• Re: Best 1:1 google app replacements with privacy & functionality

    From Arno Welzel@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Tue Aug 26 13:06:27 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Marion, 2025-08-22 22:07:

    What would you modify in this list of best 1:1 Google app replacements?

    YouTube app ==> NewPipe

    I prefer RVX.

    <https://rvxapp.com>

    Gmail app ==> FairEmail

    I prefer K9 Mail.

    <https://f-droid.org/de/packages/com.fsck.k9/> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsck.k9>

    Chrome browser ==> Ungoogled Chromium/Bromite

    Vivaldi - includes adblocker and can be synchronized with the desktop
    version.

    <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vivaldi.browser>

    Or Firefox which also supports a number of addons:

    <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.firefox>

    Google Play Store app ==> Aurora Google Play Store app

    <https://f-droid.org/de/packages/com.aurora.store/>

    Google calendar app ==> Etar (perhaps with DAVx5)
    Gboard keyboard & stt ==> OpenBoard

    HeliBoard - supports the swipe libraries (which have to be installed
    manually due to copyright).

    <https://f-droid.org/de/packages/helium314.keyboard/>

    Messages ==> PulsSMS (last known good version)
    Android App Drawer ==> Muntashirakon App Manager

    "App Drawer"? This part of my launcher, I don't need a separate app.

    Google Contacts ==> OpenContacts
    Pixel Launcher ==> Nova (last known good version)
    Google Maps ==> OSMAnd~ (not 1:1 replacement, particularly for traffic)

    But for nearly everything else and it supports offline maps with small
    delta updates if you get a subscription for the "+" version for a few
    bucks a month. Editing maps as contributor is also possible.

    OSMAnd+ also supports 3D maps, height profiles and regional weather
    forecasts - so it is even better than Google Maps.

    Google Voice ==> TextNow (but not really a 1:1 replacement)
    Google Play Services ==> Micro-G (signature issues on non-rooted phones)
    Google search ==> DDG search

    SearXNG in my own server ;-)

    Google Drive ==> nextcloud,sync.com (not sure, I don't use 'em)

    I host Nextcloud for around 90 users - along with FolderSync a very
    helpful solution.

    Anything else to replace Google on a phone that has no Google Account
    set up on the phone?

    Note: You can have a thousand Google Accounts; just don't set the phone up with any of them. That one action provides privacy like you can't imagine.

    Yes, if you use Aurora as Google Play replacement and if you don't need
    any banking app.
    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Arno Welzel@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Tue Aug 26 13:07:37 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Qihe, 2025-08-23 01:04:

    Marion <[email protected]> ha scritto:

    Google Play Services ==> Micro-G (signature issues on non-rooted phones)

    It seems dangerous. Removing google play services from the system
    could get you (me) into troubles before you (me) could replace it
    with micro-g or any similar. I'm still facing a boot loop on a
    non-rooted magic os 9. What's most crazy it's google play
    services wasn't enabled on the device and everything was running
    smoothly... until Canta removed it.

    The idea is not to remove it! Micro-G is for ROMs which don't have
    Google Play Services at all, like LineageOS.
    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Marion@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Wed Aug 27 05:28:29 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:06:27 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote :


    What would you modify in this list of best 1:1 Google app replacements?

    YouTube app ==> NewPipe

    I prefer RVX.

    <https://rvxapp.com>

    Teamwork. I love it. Thanks for adding value to the concept!

    Wow. I am surprised I have never heard of "RVX". Good catch!
    However it seems "related" to revanced, I guess?????
    "RVX is a short name for ReVanced Extended, led by inotia00.
    This project is a fork of ReVanced, which allows enthusiastic
    users to try more exciting features for free.
    Background playback, more advanced player controls,
    ad-blocking and customisations."

    It's pretty advanced, it seems, in that it allows:
    "SponsorBlock lets you skip unnecessary segments of the video.
    It includes intros, outros, promotions, and all other things
    that users think are unnecessary. It requires users to submit
    segments."

    "no interruption at all while watching the video or before
    the start of the video. It is all possible because of
    the ad-free mechanism."

