There is an opportunity here to wake people up to how shit so much of tech is and how to improve them. Before it was just nerds and economists who complained of the stifling of competition by the monopolies. Now it's geopolitical and more and more obvious to more and more people.
We need to support political groups fighting for us, not just think in terms of technology. In the UK it is OpenRightsGroup, maybe the Greens party, in Europe there is the Pirate Party, Greens, Free Software Foundation Europe, and more. We should be trying to get politicians into this.
I'm basically am doing exactly this. But I'm only on GrapheneOS as I had to compromise on some closed apps that refused to run on LineageOS. GrapheneOS means I can compromise on Google a bit without being completely compromised by Google. The market and geopolitical problem remains.
You bank will be the last. Without your bank's app, you may not be able to do online banking. Car park apps. Public car charger apps. Even theme parks now have a ride booking app. There is more and more "app for that" with no alternative.
We require law makers to get involved. America making it's tech monopolies a visible geopolitical problem should help us.
There need to be enforced of competition law here. Companies aren't going to voluntarily support a platform with few users. Users aren't going to move to a platform without critical apps.
We live in a dystopia were you have to have the banks app to do online banking even on your desktop. You can't charge your car without an app. You can't navigate your car without a map app that has traffic information. Etc etc. I want FOSS alternatives to all these, but there isn't and Google could take even having a FOSS platform at all.
This something we need regulators to fix. It is a politically problem, not a technical one.
America screwing up trust should wake up Europe to dealing with American tech monopolies. Now it's not something just nerds and economists complain about, it is a geopolitical problem.
I think Waymo are right to do what they do. I just wouldn't call it "fully". If Telsa are doing the same and still doing badly, or should be doing the same and aren't, it still makes them worse than Waymo either way.
Searching for "Waymo human overseas" brings up results about it. Doing similar for Telsa isn't finding anything. Also I've not heard about like I have with Waymo. I don't think Waymo are wrong to do this at all. It not making a decision when unsure is safer.
Doesn't matter if it's at the beginning or end of the pipeline. It's feeding the demand.
I have a second hand Pixel for GrapheneOS to compromise without being compromised. Was degoogled with Lineage for many years, but it was becoming too much of a problem. I'm not happy owning literally a Google phone. Felt I had no choice.
Really, regulators are needed to sort this out. Consumer choice doesn't work with dualopy.
But the folks above those good ol boys suddenly have a spot light on them, so feel pressured to do the right thing. They get ask by those above them why are they failing.
Lots of countries have small towns, where that doesn't mean it's fine to shoot a daughter. It's an international scandal now, so it's not like they managed to keep it quiet. Everyone, everywhere, can see the disfunction.
I'm not the only one who wants this. All exists in some form already. If it can't be open and secure, it is not secure at all. "security through obscurity is no security at all"
I want to pay for something directly from my phone by transferring to an address. Far better you push a known amount from your trusted device. Right now, it's pull from your card! Basically, right now, every machine you put your card in you are relying on pulling the same number it displays! This only works at all because of the nightmare control of middlemen like WorldPay. They can get stuffed. Try making something that needs payment right now.
100% yes. Open source is not missing this:
https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/SFKNTZ-welcome_to_fosdem_2026/
Or the more technological political:
https://craphound.com/news/2026/01/01/the-post-american-internet-39c3-hamburg-dec-28/
There is an opportunity here to wake people up to how shit so much of tech is and how to improve them. Before it was just nerds and economists who complained of the stifling of competition by the monopolies. Now it's geopolitical and more and more obvious to more and more people.