Alternative to Google's Playstore

[crazed 9.6]

https://f-droid.org/en/about/

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) on the Android platform.
A repository of FOSS apps, along with an Android client to perform installations and updates.
News, reviews, and other features covering all things Android and software-freedom related.

The original F-Droid client app was based on the Aptoide app developed by Roberto Jacinto.


*Copied and shown below are their 'Terms' policies

Terms, etc.

F-Droid is a non-profit volunteer project. Although every effort is made to ensure that everything in the repository is safe to install, you use it AT YOUR OWN RISK. Wherever possible, applications in the repository are built from source, and that source code is checked for potential security or privacy issues. This checking is far from exhaustive and there are no guarantees.

F-Droid respects your privacy. We don’t track you, or your device. We don’t track what you install. You don’t need an account to use the client, and it sends no additional identifying data when communicating with our web servers, other than its version number. We don’t even allow you to install other applications from the repository that track you, unless you first enable ‘Tracking’ in the AntiFeatures section of preferences. Any personal data you decide to give us (e.g. your email address when registering for an account to post on the forum) goes no further than us, and will not be used for anything other than allowing you to maintain your account.

[Shooty]

Great info, crazed, Thanks!
/Shooty

[4me2c]

Thanks crazed... Definitely a Keeper...!!!

Might just Help those with worries about Privacy and Security with this :

"Simple Bitcoin Wallet (aka SBW) is an open-source, non-custodial, autonomous Bitcoin wallet for Android devices which can store BTC as well as send and receive Bitcoin transactions. On top of that SBW provides an extensive Lightning Network support and is capable of sending, receiving and routing of Lightning payments."...!!

Of Course, "Use At Your Own Risk" is the 1st Step...! :cool:

[12icer]

OUTSTANDING!!! Anything that gets us away from information central is a great thing, MEGA thanks for this one Crazed!!!

[guest]

Here I go again, Can you tell me how to use this? How do you add it to the Box/ i.e. BuzzTv 4900?

Thank you

[crazed 9.6]

i believe they have an app (Android client) that can be installed on your device, which will help with downloading their online apps they have available.
Or they also have their apps in apk form I do beleive.
In apk, it gives you the choice to sideload direct into your device.

I will try and get this tested on the 4900 device later this evening or perhaps tomorrow, as I am just on my way out the door for the night.

Sideloading an APK file is easy enough and done thru your AppInstaller or File Manager(Browser).
Simply load the apk onto a USB drive and insert into Buzz device and open File Manager or Installer and find the drive and install the apk/app

[crazed 9.6]

I was correct in that you can download any of their apps as an .apk file and transfer it on to a USB drive or some other storage drive. Insert that drive into the XRS4900 and open the File Browser (which can be found as a shortcut on the Home Screen).
Or you could also use the App Installer instead of the File Browser, which does the same thing but is not as good at recognizing some content on certain drives. The File Browser is much better at recognizing most all drives and their contents.
But either of the two Installers that Buzz has on the Home Screen as 'shortcuts' will work .... (AppInstaller or File Browser).

You will need to install the f-droid client as a .apk file and then after that is on your Buzz box, then you can install apps directly from that client onto your Buzz box and no need for sideloading the .apk version of any given app.
Although they do give you the choice to use either method with any and all of their apps.



Open the site thru your PC or Laptop.
The link below will take you to their 'about us' page.

https://f-droid.org/en/about/
I like to direct people to open that page first and then their Terms and Conditions and that kinda stuff can be read.

You can navigate from there to their Apps pages thru the Tabs seen in the blue navigation bar.

So open the 'Apps' tab.
The first thing we want is that f-droid client, so we then can use that to install any future apps.
We will need to install this client as a .apk sideload installation.

To find the client .apk, just open the first app available seen on the Apps page , which should be a Thor Browser.
Open that and scroll down a bit till you find the link to download the client.
The clickable link (tab) will be seen labeled as 'DOWNLOAD F-DROID' and found below the picture of the turtle :)
There are various versions of this Client found on the site, The version for you would be depending on your device's Android version installed.

Clicking that link will save the file onto your PC as an .apk file.
So transfer that file onto your USB drive now and insert the drive into the Buzz box and install the .apk/app as outline previously.

