Big tech — Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook — got big and then got bigger with acquisitions of smaller companies. The Washington Post took a comprehensive look at all of the acquisitions over the years:
They all followed a similar pattern. First, they became dominant in their original business, like e-commerce for Amazon and search for Google. Then they grew tentacles, making acquisitions in new sectors to add revenue streams and outflank competitors.
Audacity has been the go-to free audio editing app for years, but its recent privacy policy changes mention invasive data collection practices that are (rightfully) making a lot of people very uncomfortable.
We bring you two stories from The Indicator on two industries that are undergoing rapid change: vets and container shipping. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
“[Britney] Spears, who is thirty-nine has spent the past thirteen years living under a conservatorship, a legal structure in which a person’s personal, economic, and legal decision-making power is ceded to others. Called a guardianship in most states, the arrangement is intended for people who cannot take care of themselves. Since the establishment of Spears’s conservatorship, she has released four albums, headlined a global tour that grossed a hundred and thirty-one million dollars, and performed for four years in a hit Las Vegas residency.” — The New Yorker, July 3, 2021
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By order of the Court, you are hereby notified that as a result of a petition you were not made aware of and a brief secretive hearing at which you were not present, you are henceforth under the control of a conservatorship.
The Court has deemed your conservatorship necessary and unavoidable because you have failed to meet the newly established “Britney standard.” That is, you are not doing better in life than Britney freaking Spears, the beloved music icon and world-famous performer who has accomplished far more than any jackass with a law degree, but whom the Court has repeatedly determined is not fit to control her own affairs independent of a conservatorship.
As a conservatee, your financial and personal affairs are hereby placed in the care of a court-appointed conservator who you are now paying to control your life. This Court finds that you have never kissed Madonna or reinvigorated pop music with a string of all-time bops, and it is therefore highly unlikely that your faculties exceed those of six-time platinum album recording artist and early 2000s cultural phenomenon Britney freaking Spears.
Britney launched a world-class music career as a teenager that influenced a generation of pop stars. She endured a painful and personal legal crisis for over a decade while continuing to perform at the top of her field, raise two children, and look good in low-cut jeans. This has not impressed the Court enough for us to end her conservatorship. Therefore you — a person with college debt and only ninety-two followers on Instagram — have virtually no chance of challenging our under-regulated and overreaching control.
You may, of course, petition to end this conservatorship at any time, if we let you, which we won’t. We won’t let Britney go, and she is a goddamn goddess and once-in-a-lifetime entertainer with a dedicated global fanbase who advocates for her freedoms to be returned. If you can’t drum up an even greater magnitude of public support and media attention than Britney freaking Spears can, you do not meet the standard set by this Court.
That is, of course, unless you are a non-disabled white man.
If you are a non-disabled white man, you can disregard this notice. Go ahead and wipe your ass with it — it doesn’t apply to you. The Britney standard applies to women, people of color, and disabled people only. Non-disabled white men can still be as dysfunctional as they want and enjoy all of their constitutionally protected freedoms, just as they always have.
If you are a non-disabled white man, then have a nice day, sir, and remember, if you ever want to place your partner or daughter under a conservatorship in order to crush her life and leech off of her financially for an indefinite period, we made sure that is something very easy for you to do. After all, we even did it to Britney freaking Spears.
Good morning. While Houston has largely been spared by heavy rains over the last several days, a significant flooding event has unfolded to our south, with more than 10 to 15 inches falling in locations such as Rockport and Palacios along the Coastal Bend of Texas. These areas lie at significant risk again today. While Houston should see a wet day as well, accumulations will be lower in the metro area, especially along and north of Interstate 10. The threat for heavy rainfall should begin to back off somewhat on Friday.
Thursday
Texas’ coastal storms are being driven by a large area of low pressure over the southern part of the state that is drawing Gulf of Mexico moisture into the coast. This low should eventually weaken and move west later on Friday, but until that time very heavy rainfall will be likely for coastal areas, with the Coastal Bend the most favored area. An additional 3 to 6 inches are possible today from Corpus Christi through Matagorda Bay, with higher isolated amounts.
