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Of all the efforts at an alternative mobile OS so far, Harmony OS seems to have the best chances of success, because it is backed up by the Chinese state and it

Of all the efforts at an alternative mobile OS so far, Harmony OS seems to have the best chances of success, because it is backed up by the Chinese state and its pervasive surveillance apparatus. With government help and full integration into the total surveillance of all Chinese citizens, they can get their share of the Chinese market and break the application barrier.

pjmlp 7y ago
As if Google and Apple don't have to obey the wishes of FBI, CIA, NSA,... regarding "making the world safer".
- taf2 7y ago
  That usually doesn't involve building "re-education" camps [1], blocking sites like this one because the mention of the word "tiananmen" and "square". [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_re-education_camps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_re-education_camps
  - pjmlp 7y ago
    Is Guantanamo already closed?
- JohnStrangeII 7y ago
  The US doesn't have a citizen score, political re-education camps, Tiananmen Square massacre, widespread censorship (like disconnecting a phone when you say a certain word), filtering of all foreign content and blocking of sites like Wikipedia or New York Times, BBC News, massive displacements and forced re-settlements, a vast number of political prisoners, massive squelching of protests and demonstrations (right now, there are videos of large troop movements towards Hong Kong), and so on. Not to speak of Tibet... Anyway, my point was not primarily meant political, it was more that Huawei has good chances of succeeding with this OS, because they are backed up and supported by the Chinese government. That's true even if you are 100% pro Chinese one-party government.
  - pjmlp 7y ago
    You mean like Guantanamo? Or the ones managed by CIA outside American borders to do it more cleanly?
    - mika9090 7y ago
      If you are comparing camps that hosts millions to a camp that host a few hundreds people, none of which is a citizen were you have the right as a citizen to protest against without being send to it. You are simply pathetic.
    - camgunz 7y ago
      Guantanamo is bad, no question. But there's a chasm between holding 800 foreign nationals (and, from time to time, traitorous Americans) and rounding up millions of ethnic minorities for re-education based on their race, religion, or politics. If you looked up false equivalence in the dictionary, this would be Exhibit A.
      - pjmlp 7y ago
        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haska_Meyna_wedding_party_airstrike https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haska_Meyna_wedding_party_ai...
        camgunz 7y ago
        Moving the goalposts isn't helpful; let's skip to the end. I'm no believer in American Exceptionalism. I've read A People's History, I'm pretty familiar with the crisis of mass incarceration and the general failure of our criminal justice system, I'm well-informed about widespread domestic surveillance and espionage programs, and I'm deeply cynical about US foreign policy as a whole. But even someone like me has to admit that the US is closer to a free state than China. Here's why I think that: - Our court system is constantly in the throes of "freedom" vs. "tyranny" (lots of judges disagree with Citizens United, for example. - We have a free press that is constantly critical of our president and government. - I can be critical of our president and government with absolutely no repercussions from my government. - We give billions in foreign aid. - We still accept tons of asylum and immigration applications - In fact many of our cities are "sanctuary cities" for immigrants - We celebrate the history of Americans who have fought for fundamental freedoms and civil rights - We are the most diverse nation on the planet, and many of us are intensely proud of it. - We have free elections. - Don't @ me about election problems; they're still nothing like the fraudulent elections in Russia/China/etc. - We have healthy opposition parties. - We actually believe the US is a work in progress, not "perfect as it is" (see: "a more perfect union"). Sure there's a lot of work to do. And I'm sympathetic to the fact that China and Russia face different challenges than we do. But I absolutely refuse to accept the assertion that the US is anywhere near the same point on the authoritarian spectrum as they are. Such comparisons are facile, ignorant, and reinforce a nihilistic vision of Western, classically liberal values that is at the root of the rise of nationalism and authoritarianism -- which is itself responsible for the destruction of many millions of lives across the world. These things are not the same, any more than Democrats and Republicans are the same. One is clearly better than the other, and it is literally a matter of life and death that we figure that out.
- roca 7y ago
  Remember when the FBI tried to get Apple to cooperate in opening the phones of the San Bernadino attackers, and Apple wouldn't? The equivalent situation simply would not and has not happened in China. Instead Tencent and other vendors explicitly run mass surveillance and censorship on behalf of the Chinese government. The situation in the USA isn't perfect but it's far better than the situation in China. It really bothers me when people fail to make the distinction. And I'm not even American.

