hope it comes in handy. I use it all the time and it's so much quicker than going into settings each time

mitchellvii, You annoy me with all this helpfulness..... please stop.
Buahahahaha!!!! [\sarcasm]

clintonroche said:
mitchellvii, You annoy me with all this helpfulness..... please stop.
Buahahahaha!!!! [\sarcasm]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know if it seems to work for you.

Huge difference to me
I tried doing multiple tests with this and no doubt about it. Disabling javascript speeds up browsing immensly. Both in chrome and in dolphin. I used the test site ign.com which has tons of things loading at the same time. I noticed several banners that would take longer to load with java enabled. Once i turned it off they did not load and it sped things up. I dont know if there are gestures in Chrome but i will use Dolphin more. I do hope this gets fixed. No excuse for this these days!

ev99 said:
I tried doing multiple tests with this and no doubt about it. Disabling javascript speeds up browsing immensly. Both in chrome and in dolphin. I used the test site ign.com which has tons of things loading at the same time. I noticed several banners that would take longer to load with java enabled. Once i turned it off they did not load and it sped things up. I dont know if there are gestures in Chrome but i will use Dolphin more. I do hope this gets fixed. No excuse for this these days!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well its not a matter so much of getting fixed but the nature of how javascript works. Without javascript present websites can load multiple things in parallel making it much faster. Javascript sort of breaks that hence the slowdown. IMHO opinion this is even worse in Touchwiz than vanilla Android due to security filtering but that is just conjecture on my part. Regardless, most users don't need what javascript offers on all websites, especially if you just want to look at pictures and read. All this little trick allows you to do is blaze around until you need the extra functionality and then quickly enable it on demand if you like. IMHO overall a better experience.
Give Dolphin a chance. The new Beta (you have to sign up) is pretty quick and the swipe in from the left bookmarks is convenient. I also like Maxthon but not sure if they do gestures. Will need to check that.
** Make sure after enabling/disabling you refresh the page. That's important.

I second those who have noticed a massive improvement with js turned off. It's night and day really.
For now I just leave it off and use chrome. If I NEED it, I will enable it in the options. But so far, I seem to do okay without it mostly.

Just wanted to check in and say this set up world really well, thanks op.

ganstar said:
Just wanted to check in and say this set up world really well, thanks op.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it helped. Sounds like no big deal but it really does make things faster and easier.

You should keep an eye on Atlas Web Bowser, as you can save your java setting on a per site basis, so you could have it off by default and on for those that really require it.
Its currently beta and still has some issues and its not for everyone as its very minimalist.

>>X<< said:
You should keep an eye on Atlas Web Bowser, as you can save your java setting on a per site basis, so you could have it off by default and on for those that really require it.
Its currently beta and still has some issues and its not for everyone as its very minimalist.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I tried that one. Still pretty buggy but good start.

[Q] switching from android to windows phone

Looking at the Nokia 640 on metro PCs , what are you guys opinions on this phone?I had a Nokia 521 quiet awhile back but switched to android because of the lack of SD card use back then.

I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.

In my opinion windows phones are always better and safe than android phones. You can also read about technology public relations.

Play Apps?
GoodDayToDie said:
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M

Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will not enable android apps to run directly on the phone like in an emulator, they developed a tool so android developers can recompile their existing app code so it can be used in windows, see the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qgajY4An1I

I'm really looking forward to making the switch from Android. I've always been a Windows PC enthusiast, and Windows 10 is shaping up nicely.
So, a phone to match will be nice. As for apps for phones, I hardly use any nowadays.

The biggest disadvantage of WP is the low market share of under 10% .
This means that most of the useful apps or games will not be available to WP.
But if as you say you dont use apps and you like the windows style you should go for it!

