Fortunately cash is still a common option in Australia (and I’m here), and likely will remain so for a long time. However, I’m increasingly hearing that other countries are increasingly refusing to accept cash.
It’s probably best to get something working on Linux phones before it’s too late, but as you said Google is worse than a thief, so whatever is made should not use it. Best to maximise the freedom for people in a horrible future, lest Android or iOS ever become the only viable options. Problem being I don’t know how that would work, especially since banks would probably hate freedom respecting systems.
I agree basic functionality is higher priority, but I fear tap to pay will reach basic functionality status in some other countries when their banks phase out any alternative. (I don’t think cryptocurrencies will ever become common). It may not directly impact me that other countries phase them out, but it will gradually kill the Linux phone ecosystem.
Pretty sure it’s 3, they have a history of claiming to resurrect extinct species when they’re just modifying existing species to be a little more similar to the extinct one.
They claimed to bring back dire wolves but they’re more similar to grey wolves. They make the argument that the genes they used are what most makes a dire wolf a dire wolf, but it’s controversial.
I also remember hearing they said they would bring back a population of red wolves by extracting red wolf DNA that had been absorbed into a coyote population, but seemed to ignore the existing red wolves (which could do with extra genetic diversity) and worked using coyotes as a base.