    Lots more. It's confusing to me. But I guess we'd have to use it to know
    what it really does that's different from the others (like NewPipe).
    <https://secure.rvxapp.com/RVX_20.12.38.apk>
    Name: RVX_20.12.38.apk
    Size: 193459999 bytes (184 MiB)
    SHA256: BB935C4C84F5CCF2E8197B05B6961628200C2D9142EC48E4A66701F99E1BA37C

    Oh, oh... Oh... I see.... it's not what I thought. That's not bad.
    That's not good. It's just different.

    Apparently you first install YouTube (which I don't have installed).
    Most people would have YouTube installed already though.
    So that's not a problem for most people.

    Then you install Download GMSCore APK and RVX APK and log into Google.
    Then it gives you all that good stuff.

    This is nice to know... but it's not for me.
    But it's likely for almost everyone else so thanks for letting us know.

    Gmail app ==> FairEmail

    I prefer K9 Mail.

    <https://f-droid.org/de/packages/com.fsck.k9/> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsck.k9>

    Yup. There are quite a few. The point is that some Google apps, GMail and Google Voice being two of them, will *create* a Google Account on the phone
    the instant you log into your Google Account in those special Google apps.

    Most Google apps do NOT create an account; but some do.
    Gmail is one of them. So if you're like me, you can't use GMail app.

    Although you can log into the GMail app on iOS, which doesn't add the
    Google Account (showing that even iOS can be better than Android at times).


    Chrome browser ==> Ungoogled Chromium/Bromite

    Vivaldi - includes adblocker and can be synchronized with the desktop version.

    <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vivaldi.browser>

    Or Firefox which also supports a number of addons:

    <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.firefox>

    Good choice of Vivaldi. It's not open source like Bromite is but it has a built-in ad blocker like Bromite has. And it has configurable tracker
    blockers like Bromite's aggressive blocking. Apparently Vivaldi may have minimal telemetry, whereas Bromite has none. Likewise, Vivaldi has limited fingerprinting protection while Bromite's is just OK. Both Vivaldi &
    Bromite can set the search engine. Vivaldi is updated more than Bromite is.

    Overall they're both good choices, with Vivaldi not being open source but updated more than Bromite is.


    Google Play Store app ==> Aurora Google Play Store app

    <https://f-droid.org/de/packages/com.aurora.store/>

    Yup. Nothing beats the Aurora Store. It's better than the Google Play Store
    app in every way possible. People think it's a separate store. It's not.

    It's just a separate "skin" on top of the Google Play Store repository.
    Much like a browser is a skin on top of the YouTube video repository.

    The beauty of the Aurora Store is you don't need to set a Google Account on
    the phone; but the disadvantage is you can't buy stuff (which is OK by me).


    Google calendar app ==> Etar (perhaps with DAVx5)
    Gboard keyboard & stt ==> OpenBoard

    HeliBoard - supports the swipe libraries (which have to be installed
    manually due to copyright).

    <https://f-droid.org/de/packages/helium314.keyboard/>

    Yup. I agree. Heliboard is nice. I have all the offline packs I think.
    SO it does offline speech to text just fine as I recall.


    Messages ==> PulsSMS (last known good version)
    Android App Drawer ==> Muntashirakon App Manager

    "App Drawer"? This part of my launcher, I don't need a separate app.

    Yeah. You do. You just don't know that you do. There is likely no app on
    all of Android that is better than Muntashirakon is.

    It does pretty much everything...
    <https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager> (apk)
    <https://muntashirakon.github.io/AppManager/vi/> (doc)

    I've turned a few people on to Muntashirakon in this newsgroup.
    Try it. You'll be shocked at what it does for you.

    You'll never use any other app drawer app ever again.
    (and no, not even those in the launcher)


    Google Contacts ==> OpenContacts
    Pixel Launcher ==> Nova (last known good version)
    Google Maps ==> OSMAnd~ (not 1:1 replacement, particularly for traffic)

    But for nearly everything else and it supports offline maps with small
    delta updates if you get a subscription for the "+" version for a few
    bucks a month. Editing maps as contributor is also possible.

