
KitKat’s primary interface is Google Search - kunai
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/11/google-just-pulled-a-facebook-home-kitkats-primary-interface-is-google-search/
======
droopyEyelids
> The dialer and incoming call screen now automatically perform Google
> searches for phone number information (and will display Google Ads)

Of course Android is still more 'open', but as a person who dislikes
advertisements, I feel like Apple products might be the less user-hostile
choice now.

~~~
MAGZine
But isn't the phone number information part intriguing? You dial a phone
number (or just had been called from one), and it potentially provides you
with company name, address, operating hours. Directions are just a touch away.
After you complete a call, it could ask you if you'd like to insert a calendar
item at the listed address.

This is welcome functionality for me. Google's ads all said and done seem to
be fairly unobtrusive, so I trust that if there are advertisements (beyond
this), it won't be hostile.

~~~
Brakenshire
That means that Google will have information on its server covering all phone
calls I make, and at what time. That is way beyond what is acceptable, for me.

~~~
ZoFreX
Really? I make like... 3 calls a week from my phone, generally of low
importance. I deal in hundreds of emails which range from the trivial to bank
account details. Why would I trust Google with the latter and not the former?

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pedrocr
Being an Android user doesn't imply being a Gmail user.

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e40
For like 99% of Android users it does.

~~~
gbog
Here in China people barely use emails and never use gmail, and most run
android.

Or maybe your note needs to add "in my little personal tiny slice of the
world" context?

~~~
Apocryphon
Wait, what? What do people in China use instead of emails? Do they just use
SMS all of the time?

~~~
hayksaakian
educate yourself

[http://news.yahoo.com/android-huge-china-google-
control-0359...](http://news.yahoo.com/android-huge-china-google-
control-035903534.html)

~~~
alextingle
In what way does that link answer the question?

Just to reiterate: What do people in China use instead of e-mail?

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gbog
They use message services such as QQ and WeChat.

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joesb
Are you saying they use messaging service instead of Email? Citation please?

Most people use _both_ messaging service and email, each for different
purpose. For example, it's easier to create new topic with email. It's easier
to attach a file. It can be automate for mailing list and have easier address
for support email.

How does QQ or WeChat replace that in China?

~~~
gbog
Sorry, not convenient to search the topic on my phone, but it is kind of
common knowledge in China. Our young and old nannies all use qq, and they
probably have an email attached to their account but do not know it. many
colleagues and friends even with higher education rarely check their mail,
maybe reuse a week.

So you'd ask, how to share contacts? All goes through the phone number, every
one has one and know it.

Qq is much more than our text messaging, it can share files, and is easier
than mail for that.

When I hear all the fuss about fixing email I can't help but think that it is
already fixed in China.

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da_n
For about 2 months I have lived with almost no Google apps on my Android
device, it has been crappy but I no longer trust them sadly. Looks like with
4.2 on this is going to be near impossible. I really want a decent open
source, FOSS phone OS to come along. And before tin foil hat accusations are
thrown at me, anyone who believes the relentless drive from Google to shove
search, Google + and targetted advertising down people's throats is not
getting out of hand needs a reality check, Google actually looks pretty
desperate to me. Really hoping a decent Firefox OS phone or something else can
come along, as it stands, I'll stick with CyanogenMod 10.1 and use F-Droid /
sideloading.

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zokier
The article is very light on details what sort of user-visible impact this
change will have. I don't really care if homescreen is defined in
GoogleHome.apk or GoogleSearch.apk, I care about how the homescreen is
functionally merged with search.

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ISL
Is Cyanogen or any other Android distribution ready for prime time?

I happily run Debian everywhere but my phone, but it seems like hardware is
still changing too fast for FOSS to keep up and maintain stability. If there's
a sustainable and usable open solution, please comment.

I can't make the time/expertise to contribute directly to a project, but I'm
happy to bug-test at the level of Debian 'testing' and do contribute
monetarily to software/distros that work.

One thing that must work, always: 911.

~~~
Brakenshire
> If there's a sustainable and usable open solution, please comment.

I'm looking at the Jolla/Sailfish phone. Seems to be a lot of ex-Nokia
engineers trying to reboot the N9/Maemo. They're also shipping with fork of
Dalvik (though I don't know how well that will work now that many APIs are
moving into Play Services). I couldn't say much about the details, but at the
least I'm happier buying a phone from a company that makes its money from
selling phone hardware and software, rather than from data aggregation and
advertising.

