I really don't know why someone trying to market a new product for "Mom and Dad, children and friends" would choose an unpronounceable name for that product, with weird punctuation, that's...
I really don't know why someone trying to market a new product for "Mom and Dad, children and friends" would choose an unpronounceable name for that product, with weird punctuation, that's unlikely to come up in the results of any search engine.
I can't see widespread adoption outside of the super tech crowd anyway. My mom is not flashing a ROM. She's going to use the default that she can take back to the store for any problems. Linux is...
I can't see widespread adoption outside of the super tech crowd anyway. My mom is not flashing a ROM. She's going to use the default that she can take back to the store for any problems.
Linux is fantastic, but never going to be installed by the vast majority of users. I see /e/ as more niche than Linux.
I just realized while typing "/e/" that it's even a pain in the ass to type it on a phone. Which is the device designed to use it. They need to rebrand ASAP.
Agreed. Honestly, we should jump back to the 90s and consider how well devices named "eMachines" did with the general public. Maybe they could call it the "ePhone"?
Agreed. Honestly, we should jump back to the 90s and consider how well devices named "eMachines" did with the general public.
Say I adopt /e/ for my phone. Then I'm having a water cooler discussion with coworkers and frustration with Android and iPhone comes up. Am I supposed to say "you should try E" in that scenario?...
Say I adopt /e/ for my phone. Then I'm having a water cooler discussion with coworkers and frustration with Android and iPhone comes up.
Am I supposed to say "you should try E" in that scenario? (with E being common slang for ecstasy / MDMA) Or "you should check out slash E slash"?
The naming reeks of people who only ever talk tech on the internet, and never considered how people will talk about it offline.
Hopefully I'm understanding this. Is this a custom ROM in development that plans on creating their own search engine, email, and app store? Interesting idea but it seems odd that they're...
Hopefully I'm understanding this. Is this a custom ROM in development that plans on creating their own search engine, email, and app store?
Interesting idea but it seems odd that they're developing their own search engine (when there's already privacy focused engines), email (when there's already privacy focused emails), and app store (F-Droid).
Well for one they are doing what no one had done before - they are building a usable alternative to Google Android that isn't simply an Android without Google Services - such a system is virtually...
Well for one they are doing what no one had done before - they are building a usable alternative to Google Android that isn't simply an Android without Google Services - such a system is virtually unusable for a lot of people, since a lot of Android applications rely on Google Services to work, so /e/ integrated Mozilla NLP and MicroG out of the box. They've also put some effort into design, and, most importantly they have a replacement for ALL Google services such as email, cloud, calendar, etc that is well integrated with the system. So far the only other company that went that extra mile with Android is Xiaomi.
The cloud services definitely seems to me like the big selling point of /e/ compared to most Android alternatives. Do you know what country this company is from? I tried to find their home page,...
The cloud services definitely seems to me like the big selling point of /e/ compared to most Android alternatives. Do you know what country this company is from? I tried to find their home page, but, well...
Judging by the crowdfunding page on their website (https://e.foundation/crowdfunding/) the company is comprised of individuals working remotely, and since their founder and communication manager...
Judging by the crowdfunding page on their website (https://e.foundation/crowdfunding/) the company is comprised of individuals working remotely, and since their founder and communication manager both live in Europe I think that legally they are stationed in Europe
First time I hear about this. Some thoughts. The project Do we need yet another CyanogenMod? One that runs its own could services you say? OK, now you have my attention. That might make this...
First time I hear about this. Some thoughts.
The project
Do we need yet another CyanogenMod? One that runs its own could services you say? OK, now you have my attention. That might make this appeal to a different segment of users than the existing Android forks.
The name
A disaster. Impossible to pronounce, and impossible to find with a search engine. If Google can't find your tech product, then it effectively does not exist. Hopefully they'll realise their mistake soon and change it.
The financing
Donations only? Well, that does seem to work for several computer operating systems, so why not smartphone operating systems.
The application repository
Makes sense to run their own app store I guess. I'm a bit confused if they're going to be Android app compatible forever, or if they'll eventually drop that support in favour of their own SDK. In my opinion the single biggest advantage of forking Android is the ability to run Android apps.
The target audience
Appears to be users who like Android, but don't trust it.
