Horizon Innovations

Ideas are easy, implementation is hard

android

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Escaping From Google

In the wake of Facebook data fiasco and Googles collection for their own end, I thought it would be an interesting project to see if it's possible to go Google free on Android, and Google free completely for my business. A lot of people use Google for a lot of things ranging from email to maps, drive (storage) to music and of course search.

In the wake of the passing of the AA bill through the Australian parliament, i have updated, amended and added to, to take this into account.

What are the replacements for the most common apps used and how does it effect the work flow?

One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is th idea that nearly all of Googles apps are integrated, they are connected to each other, and on Android, many apps use the Play Store (Google) notification system. Some apps have reduced functionality without the Google connection.

The Apps

Google Android PC/Mac/Linux
Search Duckduckgo/Smartpage  
Maps OSMAnd~ Openmaps
Gmail Protonmail/Tutanota  
Calendar Etar Lightning/Nextcloud
Drive Nextcloud/Mega.nz  
Chrome Waterfox/Via/Orfox (requires Tor) Brave  
Music Blackplayer/VLC VLC
Keep Markor Atom
Launcher Nova/ Lawnchair  
Message (SMS) Signal  
Photo Nextcloud/ Smugmug  
Doc’s Nextcloud/polaris office/Andropen office LibreOffice/ Openoffice
Password Keepass2android KeepassXC

 

And for Android itself: LineageOS is probably the most well known and has the most available supported devices. Mokee (needs some modding) or Resurrection Remix OS (more found on xda-developers.com) are also good and generally kept up to date. There are more specialised android remakes that are far more secure.
Replacing the Android system is the only way to take Google off your device. It is a lot easier to do now than before and some manufactures are friendlier than others with this.

As I've put a non standard (manufactures) Android on all my phones, for this review I use my Sony Xperia Z. It's not a new phone but still works well and the community support is outstanding.

The biggest part of Google is their free online apps that can sync across devices. It was revealed a while ago that they use AI bots to search through your email, docs etc for keywords so they can present you with more relevant advertising. I'm not keen on this. What to do about it? Well, most businesses these days have a website, which means they have a server. On my server I've installed an app called Nextcloud. Nextcloud can, with the aid of plugin and third party software do almost everything Google does, except look at your stuff, there is also an encryption plugin. Your calendars, photos, file storage, music and video streaming, encrypt it all, sync to all your devices and it's open source software (and it's free!).

Keepass is a password encryption storage system. Cross platform. Here will give you what is available https://keepass.info/download.html

Update:

As the new AA Bill is so invasive with it's powers (I'm not going to get political here) what can be done to protect yourself from spying eyes and keep your privacy?

I researched most of this a while back. Besides the above, if you have a server for your website, move it to a safe country like Switzerland. Then for your finance and communication, I'd suggest using an operating system from a USB stick. There are a number around, one that is most recommended is Tails (https://tails.boum.org/) as it comes with almost everything you need to stay safe. On their website they even have an installer to take the hassle away. I've used Tails and can recommend them. Along with ProtonVPN, you'd be good to go. This is a bit of a hurriedly finished post, so I'll be updating it over the next few weeks just to make sure I've covered everything.

Any questions or suggestions that I've missed are most welcome.

Stay safe 🙂

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Freeing The Asus Transformer Prime

asus_prime-1-cropI have had the Asus Transformer Prime for a while now and considering its hardware specifications I am a little disappointed with its performance. Taking into account it had a quad core + one processor its multi-tasking abilities leave a little to be desired, in fact, my HTC DesireHD gives it a good run for its money and it has a single core processor (and far less memory). So, what is the problem and how to fix it? After some investigation it would appear that the stock kernel (the heart of the operating system) is at fault. And to fix? Free the TF201 by unlocking the bootloader and installing a "ROM" (modified operating system) that can take advantage of the hardware. This is how I did it.

Usual disclaimer etc

Running Jellybean

First to unlock the bootloader. This can only be done by Asus and fortunately they have provided a way. Asus say their unlocker will only work for the ICS bootloader, many (including me) have reported that it works with the Jelly Bean bootloader. Use this link Asus Boot Unlocker
Then install a custom recovery, I use TWRP - Clockwork recovery isn't compatable.
Then to free the root - this is done with the installation of TWRP
And finally to install a new ROM!

I have tried out a few different ROMs to see what the're like and how they perform.
First was Androwook, this is based on the Asus original but with a different kernel and the option to remove (install without) the Asus apps (bloat to some people). It is a speedy and stable ROM with no real complaints. And it is based on the original the Asus android version is 4.1.1
Next was Teakbean. This is a combination of Teambake and personal scripts by the developer of the ROM. This worked really well. Only complaint is its not being developed anymore. On a personal note, if I had the time I would jump at picking this up and developing it further but alas time and knowledge is in short supply. Based on 4.1.1
Blackbean: A good ROM based on Teambake again. In steady development. It is stable and quick (so far - it is all relative) and has a few quirks which hopefully will be ironed out.

After trying out several more I have decided to stay with the Energize ROM by NRGZ (developers "tag"). This is also based on the original ROM by Asus and has the option of installing with or without the Asus apps. Earlier this year NRGZ ported over the TF300 ROM to the TF201 which bring a smoother experience with the 4.2 added extras from Google. The Energize ROM also has a dark(ish) and blue theme with many HTC icons, leaving a pleasant overall look.

Update: I have now migrated to BB8 (BakedBean8) by Team Baked, with a custom kernel and over clocking. Now runs smooth with minimal lag.