~~~
brian_cloutier
> now that many APIs are moving into Play Services

Which APIs are you thinking of? As far as I know, only a couple location
services are in play service for no good reason.

~~~
Brakenshire
There are examples on the recent ArsTechnica article:

[http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/googles-iron-grip-
on-...](http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/googles-iron-grip-on-android-
controlling-open-source-by-any-means-necessary/4/)

As you say, advanced location services, and then Cloud Messaging (an upgraded
Push Notifications API), and some APIs which do accelerometer/sensor analysis.
Maps API, Play Store In-App purchasing and Play Games (user accounts, cloud
saves etc for game developers) are already there.

You're right to pull me up on the post, though. It's not really correct to
talk about moving the APIs into Play Services, so much as developing what's
there, and creating new interfaces with new, advanced features. But still,
that doesn't alter the basic point, which is that a lot of Android Apps won't
work on systems which do not have Play Services installed.

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crunchykeith
This seems to fall in line with Google's Android strategy of moving
functionality out of the core OS and into Apps. This makes updates easier and
faster because users only have to download the new version of the app and not
update the OS.

~~~
josteink
out of aosp and into proprietary Google apps.

that's always a bad move. and they've been doing it a lot lately.

~~~
freehunter
It depends on how you view it. From a FOSS standpoint, yeah it might be a bad
thing. From a user experience standpoint, being able to get new features for
your existing phone without having to install a custom ROM is a pretty big
bonus.

~~~
josteink
_From a user experience standpoint, being able to get new features for your
existing phone without having to install a custom ROM is a pretty big bonus._

Which ironically is something you now don't get if you bought a Galaxy Nexus
18 months ago.

~~~
freehunter
You can get everything that has been decoupled from the OS from the Play
Store. That was my entire point, until you tried to derail it. The point is
that upgrading the OS won't matter, because you can just update the app.

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jknightco
I believe this is primarily to fix the latency that existed when you tapped
the little search bar up top. Before, the Search APK had to be launched—now
its already running.

~~~
Mindless2112
Does anybody actually use that search bar though? Maybe I'm alone, but I have
a sort of "banner blindness" to the search bar -- I always swipe up from the
home button to do a Google search no matter whether I want to see my Google
Now cards or not.

~~~
graue
I never use either. I open Firefox and tap my search terms into the awesome
bar.

~~~
synthos
Wouldn't it be great if you could have Firefox as the home screen for your
phone... Oh wait!

[https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/os/](https://www.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/os/)

~~~
fpgeek
Honestly, the number of times I switch apps when I meant to switch tabs in
Firefox, I'd be pretty interested in a Firefox-based launcher/recent apps
picker. Especially since Firefox has gotten better with the "open in an app"
option in recent versions of Firefox/Android, I think it might be a powerful
new launcher paradigm.

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chimeracoder
Does this mean that third-party launchers won't work, even on custom ROMs?

If they do, will they simply sit "on top of" Google's launcher now?

If so, I don't like the idea of Google having that much level of access to
data about my homescreen. Even if they're not accessing this data now, it
seems that they're setting the stages for that a few versions from now.

~~~
magicalist
> _Does this mean that third-party launchers won 't work, even on custom
> ROMs?_

No, this is just an app launcher. You can still install a different one.

> _I don 't like the idea of Google having that much level of access to data
> about my homescreen. Even if they're not accessing this data now, it seems
> that they're setting the stages for that a few versions from now._

If you're running the default app launcher today, I don't know who you thought
wrote "GoogleHome.apk", even if you didn't know the name. If you're not, then
just keep running the one you are.

~~~
hrjet
That's good to know. Does anyone know good open-source launchers for Android?

~~~
kefs
[https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Laun...](https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Launcher3/)

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donniezazen
It is to be noted that Google is often blamed for utilizing and presenting the
user information that it holds. The only difference between Google and other
companies like Facebook and Apple is that they also hold user information but
choose not to use it in a creative way. In the end all companies are gathering
information about users. I am okay with Google's decision as long as users
benefit out it.

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barrkel
I haven't used the stock launcher ever since the search bar became
unremovable. I paid for Go Launcher to get rid of its ads, along with a couple
of other bits and pieces to head off privacy leaks.

As long as the Android stays as loosely coupled as it is, with replaceable
components, I'm not too worried.

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fdb
So are widgets still supported?

~~~
jordanthoms
Yes.

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buro9
Is it possible to use KitKat and to disable Google Now and avoid the search
bar?

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newsmaster
So where's the chocolate?

