I am working real hard to move away from US tech. On my Desktop and Laptop I am pretty much done and everything is either European, FOSS and/or self-hosted.
The major issue is mobile, especially when it comes to financial and government apps as well as daily use apps like parking apps, etc. - you’re being forced to use either Google or Apple here. I tried using ubuntu touch on a Fairphone 4, but there is absolutely no way to use it as a daily driver.
I think a major issue in moving away from US big tech is how corporations and governments have created a vicious circle on the reliance on them.
They won’t move away because they are more polished and feature rich than (European) alternatives, as well as their employees are accustomed to them.
Because they keep spending money on big tech, big tech will have the finance to stay ahead and keep on polishing and adding features. They will keep repeating these arguments, while competitors to big tech will never receive enough finance to create a one-for-one alternative.
Employees will also not get to use any other software and may only get deeper ties with big tech’s ‘ecosystems’.
While I believe individuals should move to alternatives, I doubt this will happen without governments investing in open alternatives, and corporations starting to pay for their services. That way alternatives become viable options for the layperson.
I have a Fairphone 4 and I’ve been thinking about giving Ubuntu Touch a spin too. I don’t really mind if it can’t do much else other than only place calls and receive SMS. But the one thing I need is the Android app for my bank: I already know it works fine in Waydroid, but it requires the camera to work too in Waydroid, and I could never get that going on my ARM laptop.
Since you’ve tried it: do you know if the camera works in Waydroid?
I actually didn’t try waydroid at all, sorry can’t help there.
I still had my company phone running iOS with me for apps, so I never tried running waydroid, since that seems to be a huge battery hog anyways and defeats the purpose of moving away from google/apple.
I am working real hard to move away from US tech. On my Desktop and Laptop I am pretty much done and everything is either European, FOSS and/or self-hosted.
The major issue is mobile, especially when it comes to financial and government apps as well as daily use apps like parking apps, etc. - you’re being forced to use either Google or Apple here. I tried using ubuntu touch on a Fairphone 4, but there is absolutely no way to use it as a daily driver.
I think a major issue in moving away from US big tech is how corporations and governments have created a vicious circle on the reliance on them. They won’t move away because they are more polished and feature rich than (European) alternatives, as well as their employees are accustomed to them. Because they keep spending money on big tech, big tech will have the finance to stay ahead and keep on polishing and adding features. They will keep repeating these arguments, while competitors to big tech will never receive enough finance to create a one-for-one alternative. Employees will also not get to use any other software and may only get deeper ties with big tech’s ‘ecosystems’.
While I believe individuals should move to alternatives, I doubt this will happen without governments investing in open alternatives, and corporations starting to pay for their services. That way alternatives become viable options for the layperson.
Europe needs to team up with Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, together we would have the potential to be a real tech alternative powerhouse.
I have a Fairphone 4 and I’ve been thinking about giving Ubuntu Touch a spin too. I don’t really mind if it can’t do much else other than only place calls and receive SMS. But the one thing I need is the Android app for my bank: I already know it works fine in Waydroid, but it requires the camera to work too in Waydroid, and I could never get that going on my ARM laptop.
Since you’ve tried it: do you know if the camera works in Waydroid?
I actually didn’t try waydroid at all, sorry can’t help there. I still had my company phone running iOS with me for apps, so I never tried running waydroid, since that seems to be a huge battery hog anyways and defeats the purpose of moving away from google/apple.
Haha no worries 🙂 I thought I’d ask.
Get a dumb phone.