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Google Playstore is a walled garden, like Apple's. The walls are only growing higher and higher. Once Apple adds a layer of bricks, Google follows and vice vers

by corty 5y ago

Google Playstore is a walled garden, like Apple's. The walls are only growing higher and higher. Once Apple adds a layer of bricks, Google follows and vice versa.

encryptluks2 5y ago
They are very different. Google provides open source alternatives. On Linux I can use Chromium. On my Android I can install F-Droid, or just install APKs manually.
- tehlike 5y ago
  But you cannot do unattended updates through fdroid.
  - enriquto 5y ago
    sounds like a good feature to me
    - Krssst 5y ago
      If you want to update all your F-Droid apps at once on a non-rooted Android, you need to go through all of them one by one. Basically: click upgrade, click "Install", wait for Android to do its stuff, do the same for the next app. It is extremely impractical and most of the apps I installed from F-Droid are severely out of date because of this Android restriction. Fortunately F-Droid has an "Upgrade all" button which will download all the APKs in the background, but the click&wait loop sequence cannot be avoided.
      - encryptluks2 5y ago
        Not that this is perfect either but if you know how to grab the APKs and developer mode is enabled, you can script the installs using adb from a computer. I agree there is room for improvement to help make this process more seamless, but it still much more flexible than what is being offered by Apple.
      - corty 5y ago
        Just root your device. root is needed anyways e.g. for proper backups.
        tehlike 5y ago
        Prevents mass adoption, gives competitors really big hurdle to get over.
    - tehlike 5y ago
      What Krssst said You may like it as a power user, but it's essentially a killer for mass adoption.
rubatuga 5y ago
Google has done the same with YouTube to create lock-in for content creators, just like the Play Store. My pet conspiracy theory, they're also doing the same with Chrome browser, by creating as many useless features as possible.
- ashtonkem 5y ago
  Every content creator I follow seems pretty desperate to get away from YouTube. Creating a system where critical content creators are rewarded by an algorithm that requires burnout behavior continually does not seem like a long term stable business design.
  - kibwen 5y ago
    > Creating a system where critical content creators are rewarded by an algorithm that requires burnout behavior continually does not seem like a long term stable business design. Sadly, history has shown that this is completely sustainable. Content creators that burn out will be replaced from among the legion of up-and-comers who are eager for their own shot at the spotlight, and are happy to sacrifice their well-being to do so. If ruthlessly exploiting youthful naivete weren't sustainable, then the games industry would have folded decades ago.
    - intricatedetail 5y ago
      It should be regulated. Creators for all intents and purposes are employees of YouTube and should at least be paid minimum wage, get holidays and sick pay. It's time YT gets Ubered.
      - ashtonkem 5y ago
        Such systems will always work much better for undifferentiated labor than specialized labor. Uber’s workers need protection because they’re so replaceable; anyone with the same class of car in the same city can replace them. YouTube creators are irreplaceable and wildly unequal in their reach and impact. The issue here isn’t that content creators need a minimum wage, the issue here is that the algorithm needs tweaking. This is possible with regulation, but minimum wage and holiday pay won’t do it, especially since they’re not paid by the hour anyways. YouTubers would be much better served looking at what NFL players and similar organizations do to protect players rather than what factory workers did to protect themselves, since their labor looks more like sports players rather than service workers.
grishka 5y ago
Except it's not mandatory like the Apple's app store is. You could as well distribute your app straight from your website, and some developers actually do that. It's a very important difference and it's one of the main reasons I can't imagine myself using an iPhone.

by corty 5y ago

Google Playstore is a walled garden, like Apple's. The walls are only growing higher and higher. Once Apple adds a layer of bricks, Google follows and vice versa.

encryptluks2 5y ago

They are very different. Google provides open source alternatives. On Linux I can use Chromium. On my Android I can install F-Droid, or just install APKs manually.

tehlike 5y ago
But you cannot do unattended updates through fdroid.
- enriquto 5y ago
  sounds like a good feature to me
  - Krssst 5y ago
    If you want to update all your F-Droid apps at once on a non-rooted Android, you need to go through all of them one by one. Basically: click upgrade, click "Install", wait for Android to do its stuff, do the same for the next app. It is extremely impractical and most of the apps I installed from F-Droid are severely out of date because of this Android restriction. Fortunately F-Droid has an "Upgrade all" button which will download all the APKs in the background, but the click&wait loop sequence cannot be avoided.
    - encryptluks2 5y ago
      Not that this is perfect either but if you know how to grab the APKs and developer mode is enabled, you can script the installs using adb from a computer. I agree there is room for improvement to help make this process more seamless, but it still much more flexible than what is being offered by Apple.
    - corty 5y ago
      Just root your device. root is needed anyways e.g. for proper backups.
      - tehlike 5y ago
        Prevents mass adoption, gives competitors really big hurdle to get over.
  - tehlike 5y ago
    What Krssst said You may like it as a power user, but it's essentially a killer for mass adoption.

rubatuga 5y ago

Google has done the same with YouTube to create lock-in for content creators, just like the Play Store. My pet conspiracy theory, they're also doing the same with Chrome browser, by creating as many useless features as possible.

ashtonkem 5y ago
Every content creator I follow seems pretty desperate to get away from YouTube. Creating a system where critical content creators are rewarded by an algorithm that requires burnout behavior continually does not seem like a long term stable business design.
- kibwen 5y ago
  > Creating a system where critical content creators are rewarded by an algorithm that requires burnout behavior continually does not seem like a long term stable business design. Sadly, history has shown that this is completely sustainable. Content creators that burn out will be replaced from among the legion of up-and-comers who are eager for their own shot at the spotlight, and are happy to sacrifice their well-being to do so. If ruthlessly exploiting youthful naivete weren't sustainable, then the games industry would have folded decades ago.
  - intricatedetail 5y ago
    It should be regulated. Creators for all intents and purposes are employees of YouTube and should at least be paid minimum wage, get holidays and sick pay. It's time YT gets Ubered.
    - ashtonkem 5y ago
      Such systems will always work much better for undifferentiated labor than specialized labor. Uber’s workers need protection because they’re so replaceable; anyone with the same class of car in the same city can replace them. YouTube creators are irreplaceable and wildly unequal in their reach and impact. The issue here isn’t that content creators need a minimum wage, the issue here is that the algorithm needs tweaking. This is possible with regulation, but minimum wage and holiday pay won’t do it, especially since they’re not paid by the hour anyways. YouTubers would be much better served looking at what NFL players and similar organizations do to protect players rather than what factory workers did to protect themselves, since their labor looks more like sports players rather than service workers.

grishka 5y ago

Except it's not mandatory like the Apple's app store is. You could as well distribute your app straight from your website, and some developers actually do that. It's a very important difference and it's one of the main reasons I can't imagine myself using an iPhone.