    OSMAnd+ also supports 3D maps, height profiles and regional weather
    forecasts - so it is even better than Google Maps.

    I'm all for OSM stuff. I agree. The offline capability is great.
    Unfortunately traffic is harder to get though with the OSM maps.
    I get traffic w/o Google Maps but most people don't know how to do that.

    I have entire threads on how to get traffic without using Google Maps.

    Google Voice ==> TextNow (but not really a 1:1 replacement)
    Google Play Services ==> Micro-G (signature issues on non-rooted phones)
    Google search ==> DDG search

    SearXNG in my own server ;-)

    Above my pay grade...


    Google Drive ==> nextcloud,sync.com (not sure, I don't use 'em)

    I host Nextcloud for around 90 users - along with FolderSync a very
    helpful solution.

    Also above my pay grade, especially for a Windows PC as my "server".

    Anything else to replace Google on a phone that has no Google Account
    set up on the phone?

    Note: You can have a thousand Google Accounts; just don't set the phone up >> with any of them. That one action provides privacy like you can't imagine.

    Yes, if you use Aurora as Google Play replacement and if you don't need
    any banking app.

    Yup. Both make sense. What I love about most of these apps is that they're
    far more functional than the Google app that they're replacing.

    This thread and the wonderful additions are a win:win for everyone.
    Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions so that we all can do better.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Arno Welzel@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Fri Aug 29 18:51:49 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Marion, 2025-08-27 07:28:

    On Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:06:27 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote :


    What would you modify in this list of best 1:1 Google app replacements? [...]>>> Android App Drawer ==> Muntashirakon App Manager

    "App Drawer"? This part of my launcher, I don't need a separate app.

    Yeah. You do. You just don't know that you do. There is likely no app on
    all of Android that is better than Muntashirakon is.

    You misunderstood me - I talk specifically about an APP DRAWER and not
    an APP MANAGER.

    [...]>> SearXNG in my own server ;-)

    Above my pay grade...

    Less than 5 USD per month: <https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/>

    And I think there may be even cheaper options for a simple container to
    run just the SearXNG docker image.
    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Marion@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Sun Aug 31 10:35:19 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:51:49 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote :


    On Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:06:27 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote :

    What would you modify in this list of best 1:1 Google app replacements?
    [...]>>> Android App Drawer ==> Muntashirakon App Manager

    "App Drawer"? This part of my launcher, I don't need a separate app.

    Yeah. You do. You just don't know that you do. There is likely no app on
    all of Android that is better than Muntashirakon is.

    You misunderstood me - I talk specifically about an APP DRAWER and not
    an APP MANAGER.

    Hi Arno,
    My bad. I understood actually, but I didn't make it clear that I have never found an "App Drawer" app (whether native or added) that was worth using,
    but that's from my perspective where I have a thousand apps on my system.

    Most "App Drawer" apps, for example, organize by 'Application Label',
    versus by 'Package Name', which, when you have a thousand apps, just wastes time and effort. Also, many make it hard to find the Package Name, and
    worse, many times either or both are truncated in the App Drawer display.

    From that (and many other reasons), from my technical perspective, I've
    found that app drawer apps (whether built-in or third-party) just don't typically offer much in terms of advanced functionality.

    As you know though, I agree that App Drawer apps are great for those who
    only need basic organization and accessibility, which is perfect for casual users. But for those who dive deeper into Android customization or
    productivity workflows, these apps tend to fall short of what I'd consider
    a power-user suite of tools.

    [...]>> SearXNG in my own server ;-)

    Above my pay grade...

    Less than 5 USD per month: <https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/>

    And I think there may be even cheaper options for a simple container to
    run just the SearXNG docker image.

    My mistake for not being clear on that "pay grade" means in this context.

    When I said it's "above my pay grade", what that means is I'm not trained
    for that level of technical detail. It wasn't about money but about
    knowledge. You're well above me in knowledge when you talk about SearXNG.

    The golden rule of privacy is never log into any one's server (except your
    own) that you don't have to, and never pay a single cent for anything, as
    the loss of privacy at 1 cent is the same loss of privacy at 100 dollars.

