rattlesnakeos-stack VS aosp-build

download 11.0.15 (https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack/releases/tag/v11.0.15) and use this binary to 'deploy' and then kick off a 11.0 build and update your phone

I'm not interested in the current android-prepare-vendor drama, so until an alternative is built, I've made a change that requires you to specify an android-prepare-vendor to use in your local config file. This release will require that you update to 12.0.3 and add three new config entries for specifying details of android-prepare-vendor. Here is an example of what that might look like (do not copy as is - it will not build):

There is a new stack version 12.0.2 required for this update. The 12.0.2 update fixes an issue with new stacks on 12.0 that was causing a build failure; thanks u/caasi-dev for reporting the issue.

First release of 12.0. You'll need updated stack release 12.0.1. Highly recommend backing up your device before attempting upgrade.

This release is still 11.x and next release with 12.x will depend on how long it takes to get everything up and working. It requires a stack update this month to 11.0.14, as there were two minor build issues with Chromium 94.x.

There were no stack changes required this month, unless you need support for Pixel 5a and then you should be on 11.0.13.

Adding support for it in rattlesnakeos-stack, which is very minor, an example of adding Pixel 5 is here: https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack/pull/178

There are some tools already which support automated builds such as https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack and https://github.com/danielfullmer/robotnix - however they'll need work to support both CalyxOS and also Android Auto.

CalyxOS is an awesome project. I have worked with the lead developer a bit over the past few years and it's been such a pleasure. We share some bits of code between our projects here: https://github.com/AOSPAlliance.

If anyone is interested in building their own custom android OS in the cloud (AWS) with same ability to lock your bootloader like CalyxOS, you can checkout my project I've been maintaining for a few years now called RattlesnakeOS: https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack.

And if you prefer to not build in the cloud, there is also a really great project called robotnix (https://github.com/danielfullmer/robotnix) which provides a way to build many flavors of OS (AOSP, GrapheneOS, LineageOS, etc).

I've been using LineageOS since the good ol' CyanogenMod days and I am very grateful for how much work the developers put into it day in and day out.

Thanks to them, I managed to get rid of Google Apps in my day-to-day life almost[0] entirely and drastically improve privacy for me: Instead of Google Play Services I use MicroG[1] and instead of Play Store, I use Aurora Store[2] and F-Droid. For syncing files there is Syncthing[3] and for backups there is Seedvault[4]. To isolate apps I don't trust I use NetGuard[8] and Shelter[9] and practically no internet-facing app has access to my internal "SD card" on which my photos and documents reside. As a bonus, getting rid of GApps and using LineageOS has increased my phones' battery life and their overall lifetime tremendously. (I've only owned three smartphones in my entire life, the original T-Mobile G1, the HTC One M8 and the BQ Aquaris Pro.) I couldn't be happier.

That being said, I've closely been following GrapheneOS[5] because I find its additional security guarantees very attractive. In fact, just a few hours ago my new Pixel 5 arrived and I'm looking forward to giving it a try. Though I already know I will miss MicroG… Maybe I'll end up building my own custom Android ROM, using Hashbang or RattlesnakeOS[6, 7]?

Overall, I don't really understand people who criticize Android for not being open while loudly claiming a "pure" Linux phone would be so much better. (There was yet another discussion here on HN just a few days ago.) Yes, Android is a not your typical open-source project and clearly in the hands of Google. Yes, most phone and chip manufacturers still haven't open-sourced their hardware binary blobs. We definitely have to fight these fights. But with a Linux phone I'd probably be struggling with window-manager-related bugs in the worst possible moments (say, an emergency call) and risk all my data getting stolen whenever I install a new app.

As much as I like Linux – I dabbled with it the first time almost two decades ago and have been using it as a daily driver for more than a decade – but its stability and, especially, security guarantees are orders of magnitude worse than Android's.

I secretly hope that Fuchsia will find its way to the desktop at some point and be able to replace my Linux system.

[0]: I still use Google Maps every now and then

[1]: https://microg.org . See https://lineage.microg.org/ for LineageOS images that come with MicroG pre-installed.

[2]: https://auroraoss.com/

[3]: https://syncthing.net

[4]: https://github.com/seedvault-app/seedvault

[5]: http://grapheneos.org/

[6]: https://github.com/hashbang/aosp-build

[7]: https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack/

[8]: https://netguard.me/

[9]: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.typeblog.shelter/