Closer to Houston, within the metro area, locations south of Interstate 10 may see 1 to 3 inches with higher isolated amounts, and areas north of I-10 likely will see 1 inch or less. These rains will again moderate highs, such that locations closer to the coast peak at about 80 degrees, with slightly warmer conditions inland. On and off stormy conditions may well continue overnight into Friday morning.
Excessive rainfall outlook for Thursday. (NOAA)
Friday
As the low eases westward, heavy rain impacts should be more scattered on Friday in the Houston region, but will not go away entirely. I still expect more than half of the area south of I-10 to see rainfall. Highs will again be in the low 80s, with winds increasing to about 15 mph from the east. Skies should remain partly to mostly cloudy.
Saturday
The first half of the weekend should see a mix of sunshine and clouds, allowing high temperatures to recover to about 90 degrees for much of the area. Afternoon showers will definitely be a possibility, but they should lack the organization of our recent, heavy rains.
By Saturday, the low pressure system should move into Mexico, and the heavy rain with it. (NOAA)
Sunday
This should be a sunny, warm day with highs in the low 90s. While I can’t entirely rule out some passing showers, most of the region should stay dry.
Next week
The forecast for next week remains somewhat uncertain, as it does not look like Houston will fall under the sway of a dominant ridge of high pressure. At the same time, right now there don’t appear to be any solid triggers for widespread rainfall. So perhaps we’ll strike a happy medium for July, with highs of around 90 degrees, partly sunny skies, and a chance of daytime showers? I would not turn that down at a time when temperatures can often push into the upper 90s, but for now we’ll have to wait and see.
The last time I visited Space Center Houston and the Johnson Space Center in Texas was in 1992. That visit confirmed a memory of mine that most of my family didn’t believe. As an elementary school student in the 1970s, the NASA traveling exhibition came to my home city of Monrovia, Liberia, and my school took a field trip to see it.
I even remember promising my siblings that I would bring each of them back a moon rock, because if you tell a kid you have moon rocks at an exhibition, they will believe there are hundreds and that they can bring some home. No one in my family believed my school field trip happened. On my first trip to the Johnson Space Center in Texas, my story was confirmed. I was crazy about space, but I wasn’t crazy.
This past week, nearly 30 years later, I returned and took some pictures.
Lunar Lander, Space Center, Houston.
Astronaut Display, Space Center, Houston.
Little Joe II unmanned launch vehicle, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Little Joe II, engine.
Saturn V Heavy Lift Vehicle, stage 3 booster section, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Saturn V Heavy Lift Vehicle, stage 1 tip section, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Saturn V Heavy Lift Vehicle booster rockets, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Saturn V Heavy Lift Vehicle, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Crew Capsule, Saturn V, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Rocket section, SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Open source audio editor Audacity was recently in the news for its updated privacy policy. Several media outlets reported that the changes were invasive, going so far as to label the audio editor as spyware. Audacity’s new owner, Muse Group, has now shared a statement to clarify the new privacy policy terms.
For the unaware, Audacity is a free and open source multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It was acquired by Muse Group (owner of the music notation software ‘MuseScore’ and the online ‘Ultimate Guitar’ community) in April this year and, as part of the acquisition, Muse Group gained the rights to the trademark but promised that “the tens of millions of users of Audacity can rest assured that the software will remain forever free and open source.”
A month after the acquisition, Muse Group announced that it planned on adding basic telemetry collection to Audacity. The company planned on using the data to identify issues with application instability, estimate the size of its user base, make informed decisions on which OS versions to support, and estimate the impact of the new file format introduced in Audacity 3.0. To do so, the company also planned to implement Google Analytics and Yandex Metrica. But it promised that all the data collection would be “strictly optional and disabled by default.”
Several Audacity users were displeased with Muse Group’s decision to introduce telemetry into Audacity and believed that the company could use the data to profile users or sell it to third parties. Due to the backlash, the Audacity team announced that it had dropped the proposed telemetry features. However, it planned on implementing error reporting and the ability to check for updates regardless.
A few days ago, many users discovered that Audacity had updated its privacy policy to include a clause that would allow Muse Group to collect “data necessary for law enforcement, litigation and authorities’ requests,” among other things. This worried users about the telemetry data being collected and what it could be used for. However, the company has now released another statement clarifying the new privacy policy terms.