    As I said, it's above my knowledge level, but looking up what it does, apparently these platforms are good for low-traffic, personal search
    engines like SearXNG.

    Platform | Price | Highlights ---------------|-----------|-------------------------------------------
    Hetzner Cloud | ~$4/month | 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD, 20TB traffic
    Kamatera | ~$4/month | Customizable VM, root access, global DCs
    Fly.io | Free tier | Edge deploys, Docker support, CLI-first
    Railway | Free tier | Git integration, rollback, Dockerfile support Koyeb | Free tier | Global load balancing, Git-based deploys DigitalOcean | ~$5/month | One-click Docker, great docs, scalable

    I once wrote a news story in the 90's about how to find anything on your computer, where it started off with something like "if you're running a
    search, you're already doomed", since I have a model of a place for
    everything and everything in its place.

    I'd have to shoot myself in the head if I ever had to search for something
    on my computer that I put there. But I do realize most people search.

    Needing to search for something that you put on a computer is, to me, a
    blatant admission of failure - but I do realize many people do it daily.

    But back to your point, I agree with you that an app manager isn't the same thing as a app drawer, even if I use my app manager also as my app drawer.

    Thanks for keeping the conversation on the level that helps everyone understand.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Arno Welzel@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Mon Sep 1 10:48:57 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Marion, 2025-08-31 12:35:

    On Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:51:49 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote :


    On Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:06:27 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote :

    What would you modify in this list of best 1:1 Google app replacements? >> [...]>>> Android App Drawer ==> Muntashirakon App Manager

    "App Drawer"? This part of my launcher, I don't need a separate app.

    Yeah. You do. You just don't know that you do. There is likely no app on >>> all of Android that is better than Muntashirakon is.

    You misunderstood me - I talk specifically about an APP DRAWER and not
    an APP MANAGER.

    Hi Arno,
    My bad. I understood actually, but I didn't make it clear that I have never found an "App Drawer" app (whether native or added) that was worth using,
    but that's from my perspective where I have a thousand apps on my system.

    Having an "app drawer" is a basic feature of nearly every launcher app,
    even the ones provided by the Google or Samsung itself. This is the
    overview of all installed apps and usually has to be opened using swipe
    up from the bottom of the screen or by tapping a "all apps" icon in the
    dock.
    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Qihe@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Mon Sep 1 16:05:34 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Arno Welzel <[email protected]> ha scritto:

    Gmail app ==> FairEmail

    I prefer K9 Mail.

    I like it too but ... why doesn't it show the mailserver
    settings for an easy copy-paste ?
    Anyway it's far more easy to configure than FairMail (that is far
    more "featured" ).



    Chrome browser ==> Ungoogled Chromium/Bromite

    Vivaldi - includes adblocker and can be synchronized with the desktop version.
    [...]

    Or Firefox which also supports a number of addons:


    Firefox gets my smartphone sooo fat and heavier!!!
    I replaced it with fennec ...and few others like brave (I like the
    way it gets in the websites without asking about cookies first),
    ddk (it's sooo fast!), soul (for several reasons...).

    I'm going to test bromite but... Why you need to add the official
    Bromite F-Droid repository as a third-party repository? Why it's
    not on f-droid?




    [...] You can have a thousand Google Accounts; just don't set the phone up >> with any of them. That one action provides privacy like you can't imagine.

    Yes, if you use Aurora as Google Play replacement and if you don't need
    any banking app.

    Can't you find any banking app on Aurora?
    --
    Qihe
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Qihe@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Mon Sep 1 16:14:43 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Marion <[email protected]> ha scritto:

    Anything else to replace Google on a phone that has no Google Account
    set up on the phone?

    Maybe we need an *offline* pdf reader: mj_pdf ? https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/com.gitlab.mudlej.MjPdfReader

    An *offline* password manager...
    something like this:
    https://github.com/yogeshpaliyal/KeyPass
    --
    Qihe
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Andy Burns@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Mon Sep 1 15:27:35 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Qihe wrote:

    Arno Welzel <[email protected]> ha scritto:

    I prefer K9 Mail.

