4 ms·

Here’s a good quote for you: “The answer to 'where you draw the line' is literally always 'somewhere.' You draw it somewhere.” How would you not think iPhones a

by waon 6y ago

Here’s a good quote for you: “The answer to 'where you draw the line' is literally always 'somewhere.' You draw it somewhere.” How would you not think iPhones are general purpose devices? Using a general purpose CPU and general purpose OS does not make the whole device “general purpose.” You’re playing word games here.

catern 6y ago
Sure, I think iPhones are general purpose computers. You seem to think that >Tesla, Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, Samsung TV, Sony Camera. are not general purpose computers. So what causes that difference in classification? As I said, it's not a technical difference - those products all have fully general-purpose hardware and software inside them - so the difference must be something else. You said: >The iPhone is a general purpose computing device unlike any of the examples you’ve given. >A monopoly over a platform people depend on for almost every aspect of their life is alarming. A monopoly over PlayStation games isn’t nearly as troubling as a monopoly over iOS apps. If I understand you right, you're saying it's fine for Playstations etc to be restricted in what software they can run, because they're not general purpose devices, but because the iPhone is a general purpose device, it should be allowed to run any software its users want. But that doesn't make any sense. Why isn't a Playstation a general purpose computer? It certainly could browse the web or run all the same software as an iPhone. Why am I not able to do that? Well, because it's restricted in what software it can run! That's the point I was obliquely trying to make.
- waon 6y ago
  I genuinely don't see the confusion here. It's totally feasible to make special purpose devices with general purpose HW and SW. In fact, it's totally feasible and common mainly because of costs. Just think about what happens if people classify devices according to your rules. Some fridges are going to be classified as a general purpose device because, guess what, they run Linux the general purpose operating system on general purpose ARM CPUs. > Tesla, Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, Samsung TV, Sony Camera They're not all intended to be used for personal computing. Are you going to replace your smartphone with any of these devices? > If I understand you right, you're saying it's fine for Playstations etc to be restricted in what software they can run I'm not "fine" with it, and I wish Sony hasn't done that. However, restrictions on a gaming console doesn't warrant the same level of attention as it does for a smartphone.

by waon 6y ago

catern 6y ago

Sure, I think iPhones are general purpose computers. You seem to think that >Tesla, Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, Samsung TV, Sony Camera. are not general purpose computers. So what causes that difference in classification? As I said, it's not a technical difference - those products all have fully general-purpose hardware and software inside them - so the difference must be something else. You said: >The iPhone is a general purpose computing device unlike any of the examples you’ve given. >A monopoly over a platform people depend on for almost every aspect of their life is alarming. A monopoly over PlayStation games isn’t nearly as troubling as a monopoly over iOS apps. If I understand you right, you're saying it's fine for Playstations etc to be restricted in what software they can run, because they're not general purpose devices, but because the iPhone is a general purpose device, it should be allowed to run any software its users want. But that doesn't make any sense. Why isn't a Playstation a general purpose computer? It certainly could browse the web or run all the same software as an iPhone. Why am I not able to do that? Well, because it's restricted in what software it can run! That's the point I was obliquely trying to make.

waon 6y ago
I genuinely don't see the confusion here. It's totally feasible to make special purpose devices with general purpose HW and SW. In fact, it's totally feasible and common mainly because of costs. Just think about what happens if people classify devices according to your rules. Some fridges are going to be classified as a general purpose device because, guess what, they run Linux the general purpose operating system on general purpose ARM CPUs. > Tesla, Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, Samsung TV, Sony Camera They're not all intended to be used for personal computing. Are you going to replace your smartphone with any of these devices? > If I understand you right, you're saying it's fine for Playstations etc to be restricted in what software they can run I'm not "fine" with it, and I wish Sony hasn't done that. However, restrictions on a gaming console doesn't warrant the same level of attention as it does for a smartphone.