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Absolutely. I think it's easy for the HN crowd to inadvertently forget what computers / phones / tablets / TVs look like to ordinary people. I would encourage

Absolutely. I think it's easy for the HN crowd to inadvertently forget what computers / phones / tablets / TVs look like to ordinary people. I would encourage people to come up with actual use-cases and pro-con scenarios rather than 100% "emotion mind" opinions.

bitL 6y ago
So what? We are developers, we are affected, we are making ourselves heard. We aren't our users (designer's motto). It took me about 15 minutes to get my Android Phone infected by a malware by downloading just apps from Google Play. If Google is failing in such basic task for "ordinary people", all MS accomplishes is to annoy regular developers, making their apps "suspicious" to the public.
Asooka 6y ago
I don't believe any computer-illiterate people use Windows. Tablets and phones have completely replaced PCs in ordinary people's lives, with macbooks serving for the tiny percentage of tasks that need a keyboard. Anyone trying to use Windows as a "normal person" quickly runs into a bunch of random issues and edge cases, e.g. I recently realised that my microphone doesn't work right because I was plugging it into a USB3 port instead of a USB2 one. Microsoft drivers, everyone. You have nVidia drivers leaving all their previous versions installed on every update requiring use of a third party tool to clean your constantly growing C drive. You have just random driver crashes from random device manufacturers. You have at least two different control panels for every thing. And on and on. It is nearly impossible to use Windows unless you're a power user and know its workings, or have someone else administer your PC and only run MSOffice and Outlook. That said, Smart Screen is a useful feature, I do want to know if the program I downloaded was not signed by the developer. What I would like from it however is that it should show up on every install with either "This program is signed by Malbolge Inc." or "This program does not have a signature" (in bold on bright red background with big exclamation marks border); "Do you wish to install?". Every installer gets this popup, nobody is spared. For the unsigned case, maybe require two clicks - a checkbox and a button. Because I always want to know who signed the installer, just in case I downloaded a compromised installer signed by a certificate different from what I expect. It also makes the unsigned installer popup less scary in comparison, though it must be kept visually distinct from the signed installer popup. For individual portable programs that are not installed, you will also have a "do not ask again" checkbox. Again, this will pop up for every program at least once.

bitL 6y ago

So what? We are developers, we are affected, we are making ourselves heard. We aren't our users (designer's motto). It took me about 15 minutes to get my Android Phone infected by a malware by downloading just apps from Google Play. If Google is failing in such basic task for "ordinary people", all MS accomplishes is to annoy regular developers, making their apps "suspicious" to the public.

Asooka 6y ago

I don't believe any computer-illiterate people use Windows. Tablets and phones have completely replaced PCs in ordinary people's lives, with macbooks serving for the tiny percentage of tasks that need a keyboard. Anyone trying to use Windows as a "normal person" quickly runs into a bunch of random issues and edge cases, e.g. I recently realised that my microphone doesn't work right because I was plugging it into a USB3 port instead of a USB2 one. Microsoft drivers, everyone. You have nVidia drivers leaving all their previous versions installed on every update requiring use of a third party tool to clean your constantly growing C drive. You have just random driver crashes from random device manufacturers. You have at least two different control panels for every thing. And on and on. It is nearly impossible to use Windows unless you're a power user and know its workings, or have someone else administer your PC and only run MSOffice and Outlook. That said, Smart Screen is a useful feature, I do want to know if the program I downloaded was not signed by the developer. What I would like from it however is that it should show up on every install with either "This program is signed by Malbolge Inc." or "This program does not have a signature" (in bold on bright red background with big exclamation marks border); "Do you wish to install?". Every installer gets this popup, nobody is spared. For the unsigned case, maybe require two clicks - a checkbox and a button. Because I always want to know who signed the installer, just in case I downloaded a compromised installer signed by a certificate different from what I expect. It also makes the unsigned installer popup less scary in comparison, though it must be kept visually distinct from the signed installer popup. For individual portable programs that are not installed, you will also have a "do not ask again" checkbox. Again, this will pop up for every program at least once.