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ardi60@reddthat.com to Technology@lemmy.worldEnglish · 2 months ago

Nova Launcher gets a new owner and... ads

www.androidauthority.com

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Nova Launcher gets a new owner and... ads

www.androidauthority.com

ardi60@reddthat.com to Technology@lemmy.worldEnglish · 2 months ago
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Nova Launcher has been sold to Instabridge, and the new owners are adding ads to the launcher's app drawer in the free version. Check it out!
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  • frongt@lemmy.zip
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    2 months ago

    They got a new owner years ago. No one should still be using it. Lawnchair has been great for me.

    • Damage@feddit.it
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      2 months ago

      Holy shit the screenshots on Play store are depressing

      • CubitOom@infosec.pub
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        2 months ago

        You want to use one of the much more recent nightly or beta builds.

        https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair

        • prole
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          2 months ago

          Can you remove the search bar at the bottom of the home screen?

          • CubitOom@infosec.pub
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            2 months ago

            Yeah, that’s what I do. It’s fully customizable.

            • prole
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              2 months ago

              Hm maybe I’ll try it out.

    • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
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      2 months ago

      I used to use lawnchair. Good reason to switch back.

    • Godric@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I ducked off the Nova train with their fishy new owners a few months ago. My one complaint about Lawnchair is that the search function is slower and less effective, otherwise it’s great!

    • ThunderWhiskers@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      If anyone is looking to try something new - I really enjoyed WaterfallNiagra after dropping Nova.

      • Dran@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        +1 for Niagra. It takes a few days to get used to but it’s the launcher every power user didn’t know they wanted. Lifetime purchase options and a very responsive/passionate dev

      • IronKrill@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        Seconded. Looks good and I’ve found browsing by letter is way faster than the traditional folders (although you can still use folders with premium). I bought the upgrade after a few months.

    • Nelots@piefed.zip
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      2 months ago

      I picked up Lawnchair when I de-googled my phone a bit more than a year ago. There were a couple launchers I considered, but honestly the name is what sold me. And I haven’t missed Nova since.

    • extrahazmat@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      Made the switch last year. Have had no issues,especially now that you can do folders.

  • carrylex@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Once again the “Everything that’s not FOSS will turn to shit at one point or another” theorem proves true.

    • ransomwarelettuce@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      And if a FOSS project turns into shit a fork will come up.

      One perfect example was simple apps acquisition. New owners turned it a ad ridden mess, fossify apps fork came to the rescue.

      • kate@lemmy.uhhoh.com
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        2 months ago

        nextcloud! mariadb! libreoffice!

        • msage@programming.dev
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          2 months ago

          Fuck MariaDB, all my homies use Postgres.

        • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl
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          2 months ago

          Mariadb got bought by a private equity strip miner company late 2024, so it will probably be mined for every enshittification possible before thrown on the garbage heap like every company private equity has acquired before it.

          (It always takes a few years of inefficient planning before private equity starts rolling out enshittification)

  • NovaThePup@piefed.blahaj.zone
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    2 months ago

    I’m getting really tired of companies pissing all over my name!

    • thisbenzingring@lemmy.today
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      2 months ago

      time to go super…

    • WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Shouldn’t have tried to disassemble Johnny 5.

      • edible_funk@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        No disassemble!

      • edible_funk@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        No disassemble!

      • W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        2 months ago

        Newton Crosby. Jackass.

  • Perspectivist@feddit.uk
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    2 months ago

    It already had a new owner which is why I stopped using it years ago.

  • Cyberflunk@lemmy.world
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    deleted by creator

  • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
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    2 months ago

    Ahh sonofabitch! It’s already updated for me and there is no changelog. Turned off auto update.

    Edit: and uninstalled. Lawnchair FTW.

    • bonenode@piefed.social
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      You should really not have automatic updates on. Aside from the fact that you also should have moved away from Nova years ago when Branch first acquired them.

      • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
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        2 months ago

        Yeah. Totally correct. That one slipped by.

        • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
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          2 months ago

          Annnnd TIME! About 1 hour.

          95% interface and widgets swapped over to lawnchair!

          Boom!

    • woelkchen@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Just get the older APK form one of the mirror sites.

  • northernlights@lemmy.today
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    2 months ago

    This used to be my favorite piece of software I paid for. Then… 💩

  • BipolarSilence@lemmy.cafe
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    2 months ago

    I JUST STARTED USING IT TWO WEEKS AGO CMON

    • Rooster326@programming.dev
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      2 months ago

      They were already acquired by a shit head like 3 years ago. This is just a new shit head.

    • kamen@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Bit late to the party…

    • QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I love that picture. XD

  • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Nova launcher works great for me, I haven’t let it update in years. Looks like that isn’t going to change.

    I’ve been burned so many times that I’ve finally learned my lesson. When I find that I like an app, that it does everything I want, the first thing I do is turn auto updates off. It can stay frozen in time forever, just working normally.

    • plant@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 months ago

      Understand where the thought comes from, but do you know what zero days are

      • Balldowern@lemmy.world
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        No one is going to waste a zero day on a random guy using Nova launcher. Zero days are used against governments & other militaries.