In a recent post on GitHub, the company states: “We believe concerns are due largely to unclear phrasing in the Privacy Policy, which we are now in the process of rectifying. In the meantime, we would like to clarify what seem to be the major points of concern.” The post further states that Audacity will not sell any user data or share it with third parties. It will collect limited data, including IP addresses, basic system info (OS version and CPU type), and error reporting data (optional). The audio editor won’t collect any additional data, and it won’t share it with law enforcement until compelled by a court of law. Furthermore, the company has clarified that the privacy policy won’t apply to offline use.
Despite the clarification, many Audacity users have expressed their concerns regarding the new privacy policy in the comments. Thankfully, the new privacy policy is yet to go into effect. It’s targeted at the upcoming v3.0.3 release, so you can stay on an older version if you don’t want to agree to the new terms. Alternatively, you can compile Audacity from the source without any error reporting or update checking, and these features are excluded by default via CMake options.
1. Can I work from a museum or the zoo if I’m remote?
After almost a year of remote work (now partially back in the office) and with things opened up, I came to the realization that I could logically work from anywhere in our local area. I already know my brother-in-law has remote worked at the zoo with his kid for part of the day and sometimes I go to my parents’ house and work there. But just because I could go out and work elsewhere, should I take advantage of that? I ask because as museums open up, I feel it would be a nice change of pace and with Wifi and hot spots, there’s no lack of connectivity. What do you think?
Well, there’s there’s the theoretical answer and the real one. If your employer doesn’t have an explicit rule against it (some do, some don’t), in theory it should be fine as long as (a) your productivity is 100% unaffected, (b) you’re as easy to reach as you’d be at home, and (c) your background on an unplanned Zoom call doesn’t look obviously Not Work to coworkers (like taking a video call with giraffes in the background).
But in reality … working from somewhere like a zoo or museum isn’t a great idea for most people. You might be exactly as productive and accessible at the zoo as you’d be at home, but there’s a pretty high chance that your manager would question that and think you’re taking advantage of the policy. (Worst case, with some managers it could even get your remote work privileges yanked altogether if it did come to light. I wouldn’t take that risk.) Coffeeshops or even a park are probably better choices if you want a change of scenery.
For what it’s worth, I’m skeptical that your brother-in-law’s zoo trip qualifies under either A or B above; it sounds like a trip for his kid more than a fully focused work day for him.
2. How open should I be at work about my plan to retire in my early 40s?
In the past few years, I’ve been learning everything I can about the FIRE movement (FIRE stands for Financial Independence / Retire Early), and beginning to experiment with adjusting my savings/spending. The situation with the pandemic really ignited (pun intended) this pursuit, and the past 16 months of working from home has opened my eyes to how much I crave more freedom and flexibility. I’d love to either work part-time or not work at all.
I’m currently full-bore on the path towards FIRE; I’m saving/investing more than half of my income, significantly reducing my monthly expenses, and am preparing to have enough to “retire” comfortably within the next 5-8 years (in my early 40s).
My question is about whether it’s wise to mention anything about this at work, even in a casual conversation. For example, one of my coworkers/friends and I were discussing our 401(k) contributions and employer match since our company just recently changed plans, and when I mentioned what percentage I was contributing, I could see her eyes go wide. I ended up telling her about my plan to FIRE to explain the percentage.
I’d never go to my boss and say “hey, I plan to retire the same year as you!” … but I wonder if saying anything about it to anyone comes off as me not caring about my job? I’ve worked with plenty of people who have retired at the expected age and they usually talk about retiring “in the next few years” and then they make their announcement a few months in advance and everyone is happy for them. I guess my situation just feels different since it’s going against the social norm.
What do you think: should I keep mum about retiring by 2030? Or just smile to myself when people laugh because they think that I’m joking?
I wouldn’t be terribly worried about people concluding you don’t care about your job. If you do good work and are reliable and conscientious, no reasonable person will decide you don’t care about your job just because you’re working toward an early retirement. (Lots of people who care about their jobs are very happy to stop working once their finances no longer require them to work. It’s not shameful to work for money!)
