4 ms·

Curious, aren't phones and tablets essentially just smaller personal computers?

PostOnce 9y ago
As kobeya points out https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15719171 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15719171 they are not the same thing they do less; the software is restricted, especially on iOS, there are _rules_ set out by the manufacturer about what is acceptable in software on the platform, both thematically and functionally. An app generally can't interfere with other apps, it can't be a dope wars style game about drugs; there are a lot more caveats, but I am far from aware of them all. For a long time you couldn't get a compiler or interpreter on iOS, so you couldn't use your "computer" to make more software... so it wasn't general-purpose at all, since you by definition couldn't change its purpose without the ability to make new software.
- ajdlinux 9y ago
  The bigger difference, to me, isn't so much that the walled-garden ecosystems restrict a phone/tablet's use as a general-purpose computer, than the form factors and interfaces of the device being appropriate for different forms of content creation, manipulation and consumption. Phones and tablets are great for consuming certain types of content, and having a portable camera with networking has enabled a lot of content creation. But a phone isn't a great device for doing something like long-form writing.
  - hackits 9y ago
    I don't know about you, but for most reviews and new articles it easier for me to put it on in the back-ground than having to deal with advertisement and pop-up windows on web-pages when reading text.
- thaumasiotes 9y ago
  > especially on iOS, there are _rules_ set out by the manufacturer about what is acceptable in software on the platform, both thematically and functionally. But iOS is not a phone. Windows could set rules about what was acceptable on the platform, but that wouldn't change what a personal computer was. There are no rules about what's acceptable on an iPhone.
  - PostOnce 9y ago
    it's either impossible or near impossible for normal people to change the operating system on an iPhone so iOS essentially is the phone, since there are no iPhones without it. It's not like you can just pop in an SD card with Linux on it...
- swyx 9y ago
  ok i expected HN to have the pmarca thesis in mind - aren't phone browsers still open software? am i being too idealistic?

As kobeya points out https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15719171 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15719171 they are not the same thing they do less; the software is restricted, especially on iOS, there are _rules_ set out by the manufacturer about what is acceptable in software on the platform, both thematically and functionally. An app generally can't interfere with other apps, it can't be a dope wars style game about drugs; there are a lot more caveats, but I am far from aware of them all. For a long time you couldn't get a compiler or interpreter on iOS, so you couldn't use your "computer" to make more software... so it wasn't general-purpose at all, since you by definition couldn't change its purpose without the ability to make new software.

ajdlinux 9y ago
The bigger difference, to me, isn't so much that the walled-garden ecosystems restrict a phone/tablet's use as a general-purpose computer, than the form factors and interfaces of the device being appropriate for different forms of content creation, manipulation and consumption. Phones and tablets are great for consuming certain types of content, and having a portable camera with networking has enabled a lot of content creation. But a phone isn't a great device for doing something like long-form writing.
- hackits 9y ago
  I don't know about you, but for most reviews and new articles it easier for me to put it on in the back-ground than having to deal with advertisement and pop-up windows on web-pages when reading text.
thaumasiotes 9y ago
> especially on iOS, there are _rules_ set out by the manufacturer about what is acceptable in software on the platform, both thematically and functionally. But iOS is not a phone. Windows could set rules about what was acceptable on the platform, but that wouldn't change what a personal computer was. There are no rules about what's acceptable on an iPhone.
- PostOnce 9y ago
  it's either impossible or near impossible for normal people to change the operating system on an iPhone so iOS essentially is the phone, since there are no iPhones without it. It's not like you can just pop in an SD card with Linux on it...
swyx 9y ago
ok i expected HN to have the pmarca thesis in mind - aren't phone browsers still open software? am i being too idealistic?