My experience switching over
I picked up a 640 on T-Mobile the other day as a new "daily driver" - my S4 went swimming once upon a time and reception was never quite the same after that, and I've been thinking about app development and the possible advantages of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond - particularly if MS manages to be successful going forward with Windows Phone. I'm sure I won't have anything available by the time Windows 10 Mobile comes out, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out in the end - perhaps Android development would be a better choice after all? But my experience with the phone overall hasn't been bad so far, particularly not for $100.
The one thing that I hate about the phone is that I can't put it on WiFi at home - something about the WiFi config puts it into a boot loop when it tries to kick in the voice over WiFi piece. Seems like it's similar to the "no iOS zone" problem that turned up for Apple back in April, except that since (relatively) nobody is using Windows Phone nobody really cares. The "fix" recommended is "reset your router to factory defaults" which might be an issue since I'm running OpenWRT..... I'm thinking about putting the Windows 10 preview on so this may go away - even if it's only due to lack of support for T-Mobile's WiFi calling. At least I have LTE coverage in most of my house and an "unlimited" data plan.
The main thing I'm really missing is browser choice - I REALLY miss having Firefox and Dolphin, because I do a lot of long-form reading in my browser and the readability view in FF is much more usable. LastPass in Dolphin is also nice to have, though it never worked for me in Firefox. I'm also missing the addon ecosystems of both browsers. Surfy is at least a nice addition, but browsers on WP seem to be at least 2-3 years behind what's on Android. Both IE and Surfy "feel" kind of like the built-in browser in Gingerbread (2.3) or maybe in the early days of Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) before Google started pushing Chrome as the default browser. Having relatively weak browser(s) is a problem because with the lack of apps at least I can use mobile websites..... when they don't simply crash out the IE tab/window/whatever since it's not a tabbed or windowed interface.
I'm also hoping that Pocket Casts will work correctly for me after their next update (currently it hangs if I turn on sync to pull in my podcasts, then dies on app startup), but I'll survive for a while. I'm also feeling the lack of good ebook readers, I've been spoiled by Cool Reader and Moon+ Reader Pro on the Android side.
The only things besides browsers that I'm really missing:
Things tied in with Google's ecosystem - I use Google Voice for my voicemail, I've been using Location History for a long time to help me track when I arrive at and leave customer locations, and there's a group of us that uses Google Hangouts for group chat. I can get Voice notifications in email with the transcriptions then listen to the messages via URL. The Location History bit I may be able to replace with Phone Tracker, but I'm not sure what to do about Hangouts yet.
Replacement keyboards! I've been a big Swiftkey user for years and would love to have it back even without the voice recognition link (which launches Google's service). I hate having to do 4-6 extra keystrokes to enter passwords because of the switches to get to numbers/punctuation and extended punctuation (via the numbers page). There are places where Hacker's Keyboard (a much more full keyboard nice for terminal emulations) was also nice to have.
A GOOD text editor (e.g. DroidEdit which has syntax highlighting, etc.) or really even an adequate text editor. Maybe a mediocre one? Please? I've seen mention of Code Editor but was unimpressed by the "Free" version (first thing it does is throw you to the store page for the paid version, free version can't even see the "advanced" editor that's the only reason to actually consider it). The only other option that at least looks good in screenshots ("HTML+JS+CSS IDE") hasn't been updated since 2013 and has a total of 3 reviews - and the two with text are both 1-star.
CallTrack (which adds all of my phone calls to my Google Calendar, tagged appropriately and with start and end times) and SMS Backup (which uploads my sent/received SMS to GMail, tagged appropriately). CallTrack is great for going back and "Who did I talk to that day?" and SMS Backup is great for tracking down things received in old messages. I WILL be working on finding replacements for these.
And a few less-important things that I can either do without or still need to find replacements for:
My auto mileage/service tracking app - if there's something comparable to aCar then I haven't seen it yet.
OpenVPN, though the VPN service I use allows IPSEC as well so I'll need to set that up.
Lyft, though I've not actually needed to use it. I know Uber's on there, I just like what I know of Lyft better (and there's one area where my wife may need it that's on the edge of the areas for both but Lyft covers it and Uber doesn't).
KeePass - I believe I saw one implementation in the Store, but I'd want to check into the background of it given the number of scam apps I've come across.