But I also don’t think your finances are anyone’s business at work and by sharing your financial decisions you risk people drawing all sorts of conclusions that aren’t their business either.
And once you’re one or two years away from your goal, I’d definitely keep quieter about it at that point. If you’re open about being that close to leaving, there’s a risk your manager will start leaving you out of projects you’d want to be involved in or not consider you for promotions or do things to retain you if she figures you’re on your way out anyway.
3. Our cleaners keep blocking the hall with their enormous cleaning cart
I think I’m either overreacting or maybe I’m suffering from COVID induced germaphobia.
Since we returned to the office last June, things that never bothered me before have started to really bother me now. My anxiety has increased recently since the restrictions in our state have been relaxed. There are many examples but the most bothersome is this: our housekeeping staff has started to park their cart (often at an angle) in the hallway between the office and break room, where our staff restrooms are located, and you have to “shimmey” around it to get to the break room or the restroom. The hallway is maybe 5-6 feet wide and the cart is easily 3 and half. It’s the biggest cleaning cart I’ve ever seen. Often, they have a plastic bag tied to the handle to throw their used cleaning clothes in and toward the end of the day it bulges further into the already tight space. On the front part of the cart, they have their mop bucket and sticking out from under the mop bucket is the toilet brush they use.
I’m uncomfortable trying to always “shimmey” around the cart. We have to wear regular office clothes and they get uniforms paid for by the company and are allowed to wear street clothes in and change in their locker room and then change back at the end of the day.
They don’t like it when we move their cart even an inch and if you ask them to move it or put in the hallway by their cleaning room (out of the way), they grumble and rant about you behind your back. Should I ask them to move the cart and incur their wrath, email their manager, or just not use the restroom or break room all day?
If the cart is blocking your path and you need to get by, the easiest and most direct thing to do is to either move it yourself or ask them to (“It’s hard to get by when the cart is here — can you keep it against the wall instead?”). If they want to grumble about it, so be it. But if you explain the problem to them and it keeps happening, or if the grumbling is over the top, asking their manager to intervene is reasonable too.
I don’t know that you’re overreacting exactly; it’s more that you’re not taking advantage of some pretty easy solutions! It should never be necessary to avoid the bathroom for the day.
4. Hiring for a job requiring a religious background
I’m in an interesting situation, as the company I currently work for has developed a product that caters to a niche market of people who are of a certain religious persuasion. Let’s say we make a product line for people who worship Zeus. We are not actually a religious company, and we have people of various religious persuasions (and none at all) on our team. However, we need to hire someone who has a very strong background in Greek gods for this particular product line, and for the sake of accuracy and staying current, we would prefer someone who is a current worshipper. I have been the one assigned to screen applicants and I’ve been struggling with how to get this information without causing any sort of legal issues. Any ideas? (We are a very small company and do not have a “legal team” per se where I can ask this question.)
It sounds like you could get what you need if you say something like “must be deeply knowledgeable about Greek gods and actively stay up-to-date on current Greek god worship practices.” It’s likely that may end up being a current worshipper but who knows, and this way you’ll be focused on what you really need from the person, not on their personal faith (or lack thereof).
Of course, with any candidate, make sure to assess their level of Greek god fluency in the interview and talk about how they stay up-to-date (throw some current issues at them and get them talking about those as part of your evaluation), since even current worshippers will have wide variations in their knowledge and level of observance.
5. My predecessor set up a damaging process that I now have to fix
I was hired as an admin/assistant to one of the system administrators, Sherry, of a particular system. It is a system that I had a lot of experience with.
We have a process that occasionally errors out on the backend, and some business-side info ends up needing a business-side user to handle it before it can continue. When I saw the errors in a folder in our monitoring system, I asked Sherry about it. She told me that the system flagged the relevant user to check it and they were being handled by a certain group of users. Okay, no issue, right?
Sherry resigned suddenly. I was bumped into the admin role. She asked me to a post-departure drink, where she just talked trash the entire time. I credit my mask for letting me have a decent pokerface.
