Mutter Bundle #32: Free and Open Android. Asterisk. Small Print. Conditions Attached.
21 Feb 2026 17:12
Revolut is a great product. Fantastic product. Honestly, full five stars.
As a spending card. As a travel money card. You know, the one you load with some hundred or so euros, pounds, dollars (or whatever currency) when abroad, spend it, then load again. Spend, load. Spend, load. Brilliant. Convenient. Good exchange rate.
Or as an account to offload your monthly subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify, whatnot) for more convenient management.
Or for those disposable cards that are generated for one-time payments and then "self-destruct" after that payment is made. A bliss from the security perspective when dealing with those probably legit but somewhat iffy-looking websites. Genius stuff.
But as a banking solution for my personal account? Or my business account? Wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.
Why?
That's why:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Revolut/comments/1qpqqud/irish_minister_grilling_revolut_executive_over/
21 Feb 2026 18:06
Nowy Sącz, Poland.
22 Feb 2026 01:06
For me, any whispers and rumours about anything Apple that is considered “entry-level” always trigger the same internal duel. “Hmmm…” vs “aye, right…”. Cautious curiosity vs outright skepticism.
I mean, I’ve heard this song before.
I still remember the budget iPhone SE/SE2/SE3 line. Those, to be fair, at around £/$400, were “songs” that turned out quite catchy for many. They did cut corners alright, but they were also a fair crack at making Apple accessible.
Then came the £/$600 iPhone 16e. Entry-level in terms of specs, I give Apple that. In terms of price, not quite.
And now the most recent whispers about the iPhone 17e and an A-powered MacBook. They do intrigue, the A-powered MacBook sounds conceptually interesting, but…
If the rumoured £/$600 price tag sticks, we're not exactly talking about a steal here, are we? I mean, a slight saving, a teeny-tiny one, even, compared to the previous-gen M-processor MacBooks that, if you look hard enough, can still be bought new.
Hardly a bargain. Hardly a macOS (iOS?) Chromebook. That said, the prices of some current Chromebooks…
22 Feb 2026 02:10
I was today years old when I found out that Polish Żabka (a convenience store brand similar to 7-Eleven) was chosen for Berlin’s Tesla factory as its in-house grocery store for staff.
The specific format selected was Żabka Nano, the same high-tech, grab-and-go, walk-out-and-get-auto-billed concept that Amazon Go was known for.
It’s interesting how Amazon Go didn't quite work out for Amazon, but Żabka Nano seems to be doing pretty well so far.
https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2022-08-11/w-fabryce-tesli-pod-berlinem-powstala-pierwsza-bezobslugowa-zabka-nano-poza-granicami-polski/ (in Polish, use Google Translate or similar for English text)
26 Feb 2026 08:25
Leuven, Belgium.
01 Mar 2026 06:00
If I am honest, I have no clue when this was first announced. I only tripped over it this morning.
Hear this.
Apparently, come September 2026, no more slipping under Google's radar for those independent Android developers who were distributing through F-Droid and similar platforms (or through no platform at all by simply releasing their APKs into the wild).
From then on, it's papers, please.
Register and verify yourself with Google. Verify every app you develop. Don't and none of the apps you create will install on Android devices, no matter the method. Not through Google Play. Not through a third-party store. Not as an APK file. Full stop.
Good auld free and open Android, what shall become of you?
Source: