What we need is more competition, keep android, and iOS on their toes.
Perhaps Ubuntu will. I've heard Firefox is making a mobile OS. Anyone heard of this?
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What we need is more competition, keep android, and iOS on their toes.
I don't want to give up on Android. i certainly don't want to go back to iOS (even iOS 7 seems to be all cartoony now anyway from what i am reading). However if Google gets the same ego as Microsoft and Facebook and starts ignoring user complaints and responds with 'hey, this is our new look, take it or leave it' then i am not going to be comfortable remaining with 'em.
if it were any other issue i'd just use my root experience to remove what Google is doing. unfortunately, there is NO. Root. way. to. de-pastel and de-card. Google. Play.
No matter how many complain how it SUCKS, Google doesn't care. in fact, just like Facebook, they just expect us to complain and make the excuse that 'oh you're all afraid of change'. and pray that people adapt and move on. are we such doormats that we just let that happen?
Except people aren't complaining about the UI, if anything they are giving it praise. You make it seem like the majority of people hate it when they simply don't, in fact apart from you I haven't seen anyone go out of their way to bash the UI as much.
The only ones stuck in the past are stuck in their childhood wishing their fisher-price toys back. The interface ruins the entire point of a high resolution screen capable of millions of colors and 3-D elements. It even looks like black and white in certain elements. The only colors are pastels that would be displayed on an IBM 5150 PC/XT.
Where is the choice? Even in Linux you can hack out unity. Where is our theme choice for the one app store/ecosystem Android is part of? I am sick and tired of computers looking like they were designed for kids. Bright colors, huge icons, limited info. All common in a LeapPad designed for 4-year-olds.
It's called dumbing down. Check out all the Android sites, Android Central, Android Police, even Google Product Forums. Far more negative comments regarding Play's UI change, Google removing certain functions, and most of it with their web store but I digress, more complaints than praise. Is Google even offering them a choice? Nope. Like Apple, they couldn't give a darn. Why are they copying Windows 8 vs. Innovating on their own? Android didn't get where it is today by copying! Is Play Store even open source? I do not know as it automatically crashes when attempting to open the open-source license within it. If it is, there must be some way of changing the ui locally. My phone is a reflection of myself as Android was designed for customization and reflecting the user's preferences, unlike Apple where their devices are basically the same. And if I am to expect my Android-powered smartphone to be a reflection of myself, pastels and eye-hurting grey text on white ain't it.
If Google is doing what I think they are doing to Android 5, we will only need to wait until its release to see how the reaction is. If they go all fisher-price I cannot see how anyone would go for it. Too much hate for Windows 8 exists because of the dumbed down interface. The same reaction is to be expected if Android follows suit. I am sure Google expects us to complain, then when they refuse to listen, expect us to eventually move on and adapt. Too bad humans have become literal door mats who conform after awhile.
yeah, multitouch (iOS) started with the first iPhone. it also paved the way towards more accurate touchscreens and finger input, far more natural than a stylus. but wait! the stylus is BACK! just like speech recognition, we're going to see touchscreens held back by the few dinosaurs who prefer to wield a stylus. heck for a while HDTVs and flat-panel monitors were held back because the same folks preferred a CRT for a few years.
We're seeing tech evolution going backwards. it's plain as day. devices were getting smaller, faster, and starting to look like they were going towards integrated tech. or wearable tech. now what is happening? it's getting bigger, clunkier, and looking like a modern take on 1980s tech. the Note 2 is the best example. sure, it sports a touch screen, a high-res display, and does far more, but dimension wise it reminds anyone from the 1980s of the DynaTAC. it looks every bit as goofy as one when used as a phone. it just lacks the rubber antenna and grey finish, and has a much better battery.
the Note 2 also reminds me of an Apple Newton with it having a stylus and folks actually using the darned thing. folks, who, mind you, hated touchscreens from day one of the iPhone. i can only pray they're a minority and won't halt the progress of touch input farther.
No, i am not expecting 24th Century tech today. i am stating however that as long as we're dumbing stuff down and not evolving towards much more advanced tech like translucent screens, flexible dispalys, or 3-D UIs, we might not see the 24th Century. everything is going Fisher-Price! Windows 8, iOS, even speculations of Android 5.
I don't want to give up on Android. i certainly don't want to go back to iOS (even iOS 7 seems to be all cartoony now anyway from what i am reading). However if Google gets the same ego as Microsoft and Facebook and starts ignoring user complaints and responds with 'hey, this is our new look, take it or leave it' then i am not going to be comfortable remaining with 'em.
if it were any other issue i'd just use my root experience to remove what Google is doing. unfortunately, there is NO. Root. way. to. de-pastel and de-card. Google. Play.
No matter how many complain how it SUCKS, Google doesn't care. in fact, just like Facebook, they just expect us to complain and make the excuse that 'oh you're all afraid of change'. and pray that people adapt and move on. are we such doormats that we just let that happen?
From what I gather by reading, it is legal and possible to edit the Play UI without incurring the wrath of Google, so long as the conditions listed are adhered to. The only question is whether anyone has managed to revert back to the previous Play UI without it auto-updating back to kiddy UI.
I have root and that's not s problem. I know an inverted UI for Play apps has already been done. Now if the annoying pastels and oversized icons can be fixed. Heck I'd use the older Play Store if I could find A way to stop it from auto updating. I've searched but found nothing. All the methods stop working after Gingerbread. Android 4.x lacks 'market updater' so I can't find how it updates itself.
I bet there is another one in existence that does work.
I am open to suggestions. I've been all over Google. It ain't that I hate their apps. I just hate the kiddy ui. There has to be a way to change it back, to older gmail, older play store, older books, older music. Would work perfectly with my dark theme.
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