A few months after Sherry’s departure, I realized that her “handling” of the above process was to set up a system that held the error for an amount of time, “reassigned” it to a fake profile for that team, and then deleted it. It was essentially a black hole that would make it look completed. My boss and I are currently working to repair this as best we can. This isn’t the first issue we’ve found like this and I don’t think it will be the last. Unfortunately a lot of them are hidden.
However, frustrated end users will demand to know why it’s like this and how long it has been like this. I just don’t have a good bit of verbiage for how to answer beyond “my predecessor set this up” and pointing to the documentation that she wrote. And while yes, either out of sloth or malicious intent, Sherry did set things up to cause damage, it looks really bad on me to just blame her for this mess I’ve got to clean up. Are there any better ways to answer these questions without looking like I’m just deflecting?
“Since I took over the role, we’ve uncovered some serious problems with how things were set up previously and we’re working on fixing them.”
But also, talk to your boss about this question because she should (a) know that your end users are frustrated and want answers and (b) be involved in how it’s messaged.
Your next meal in Banff may put money back in your pocket. Deposits are part of a pilot program for restaurants and patrons to switch from single-use to reusable containers.
The heat wave that scorched most of Western Canada last week accelerated the melting of alpine glaciers, a glaciologist at the University of Alberta told the Calgary Eyeopener on Tuesday.
After months of rumors and reports of a coming "Switch Pro," Nintendo has finally and officially revealed the upgraded version of its core Switch hardware. The "OLED Model" as Nintendo is calling it, will be available October 8 for an MSRP of $349.99.
As the name implies, the most immediately noticeable improvement is in the screen, which uses pricier OLED technology instead of the more common standard LCD found in previous Switch models. This should provide deeper blacks, better color display, and less motion blurring than existing Switch systems, if existing OLED TVs are anything to go by.
The OLED Model also expands the Switch's screen to 7", up from the 6.2" of the original Switch and 5.5" of the Switch Lite. This is accomplished without substantially increasing the size of the standard Switch unit itself; the OLED Model is just 0.1" wider than the original Switch, with the same height and depth. The increase in screen real estate is thanks to a reduction in the space used for the black bezel around the tablet screen.
GApps (short for Google Apps) packages are essential in the Android aftermarket development community. They are specially crafted optional add-ons for custom ROMs that can be used to get Google apps such as Google Play Services and the Play Store on your device. If you’re wondering how to pick and install the right GApps package on your device or on one of the best Android phones, this guide should help you with that.
In case you don’t see your favorite GApps distribution mentioned here, send a message to Skanda Hazarika (SkandaH on the forums) with the necessary details.
This is exactly where the GApps packages come in. The GApps maintainers rely on build scripts that allow for the automated creation of new updated packages at regular intervals. ROM developers, on the other hand, usually build the custom ROMs in such a way that an end-user can flash a third-party GApps distribution on top of their builds and seamlessly gain the ability to use the Google Play Store or any other applications that require Google Play Services.
Keep in mind Google apps are not required to boot or run most custom ROMs. However, many users find them beneficial to take full advantage of the Android ecosystem.
Variants of GApps
For a regular user, a bunch of first-party Google applications have gradually become integral to Android’s functionality or look and feel. Then come those who prefer an absolute minimalistic setup and consider virtually everything as bloatware.
Since it’s really hard to come up with a common solution for all, the GApps maintainers usually offer several variants of their builds. That’s the reason you can find GApps packages with “pico”, “basic”, “full”, and similar tags. Of course, the Play Store, along with obligatory Play Services and related libraries, are the common components between them, but the number of bundled first-party Google applications is the key differentiating factor out there.
Compatibility with older Android versions is another interesting aspect of the GApps scene. Not all devices can run the latest and greatest version of Android even with the help of custom ROMs, which is why it’s necessary to maintain support for older releases. Moreover, some low-level libraries are dependent on the CPU architecture, so mainstream maintainers sometimes offer architecture-specific builds as well.
Popular GApps distributions
Throughout the years, many different GApps distributions have gained popularity. Below you can find some of the most well-liked and actively maintained GApps offerings from the aftermarket development community.
Open GApps
Perhaps the most popular choice to download Google Apps on custom ROMs, the Open GApps project started its journey back in 2015 as the spiritual successor to the ParanoidAndroid GApps. The codebase of this distribution has been forked numerous times, all thanks to the project’s versatility, extensive documentation, and rich support for legacy Android builds.