But first there is one thing that you should do before anything else... and this is done for a save guard.
Open your BuzzTV Utilities shortcut from Home Screen and open the Navigation Bar and turn that On.

The reason I like to turn this On is because there are times I may install a certain app and without really knowing what the outcome would be, so with that Navigation Bar, I can always navigate out of trouble (which would be seen at the bottom of the screen and accessed with your RCU's mouse option if needed).
An example to mention is when I installed a Fresh Home Screen app that would allow your own background image, of which I had a pic of my HotRod Ford Coupe. But only problem was that there was no way to get back to BuzzTV Home screen and all the functions , nothing would work on the RCU and there were no shortcuts seen onscreen.... but I did have that Navigation Bar :)
Otherwise I provably would have had to power the unit off and on again to gain back BuzzTV Home screen.... so do your self a favor and before installing or opening any new apps, no matter what they might be, turn on that Navigation Bar to save yourself any future headaches.

Buzz Team did a good job in recently giving us that Navigation Bar :)

So after that is done, then go ahead and install that f-droid client .apk file onto your Buzz box.
You should see a message appear before anything else happens and that message will say that your phone does not have permission to install from this unknown source.
Yes, the program thinks this is your phone, but that is okay.

So what to do now is select the Settings option seen there onscreen with that message and allow F-Droid (turn the light to On).

You can also find this function thru the Settings shortcut from Home Screen.
Home Screen > Settings > Device Preferences > Security & Restrictions > Unknown Sources).

Let it install and then you will find the F-Droid app in your All Apps shortcut.

Open the F-Droid and browse for apps.
Use your mouse and scroll to the bottom and over to the right and tap the Search icon.
Then in next page up top right is the function to search by time added or by alphabetical order.
Or search by Category thru the menu seen at the very bottom of the screen.


On a side note, do not trust using a crypto wallet from your android TV device, unless you have the access point fully secured first, and that is sometimes hard to do with these androids and all their opened 'back doors' and such things.
If you have good security on your internet access then it should not be a problem, but be aware of that possibility of vulnerability.


Explore some apps if you are brave, and this is where the Navigation Bar will save you if perhaps you opened something that seem like it will not close for you or if you loose all RCU functions,, then that navigation Bar will still work to escape with, if using the mouse option on RCU

[crazed 9.6]

Listed below will be some apps and their descriptions, which I have found that may be useful.
These apps are mainly created for use on a phone but will work on any android device.

I will be adding to the list as time and testing permits.
These apps have been loaded directly onto my android device thru the F-Droid Client.



- APK Explorer & Editor - Version: v0.19
An open Source app created to explore the contents of installed apps on your device(s).
-- allows full access for viewing of the files/contents of your installed apps.
-- stores/saves ongoing 'projects'.
-- can be used as an .apk installer.
-- can be used as a multi .apk bundle installer.

An attached mouse will come in handy with using this app. Your RCU (remote control unit) should also have a Mouse function, but is not as user friendly as an attached or wireless mouse.


https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.apk.editor/

https://github.com/apk-editor/APK-Explorer-Editor
-end




- Just (Video) Player
Video player based on ExoPlayer library.

It is not an m3u Player... but can play your saved movies with this Player.
The reason why I have added it here is because the first thing I noticed is how very fast it is at fast forward or rewind.
It is the fastest I have ever seen in a Player.

Features
* Audio/subtitle track selection
* Playback speed control
* Horizontal swipe and double tap to quickly seek
* Vertical swipe to change brightness (left) / volume (right)
* Pinch to zoom (Android 7+)
* PiP (Picture in Picture) on Android 8+ (resizable on Android 11+)
* Resize (fit/crop)
* Volume boost
* Auto frame rate matching on Android TV/boxes (Android 6+)
* Post-playback actions (delete file/skip to next)
* Touch lock (long tap)
* No ads, tracking or excessive permissions

Most of the features can only be accessed when using a touch phone or touch screen tablet.
Closed Caption is working, and can turn On or Off.


https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.brouken.player/

https://github.com/moneytoo/Player
-end





- Apkpurer
Search/Browse and Download .apk files from apkpurer, directly thru the F-Droid Client you have installed on your Android device.


https://f-droid.org/en/packages/gh.cloneconf.apkpurer/

https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata/-/blob/master/metadata/gh.cloneconf.apkpurer.yml
-end

[Farmer1]

Thanks crazed great info

[crazed 9.6]

Thanks crazed great info

I was just now browsing in the app selections again.
The list of available apps is huge.
Lots of the apps are created for phones but they all can be used on any android really. Except some for obvious reasons.

