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We entered that age a decade ago with the rise of smartphones and tablets. General-purpose computing devices that allow you to run any code you want are gradual

We entered that age a decade ago with the rise of smartphones and tablets. General-purpose computing devices that allow you to run any code you want are gradually disappearing. For how long will we be able to run unsigned code on Windows or MacOS? And for how long will 'secure boot' hardware allow us to run Linux? Soon we'll have to buy very expensive and specialised development kits/development workstations to create content for the other 'content consumption computing' devices

wongarsu 5y ago
On Android I can still run whatever software I want, and there are ecosystems of apps that rely solely on sideloading because they are not allowed on Google's app store. Google or Microsoft trying to prevent you from running whatever you want would probably lead to swift action from EU courts, it looks too much like an attempt to control competition on their platform. So instead they stick to scare-mongering with opt-out. Apple gets a pass because they are the underdog (30% market share in the EU)
- bluescrn 5y ago
  > On Android I can still run whatever software I want You can sideload apps, which is better than iOS, but for root access most devices need some sort of hackery. Heck, why do we even accept that 'sideload' is a word. It should simply be 'load'.
  - alerighi 5y ago
    Depends on the manufacturer, on a lot of phones getting root access is not that difficult. The problem is that a lot of applications started to check for root access and will refuse to work if they detect it. So in practice you will loose some functionality that can be important, like your bank application.
    - josephcsible 5y ago
      It's not just individual bank apps. Netflix, Snapchat, Android Pay, Pokemon Go, and Super Mario Run will all refuse to run if they detect root or any other modifications.
      - f1refly 5y ago
        So apart from banking nothing of value was lost
    - chmod775 5y ago
      My local bank removed a bunch of these checks from their application, presumably because they started requiring everyone use that app for 2FA now and promptly had their support lines overloaded by customers no longer being able to do any banking. I was one of those people threatening to either walk or get another option - lo and behold they signed me up for the old 2FA for a few extra weeks. I don't know what they were thinking, really. Rooted phones, or in my case, custom ROMs like LineageOS are quite common in these parts. My bank is just one of many using a reskinned version of the same 2FA app, so you might want to re-check yours.
fsflover 5y ago
> We entered that age a decade ago with the rise of smartphones and tablets. General-purpose computing devices that allow you to run any code you want are gradually disappearing. GNU/Linux phones are general-purpose devices running desktop Linux. Support them if you want to have the freedom to run anything.
- salamandersauce 5y ago
  I've had a lot of weird out there smartphones, webOS, BB10 and Windows Phone 7/8. GNU/Linux phones just don't even seem close to being ready with basic phone features not working well from what I've read. If I could get one that worked reliably, lasted at least a day on battery and had some sort of NFC payment method I would.
  - fsflover 5y ago
    > worked reliably Probably depends on your usage pattern. Pinephone works quite reliably for me. > lasted at least a day on battery Pinephone fits here > and had some sort of NFC payment method Not available yet, but in the works (you will just replace the back cover): https://www.tweaksforgeeks.com/linux-based-pinephone-to-come-with-nfc-wireless-charging-and-much-more/ https://www.tweaksforgeeks.com/linux-based-pinephone-to-come...
- bluescrn 5y ago
  The phone market is lost. May be better to focus on keeping desktop/laptop Linux hardware available. But the way things are going, the open source community might soon have to start designing their own CPUs, as you may not even be able to buy a high-performance CPU within a couple of decades, they'll be proprietary tech that only exists as part of a locked-down platform, like Apple are now doing.
  - cherryturnover 5y ago
    This is my greatest fear but you have to wonder if the reverse will happen, where tech companies get so large, they they can afford to develop and support their own distro (or even operating system).
onoyoudont 5y ago
...or Raspberry Pis...

wongarsu 5y ago

On Android I can still run whatever software I want, and there are ecosystems of apps that rely solely on sideloading because they are not allowed on Google's app store. Google or Microsoft trying to prevent you from running whatever you want would probably lead to swift action from EU courts, it looks too much like an attempt to control competition on their platform. So instead they stick to scare-mongering with opt-out. Apple gets a pass because they are the underdog (30% market share in the EU)

bluescrn 5y ago
> On Android I can still run whatever software I want You can sideload apps, which is better than iOS, but for root access most devices need some sort of hackery. Heck, why do we even accept that 'sideload' is a word. It should simply be 'load'.
- alerighi 5y ago
  Depends on the manufacturer, on a lot of phones getting root access is not that difficult. The problem is that a lot of applications started to check for root access and will refuse to work if they detect it. So in practice you will loose some functionality that can be important, like your bank application.
  - josephcsible 5y ago
    It's not just individual bank apps. Netflix, Snapchat, Android Pay, Pokemon Go, and Super Mario Run will all refuse to run if they detect root or any other modifications.
    - f1refly 5y ago
      So apart from banking nothing of value was lost
  - chmod775 5y ago
    My local bank removed a bunch of these checks from their application, presumably because they started requiring everyone use that app for 2FA now and promptly had their support lines overloaded by customers no longer being able to do any banking. I was one of those people threatening to either walk or get another option - lo and behold they signed me up for the old 2FA for a few extra weeks. I don't know what they were thinking, really. Rooted phones, or in my case, custom ROMs like LineageOS are quite common in these parts. My bank is just one of many using a reskinned version of the same 2FA app, so you might want to re-check yours.

fsflover 5y ago

> We entered that age a decade ago with the rise of smartphones and tablets. General-purpose computing devices that allow you to run any code you want are gradually disappearing. GNU/Linux phones are general-purpose devices running desktop Linux. Support them if you want to have the freedom to run anything.

salamandersauce 5y ago
I've had a lot of weird out there smartphones, webOS, BB10 and Windows Phone 7/8. GNU/Linux phones just don't even seem close to being ready with basic phone features not working well from what I've read. If I could get one that worked reliably, lasted at least a day on battery and had some sort of NFC payment method I would.
- fsflover 5y ago
  > worked reliably Probably depends on your usage pattern. Pinephone works quite reliably for me. > lasted at least a day on battery Pinephone fits here > and had some sort of NFC payment method Not available yet, but in the works (you will just replace the back cover): https://www.tweaksforgeeks.com/linux-based-pinephone-to-come-with-nfc-wireless-charging-and-much-more/ https://www.tweaksforgeeks.com/linux-based-pinephone-to-come...
bluescrn 5y ago
The phone market is lost. May be better to focus on keeping desktop/laptop Linux hardware available. But the way things are going, the open source community might soon have to start designing their own CPUs, as you may not even be able to buy a high-performance CPU within a couple of decades, they'll be proprietary tech that only exists as part of a locked-down platform, like Apple are now doing.
- cherryturnover 5y ago
  This is my greatest fear but you have to wonder if the reverse will happen, where tech companies get so large, they they can afford to develop and support their own distro (or even operating system).

onoyoudont 5y ago

...or Raspberry Pis...