Only Google can make an RCS app
Yes and no.
You don't need to make your own OS, but you do need to implement support for the RCS protocol within your app, rather than piggyback on Googles APIs.
I don't like it, but there's no legal requirement for google to provide those APIs, like they did with SMS etc.
Windows XP is basically firmware at this point, and has been for over a decade.
Lots of proprietary hardware that works perfectly, will not work on newer versions of Windows due to lack of drivers.
I see it constantly in factory situations with scales, scanners and robot controllers, it would only be worse for million dollar x-ray machines.
I found this post a few days ago.
I'm now on chapter 78 and accelerating.
Thank you.
FOSS is enshitification-hardened, not proof.
VLC remains awesome because the guy (maybe Jean-Baptiste Kempf?) that controls the project has refused to be bought, has in fact refused HUGE sums of money.
The original author of any project has to right to sell it with the corresponding licence changes at any time.
There's some legal grey area on something like Linux or VLC which have MANY MANY developer hands in the pie, and existing users could certainly fork off the existing releases, but VLC could pivot tomorrow to a for profit company and make future releases of the official VLC a paid product, if they choose too.
Firefox + ublock origin.
I just clicked through a few long youtube videos without hitting any ads.
edit: my apologies, I missed your iOS problem.
TNG had some movies (bald guy on the poster) and they were written by people who didn’t like the show for people who didn’t watch the show.
So many of my undefined feelings of sadness about TNG movies just snapped into focus.
I HATE how true this is.
You can interoperate with googles RCS.
If you are willing and able to enter a partnership like Samsung, you can do it fully (including encryption support etc).
Google are determined to not make it easy, and I agree with you, it appears to be yet another messaging land grab.
Trying to put myself in their headspace for a moment, one justification for making it hard is to stop thousands of apps coming out declaring "full RCS support!" through the APIs, then screwing the pooch (through poor security or deliberate back doors or or or).
Right now Google are desperately attempting to make RCS happen, after almost a decade of trying and failing to make various carriers play ball.
They do not want any bad press about how feature poor/insecure/slow/buggy it is right now.