4 ms·

A computer without software is no longer a computer?

• mhh__ 6y ago
  As a legal distinction I think it's not unreasonable, i.e. a TV these days is just a big ipad it it's not considered a personal computer.
  • bigbubba 6y ago
    If a TV isn't plugged into anything, I suppose it's no longer a TV.
  • Valkhyr 6y ago
    The big difference is that you generally see more people who would find it useful to run arbitrary software on their phone than on their TV or smart fridge, especially considering that recent phones have single core performance approaching (or exceeding older) laptops. There are plenty of people in this world for whom their smartphone is their primary or only computer (by necessity or choice), and it sucks that they cannot actually take full control of their computer. (For what it's worth, I also think that if you are in the minority who want to run custom software on your TV, the manufacturer should absolutely not be able to prevent you from doing so, because it's your TV - void your warranty while you are using unsupported software? Maybe. Prevent install outright? Hell no.)