Android Version Support: Android 4.4 KitKat to Android 11. The maintainers also offer test packages for Android 12 and Android 12L.
Platform Support: ARM, ARM64, x86, and x86_64.
Variants:
Pico: This package is designed for users who want the absolute minimum GApps installation available.
Nano: This package is designed for users who want the smallest Google footprint possible while still enjoying native “Okay Google” and Google Search support.
Micro: This package is designed for users of legacy devices with small system partitions or those who prefer a minimalistic approach.
Mini: This package is designed for those who use limited Google apps or prefer to install apps on their own.
Full: If you prefer the option to use stock/AOSP apps, this package is designed for you.
Stock: This package includes all the Google Apps that come standard on the Pixel smartphones.
Super: This package is for those who want to have all Google Applications. It includes all Google Apps that were ever shipped on a Google device.
Aroma: The Aroma package is a special version of the regular ‘Super’ package, but with a graphical front-end that will allow you to select which specific applications to install (or not) without having to manually write a gapps-config file.
TVStock: This package is for Android TV devices. It includes all the Google Apps that come standard on the Nexus Player.
TVMini: A smaller set of Google Apps for Android TV devices, similar to what Mini has compared to the Stock variant.
NikGApps
NikGApps is another feature-rich GApps distribution that offers extensive customization options for power users. Created by XDA Senior Member Nikhil, one of the most distinguishing features of this GApps project is it comes with a dedicated Android Go package for low end devices. Unlike other distributions, it also allows you to dirty flash the package anytime you want.
Last but not least, users can upload their custom configurations to the project’s repository to create a personalized build.
Android Version Support: Android 10 to Android 13.
Platform Support: ARM64.
Variants:
Core: The minimum Google Apps set required to run Play Store.
Basic: Everything from Core, plus Google Carrier Services, Google Dialer (Replaces AOSP Dialer), Google Messages (Replaces AOSP Messages), Google Contacts (Replaces AOSP Contacts), etc.
Omni: Everything from Basic, plus Gmail (Replaces AOSP Email), Google/Pixel Setup Wizard, Google Photos (Replaces AOSP Gallery), etc.
Stock: Everything from Omni, plus Google Sound Recorder, Google Markup, Google Sounds, Google Wallpaper, etc.
Full: Everything from Stock, plus Google Chrome (Replaces AOSP Browser), Google Assistant, Android Auto, etc.
Go: Meant for low-end devices. A slightly enhanced version of the Core variant.
FlameGApps
Formerly known as “ExLiteGApps”, the FlameGApps project is the brainchild of XDA Senior Member ayandebnath. Thanks to the modular design of the distribution, end users can install various components like Pixel Launcher with Device Personalization Services, Google Search with Assistant, and Device Personalization Services using official add-on packages.
Android Version Support: Android 10 to Android 12/12L. There is no official support for Android 13 yet.
Platform Support: ARM64.
Variants:
Basic: Includes the core GApps like Google Play Services (GMS), Google Services Framework (GSF), Google Play Store, and other essentials.
Full: Includes all the necessary core apps with more useful ones like Google Dialer, Google Contacts, Google Messages, etc.
BiTGApps
With less than 90MB size, BiTGApps from XDA Senior Member TheHitMan is a distinctive minimalistic distribution. Besides the minimalism, it also offers a handful of unique features, such as enabling battery optimization for all Google apps, the ability to install directly from a booted system, and installing in a systemless manner as a Magisk module.
Android Version Support: Android Nougat (7.1.2 and 7.1.1) to Android 13. There is no official support for Android 12L yet.
Platform Support: ARM, ARM64.
Variants:
Minimal: The goal is to stick with a minimal setup that can provide proper Google Services functionality. There are no other variants.
LiteGApps
Founded by XDA Senior Member Wahyu6070, LiteGApps is a unique distribution that covers a wide variety of use cases. You can install it through recovery, or as a Magisk module.
Android Version Support: Android 5.0 Lollipop to Android 13.
Platform Support: ARM, ARM64.
