The mailing list for users of the eduroam Configuration Assistant Tool (CAT)

[Guy Halse <guy AT tenet.ac.za>]

    Hi

On 2021/09/01 09:10, Stefan Winter wrote:

I know that discontinuing old versions is always a controversial topic,
and particularly so for Android where ancient versions tend to live much
longer than one might hope. Hence this mail, to open a discussion. If
you have strong feelings about old Android versions, please reply to
this mail.
    
    
    As a general rule, devices live much longer in the developing world
    than you might expect of be used to in Europe or North America. More
    importantly, the argument that users should simply upgrade or
    replace a device is deeply problematic in societies where doing so
    costs more than the average monthly wage. The COVID-19 pandemic has
    exacerbated this problem by putting a greater reliance on whatever
    device is available to continue studies when face-to-face teaching
    is not possible, and the same countries that suffer from the long
    tail are probably also well behind in any vaccination programme.
    That means we should always tread as lightly as possible when
    discontinuing old devices, and should be more cautious about this
    while COVID-19 remains part of the problem.
    
    The above also means that any stats of version downloads from the
    CAT website are also of limited use. It is the emerging eduroam NROs
    that are disproportionally likely to experience this problem, and
    they're by definition comparably low numbers of users.
    
    I would argue that the morally right approach here is not to look at
    what is passed manufacturer EOL, but what is technically practical
    to support.
    
    From your bug report, there's a suggestion that there's a potential
    for a work around in Android 6+. If that's true and it is possible
    to rectify the problem with relatively minor changes and still
    support 6+, it would make sense to do so and leave the eduroamCAT
    app in place for those versions. That would imply discontinuing
    support for Android 4.3 - 5 as no longer technically practical, and
    continuing to support those versions 6+ that are.
    
    By all means remove the links to the eduroamCAT app for later
    Android versions where the geteduroam app is available and works.
    And per the above, update the entry for Android 4.3 - 7 on CAT's
    website to reflect Android 6 - 7. I would even go so far as
    suggesting explicitly marking those versions as
    deprecated/unsupported because they're EOL, while still leaving the
    entry in place.
    
    However, contrary to some of the suggestions here, I would strongly
    argue against removing the eduroamCAT app from Play Store if that's
    at all possible. Instead I would suggest marking it (either in the
    description or platform support) as no longer supporting more recent
    versions of Android, and in the description referring people to the
    geteduroam app as a replacement.
    
    Regards,
    
    - Guy

--
Guy Halse
Executive Officer: Trust & Identity Tertiary Education & Research Network of South Africa NPC Fault Reporting: +27(21)763-7147 or support AT tenet.ac.za
Office: +27(21)763-7102
http://www.tenet.ac.za/contact
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