    I like it too but ... why doesn't it show the mailserver
    settings for an easy copy-paste ?
    I use it too (or at least, I use Thunderbird for Android, which is just
    a different disguise for K9).

    There is an export/import settings option, which includes everything
    apart from the credentials as far as I remember ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Qihe@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Mon Sep 1 16:44:55 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Andy Burns <[email protected]> ha scritto:

    I use it too (or at least, I use Thunderbird for Android, which is just
    a different disguise for K9).

    There is an export/import settings option, which includes everything
    apart from the credentials as far as I remember ...

    Of course and it's one of the reasons I like it (k9 - tb) so much.
    It makes your backup easier... but it's a sort of "blind" backup:
    you can't read or modify the settings...hence you need to create
    a brand new account.
    --
    Qihe
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Marion@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Mon Sep 1 16:24:32 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On Mon, 1 Sep 2025 10:48:57 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote :


    My bad. I understood actually, but I didn't make it clear that I have never >> found an "App Drawer" app (whether native or added) that was worth using,
    but that's from my perspective where I have a thousand apps on my system.

    Having an "app drawer" is a basic feature of nearly every launcher app,
    even the ones provided by the Google or Samsung itself. This is the
    overview of all installed apps and usually has to be opened using swipe
    up from the bottom of the screen or by tapping a "all apps" icon in the
    dock.

    Hi Arno,
    Yes. We're both well aware every Android likely has an app drawer app.

    I use the last known good version of nova as my app launcher, for example,
    and I can access my app drawer just by tapping the middle button on the
    bottom of every Android screen (the circle between the lines & arrow).

    It pops up three tabs (frequent, recent & new/updated) for example.
    I also have at least a half dozen or more "app drawer" apps installed.

    Long ago I tested every free app drawer app ever suggested on this ng.

    That's when I found out about Muntashirakon, which, as you are aware, is an
    app manager and not an app drawer, as we discussed earlier in this thread.

    Suffice to say you and I aren't the normal person on this newsgroup as I,
    in particular, have tested every app drawer app and every app manager and
    every app updater ever suggested on this newsgroup that is free &
    loginfree.

    How many other people do you know who have tested that many of these apps?
    None most likely.

    Which is why I suggest three important learned pieces of advice:
    a. Muntashirakon is a keeper
    b. Updates aren't what people think they are
    c. Most app drawer apps suck
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin =?UTF-8?Q?Sch=C3=B6=C3=B6n?=@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Tue Sep 2 08:09:02 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Den 2025-08-22 skrev Marion <[email protected]>:

    Chrome browser ==> Ungoogled Chromium/Bromite

    I had problems tracking down Bromite. I had to add a Bromite repo to
    f-droid. I don't know if this is because I have an 'old' phone or if
    this is a general hurdle.

    After doing this Bromite installed without issues and seems to work
    just fine.

    /Martin
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Qihe@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Tue Sep 2 12:13:56 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Martin Schöön <[email protected]> ha scritto:

    Den 2025-08-22 skrev Marion <[email protected]>:

    Chrome browser ==> Ungoogled Chromium/Bromite

    I had problems tracking down Bromite. I had to add a Bromite repo to
    f-droid. I don't know if this is because I have an 'old' phone or if
    this is a general hurdle.


    Their website tells: "you need to add the official Bromite F-Droid
    repository as a third-party repository".
    Don't know why you need to add an external repository.
    --
    Qihe
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Marion@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Tue Sep 2 15:46:46 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On 2 Sep 2025 08:09:02 GMT, Martin Sch��n wrote :


    Chrome browser ==> Ungoogled Chromium/Bromite

    I had problems tracking down Bromite. I had to add a Bromite repo to
    f-droid. I don't know if this is because I have an 'old' phone or if
    this is a general hurdle.

    After doing this Bromite installed without issues and seems to work
    just fine.