@fencepost: Good list of stuff, there. I don't really have a good solution to much of it - I mean, Microsoft has alternatives to a lot of Google's stuff, but they are mutually incompatible so everybody you hang out with would need to switch too - but those are some good problems to list. The problem with WiFi calling is probably a T-Mobile bug, sadly; I don't have it myself but WiFi Calling on WP8.x isn't really as good as it could be. My biggest personal complaint with WiFi is that the OS is too damn desperate to stay on (unusably weak) WiFi signals even when it has cellular data; if I'm actively using my phone when I leave the apartment (for example, checking a bus schedule) it's faster to manually disable WiFi than to rely on the phone to notice that the WiFi signal is much too weak to use and fail over to cellular. Ideally I'd be able to tell the phone to use cellular by *default* and only use WiFi for stuff that it can't get ont he WAN (LAN servers, etc.), but the OS wasn't really designed to provide an optimal experience for people with unlimited data plans.
The custom keyboard thing may be fixable soon - at least, I really hope so - but for now it is indeed a problem. WP8.1 has the best *built-in* keyboard of the three leading mobile OSes, IMO, but it's not better than all the Android options.
As for a text editor, I generally avoid writing anything longer than notes or minor document edits (or emails, but usually only plain text) on the phone, so I haven't really looked. You might be able to use SSH or Remote Desktop, though; there's a number of decent apps for each (including a MS-authored one for RDP) and with unlimited data they should work. You may even find them more useful than a local editor. It might be worth setting up a Remote App server (so you'd *just* get an editor, rather than a whole desktop) for this.
OpenVPN *should* be possible to port, but it needs a driver (TUN/TAP) and MS would need to approve or provide that even more than they would need to approve a new VPN app (which I think requires a capability not normally available to third-party devs). I'm tempted to say that they really *should* allow it, but I'm also painfully aware that OpenVPN on Windows (and, possibly, other platforms) is sort of crap. I can usually beat it into submission on a machine where I have admin, but on a phone it could simply just sit there being unusable until the phone gets rebooted or something.
WP8 in general seems to have a lower risk of scam apps than Android, but it's definitely a good idea to look into any password keeper utility's trustworthiness.
EDIT: As for browsers, as far as I know there's not actually any rule against third-party browsers. Opera Mini does exist for WP8, which is cool, but so far as I know nobody has ported a Gecko or WebKit/Blink-based browser. Ideally, somebody should fix this, although getting them to work within WP8's application model might mean rebuilding a lot of the browser as well as just porting the rendering engine.

Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.

Let ms make a toolkit for the android devs
A toolkit to one click port it to MS ecosystem
Then the threshold to port it would be lower and a real mony maker for the devs
Sent from my C6603 using XDA Free mobile app

NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want Android apps as such, but Android and IOS devs in the wp game.
I've had a lot of Apple and Andy devices the last eight years and have grown to like the variety of developers and want they put out for us.
WP is a good ecosystem, but the app gap is way bigger than I expected. There are just to many everyday apps I had on my other phones, which I cannot get in WP (yet).
I feel like I've walked into a grossery store and most of the shelfes are empty... I have to buy my oj and milk in another store, simply because MS can't get those dev's on board.
...And that's just a crying shame.

The 640 has a baked in WiFi calling feature rather than a separate app like almost every other Lumia device. I think it may be the only Lumia to have Wi-Fi calling baked into the SIM settings rather than running as a separate app.
Be careful if you are using any Google apps with it - Google is scared of Windows phone and they are doing everything they can to prevent app development. Any app they have taken over will never see another Windows phone release, and they are kind of crazy about it. For example Microsoft made their own YouTube app because Google wouldn't ,Google forced them to take it down. Now the YouTube app on the WP is just a link to YouTube - not because no one wants to make one for WP, but because Google won't let anyone make one.
---------- Post added at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
I should add though - I have the 640 and it's awesome, extremely fast, well built, solid screen, expandable SD card slot, decent cameras for a phone and an ok flash. It's also neat the way the apps tie together with your windows 10 computer

NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried both Windows as well as Android Phone but everyone will agree that Android is anytime the best coz of features or benefits it has to offer. I used to be a Windows Mobile fan but now I love Android.
I would not switch to Windows again for now atleast

