4 ms·

The thing is, just like a car can travel on any road a computing device can execute any software. Apple deliberately breaks this functionality. Apple does not

The thing is, just like a car can travel on any road a computing device can execute any software. Apple deliberately breaks this functionality. Apple does not sell a subscription to me, they sell a physical product that can perform computing. That device is absolutely able to run a Linux kernel (in fact people already have made Linux work on M1), so why can't I just flash a new operating system and do that? I'm owning the device already and I don't have any obligation to Apple to buy more software from them, and I don't think Apple does me a favor by offering me an iPad to a "subsidized" price (like other people are arguing). Of course right now it's legal to do this kind of shenaningans, but I surely find it absurd. Also, having used Cyanogenmod and LineageOS while I was an Android user I can tell you the Linux community would design a working OS for Apple tablets in no time if there was a legal way to do that.

morganvachon 5y ago
> The thing is, just like a car can travel on any road... I don't disagree with your comment as a whole, but this stood out to me as a classic example of why car::computer analogies always suck. No, not every car can travel on every road. Send your typical Camry or Accord down a fire road and it will be lucky to make it half a mile. Without some modifications, my 4x4 Bronco II would have issues with some trails. Now, if you were limiting your scope to paved roads, I can kind of see your point, but there again there are certain roads that would give issues to the average car, particularly in places like Detroit where the road itself can be so deteriorated due to municipal neglect that it will destroy a car's suspension. Or, San Francisco where the hills can be so steep that driving a manual transmission car daily requires skill beyond that of the average driver to avoid rollback accidents, not to mention the extra wear on the clutch. > ...a computing device can execute any software. Not quite true. A microcontroller is a computing device; it executes code written in a human-readable language that has been compiled into a machine language, just like a full-blown consumer computer. However, you can't just throw any software on the microcontroller's storage medium and expect it to run. First you must be able to recompile it, which means you need access to the source code. Second, if said source code is not in whatever human-readable language the microcontroller's IDE expects, you'll have to spend the time porting it over to that language before even attempting to compile it. Even then, the microcontroller may not be powerful enough or have the right features to run the software the way you intended.
- nexuist 5y ago
  The point is that you can drive the car onto any road, not that it would be any good at it. I can buy a Camry and drive it off a cliff into the ocean. It's my right as its owner to do that. If Toyota said, nope, even though you paid full price for this car we're still not going to let you drive it off a cliff, I would be upset at that limitation. Even if my intention is not to drive it off a cliff. It's about allowing the consumer to use the device however they see fit, there's no expectation that the car should be able to do everything outside of its operating range well.
  - morganvachon 5y ago
    You're moving the goalposts. The original statement was that just as any car can travel any road, any computer can execute any software. Both statements are incorrect, for different reasons. I get the point of the comment as a whole and I agree wholeheartedly with it, I was simply pointing out a bad analogy and an incorrect assertion.
  - Terretta 5y ago
    By this argument, automatic braking systems should be disallowed since they attempt to limit your freedom to rear-end other cars or drive into barriers (“however you see fit”). And that’s a great analogy to Apple’s approach: “It’s for your own safety and that of others.”
    - nexuist 5y ago
      ABS can be disabled by pulling a circuit breaker in the car's electronics box, usually installed somewhere near the wheel or in the glovebox. I would be upset if my car started demonstrating problems consistent with faulty ABS and I or my mechanic would have no way to troubleshoot it.
ctroein89 5y ago
> The thing is, just like a car can travel on any road a computing device can execute any software. Apple deliberately breaks this functionality. But in this analogy, the hardware is the road, not the car. The road is the literal platform on which everything else runs. And Apple's argument is that they aren't quite building a "road", they're building a bespoke people-mover system that they continue to maintain (like the Boring Company's Las Vegas tunnel system). Just to nit-pick the analogy some more, real cars don't run on just any road. Roads have weight limits, height limits, and speed limits (and most places make it illegal to drive significantly slower than surrounding traffic, effectively creating minimum speed limits). John Deere builds golf carts that aren't permitted on highways, and Scania's trucks too heavy for some bridges.

morganvachon 5y ago

> The thing is, just like a car can travel on any road... I don't disagree with your comment as a whole, but this stood out to me as a classic example of why car::computer analogies always suck. No, not every car can travel on every road. Send your typical Camry or Accord down a fire road and it will be lucky to make it half a mile. Without some modifications, my 4x4 Bronco II would have issues with some trails. Now, if you were limiting your scope to paved roads, I can kind of see your point, but there again there are certain roads that would give issues to the average car, particularly in places like Detroit where the road itself can be so deteriorated due to municipal neglect that it will destroy a car's suspension. Or, San Francisco where the hills can be so steep that driving a manual transmission car daily requires skill beyond that of the average driver to avoid rollback accidents, not to mention the extra wear on the clutch. > ...a computing device can execute any software. Not quite true. A microcontroller is a computing device; it executes code written in a human-readable language that has been compiled into a machine language, just like a full-blown consumer computer. However, you can't just throw any software on the microcontroller's storage medium and expect it to run. First you must be able to recompile it, which means you need access to the source code. Second, if said source code is not in whatever human-readable language the microcontroller's IDE expects, you'll have to spend the time porting it over to that language before even attempting to compile it. Even then, the microcontroller may not be powerful enough or have the right features to run the software the way you intended.

nexuist 5y ago
The point is that you can drive the car onto any road, not that it would be any good at it. I can buy a Camry and drive it off a cliff into the ocean. It's my right as its owner to do that. If Toyota said, nope, even though you paid full price for this car we're still not going to let you drive it off a cliff, I would be upset at that limitation. Even if my intention is not to drive it off a cliff. It's about allowing the consumer to use the device however they see fit, there's no expectation that the car should be able to do everything outside of its operating range well.
- morganvachon 5y ago
  You're moving the goalposts. The original statement was that just as any car can travel any road, any computer can execute any software. Both statements are incorrect, for different reasons. I get the point of the comment as a whole and I agree wholeheartedly with it, I was simply pointing out a bad analogy and an incorrect assertion.
- Terretta 5y ago
  By this argument, automatic braking systems should be disallowed since they attempt to limit your freedom to rear-end other cars or drive into barriers (“however you see fit”). And that’s a great analogy to Apple’s approach: “It’s for your own safety and that of others.”
  - nexuist 5y ago
    ABS can be disabled by pulling a circuit breaker in the car's electronics box, usually installed somewhere near the wheel or in the glovebox. I would be upset if my car started demonstrating problems consistent with faulty ABS and I or my mechanic would have no way to troubleshoot it.

ctroein89 5y ago

> The thing is, just like a car can travel on any road a computing device can execute any software. Apple deliberately breaks this functionality. But in this analogy, the hardware is the road, not the car. The road is the literal platform on which everything else runs. And Apple's argument is that they aren't quite building a "road", they're building a bespoke people-mover system that they continue to maintain (like the Boring Company's Las Vegas tunnel system). Just to nit-pick the analogy some more, real cars don't run on just any road. Roads have weight limits, height limits, and speed limits (and most places make it illegal to drive significantly slower than surrounding traffic, effectively creating minimum speed limits). John Deere builds golf carts that aren't permitted on highways, and Scania's trucks too heavy for some bridges.