Variants:
Original: It offers the following sub-variants: Lite, Basic, Core, Go, User, Basic, Nano, Micro, and Pixel. The compositions are similar to that of Open GApps.
Plus-Plus: You can use the “Plus-Plus” variant to service regular as well as LTS (legacy Android versions) and MicroG builds.
MindTheGapps
Maintained by LineageOS contributor Alessandro Astone, AKA XDA senior member aleasto, MindTheGapps is yet another compact GApps distribution. This one is particularly known in the community for being the officially recommended GApps solution by the LineageOS team for its custom ROM.
Android Version Support: Android 10 to Android 13. You can also find separate packages for Android TV. Notably, it hosts legacy packages for Android 9 Pie and Android 8.1 Oreo as well.
Platform Support: ARM, ARM64 (x86 too, but only for legacy Android builds).
Variants: None. There’s only a single variant with no customization options. It provides everything required to make use of Google systems and no more.
How to install GApps
Download and preparation
Before installing a GApps package, you need to pick the version that matches the CPU architecture of the target device and the Android base of your desired custom ROM. Keep in mind some OEMs deliberately ship ARM32 firmware on ARM64 devices, so consult with the custom ROM maintainer to determine platform compatibility. In case you’re going to flash a custom ROM that ships with integrated Google apps, then you don’t need to install a standalone GApps package.
To know the CPU architecture, run the following command using a terminal emulator app on your device:
getprop ro.product.cpu.abi
Crudely speaking, if you have a smartphone that’s fairly recent and you’re planning to install a custom ROM based on Android 12, download one of the ARM64 GApps for Android 12 from the aforementioned list.
For the actual flashing process, we’ll assume you have a custom recovery like TWRP installed and (optionally) have root access. If not, we have guides on how to root your Android device and how to install TWRP.
Flashing GApps from TWRP
Warning: In most cases, the GApps package must be flashed before booting into the custom ROM for the first time! It’s always recommended to factory reset and format data to clear out any possible residue of a previously installed GApps distribution.
Make sure your computer has ADB and Fastboot. Setup instructions can be found here.
Download both the custom ROM package and the matching GApps package on your computer.
Reboot the target device into recovery mode using the appropriate key-combo or using ADB:
adb reboot recovery
Now tap on Wipe, Factory Reset, and finally Format Data to continue with the cleanup process. This will remove encryption and delete all files stored in the internal storage.
Return to the main menu.
Sideload the custom ROM ZIP package:
On the target device, select Advanced, then ADB Sideload to begin sideload.
On the host machine, sideload the package using:
adb sideload filename.zip
Without rebooting, tap on the back button, then repeat the same process for the GApps package.
adb sideload gaaps.zip
The TWRP screen on the target device should show the installation progress.
Once you have installed everything successfully, tap on the Reboot System button.
Voila!
Validation
If everything goes right, you should get the Google apps and services ready to use once you reboot.
LineageOS 18.1 with GApps
Most GApps distributions and custom ROMs support OTA survival, which means it’s not necessary to re-flash a GApps package when you install a ROM update. A major version update is another story though, as you have to locate the appropriate GApps package for the new Android base and if necessary, make a clean install.
What is your preferred GApps package of choice? Let us know in the comments below!
The popular West Texas swimming spot has been closed since 2019 for repairs.
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A swimmer readies to dive off a board.
Story and Photography by Sarah M. Vasquez
July 5, 2021
Swimming in the spring-fed pool at Balmorhea State Park was part of Ezra Varela’s childhood growing up in Pecos. “It’s just good for the community,” says Varela. “It’s a place for us to go when it’s hot.”
On Saturday, June 26, after two years of closures for construction and repairs, the pool reopened, providing a much-needed reprieve from the summer’s triple-digit heat. Established in the 1930s, the pool, which stays between 72 and 76 degrees year-round, is located in Toyahvale, four miles southwest of the West Texas town of Balmorhea, and has offered a place to swim, scuba dive, and camp for 85 years. With the San Solomon Springs feeding into the pool, the water is crystal clear and doesn’t require chlorine. Spanning 1.3 acres and holding 3.5 million gallons of water, Balmorhea is the largest spring-fed pool in the world.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) initially closed the pool in 2018 after structural damage was discovered under the diving board. The pool reopened in March 2019, but other problems and the COVID-19 pandemic forced the TPWD to close the park once again. In early June, after TPWD announced that the pool and day use areas would reopen, day pass reservations were quickly snatched up, as the capacity was reduced to 650 people.