Conclusion
Choice is good. I suppose there might be a niche for a CyanogenMod with cloud services. To reach out to the non-tech-savvy masses, they'll need to score deals to be sold pre-installed on new phones, something Canonical and Jolla have proven to be possible but difficult.
Best of luck. I'll give it a thorough consideration in a few years when my Sailfish X eventually break down or becomes painfully outdated. If /e/ is still around at that point.
I think there's a branding problem here. /e/ reminds me of 4chan.
I really don't know why someone trying to market a new product for "Mom and Dad, children and friends" would choose an unpronounceable name for that product, with weird punctuation, that's unlikely to come up in the results of any search engine.
I assume the team is mostly comprised of techies, with no marketing, designers
I can't see widespread adoption outside of the super tech crowd anyway. My mom is not flashing a ROM. She's going to use the default that she can take back to the store for any problems.
Linux is fantastic, but never going to be installed by the vast majority of users. I see /e/ as more niche than Linux.
I just realized while typing "/e/" that it's even a pain in the ass to type it on a phone. Which is the device designed to use it. They need to rebrand ASAP.
Agreed. Honestly, we should jump back to the 90s and consider how well devices named "eMachines" did with the general public.
Maybe they could call it the "ePhone"?
should've named it /g/
And /e/ specifically is the ecchi board. Probably not what they want to be associated with 😅.
At least it's not /b/, /h/, or /pol/.
Say I adopt /e/ for my phone. Then I'm having a water cooler discussion with coworkers and frustration with Android and iPhone comes up.
Am I supposed to say "you should try E" in that scenario? (with E being common slang for ecstasy / MDMA) Or "you should check out slash E slash"?
The naming reeks of people who only ever talk tech on the internet, and never considered how people will talk about it offline.
Hopefully I'm understanding this. Is this a custom ROM in development that plans on creating their own search engine, email, and app store?
Interesting idea but it seems odd that they're developing their own search engine (when there's already privacy focused engines), email (when there's already privacy focused emails), and app store (F-Droid).
Who is this ROM for?
Reminds me of https://xkcd.com/927/
Solutions already existed, but someone else wants a crack at making their own.
Well for one they are doing what no one had done before - they are building a usable alternative to Google Android that isn't simply an Android without Google Services - such a system is virtually unusable for a lot of people, since a lot of Android applications rely on Google Services to work, so /e/ integrated Mozilla NLP and MicroG out of the box. They've also put some effort into design, and, most importantly they have a replacement for ALL Google services such as email, cloud, calendar, etc that is well integrated with the system. So far the only other company that went that extra mile with Android is Xiaomi.
The cloud services definitely seems to me like the big selling point of /e/ compared to most Android alternatives. Do you know what country this company is from? I tried to find their home page, but, well...
Judging by the crowdfunding page on their website (https://e.foundation/crowdfunding/) the company is comprised of individuals working remotely, and since their founder and communication manager both live in Europe I think that legally they are stationed in Europe
<cynicism>Suckers who don't know any better?</cynicism>
Related post from a few days ago:
https://tildes.net/~tech/66l/e_first_beta_soon_to_be_released
First time I hear about this. Some thoughts.
The project
Do we need yet another CyanogenMod? One that runs its own could services you say? OK, now you have my attention. That might make this appeal to a different segment of users than the existing Android forks.
The name
A disaster. Impossible to pronounce, and impossible to find with a search engine. If Google can't find your tech product, then it effectively does not exist. Hopefully they'll realise their mistake soon and change it.
The financing
Donations only? Well, that does seem to work for several computer operating systems, so why not smartphone operating systems.
The application repository
Makes sense to run their own app store I guess. I'm a bit confused if they're going to be Android app compatible forever, or if they'll eventually drop that support in favour of their own SDK. In my opinion the single biggest advantage of forking Android is the ability to run Android apps.
The target audience
Appears to be users who like Android, but don't trust it.
Conclusion
Choice is good. I suppose there might be a niche for a CyanogenMod with cloud services. To reach out to the non-tech-savvy masses, they'll need to score deals to be sold pre-installed on new phones, something Canonical and Jolla have proven to be possible but difficult.
Best of luck. I'll give it a thorough consideration in a few years when my Sailfish X eventually break down or becomes painfully outdated. If /e/ is still around at that point.