    Thanks for checking it out and for leaping the hurdles, where I remember
    when I first suggested privacy-aware chrome replacements years ago that
    Andy found that not all are updated frequently also.
    <https://github.com/bromite/bromite>

    As far as I'm aware, I think Bromite isn't available in the default F-Droid repository due to the complexity of building Chromium-based browsers, so it requires each of us manually adding its dedicated repo. Hence, Bromite has
    its own official F-Droid repository that you need to add manually.
    <https://www.bromite.org/fdroid>

    The reason for caring, I would think, is that the Google "Chrome" browser
    is likely the worst we could possibly have running on our Android system.

    Luckily Chrome can be removed from the user partition even when unrooted.

    BTW, I'd suggest F-Droid Basic over F-Droid app, but that's up to you.
    <https://f-droid.org/packages/org.fdroid.basic/>
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin =?UTF-8?Q?Sch=C3=B6=C3=B6n?=@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Fri Sep 5 07:02:18 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Den 2025-08-22 skrev Jim Jackson <[email protected]>:

    Fossify Apps => Phone, messages, contacts, calendar, filemanager,
    gallery, voice recorder, notes.

    I have started to test Fossify Apss on an old phone. Mixed results:

    File manager works fine.

    Music player don't play bog standard mp3 of moderate bit rate. It
    does not find them when I tell it to look and if I manually makes
    it play I get 'unknown error' type of message.

    The phone is a Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini introduced in 2014...

    /Martin
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin =?UTF-8?Q?Sch=C3=B6=C3=B6n?=@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Fri Sep 5 15:52:20 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Den 2025-09-05 skrev Martin Schöön <[email protected]>:
    Den 2025-08-22 skrev Jim Jackson <[email protected]>:

    Fossify Apps => Phone, messages, contacts, calendar, filemanager,
    gallery, voice recorder, notes.

    I have started to test Fossify Apss on an old phone. Mixed results:

    File manager works fine.

    Music player don't play bog standard mp3 of moderate bit rate. It
    does not find them when I tell it to look and if I manually makes
    it play I get 'unknown error' type of message.

    Follow up.

    The Fossify Music Player plays mp3 files if they are placed in the Music folder. I had created a new Audio Book folder.

    Now I want to make it play the chapters in order -- not alphabetical
    order...

    /Martin
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Frank Slootweg@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Fri Sep 5 18:28:10 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Martin Sch��n <[email protected]> wrote:
    Den 2025-09-05 skrev Martin Sch��n <[email protected]>:
    Den 2025-08-22 skrev Jim Jackson <[email protected]>:

    Fossify Apps => Phone, messages, contacts, calendar, filemanager,
    gallery, voice recorder, notes.

    I have started to test Fossify Apss on an old phone. Mixed results:

    File manager works fine.

    Music player don't play bog standard mp3 of moderate bit rate. It
    does not find them when I tell it to look and if I manually makes
    it play I get 'unknown error' type of message.

    Follow up.

    The Fossify Music Player plays mp3 files if they are placed in the Music folder. I had created a new Audio Book folder.

    Now I want to make it play the chapters in order -- not alphabetical
    order...

    That's normally done by giving the MP3 files names starting with the
    track number, i.e.

    01 Sharazan.mp3
    02 Canzone Blu.mp3
    03 Arrivederci a Bahia.mp3
    etc..

    Any sensible music player will play those songs in track order.

    N.B. Most CD-ripping programs will do this automatically, but for
    MP3 files from other sources, you may have to do the naming 'manually'.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Carlos E.R.@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Fri Sep 5 20:50:28 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On 2025-09-05 20:28, Frank Slootweg wrote:
    Martin Schöön <[email protected]> wrote:
    Den 2025-09-05 skrev Martin Schöön <[email protected]>:
    Den 2025-08-22 skrev Jim Jackson <[email protected]>:

    Fossify Apps => Phone, messages, contacts, calendar, filemanager,
    gallery, voice recorder, notes.

    I have started to test Fossify Apss on an old phone. Mixed results:

    File manager works fine.

    Music player don't play bog standard mp3 of moderate bit rate. It
    does not find them when I tell it to look and if I manually makes
    it play I get 'unknown error' type of message.

    Follow up.

    The Fossify Music Player plays mp3 files if they are placed in the Music
    folder. I had created a new Audio Book folder.

