Real

Google $20 Decillion Fine: Russia fines Google more than Earth’s entire wealth: Can the tech giant avoid paying? - The Economic Times https://share.google/I36PKVNPuPpUguX8e

Xiaomi Downgrade Appointments Turning Into Sprint Practice

In China, Xiaomi made bootloader unlock requirements so ridiculous that users are now booking downgrade appointments, waiting for the technician to flash firmware, and then grabbing their phones mid-process and running out the door – sometimes literally on electric scooters.

Why? Because once it’s flashed and before it relocks, the bootloader is temporarily open – and that's the only chance to escape Xiaomi’s UBL prison without having Level 5 community status, quiz passes, and a handshake from Lei Jun himself.

Most of them brick the phone after anyway. But hey, freedom.

Also, A Dude bought a Xiaomi 14 not knowing bootloader unlock is locked behind quizzes, high community level, and limited slots.

He booked a downgrade at service, waited for the BL to be temporarily open mid-flash – then snatched his phone, said “sorry,” and ran out.

Electric scooter was parked outside 💀

(Follow @XiaomiFuckup for more scenes from the HyperOS Hunger Games)

here's someone who tried to follow their footsteps 😭

BREAKING: EU age verification app to ban any Android system not licensed by Google
Reddit

The EU is currently developing a whitelabel app to perform privacy-preserving (at least in theory) age verification to be adopted and personalized in the coming months by member states. The app is open source and available here: https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-app-android-wallet-ui.

Problem is, the app is planning to include remote attestation feature to verify the integrity of the app: https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-app-android-wallet-ui?tab=readme-ov-file#disclaimer. This is supposed to provide assurance to the age verification service that the app being used is authentic and running on a genuine operating system. Genuine in the case of Android means:

• The operating system was licensed by Google
• The app was downloaded from the Play Store (thus requiring a Google account)
• Device security checks have passed

While there is value to verify device security, this strongly ties the app to many Google properties and services, because those checks won't pass on an aftermarket Android OS, even those which increase security significantly like GrapheneOS, because the app plans to use Google "Play Integrity", which only allows Google licensed systems instead of the standard Android attestation feature to verify systems.

This also means that even though you can compile the app, you won't be able to use it, because it won't come from the Play Store and thus the age verification service will reject it.

The issue has been raised here https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-app-android-wallet-ui/issues/10 but no response from team members as of now.

In short: You can only be a full citizen of the EU if you accept the ToS from Google.

Follow @TechLeaksZone

The UK censorship of age verification through face ID even hits Wikipedia

https://fixvx.com/evolvepolitics/status/1949092733026496841

Android (in Canary branch) now supports graphical Linux applications via an updated Linux Terminal feature. This tool runs a Debian GNU/Linux 12 virtual machine using the Android Virtualization Framework (based on KVM and crosvm). Users can launch a GUI session via a new "Display" button in the terminal, which activates graphics redirection in the Android environment.

The system launches the Weston compositor to provide a minimal window session, allowing execution of GUI-based Linux programs such as Gedit, the default editor app in Gnome. X11 applications run through the XWayland component, and the setup supports hardware-accelerated graphics using VirGL for virtual GPU performance.

If someone needs to try Apple's Liquid Glass Interface on his Android, you may use this:

There's also a demo app available to try first.

https://github.com/Kyant0/AndroidLiquidGlass

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission Product Safety Recall - Google Pixel 6a smartphone
https://www.productsafety.gov.au/search-consumer-product-recalls/google-pixel-6a-smartphone

https://redd.it/1mbudmn
@reddit_android

GTA might be banned in the UK before the arrival of GTA VI due to the Online Shitty Act.

Absolute Cinema

Even to listen to music and podcasts on Spotify, people in the UK atleast now need to verify their age through Face or ID verification

This is real btw: https://support.spotify.com/uk/article/age-restricted-content-age-check/

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