username<p>"Why is <a href="https://sunbeam.city/tags/Android" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Android</span></a> such a hellscape?" Part 4 - Google Play Services</p><p>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 <a href="https://sunbeam.city/tags/drawbridging" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>drawbridging</span></a> core functionality into the proprietary bits too? 😈</p><p><a href="https://sunbeam.city/tags/Google" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Google</span></a> 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.</p><p>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"?</p><p>¹<a href="https://opengapps.org/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">opengapps.org/</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>