Some swimmers arrived before the doors opened at 8 a.m., eagerly waiting to jump back into the water. Many set up camp with canopies and hammocks, and one family even brought a large inflatable duck to float around in the pool. Ezra Varela, who now lives in Odessa, spent his Saturday diving off the high board. The familiar sounds of water splashing filled the air that Saturday morning. Swimmers cheered in encouragement for the timid divers.
People set up canopies and hammocks as they spent the day under the Texas sun at the pool.
From left, Annie Rosenthal, Mitch Borden, Carlos Morales and Matt Reiner from Marfa swim in the pool at Balmorhea State Park. The park reopened after it closed for renovations and repairs in 2018.
Travis Bubenik floats in the spring-fed pool on the first day of the reopening of the swimming pool.
Swimmers take a break from the water and do some poolside reading.
A swimmer jumps into the natural spring fed pool at Balmorhea State Park during the first day it reopened this past weekend.
Last week, Offspring #1 and I had an appointment that ended around noon. We decided to grab some Subway on our way home, and not only could we order food, but we could sit in the actual restaurant and eat it. Just like it was 2019 or something. (Switzerland has been more cautious about reopening than the US and our vaccinations still lag behind US vaccines.)
We were positively giddy.
We’re not the only people who are excited about eating in a restaurant these days, and that’s good news for the restaurant business and great news for restaurant employees. The Wall Street Journal Reports
Restaurants and other hospitality businesses added a seasonally adjusted 343,000 jobs in June, the department said Friday. Retailers added 67,000 jobs last month, including strong gains at clothing stores, indicating Americans are getting dressed up to go out and back to offices. Similarly, personal-services businesses such as salons and dry cleaners added 29,000 jobs.
Woo-hoo! And that also means increased wages, including signing bonuses for fast-food workers. Of course, increased labor costs mean increased prices and decreased profits for businesses that were destroyed by the pandemic. But, it’s great news for employees themselves.
And it’s bringing up some essentials in hiring: If you can’t find employees, you need to change something.
Amusement parks are doing it with free french fries for their employees. (Admittedly, this would probably encourage me to get a job. I mean, a paycheck is good, but french fries? Yum. Throw in some brownies, and I am there.) Of course, that’s free french fries with an increased wage and some family passes.
If you’re struggling to hire people for any position, you really need to look at what you can offer that your competitors cannot. (Remember, when hiring, competitors are not only companies in the same sector, but companies that would hire the same type of people.) While free french fries are probably not going to lure in your new Chief Human Resources Officer (unless, you know, it’s me you want to hire), there is something out there that can put you ahead of other companies. For example:
Bump your salaries, so you’re not paying midpoint but above midpoint.
Increase your weeks of vacation.
Ensure that you have options for working from home (most employees actually want a hybrid situation).
Forget that crappy hotdesking thing. (A friend’s company bought Ikea carts for all employees so they could wheel their stuff around and find a different place every day. Do not do that. Employees hate it.)
Train managers so that you have good management. Fire bad managers.
Ask your employees what perks they want (not just what your French fry scarfing CHRO wants).
Ask your candidates what they look for in a job.
Forget about purple unicorns. Forget about unicorns altogether. If you have a unique position, be willing to either pay a freaking fortune for it or to train a horse to sit still while you tape a horn on its forehead.
I know you don’t have unlimited budgets to bring people in. But, how much money do you lose not having key positions filled? How much money do you lose when employees quit because your managers are untrained or just plain bad? Make sure you look at the whole picture. Take a page out of the restaurant business and make your business more attractive to potential employees.
Last week, Offspring #1 and I had an appointment that ended around noon. We decided to grab some Subway on our way home, and not only could we order food, but we could sit in the actual restaurant and eat it. Just like it was 2019 or something. (Switzerland has been more cautious about reopening than the US and our vaccinations still lag behind US vaccines.)