3 ms·

Downloading an APK from a website is just as easy as installing an exe on windows from some site, and millions of barely tech-literate people do that every day

scarface_74 3y ago
Yes and they get viruses, malware, and ransomware from doing so. My mom searched for a printer driver and ended up installing some third party crap wars on her computer
- cbozeman 3y ago
  Then Mom needs more training on how to differentiate between legitimate sites and non-legitimate ones. I've said it before, I'll say it again, as many times as people need to hear it: There is no such thing as, "I'm just not a computer person!" We're over and done with that era of human history. Just like we're over and done with, "I just can't read and write!" Too bad. You live in a world were reading and writing is required just to exist. It's been that way for about 100 years, give or take depending on who you ask. Now you need to have basic understanding of computers and the Internet. That's the world we're living in now.
  - scarface_74 3y ago
    And how has that worked for the last 40 years?
    - rvba 3y ago
      It worked pretty well. Should we ban cars since there are people who cannot drive?
      - scarface_74 3y ago
        Have you really been paying attention to everything going on with the typical PC?
    - cbozeman 3y ago
      Well for the first couple of hundred thousand years of our existence as modern humans, we didn't teach everyone to read and write. It's been essentially the past 400 years, give or take some decades. And as it happens, it's turned out beautifully, in my estimation.
      - scarface_74 3y ago
        Yes we should force everyone to “learn to code” so they can disassemble the code of all of their software before they run it.
- S201 3y ago
  And malware has never existed in the Google Play store, right? The point is that if you are the owner of the device you get to choose what to do with it, not Google. If the trade off for that freedom is an increased risk of malware then so be it. The people that want to only use the Google Play store as their source of software are free to do so, that's the beauty of your device being /your/ device.
  - scarface_74 3y ago
    And this is why people on HN make horrible product designers
    - S201 3y ago
      I assume by being on HN you work in the tech industry. Assuming so, you owe your career and livelihood to the openness of the systems that came before you and the people that built them. Locking everything down in the name of safety and convenience is also a great way to prevent innovation and competition.
      - scarface_74 3y ago
        Yes I have had computers since 1986 that I programmed and could because of their oneness. I’ve also had none open devices - my first being the Atari 5200. I’ve also known since then that if I wanted an open device, I bought one and not complained about a device that I knew going in that I couldn’t program.
        S201 3y ago
        Please point me to the smartphone that I can freely do whatever I want with. For all Apple devices, it's non-existent. For Android there's only a few limited options left that ship with a bootloader that can be unlocked. The point is that this isn't 1986 anymore and when everyone's devices are locked down it prevents competition because there's no distribution method for homebrew software. If there was no ability to install custom OSs on IBM and IBM-compatible machines we wouldn't have Linux. And if Microsoft was the gatekeeper of what websites could be displayed on IE in the 90s we wouldn't have the web in the form we know it today. So sure, you personally may be able to buy development boards specifically but when you can't get your software to the average person's device, what does that mean for adding competition to the market? I'd much rather live in a world where being more open means there might be some malware lurking as opposed to one where everything is so locked down that I am at the mercy of what these large corporations deem acceptable for me to do on hardware that I "own" in the name of safety and security.

scarface_74 3y ago

Yes and they get viruses, malware, and ransomware from doing so. My mom searched for a printer driver and ended up installing some third party crap wars on her computer

cbozeman 3y ago
Then Mom needs more training on how to differentiate between legitimate sites and non-legitimate ones. I've said it before, I'll say it again, as many times as people need to hear it: There is no such thing as, "I'm just not a computer person!" We're over and done with that era of human history. Just like we're over and done with, "I just can't read and write!" Too bad. You live in a world were reading and writing is required just to exist. It's been that way for about 100 years, give or take depending on who you ask. Now you need to have basic understanding of computers and the Internet. That's the world we're living in now.
- scarface_74 3y ago
  And how has that worked for the last 40 years?
  - rvba 3y ago
    It worked pretty well. Should we ban cars since there are people who cannot drive?
    - scarface_74 3y ago
      Have you really been paying attention to everything going on with the typical PC?
  - cbozeman 3y ago
    Well for the first couple of hundred thousand years of our existence as modern humans, we didn't teach everyone to read and write. It's been essentially the past 400 years, give or take some decades. And as it happens, it's turned out beautifully, in my estimation.
    - scarface_74 3y ago
      Yes we should force everyone to “learn to code” so they can disassemble the code of all of their software before they run it.
S201 3y ago
And malware has never existed in the Google Play store, right? The point is that if you are the owner of the device you get to choose what to do with it, not Google. If the trade off for that freedom is an increased risk of malware then so be it. The people that want to only use the Google Play store as their source of software are free to do so, that's the beauty of your device being /your/ device.
- scarface_74 3y ago
  And this is why people on HN make horrible product designers
  - S201 3y ago
    I assume by being on HN you work in the tech industry. Assuming so, you owe your career and livelihood to the openness of the systems that came before you and the people that built them. Locking everything down in the name of safety and convenience is also a great way to prevent innovation and competition.
    - scarface_74 3y ago
      Yes I have had computers since 1986 that I programmed and could because of their oneness. I’ve also had none open devices - my first being the Atari 5200. I’ve also known since then that if I wanted an open device, I bought one and not complained about a device that I knew going in that I couldn’t program.
      - S201 3y ago
        Please point me to the smartphone that I can freely do whatever I want with. For all Apple devices, it's non-existent. For Android there's only a few limited options left that ship with a bootloader that can be unlocked. The point is that this isn't 1986 anymore and when everyone's devices are locked down it prevents competition because there's no distribution method for homebrew software. If there was no ability to install custom OSs on IBM and IBM-compatible machines we wouldn't have Linux. And if Microsoft was the gatekeeper of what websites could be displayed on IE in the 90s we wouldn't have the web in the form we know it today. So sure, you personally may be able to buy development boards specifically but when you can't get your software to the average person's device, what does that mean for adding competition to the market? I'd much rather live in a world where being more open means there might be some malware lurking as opposed to one where everything is so locked down that I am at the mercy of what these large corporations deem acceptable for me to do on hardware that I "own" in the name of safety and security.