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Game consoles are not general computing devices, PCs/Macs are. I believe phones have become so as well, but that I think thats where the debate lies.
by km3r 6y ago
Game consoles are not general computing devices, PCs/Macs are. I believe phones have become so as well, but that I think thats where the debate lies.
- colejohnson66 6y agoWhat I’m wondering is: what makes a “general computing device”? As Sony showed with OtherOS on the PS3 (and PS3 based supercomputers), a console can be used as a general purpose computer. It ran full blown Linux and supported USB peripherals. While a phone is integral to daily life, that doesn’t make something “general purpose”, IMO. I can’t write code comfortably on it, for example. The iPad, OTOH, could be argued to be a general purpose computer. Heck, Apple even advertises it as a laptop replacement! But phones? I just don’t see it. ---- That debate is the fundamental rub though: if you don’t see phones as “general purpose”, you’re more ok with locked down systems (consoles for example), but if you do see them as that, opening them up seems logical. The problem is that phones are in a gray area; they do many things computers do such as web browsing, email, etc., but they don’t function as them sometimes. Sure, we could put VS Code on Android, but I doubt anyone would ever use it. So there’s not really a clear answer, and it isn’t helped by bad arguments from both sides: the “open” crowd claims nothing would change for those who don’t want it do (just keep using Apple’s App Store and ignore the others), but it would very easily cause a race to the bottom. And the “closed” crowd says to just choose Android, but Android is in many ways worse than iOS; worse privacy is a big thing.
- saagarjha 6y agoMaybe VS Code on Android is what it'd take for a decent Android tablet to appear.