As example: I just came across this 'A Whip' app. It turns your phone into a whip noise when you do a whipping action with your phone.
Not much good for a BuzzTV device but would be awesome installed on your phone :)


Another one that is interesting but is for the expert user.
It's an app that can move system apps into a User app environment and vise versa.

If you ever tried deleting certain apps on certain devices like Youtube for example., but you find that you cannot delete it because it was installed as a system app.
With this new app mover, after you have moved the system app out of system apps environment, you can then delete them type apps that you don't want.
Netflix is another example.
But the risk is that if you delete a system app that is or was needed for system functionality, you may toast your device, so it is imperative that you know what you are doing when using this app.
And it needs to be an UnRooted device with a version of BusyBox installed.
BusyBox is basically an app that allows linux type functionalities/processes to occur.

The app is named --> /system/app mover

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.j4velin.systemappmover/

These apps can all be installed thru F-Droid on your device
I only post the f-droid and github links to show the info on the app... and there is the apk there too for sideloading, if preferred.



That apkpurer app is another good one.
It allows you to search with the F-Droid client and search thru the apkpure archives for apks/apps for downloading.
An example tis comes in handy is when i searched for an m3u Player only thru the F-droid archives,they do not have them type players, but a search the apkpurer thru my F-Droid client, which is installed on my BuzzTV device, and I was able to find and download the m3u Perfect Player apk for installation.
All done thru the installed F-Droid client on the Buzz box:)

Seems this F-Droid client will also allow downloading from mirror playstore apps, or something like that, I am still exploring the many functions and possibilities with this Client.

It is pretty much endless in what it can access as per apks found online. But it takes some experimentation and time to see and understand everything.
The F-Droid client for example, can be found in different versions depending on what the app you want to download requires and on what Android OS version is installed on your device.
That's a nice touch.


lol, I could carry on ,,, but I will end it there for now :)





another one especially for your phone.

Android Run - Calculates distance, instant speed and average speed.
Logs all data in a CVS file that can be easily imported into LibreOffice, for off-line analysis.

[crazed 9.6]

this next one is interesting.
It is an online Messenger service that it works on the TOR environment, thru the Onion Browser.

Anonymous Messenger
Version 0.8.8
A peer to peer private anonymous and secure messenger that works over the TOR network.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.dx.anonymousmessenger/


One of the interesting things about this messenger is that you share contacts thru a Blockchain hashtag or with the blockchain QR code.

The reason why I find this interesting is that it is over the TOR network which is a secure network.
The Blockchain technology is soon to be implemented and already is being implemented by governments to have control on all people/citizens.
I do not mean to bring speculation into this , but being that this messenger is using the Blockchain as part of its security to it's users, I wonder how all this will play in with the overall scheme of things which we all will be experiencing now and in the near future.

Interesting indeed that they are using this blockchain technology as a service a step ahead of the others in this sense.

Okay, i installed this messenger onto my Buzz box. I now have a Blockchain hash-tag as my identity... :eek:
I am now a QR code :eek:

lol... at least it is not a government vaccine passport QR code :)

[crazed 9.6]

How about an application that can take any app that you may have installed on your device and make an .apk file out of that app.
You can then send that apk file to friends or what ever the need may be.

That is cool stuff right there :)

Apk Extractor
Version 1.4

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/axp.tool.apkextractor/

[12icer]

A lot of really good apps at this place Crazed, man it is wide open all you have to decide is what you want to do if you can. HEHEHEH!

OR should I say WHAT DO I WANT TO DO NEXT??

[crazed 9.6]

OR should I say WHAT DO I WANT TO DO NEXT??

yes sir, exactly :)

[dara]

An app I use from F-droid is DNS66, which is a vpn app that blocks ads from most apps, which helps a lot if you don't like excessive ads, and you can't root the device to install Ad-away. Ads still appear in Chrome though, its easier to use Firefox or another browser app that does a better job of filtering ads. I guess I should look for more apps in F-droi, but I'll admit its hard to keep track of apps from non-Play stores, at least for me.