4 ms·

App Stores play a bigger role in our social media hellscape than I thought

6 points by mpweiher 5y ago

ugjka 5y ago
And google gonna drop the exec() selinux banhammer on Termux soon, so even sideloading won't help
- thesuperbigfrog 5y ago
  Termux has been awesome. It was the number one reason why I chose to get an Android phone when my last smartphone died. When my current phone bites the dust, I am not sure what I will get next: Apple is very nice and the hardware is supported for a long time, but as the tweets illustrate, iOS is too locked down. Android has been good enough, but Google has gotten more pushy and is locking down Android to be more and more like Apple. PinePhone and similar Linux-based phones are interesting, but they are not quite ready to act as mature replacements for an Apple or Android smartphone.
saurik 5y ago
The App Store is also (in no part due to Steve Jobs' particular moral quirks) a very puritan place, with a lot of the more awkward content moderation choices--such as Instagram banning photos of people breastfeeding for many years--not coming from social media platforms but being forced on them by Apple. https://people.com/health/instagram-ceo-blames-apple-for-nipple-censorship/ https://people.com/health/instagram-ceo-blames-apple-for-nip...
stalfosknight 5y ago
What all these wistfulness for an earlier, simpler era of computing very thoroughly fails to address every time is the real world implications of allowing arbitrary code execution on mobile devices that are always connected to the internet. The average HN software engineer is not the target. Joe Q. Public who has better things to do than to learn dot files and ACLs and so needs to be protected by thoughtful App Store policies.
- pixl97 5y ago
  You're either the targets of exploits, or the targets of authoritarian companies treating you like consumer slaves to maximize profits.
nycticorax 5y ago
This seems very overstated to me. How many people are using Facebook b/c they couldn’t pursue their serious hobby on their tablet? Some negligible fraction of Facebook users. Further, if you want to pursue your serious hobby, get a real computer.

6 points by mpweiher 5y ago

ugjka 5y ago

And google gonna drop the exec() selinux banhammer on Termux soon, so even sideloading won't help

thesuperbigfrog 5y ago
Termux has been awesome. It was the number one reason why I chose to get an Android phone when my last smartphone died. When my current phone bites the dust, I am not sure what I will get next: Apple is very nice and the hardware is supported for a long time, but as the tweets illustrate, iOS is too locked down. Android has been good enough, but Google has gotten more pushy and is locking down Android to be more and more like Apple. PinePhone and similar Linux-based phones are interesting, but they are not quite ready to act as mature replacements for an Apple or Android smartphone.

saurik 5y ago

The App Store is also (in no part due to Steve Jobs' particular moral quirks) a very puritan place, with a lot of the more awkward content moderation choices--such as Instagram banning photos of people breastfeeding for many years--not coming from social media platforms but being forced on them by Apple. https://people.com/health/instagram-ceo-blames-apple-for-nipple-censorship/ https://people.com/health/instagram-ceo-blames-apple-for-nip...

stalfosknight 5y ago

What all these wistfulness for an earlier, simpler era of computing very thoroughly fails to address every time is the real world implications of allowing arbitrary code execution on mobile devices that are always connected to the internet. The average HN software engineer is not the target. Joe Q. Public who has better things to do than to learn dot files and ACLs and so needs to be protected by thoughtful App Store policies.

pixl97 5y ago
You're either the targets of exploits, or the targets of authoritarian companies treating you like consumer slaves to maximize profits.

nycticorax 5y ago

This seems very overstated to me. How many people are using Facebook b/c they couldn’t pursue their serious hobby on their tablet? Some negligible fraction of Facebook users. Further, if you want to pursue your serious hobby, get a real computer.