    Now I want to make it play the chapters in order -- not alphabetical
    order...

    That's normally done by giving the MP3 files names starting with the
    track number, i.e.

    01 Sharazan.mp3
    02 Canzone Blu.mp3
    03 Arrivederci a Bahia.mp3
    etc..

    Any sensible music player will play those songs in track order.

    N.B. Most CD-ripping programs will do this automatically, but for
    MP3 files from other sources, you may have to do the naming 'manually'.

    It can be done by using a file.m3u that contains in play order all the songs.

    #EXTM3U
    #EXTINF:54,01/ - Pietro Locatelli - SkyFM: Mostly Classical - Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 1, No. 9 , mvmt. II. Largo (Capella Istropolitana, Jaroslav Krecek)
    Classical\0000 -- Pietro Locatelli - Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 1, No. 9 , mvmt. II. Largo (Capella Istropolitana, Jaroslav Krecek).mp3
    #EXTINF:211,01/ - Gypsy Kings - SkyFM: Classical & Flamenco Guitar - Tierra Gitana
    Guitar\0000 -- Gypsy Kings - Tierra Gitana.mp3
    #EXTINF:222,01/ - Era - SkyFM: Vocal New Age - Enae Volare Mezzo
    NewAge\0000 -- Era - Enae Volare Mezzo.mp3
    #EXTINF:5,01/ - SkyFM: Solo Piano - SKY.FM Radio TSTAG 60 ADWTAG 63000 START=0 Piano\0000 -- - SKY.FM Radio TSTAG_60 ADWTAG_63000_START=0.mp3
    #EXTINF:5,01/ - SkyFM: Romantica - SKY.FM Radio TSTAG 60 ADWTAG 63000 START=0 Romantica\0000 -- - SKY.FM Radio TSTAG_60 ADWTAG_63000_START=0.mp3
    ...
    --
    Cheers, Carlos.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Arno Welzel@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Sat Sep 6 15:15:38 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Marion, 2025-09-01 18:24:

    On Mon, 1 Sep 2025 10:48:57 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote :


    My bad. I understood actually, but I didn't make it clear that I have never >>> found an "App Drawer" app (whether native or added) that was worth using, >>> but that's from my perspective where I have a thousand apps on my system. >>
    Having an "app drawer" is a basic feature of nearly every launcher app,
    even the ones provided by the Google or Samsung itself. This is the
    overview of all installed apps and usually has to be opened using swipe
    up from the bottom of the screen or by tapping a "all apps" icon in the
    dock.

    Hi Arno,
    Yes. We're both well aware every Android likely has an app drawer app.

    I'm was sure about this, since you recommended a separate *app*
    *manager* app as a replacement for "the app drawer".

    [...]> Which is why I suggest three important learned pieces of advice:
    a. Muntashirakon is a keeper
    b. Updates aren't what people think they are

    They are. But people don't realize, that an update can also *remove*
    features and not only bring new stuff.
    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Marion@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Sat Sep 6 18:07:51 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On Sat, 6 Sep 2025 15:15:38 +0200, Arno Welzel wrote :


    b. Updates aren't what people think they are

    They are. But people don't realize, that an update can also *remove*
    features and not only bring new stuff.

    Hi Arno,

    You bring up a good point that updates can remove stuff.
    And they can add advertisements.
    And they can even have ownership changes in them, such as these:
    <https://tinyurl.com/nova-launcher> last known good version
    <https://tinyurl.com/pulsesms> last known good version

    App updates are a crap shoot.

    Everyone assumes what they do, and they intuit what the result is.
    But when you *test* the app updaters, they don't do what you think.

    Having tested them myself, I will strongly state that anyone, yes, even
    you, who "thinks", they know how they work, almost certainly does not.

    For example, the Google Play Store update GUI updates almost nothing.
    Don't believe me?

    Try it.

    a. Run a survey of every app and every version on your phone
    b. Compare that to what's available on the Google Play Store repo
    c. Then run the updater

    Some of them work the way people intuit that they "should" work.
    But not the Google Play Store updater.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2