The Experiment: Android without Google

Hey folks,
after reading the Article on xda about using Android without google, i instantly fell in Love with the idea. I decided yesterday, that i'll take the plunge and give it a try.
First off, why?
For me, there are a couple of reasons. First of, i generally think, the less a company like google knows about me, the better. So keeping the Data on my phone away from google might help with that. If this experiment goes well i might stop using Google for Calendar and Contacts.
Second reason for me is Battery. The Google Framework and Play Services are always on the Top of my list of Battery consumption. I'd like to see how leaving these away might improve Battery life.
And third, i'm curious if it's possible. The reason i'm on xda is because i'm a tinkerer. So pushing the boundaries and trying new things is what i really like about Android. You have the choice to do whatever you want with your phone.
So, how do i go about it? Well, a bit of pre work needs to be done. First of, you might need a google Account to set things up. WhatsApp or Outlook are simply only available from the official Playstore. Since i start with my daily driver, all was set up already.
I use the 5.0.1 Variant of Nameless Rom. Debloated, Nova Launcher, rooted and stock apart from that. I might go CM later on, but i always find CM draining the Battery more then Stock Roms. We'll see.
What am i going to use instead of all the nice google things?
Play Store: F-Droid
I'll give F-Droid a try. it's obtainable as an apk, so if you only need apps that are available there, you won't need google at all. The Interface and search is not as nice as the Play Store, but the selection is really good, Installation of apps is hassle free (no manually downloading apks and installing them by hand) and it does check for updates daily.
Gmail:
I already moved away from gmail to outlook.com a few months ago. Not because MS is better in keeping your data private (actually they might be as they make money through selling software, not your data) but because i wanted to spread my info. Mail on outlook, contacts on google, Calendar on Strato... The Outlook app was already installed and set up, so no work to be done here.
Contacts:
Here it's getting a bit tricky. Google doesn't want you to move your contacts away form them. So there is no way to directly sync your google Contacts to your phone. As soon as you deactivate the play services, all you contacts will be gone.
For me, i used the Web Version of Google Contacts, exported them all to vcf and imported them to my phones storage. I'm not going to set up a personal sync for now. I'm fine with my contacts on my Phone only for now. I might end up going the OwnCloud route later on, but don't find it necessary currently.
Calendar:
my Calendar is already done through outlook and start (my webhoster). I installed Etar from F-Droid (a open source variant of googles calendar app). All my Calendars were already in on first launch (imported from the phones Accounts). No hassle, everything looks as always.
Chrome:
I've never been happy with chrome anyways. Loading pages is slow, scrolling is nowhere near smooth. I currently compare Firefox and Fenec. Both from F-Droid. Firefox will be discontinued on F-Droid soon as they implemented none OS proprietary add ons. Fenec is a OS alternative to Firefox compiled from Source without Proprietary add ons. Both work well but Fenec is a bit unstable as a daily driver for most people.
Camera is Focal now. Apart from being OS it's also much more capable than samsung camera. Plus easier to use. Whats not to like here?
After setting everything up, i went into the settings and disabled most google stuff (Play Store, Play Services, Calendar, Mail, Chrome). I'm still trying to find out what other Google Services i may disable without braking android. I'll keep this updated here.
I'm not completely done yet. I still use apps that are only available through the Playstore. Maybe you know alternatives, that i should check out:
WhatsApp. I don't see an alternative here. Moving to another service is not really an option. I tried Telegram and liked it, but a nice app is nothing when nobody uses it...
Ebay and Amazon. Both have a good mobile website which should work. But a standalone App is much easier and convenient to use.
Nova Launcher. It's simply the best. I haven't found a OS alternative that has anywhere near the features.
Tapatalk. Again, one App all Forums on hand. Simply the best app for that. Any XDA compatible OS alternatives to it?
Outlook. A OS mail client which supports Outlook, Material Design and is easy to use? I've yet to come up with one...
Over all, the switch went really smooth. After getting F-Droid as a Playstore alternative i was able to do all this in 1 hour. I'll have to see how Batterylife works out. I feel it's better, but the numbers will tell after some days of use. I feel really good to have found a way around google so far. It's nice to rethink things you've been using for years. Even if you're not opting out of google completely, there might be a alternative to something you use, that you'd otherwise never consider.
Let me know what you think. You're alternatives to some proprietary apps. How do you feel about google being in all the parts of your mobile life? Is Android without google something you'd consider?
For further reading, here are the XDA Articles, that inspired me to start this journey:
Setting up Marshmallow without Google
The "Say Sayonara to Google" Series
Have a nice start into the week.

