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I don't understand people in this thread defending Apple when AOSP is clearly more open. Yes, Apple has done well so far, but at the end of the day what are yo

I don't understand people in this thread defending Apple when AOSP is clearly more open. Yes, Apple has done well so far, but at the end of the day what are you going to trust? A talking head, or the actual code running on your device? It smells of rationalization for anyone to say that it would not be in Apple's interest to collect personal information.

blub 9y ago
Trust: the company fighting for privacy due to among other things economic incentives. Don't trust: the company fucking privacy because of economic incentives. Quite simple.
- virgilp 9y ago
  Add "temporarily" to both your statements, see how simple it really is. To add 2 more things that makes it even less simple: - "People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both". - Apple is screwing over developers AS A BUSINESS MODEL (de-value your complements) - and you want me, a developer, to support them?
  - blub 9y ago
    Everything is temporary and the best smartphone choice for privacy (or rather best compromise) is subject to change. Android freedom is purely theoretical for most people, including my family and friends. iOS security and privacy support is real and practical. P.S: Apple is not screwing developers, they're keeping them under control. Time and time again developers have proven they don't care about security or privacy and they need to be forced to obey the will of the customers through APIs which can't be easily misused.
    - virgilp 9y ago
      > Apple is not screwing developers, they're keeping them under control Their entire business model is predicated on the idea that hardware is important/ worthy, and that software should be $0.99 with free updates forever. It's basically the opposite of Microsoft - what MS did to the OEMs, Apple does to the indie devs. Also: not sure about your family, but I can choose stuff like "what keyboard to use". For me, that's a kind of freedom too.
      - blub 9y ago
        Most apps are worth 0.99, even if they cost significantly more to develop. When one considers the ads, tracking, changing features from under the customer, that's their value. The stuff that's really good costs money also on iOS. The Abby OCR is 64 EUR, OmniFocus is about 44 EUR, Korg Gadget cost 45 EUR (now 20, maybe a special offer). What keyboard to use is a freedom, but not really an important one. It's a convenience. I recently bought an iPad for my parents and that allows them to have a device which is very unlikely to get infected by spyware or malware and I can count on their private information remaining private. That gives them the freedom to use it as they like and see fot, without having to worry. And without me having to keep up with whatever tracking fuckery Google thought up.
        virgilp 9y ago
        You're a delighted Apple customer - I get it, it's your right. It's also my right to question your view that "security is freedom, freedom is insecurity and danger" (ok, I'm mean/ probably misrepresenting the second part. But not the first one - and that alone should give you a bit of pause)
        blub 9y ago
        I'm not delighted, I'm pissed off that Apple is the best choice (having no devices aside) for someone that would like the keep their basic rights to private life. I considered using Android devices, and had to concede that I have neither the time nor the skill to remove all the spyware added by very motivated and skilled Google engineers. It's a losing battle. So I decided to compromise on my freedom to control "my" device. This decision is not for everybody. But using plain Android should not be for anybody, people deserve better than a peeping tom like Google.
iaml 9y ago
AOSP is certainly more open, but half the system and its apps are provided through gapps which are also black box binary blobs that you can't easily dissect.
- andrepd 9y ago
  Well don't install gapps then, run F-droid and yalp store.
  - JetSpiegel 9y ago
    Have you seen any Android smartphone that came without Gapps? You have to be pro-active about removing them, it's an opt-in choice.

blub 9y ago

Trust: the company fighting for privacy due to among other things economic incentives. Don't trust: the company fucking privacy because of economic incentives. Quite simple.

virgilp 9y ago
Add "temporarily" to both your statements, see how simple it really is. To add 2 more things that makes it even less simple: - "People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both". - Apple is screwing over developers AS A BUSINESS MODEL (de-value your complements) - and you want me, a developer, to support them?
- blub 9y ago
  Everything is temporary and the best smartphone choice for privacy (or rather best compromise) is subject to change. Android freedom is purely theoretical for most people, including my family and friends. iOS security and privacy support is real and practical. P.S: Apple is not screwing developers, they're keeping them under control. Time and time again developers have proven they don't care about security or privacy and they need to be forced to obey the will of the customers through APIs which can't be easily misused.
  - virgilp 9y ago
    > Apple is not screwing developers, they're keeping them under control Their entire business model is predicated on the idea that hardware is important/ worthy, and that software should be $0.99 with free updates forever. It's basically the opposite of Microsoft - what MS did to the OEMs, Apple does to the indie devs. Also: not sure about your family, but I can choose stuff like "what keyboard to use". For me, that's a kind of freedom too.
    - blub 9y ago
      Most apps are worth 0.99, even if they cost significantly more to develop. When one considers the ads, tracking, changing features from under the customer, that's their value. The stuff that's really good costs money also on iOS. The Abby OCR is 64 EUR, OmniFocus is about 44 EUR, Korg Gadget cost 45 EUR (now 20, maybe a special offer). What keyboard to use is a freedom, but not really an important one. It's a convenience. I recently bought an iPad for my parents and that allows them to have a device which is very unlikely to get infected by spyware or malware and I can count on their private information remaining private. That gives them the freedom to use it as they like and see fot, without having to worry. And without me having to keep up with whatever tracking fuckery Google thought up.
      - virgilp 9y ago
        You're a delighted Apple customer - I get it, it's your right. It's also my right to question your view that "security is freedom, freedom is insecurity and danger" (ok, I'm mean/ probably misrepresenting the second part. But not the first one - and that alone should give you a bit of pause)
        blub 9y ago
        I'm not delighted, I'm pissed off that Apple is the best choice (having no devices aside) for someone that would like the keep their basic rights to private life. I considered using Android devices, and had to concede that I have neither the time nor the skill to remove all the spyware added by very motivated and skilled Google engineers. It's a losing battle. So I decided to compromise on my freedom to control "my" device. This decision is not for everybody. But using plain Android should not be for anybody, people deserve better than a peeping tom like Google.

iaml 9y ago

AOSP is certainly more open, but half the system and its apps are provided through gapps which are also black box binary blobs that you can't easily dissect.

andrepd 9y ago
Well don't install gapps then, run F-droid and yalp store.
- JetSpiegel 9y ago
  Have you seen any Android smartphone that came without Gapps? You have to be pro-active about removing them, it's an opt-in choice.