        • ouRKaoS@lemmy.today
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          But if you’re not installing updates to patch out a zero day, the vulnerability is still there.

          • mad_djinn@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            when are you nerds going to learn that software is religion , developers are prophets, and users are following the words of God?

      • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Yeah sure, the os gets regular updates, banking apps get updates.

        But when it comes to digital devices, convenience and security are in a constant tug of war, ultimately we have to make a choice. And when I make that choice I remember that this isn’t a company phone, there’s no customer data at risk, no important info to be breached. And still the number of times I’ve been hacked: 0

      • sigezayaq@startrek.website
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        2 months ago

        deleted by creator

  • skribe@piefed.social
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    2 months ago

    I just switched to Octopi. For me, it’s an almost perfect replacement. Plus it’s a local developer.

    • jotaro__@lemmy.world
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      Can confirm, only one that had feature parity for most of my nova setup

      • skribe@piefed.social
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        2 months ago

        I showed my wife the before and after of my home pages. She said, “They’re the same.”

        Happy.

    • LedgeDrop@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      Is this open source?

      (I couldn’t find it)

      • banana@lemy.nl
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        2 months ago

        If you want FOSS, check KISS launcher. Its feature rich, light on resources, and available through F-droid.

    • nerdschleife@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      Awesome app, replaced Lawnchair. Development simply moved too slowly on LC

    • winni@piefed.social
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      2 months ago

      is it new? cant find it on the launcher comparison table https://grabster.notion.site/6671f3b62d8043c4aaaae22a241e3f05?v=91d9b664887643298f85fe18044d3560

      • kazerniel@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        thanks for this table!

        Nova is rated as advanced customisability, and in this table Bridge Launcher is the only FLOSS launcher that has advanced customisability and is not discontinued, but based on the app page it’s basically a programming platform, not an actual launcher :c

  • whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    Wow, I got scared, I thought that was the one I’m using but I switched to Niagara Launcher long ago

    • zipsglacier@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I first found out about Niagara on a thread like this a couple of years ago. It’s great!!!

    • harrys_balzac@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      I switched to Niagara a few months ago and bought it. It’s been working great for me. No regrats.

    • rucksack@feddit.org
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      2 months ago

      Niagara with minimalist black and white icons is just awesome

    • cronenthal@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 months ago

      Yup, Niagara is a dream. I hope it stays this way forever, but even if it doesn’t I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

    • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      Yeah same here. Text based launcher really has helped me put phone down more which is great.

    • DaTingGoBrrr@lemmy.world
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      Niagara Launcher is great. I have been using it for a few years now

  • asudox@lemmy.asudox.dev
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    Lawnchair is pretty good.

    • thermal_shock@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Yup. I’ve carried it over several phones, have the paid version.

      • Zangoose@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Lawnchair doesn’t have a paid version, it’s open source

        • thermal_shock@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Might be a different launcher I had before then.

  • MrSulu@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    On 3, 2, 1,… Everybody Juuuuuuump to any other good launchers

    • Chaser@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      I like this one https://kvaesitso.mm20.de/

      • MrSulu@lemmy.ml
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        2 months ago

        This is what I’m using too. Was a little different, but simple enough, out of the way enough and easy too. Goldilocks zone launcher

      • JSens1998@lemmy.ml
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        2 months ago

        Yep. Kvaesitso is the goat!

      • Captain_J@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        This one is the best!

    • i_love_FFT@jlai.lu
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      2 months ago

      Hyperion seems like a good drop-in replacement.

    • xyguy@startrek.website
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      2 months ago

      Can’t recommend KISS Launcher enough.

  • ogeist@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I recommend Kvaesitso, very snappy with lots of functionality.

    • KneeTitts@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Am I just not seeing it or do they not seem to allow icons on the desktop?

      • tengkuizdihar@programming.dev
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        2 months ago

        they do? you go to the settings, home screens, and increase the dock rows.

        • KneeTitts@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          It just looks like none of the screen shots are showing desktop icons which is weird

          • tengkuizdihar@programming.dev
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            2 months ago

            if you think its a bug, i think you can create an issue here https://github.com/MM2-0/Kvaesitso/issues

    • GodlessCommie@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      That’s my second favorite after Smart Launcher

    • Onsotumenh@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 months ago

      I did try that when switching from Nova but it ran quite horribly on my phone. I’ve since switched to Olauncher and while the absolutely minimalistic style took some time getting used to, I don’t want to go back anymore.

  • yyprum@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    2 months ago

    I’ve been using lawnchair (which is a great substitute) ever since the news of the buyout from an ad company was announced, but that was a long time ago… Not sure why this is coming up now.

    Anyway, a few days back I found out a new launcher and I want to spread the love for it. It requires more effort to configure it at first but I’m really liking its UX and the simplicity of the screen. It is called dragon launcher and I am having a nice time making small incremental changes to personalize it more and more and has been working great for me: https://f-droid.org/packages/org.elnix.dragonlauncher

    • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
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      I just switched to Lawnchair recently, and I really like it. I’ll definitely give Dragon a look.

    • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      I also went from Nova Launcher to Lawnchair and it’s been great. I’ll check out Dragon some time but I’m glad I found a suitable replacement for Nova.

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