I'll keep my replacement Apps in this Post for Tracking what i've used and what my Pros and Cons are over time.
PlayStore: F-Droid
F-Droid is THE FOSS Android community. A good selection of Apps, easy install and Updates plus a community thats interested in whats happening behind the scenes of apps. Firefox for example will soon not be supported anymore because they now are using proprietary none FOSS compatible sources. For most, this attempt might not be the easy one (they never claim to want to go the easy route), but it sure is the most straight ahead if you want Open Source Apps that are tracked for what they do on your phone.
Outlook: K-9
I replaced Outlook with K-9 for now. It's not as polished or easy to use, but it works, is OS and Outlook was constantly connected without me being able to change that. I only need sync every 30 minutes and outlook doesn't have a setting for that. Lets see how K-9 works out, stability and battery wise...
Google Maps: OsmAnd
OsmAnd seems to be the alternative here. As a plus it allows offline sync of Maps. The Interface is nowhere near as intuitive as GMaps, i've found no traffic information until now and entering a address is a hassle. The Search feature and easy Adress Input has always been a strong point for GMaps. We'll see how the turn-by-turn Navigation Turns out. Also OsmAnd works with plugins, so maybe i'm missing some features here and there.
Facebook: Tinfoil
Tinfoil for Facebook seems to be the App of Choice. In the end it's the Mobile website displayed in an "App". On the Plus site, you don't need that horrifically annoying Messenger. Facebook chat just works from the App, which is great. Sadly, since its a webpage, Notifications are none existant. Since i'm debating leaving Facebook completely anyways it's not a problem for me. Less distraction during the day, which is always welcome nowadays...
Deezer: Tomahawk
When I thought about replacing my Deezer app I did not have high hopes since most streaming services use proprietary api's. I was impressed to find not only a Deezer alternative that's open source, but tomahawk does much more. It combines most streaming services plus some other online music services plus your local music.
One downside for me: you are not able to save Deezer music offline. Tomahawk itself is completely open source. If the Deezer plug in is OS as well I couldn't find out for sure...
Titanium Backup: Oandbackup
Oandbackup works much the same way Titanium does, but with some less options. If you want just a good Backup App, i prefer Oandbackup since it's much less cluttered and options are easier to find. It served me well when i last switched from TW to CM.

I didn't read your what i can only call a thesis on Ungooglying Android write-up, it's an effort that I implore and admire your courage. I too worry about the data that google has monopolised on, it's time we broke this and find alternative ways. I salute you sir in your endeavours.
I will drop by time to time to see how you're prodding along.
Regards
F
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I backp all my contacts using outlook. I still use playstore. I have also disabled as much of Samsung as I can, and im sure there is more I could disable of both. I want my phone set up the way I want it set up, not with what google and samsung say I should. Also use Nova
Sent from my SM-P900 using XDA Free mobile app

I added Tomahawk as a Deezer/Spotify OS alternative In Post #2
Gesendet von meinem SM-N910F mit Tapatalk

I've yet to find a good alternative to the play store personally.
I don't use google services on my Note 4. I use Here Maps and disabled Google Maps, I use Nine for Email, I've disabled contacts and calendar sync, I've disabled every google program like books, games, gmail (I have a google account linked to a generic outlook addy for G services), music, hangouts, G+, etc. I keep my contacts backed up on my own personal .com server via exchange along with the calendar. I also like the Samsung browser, so Chrome is disabled as well. Don't use Now, have all the google account settings set to not target me for advertising, not keep track of location, etc... All the regular privacy concerns taken care of there.
My battery life is about a !% loss every two hours in standby. I wish I could get it better. My old GSIII would lose 1% over an 8 hour time frame at night while I was asleep. The Note 4 loses about 4%.
Oddly, no matter how much I restrict my access to google services, the people section of the play store still links me to a ton of people I know. Some that I have not had contact with since High School. Very strange. The only thing I can think is people I do know have me in their contacts so it assumes I know these people correctly. The phone is obviously reading my phone number without me entering it into my google account. :shrug:
I look forward to reading how it goes for you. (I broke down and signed up for Google Music the other day out of curiosity, but I'll get some of my anonymity back when I cancel my google account and create a new one.)

Alright,
some Updates:
I switched to the official CM12 build yesterday. It seems to run fairly well. My Radio was not able to register in the Network once, but activating and deactivating flight mode fixed that. Reception seems to be better than on TW rom. Concerning Battery i see no major difference for now.
CM is Open Source. I'm not 100% sure that every preinstalled app is 100% open source. During the Weekend i'll review the code and do a build on my own, just to be sure. Also, theres a pure AOSP build coming, which i'll be testing.
This time i didn't even Install Gapps. I did not log in to cm accounts or anything. I installed F-Droid from my SD Card and went from there. One thing i'll have to keep in mind, is, that factory reset means loosing my contacts, so i'll have to do a backup the next time.
Also i switched from Titanium to Oandbackup. I works much the same way and served me well during the switch from TW to CM. For me the relevant options are much easier to find (Safe Backups to external SD...).
Since Battery endurance is one of my concerns, i do some changes to improve that:
- Since the N4 has an AMOLED Display, using Black Background and Dark Apps helps quite a bit. I'm using Dark Material Beta through CM Theme Engine. Its Black (i like solid Black, not Gray or something like that) and white and does theme quite a lot of Apps (WhatsApp as an important one).
- I deactivated AudioFX, All Live Backgrounds, Stock Browser, CM-Backgrounds, Calendar and NFC Tags
- for cLock (Lockscreen Clock) i deleted all permissions to access location and Data. It's been trying to update weather all the time, which you can't seem to disable
I'd really like a simple white Icon theme, but getting most themes for CM depends on the Play Store. There are not many good themes that are available outside of the Playstore... Any help here is appreciated :good:

