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We also weren't using as many walled-garden devices and ecosystems a decade ago. There are certainly a lot of issues with the app store model. But using a serv
by zymhan 10y ago
We also weren't using as many walled-garden devices and ecosystems a decade ago.
There are certainly a lot of issues with the app store model. But using a service like download.com was also rife with issues.
- 1_2__3 10y agoAnd having lived through that, and now lived through the walled garden/App Store experience, I'll say with confidence the old way was better.
- blktiger 10y agoBetter for you maybe, but not better for the average user who ended up with malware infecting their systems left and right because they weren't technical enough to avoid it.
- givinguflac 10y agoExactly. I have personally been on the receiving end of plenty of phone calls from users who had no idea they couldn't necessarily trust an application downloaded from a 3rd party site. "But it's the same application!" Sure it is, but who knows what else you're getting, even if it's as 'benign' as shitty toolbars. Has no one ever seen a parent/grandparents nightmare of toolbar hell in a browser window?
- izacus 10y agoWe did. And somehow the computer revolution still happened even though people actually had to learn a bit about how their tools worked. Meanwhile in that crazy wild west the whole OSS infrastructure powering the most important global computer network was born. Tools, operating systems and software that isn't allowed to exist in app stores because they might be "dangerous" to the average user (whoever that is).
- icebraining 10y agopeople actually had to learn a bit about how their tools worked. They didn't, though; they just muddled through and asked their friends or some tech support service to reinstall Windows occasionally, when the viruses, adware and other crap made the computer too slow, or when the ramsomware encrypted all their files.
- xg15 10y agoThen we should either: a) Educate users and give them more knowledge and better tools to easily protect themselves or b) Have app-stores organized in such a way that user interests and legitimate security concerns are not conflated with commercial interests of the platform owners as it's currently the case. Either treat app stores as a public utility with rights and regulations or require all devices to support competing stores.
- SunShiranui 10y agoYou don't necessarily need a walled garden to solve that problem - package managers on Linux distribution do the same. It needs the appropriate user experience for non-technical users.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- ixtli 10y agoThis is an excellent example: all of those less "walled gardens" ended up a mess of malware and abusive advertising. It's a pretty clear trade-off so far as I can tell.
- maxerickson 10y agoI get a headache every time I look at an app store. Google Play is full of crap, Apple's app store has plenty of low value apps, the Windows 10 App store sucks, etc, etc, etc. They've improved user security, but the amount of garbage to sift through is terrible.
- kefka 10y agoI think the following is a good way to do an "App Store": http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ And companies, individuals, non-profits, and others are all allowed to run their own repos, or mirror these.
- ixtli 10y agoTo be honest I think the chrome extension storefront(?) is pretty decent as well. It's just a matter of curation from the point they've got it at. The reality is that the average user _wants_ a barrier to entry: no one likes what download.com or sourceforge have become.
- weaksauce 10y agoMozilla now, and not sure how long it's been doing this, does code review on all submitted extensions to their extension marketplace. Google chrome's store is less restrictive as they don't do any review of it but rely on user reports to find violations of TOU/malicious activity. Similar approaches to the apple app store vs. android store... up front binary check from apple vs. a permissive store with user reports being the primary thing that pulls apps from circulation.
- mikestew 10y ago
- ungzd 10y agoDownload.com was no more than SEO junk site, no one really needed it.
- codazoda 10y agoIt was more than that, originally, it just degraded over time. They also bought up all the good competitors (softseek anyone?) and then killed them off.
- Quenz 10y agoWhat things like apt-get?
- __jal 10y agoYep. That was, best I can tell, the original "app store". Also, still the best implementation.
- paulcole 10y agoAs a consumer, I love the walled garden. I can trust things will work more or less as advertised and that I'll have financial recourse if they don't.
- jshevek 10y agoWhat you trust is the app store manager. The entire ecosystem doesn't need to be walled off in order to achieve that.
- the8472 10y agoA curated app-store should not be considered synonymous with walled garden. android allows side-loading. windows has "install.exe", the microsoft store and steam co-existing side-by-side. linux distros have their package managers, container images and `curl ... | sudo bash`. Anyone who argues that all users must be herded into a walled garden in the name of security and alternatives are not acceptable is essentially advocating a digital nanny state.
- monksy 10y ago> `curl ... | sudo bash`. That is the herpes of the Linux world. That is one of the worse things that someone can suggest to install something.
- the8472 10y agoYou missed the essence of my argument. The curl approach serves as an example of some less trustworthy, unvetted ways of installing software, similar to downloading an installer or apk from some random website. Is it a bad idea? Maybe, especially if you're not technically versed. Does that mean we should take everyone's freedom to make their own choices. "because we know what's best for you"? I don't think so. I believe that most non-technical users are self-aware enough that they stick to curated app-stores of their own volition.
- RIMR 10y agoWhy can't we just have the equivalent of APT for mobile devices?
- viraptor 10y agoWe did. On N900, but the hardware was bulky and then Nokia stopped being Nokia.
- zymhan 10y agoThat's actually pretty much what Cydia for iOS is.
- Natanael_L 10y agoF-Droid?