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> The major computing platforms now have gatekeepers (Google Play, iOS App Store) So true. You can sideload on Android though. So all is not lost.

by JTon 11y ago

stegosaurus 11y ago
I can. You can. The general public can whilst the 'allow untrusted sources' box exists. But once that box goes, the vast majority of the audience for software outside of Google Play is gone. F-Droid is already tiny as it stands!
coroutines 11y ago
I think what OP is talking about is even though we know how to get over the walls of these gardens, the average user would not. :(
Falcon9 11y ago
And with Xcode 7 you can deploy apps to your iOS devices with a free dev account.
- khedoros 11y ago
  Which is fine, but if I write a piece of software that I want to distribute outside of the app store, then everyone that wants to install it needs their own Mac, right? I don't think that's quite comparable to side-loading, which can be done from the device itself, without any external account or hardware.
  - vbezhenar 11y ago
    There's nothing magical in Mac. iOS apps use standard cryptographic algorithms for their digital signature, so one can write a crossplatform client which will generate developer certificate for user, sign any given binary using that certificate and install it onto iOS device. For user it won't be any harder than typing "iport install things" (or click button with some fancy GUI). I'm surprised that this idea wasn't implemented yet.
    - rjvir 11y ago
      Still requires an external Laptop/PC, you would not be able to install custom software using only the device itself.
      - conradev 11y ago
        It would require an enterprise cert or Laptop/PC to bootstrap, but theoretically you could build an on-device store. I'm still waiting for someone to build this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BsOd4PXQ0SfsdMP0n30Ud_AafYydmmOHsBODt4Ic0o8/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BsOd4PXQ0SfsdMP0n30Ud_Aa...
    - HappyTypist 11y ago
      Because when you do, Apple will require you to pre register devices and sign builds online from Apple servers, or do something else that blocks this

> The major computing platforms now have gatekeepers (Google Play, iOS App Store) So true. You can sideload on Android though. So all is not lost.

by JTon 11y ago

> The major computing platforms now have gatekeepers (Google Play, iOS App Store) So true. You can sideload on Android though. So all is not lost.

stegosaurus 11y ago

I can. You can. The general public can whilst the 'allow untrusted sources' box exists. But once that box goes, the vast majority of the audience for software outside of Google Play is gone. F-Droid is already tiny as it stands!

coroutines 11y ago

I think what OP is talking about is even though we know how to get over the walls of these gardens, the average user would not. :(

Falcon9 11y ago

And with Xcode 7 you can deploy apps to your iOS devices with a free dev account.

khedoros 11y ago
Which is fine, but if I write a piece of software that I want to distribute outside of the app store, then everyone that wants to install it needs their own Mac, right? I don't think that's quite comparable to side-loading, which can be done from the device itself, without any external account or hardware.
- vbezhenar 11y ago
  There's nothing magical in Mac. iOS apps use standard cryptographic algorithms for their digital signature, so one can write a crossplatform client which will generate developer certificate for user, sign any given binary using that certificate and install it onto iOS device. For user it won't be any harder than typing "iport install things" (or click button with some fancy GUI). I'm surprised that this idea wasn't implemented yet.
  - rjvir 11y ago
    Still requires an external Laptop/PC, you would not be able to install custom software using only the device itself.
    - conradev 11y ago
      It would require an enterprise cert or Laptop/PC to bootstrap, but theoretically you could build an on-device store. I'm still waiting for someone to build this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BsOd4PXQ0SfsdMP0n30Ud_AafYydmmOHsBODt4Ic0o8/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BsOd4PXQ0SfsdMP0n30Ud_Aa...
  - HappyTypist 11y ago
    Because when you do, Apple will require you to pre register devices and sign builds online from Apple servers, or do something else that blocks this