bbeelzebub said:
...My battery life is about a !% loss every two hours in standby. I wish I could get it better. My old GSIII would lose 1% over an 8 hour time frame at night while I was asleep. The Note 4 loses about 4%...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Over the last night i lost 2% over 7.5 hours. With 4G, WiFi, BT, Mail Sync (once per hour). Quite good, but i think theres a bit in it. K-9 (Mail) and Whatsapp keep the Mobile Network active. K-9 does so relatively long although i should only Sync once per hour. I'll configure some kind of "Whatsapp do not disturde" over night, this should bring down Standby draw a bit...

domsch1988 said:
Over the last night i lost 2% over 7.5 hours. With 4G, WiFi, BT, Mail Sync (once per hour). Quite good, but i think theres a bit in it. K-9 (Mail) and Whatsapp keep the Mobile Network active. K-9 does so relatively long although i should only Sync once per hour. I'll configure some kind of "Whatsapp do not disturde" over night, this should bring down Standby draw a bit...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I leave 4G, WiFi, BT and Mail on all the time as well. It doesn't make any difference when I turn them off that I've noticed. I use ActiveSync for my email / calendars / contacts and it really is no difference from when I used to use google for the calendar / contacts and a pop 3 account. As long as I don't use the stock email app which kills the battery on exchange or Activesync.
There are a few Samsung apps that I can't disable that I would like to. (I'm on a non rootable US model), I think I'll take the time tomorrow and see if I can use debloater to shut them down. Now that I think about it, there were less Samsung things running all the time on my old phone and I'm sure that makes a slight difference.

You can download Whats App from their site without going through Google since its attached to your phone number.
https://www.whatsapp.com/android/

...There is no way Focal is more capable than the Samsung Camera app. How do you figure this?

jetbruceli said:
You can download Whats App from their site without going through Google since its attached to your phone number.
https://www.whatsapp.com/android/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't use whatsapp at all considering they are owned by facebook and every message you send is being tracked. Telegram is the better option.

Toss3 said:
Wouldn't use whatsapp at all considering they are owned by facebook and every message you send is being tracked. Telegram is the better option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the dumbest reason to not use Whats App. It was bought to protect FB from losing ground. Telegram has all your messages on a server to where as Whats app is peer to peer. There is no reason to worry about big Facebook looking at your every message. Also, i would rather have FB, Google or MS looking at my stuff than some unknown company.
---------- Post added at 10:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 AM ----------
freeza said:
...There is no way Focal is more capable than the Samsung Camera app. How do you figure this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont get that either, also stock camera doenst need google play services to be used.

jetbruceli said:
That is the dumbest reason to not use Whats App. It was bought to protect FB from losing ground. Telegram has all your messages on a server to where as Whats app is peer to peer. There is no reason to worry about big Facebook looking at your every message. Also, i would rather have FB, Google or MS looking at my stuff than some unknown company.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Telegram does not save your messages on a server when you use private chats. They are also encrypted.
Oh and: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-ranked-worst-for-users-data-privacy-in-internet-snooping-report-10328539.html http://time.com/3928503/whatsapp-privacy-watchdog/
This shows how "secure" WhatsApp really is: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33152898

Toss3 said:
Telegram does not save your messages on a server when you use private chats. They are also encrypted.
Oh and: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-ranked-worst-for-users-data-privacy-in-internet-snooping-report-10328539.html http://time.com/3928503/whatsapp-privacy-watchdog/
This shows how "secure" WhatsApp really is: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33152898
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure there are security holes in everything we use but it doesnt change the fact that Whats App is better for most people. This isnt a whats app vs telegram thread and also, I am not sure if you can install telegram on its own without google or other app stores like you can with whats app