3 ms·

What the hell? He used an unsupported procedure to install software of unknown functionality, compatibility and provenance on his phone, and blames Google for

What the hell? He used an unsupported procedure to install software of unknown functionality, compatibility and provenance on his phone, and blames Google for bricking his device? It's never been very clear what "open" means, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean "untrained persons can perform major surgery risk-free".

jsz0 16y ago
I agree this write up is a bit silly but if we want to define an open platform it should probably be as open as x86 PCs. Who would buy a PC that locked you out of the BIOS and only booted a digitally signed / approved open source OS? That's basically what most of these Android phones are offering. I don't think that's good enough.
RickHull 16y ago
Seriously, and just about every firmware upgrade guide tells you to back up your existing ROM. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Howto:_Nandroid_Backup http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Howto:_Nandroid_...
alxp 16y ago
Here's the important sentence, and why the author has a point: "if I was running a jailbroken iPhone, I'd just restore it with iTunes, and it would be factory-fresh with known software." Apple tells you not to jailbreak, but they'll happily let you back in the house if you've gotten yourself into a mess. Google are telling power users that their OS is the hacker-friendly one, but leaves minefields for anyone who takes them at their word and tries to do what the author did.
thought_alarm 16y ago
> It's never been very clear what "open" means, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean "untrained persons can perform major surgery risk-free". With Android, "Open" means you must perform major risky surgery on your device to install software that hasn't been approved by your carrier. With iPhone, "Closed" means you can always install the latest OS as soon as it's released.

3 ms·

What the hell? He used an unsupported procedure to install software of unknown functionality, compatibility and provenance on his phone, and blames Google for

by samstokes 16y ago

jsz0 16y ago
I agree this write up is a bit silly but if we want to define an open platform it should probably be as open as x86 PCs. Who would buy a PC that locked you out of the BIOS and only booted a digitally signed / approved open source OS? That's basically what most of these Android phones are offering. I don't think that's good enough.
RickHull 16y ago
Seriously, and just about every firmware upgrade guide tells you to back up your existing ROM. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Howto:_Nandroid_Backup http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Howto:_Nandroid_...
alxp 16y ago
Here's the important sentence, and why the author has a point: "if I was running a jailbroken iPhone, I'd just restore it with iTunes, and it would be factory-fresh with known software." Apple tells you not to jailbreak, but they'll happily let you back in the house if you've gotten yourself into a mess. Google are telling power users that their OS is the hacker-friendly one, but leaves minefields for anyone who takes them at their word and tries to do what the author did.
thought_alarm 16y ago
> It's never been very clear what "open" means, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean "untrained persons can perform major surgery risk-free". With Android, "Open" means you must perform major risky surgery on your device to install software that hasn't been approved by your carrier. With iPhone, "Closed" means you can always install the latest OS as soon as it's released.