6 ms·

A friendly reminder: there's no reason the iPad couldn't have things like a local shell, emacs or whatever local program you like, only the artificial barriers

A friendly reminder: there's no reason the iPad couldn't have things like a local shell, emacs or whatever local program you like, only the artificial barriers Apple imposes to limit what you can do with your own device. Until these barriers are lifted, I think I will stick to old and boring laptop computers.

briandear 9y ago
You could equally remind people that those “barriers” also carry significant benefit to the vast majority of users.
- sametmax 9y ago
  You assume you can't have your cake and eat it but it's unproven.
  - walterbell 9y ago
    Yes, see QubesOS which has a shoestring budget compared to Apple.
- HiroshiSan 9y ago
  Not sure why it has to be one or the other.
  - sbarker 9y ago
    Security yo.
    - lisper 9y ago
      There is no reason Apple could not allow users to install their own certificates, or even to just provide an "easy jailbreak" that was not accessible remotely, without compromising security for users who elected not to use these features.
      - swiley 9y ago
        He means security for apple and things on the app/itunes store.
      - cm2187 9y ago
        I keep hearing that Apple's direction of travel is to sunset MacOS for iOS. If that's the case, Apple will need to provide developers a path to develop for iOS on iOS. So there will be a need for an "expert / developer mode".
        jhbadger 9y ago
        Would they have to? I mean, yes, that would be nice, but for example people developing for game consoles don't develop on the console itself, but rather using a separate development system.
        snowwrestler 9y ago
        I hear a lot of people say that too, but Apple itself has repeatedly said that iOS and macOS serve different purposes and they will remain separate products. What we do see Apple doing is consolidating some aspects of iOS and macOS development. That makes sense since iOS was originally built on the OS X kernel, but then allowed to diverge.
      - chatmasta 9y ago
        Android allows sideloading, and the security problem arises not from users who “elected” to use those features, but from those who were duped into using them. For example somebody might be trying to play a Pokémon emulator, end up on a side loading site with some technical instructions, and load their phone with malware without even realizing it.
        madez 9y ago
        Let us not give up freedom for security. A reasonable solution would be to make it sufficiently "technical" to unlock the device, so people can't be easily tricked into it.
      - 9y ago
- _ph_ 9y ago
  The iOS model is certainly a good default, but that does not mean that some limitations that come with it couldn't be lifted to some extend. Even with full sandboxing, applications could do a lot more without compromising security than Apple allows.
zawerf 9y ago
In contrast, on Android I remember sshing and coding in vi on the very first android phone(a rooted T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream) back in 2008. It had a physical keyboard so this was actually practical.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Yes. You can even run a full GNU/Linux distro inside Android (and without root!): https://www.xda-developers.com/guide-installing-and-running-a-gnulinux-environment-on-any-android-device/ https://www.xda-developers.com/guide-installing-and-running-...
yoz-y 9y ago
It will be an interesting exercise for Apple to create a fully sandboxed computer which can be still used for actual development. With all of the push they do for education and learning to code, there is still no way to actually develop an iPad app on an iPad.

briandear 9y ago

You could equally remind people that those “barriers” also carry significant benefit to the vast majority of users.

sametmax 9y ago
You assume you can't have your cake and eat it but it's unproven.
- walterbell 9y ago
  Yes, see QubesOS which has a shoestring budget compared to Apple.
HiroshiSan 9y ago
Not sure why it has to be one or the other.
- sbarker 9y ago
  Security yo.
  - lisper 9y ago
    There is no reason Apple could not allow users to install their own certificates, or even to just provide an "easy jailbreak" that was not accessible remotely, without compromising security for users who elected not to use these features.
    - swiley 9y ago
      He means security for apple and things on the app/itunes store.
    - cm2187 9y ago
      I keep hearing that Apple's direction of travel is to sunset MacOS for iOS. If that's the case, Apple will need to provide developers a path to develop for iOS on iOS. So there will be a need for an "expert / developer mode".
      - jhbadger 9y ago
        Would they have to? I mean, yes, that would be nice, but for example people developing for game consoles don't develop on the console itself, but rather using a separate development system.
      - snowwrestler 9y ago
        I hear a lot of people say that too, but Apple itself has repeatedly said that iOS and macOS serve different purposes and they will remain separate products. What we do see Apple doing is consolidating some aspects of iOS and macOS development. That makes sense since iOS was originally built on the OS X kernel, but then allowed to diverge.
    - chatmasta 9y ago
      Android allows sideloading, and the security problem arises not from users who “elected” to use those features, but from those who were duped into using them. For example somebody might be trying to play a Pokémon emulator, end up on a side loading site with some technical instructions, and load their phone with malware without even realizing it.
      - madez 9y ago
        Let us not give up freedom for security. A reasonable solution would be to make it sufficiently "technical" to unlock the device, so people can't be easily tricked into it.
    - 9y ago
_ph_ 9y ago
The iOS model is certainly a good default, but that does not mean that some limitations that come with it couldn't be lifted to some extend. Even with full sandboxing, applications could do a lot more without compromising security than Apple allows.

zawerf 9y ago

In contrast, on Android I remember sshing and coding in vi on the very first android phone(a rooted T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream) back in 2008. It had a physical keyboard so this was actually practical.

icebraining 9y ago
Yes. You can even run a full GNU/Linux distro inside Android (and without root!): https://www.xda-developers.com/guide-installing-and-running-a-gnulinux-environment-on-any-android-device/ https://www.xda-developers.com/guide-installing-and-running-...

yoz-y 9y ago

It will be an interesting exercise for Apple to create a fully sandboxed computer which can be still used for actual development. With all of the push they do for education and learning to code, there is still no way to actually develop an iPad app on an iPad.