pjmlp 7y ago

As if Google and Apple don't have to obey the wishes of FBI, CIA, NSA,... regarding "making the world safer".

taf2 7y ago
That usually doesn't involve building "re-education" camps [1], blocking sites like this one because the mention of the word "tiananmen" and "square". [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_re-education_camps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_re-education_camps
- pjmlp 7y ago
  Is Guantanamo already closed?
JohnStrangeII 7y ago
The US doesn't have a citizen score, political re-education camps, Tiananmen Square massacre, widespread censorship (like disconnecting a phone when you say a certain word), filtering of all foreign content and blocking of sites like Wikipedia or New York Times, BBC News, massive displacements and forced re-settlements, a vast number of political prisoners, massive squelching of protests and demonstrations (right now, there are videos of large troop movements towards Hong Kong), and so on. Not to speak of Tibet... Anyway, my point was not primarily meant political, it was more that Huawei has good chances of succeeding with this OS, because they are backed up and supported by the Chinese government. That's true even if you are 100% pro Chinese one-party government.
- pjmlp 7y ago
  You mean like Guantanamo? Or the ones managed by CIA outside American borders to do it more cleanly?
  - mika9090 7y ago
    If you are comparing camps that hosts millions to a camp that host a few hundreds people, none of which is a citizen were you have the right as a citizen to protest against without being send to it. You are simply pathetic.
  - camgunz 7y ago
    Guantanamo is bad, no question. But there's a chasm between holding 800 foreign nationals (and, from time to time, traitorous Americans) and rounding up millions of ethnic minorities for re-education based on their race, religion, or politics. If you looked up false equivalence in the dictionary, this would be Exhibit A.
    - pjmlp 7y ago
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haska_Meyna_wedding_party_airstrike https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haska_Meyna_wedding_party_ai...
      - camgunz 7y ago
        Moving the goalposts isn't helpful; let's skip to the end. I'm no believer in American Exceptionalism. I've read A People's History, I'm pretty familiar with the crisis of mass incarceration and the general failure of our criminal justice system, I'm well-informed about widespread domestic surveillance and espionage programs, and I'm deeply cynical about US foreign policy as a whole. But even someone like me has to admit that the US is closer to a free state than China. Here's why I think that: - Our court system is constantly in the throes of "freedom" vs. "tyranny" (lots of judges disagree with Citizens United, for example. - We have a free press that is constantly critical of our president and government. - I can be critical of our president and government with absolutely no repercussions from my government. - We give billions in foreign aid. - We still accept tons of asylum and immigration applications - In fact many of our cities are "sanctuary cities" for immigrants - We celebrate the history of Americans who have fought for fundamental freedoms and civil rights - We are the most diverse nation on the planet, and many of us are intensely proud of it. - We have free elections. - Don't @ me about election problems; they're still nothing like the fraudulent elections in Russia/China/etc. - We have healthy opposition parties. - We actually believe the US is a work in progress, not "perfect as it is" (see: "a more perfect union"). Sure there's a lot of work to do. And I'm sympathetic to the fact that China and Russia face different challenges than we do. But I absolutely refuse to accept the assertion that the US is anywhere near the same point on the authoritarian spectrum as they are. Such comparisons are facile, ignorant, and reinforce a nihilistic vision of Western, classically liberal values that is at the root of the rise of nationalism and authoritarianism -- which is itself responsible for the destruction of many millions of lives across the world. These things are not the same, any more than Democrats and Republicans are the same. One is clearly better than the other, and it is literally a matter of life and death that we figure that out.
roca 7y ago
Remember when the FBI tried to get Apple to cooperate in opening the phones of the San Bernadino attackers, and Apple wouldn't? The equivalent situation simply would not and has not happened in China. Instead Tencent and other vendors explicitly run mass surveillance and censorship on behalf of the Chinese government. The situation in the USA isn't perfect but it's far better than the situation in China. It really bothers me when people fail to make the distinction. And I'm not even American.