6 ms·

You can also install through the Play store. Sideloading is more specific.

by cbolton 11mo ago

makeitdouble 11mo ago
Would you make the same distinction on a mac when installing Photoshop from the Adobe installer vs installing KeyNote from the MacStore ?
- cbolton 11mo ago
  I'm not too familiar with macOS... How normal/expected is it now to install through the App Store? As mentioned in another comment, for a Linux distribution like Debian there are highly trusted official repositories, and I think using "sideloading" for other sources would make some sense.
  - makeitdouble 11mo ago
    On macos I assume most apps are installed outside of the Store, straight from the developper's site. Which would make the Store a "sideloading" channel by that token ? On Linux you have the default package sources, but for instance adding third party sources will still integrate the same with the system, I also never heard someone call installing Go or Java "side loading", though you're getting an installer from the site you need to run on your own. Same way for building from source. IMHO "sideloading" would not apply to any system open enough, where adding stuff from multiple sources is expected from the start.
    - cbolton 11mo ago
      > Which would make the Store a "sideloading" channel by that token ? I don't think so, it's still an official channel offered by the OS maker. > adding third party sources will still integrate the same with the system but obviously with a higher risk of breakage since it was not tested while the official release was cooking (at least for Debian the official set of packages in stable is expected to have virtually no conflict issues, but as soon as you add third-party sources all bets are off). > I also never heard someone call installing Go or Java "side loading" neither have I, but I can imagine that in some contexts it could be a useful term. Like "did you sideload Go?" (implicitly asking if you got the third-party release vs installing from the official distribution repository). I'm not saying people say that, but that the term might also make sense in the Linux world. > IMHO "sideloading" would not apply to any system open enough, where adding stuff from multiple sources is expected from the start. Yeah if there's no sense of "main" channels that are more trusted or more stable the term doesn't make sense.
devsda 11mo ago
Like hacking, sideloading is now a loaded & misunderstood term. It is considered as something only nerds or bad actors do. Let's just call it alternate install.
- mrighele 11mo ago
  Or manual install.
  - exe34 11mo ago
    How about calling the other one "installing from the play store"? installing was there first.
    - miroljub 11mo ago
      Exactly. Let's invent a word for "installing from play store". Playstoring? So we can rewrite the story to something like: Google wants to prohibit app installation on Android phones. The only way to get an app would be through playstoring.
      - exe34 11mo ago
        how about "dogmatize" - I dogmatized this app from the play store.
      - the_gipsy 11mo ago
        Restricted installing
    - fainpul 11mo ago
      Corpoloading
      - amelius 11mo ago
        Nannyloading
- 11mo ago
engeljohnb 11mo ago
I can install on my Fedora laptop through dnf. I've never felt like I needed a new word to describe downloading and running an AppImage. Why would phones be different?
- tonyhart7 11mo ago
  well because its not allowed to "install" from third party sources (atleast not yet) google has control on their android ecosystem behave, same reason why its not allowed in playstation or xbox or ios
  - engeljohnb 11mo ago
    The whole selling point of Android up until now was that it allowed you to install any app you want. The point of the above comment is that Google intentionally introduced the word "sideload" to make "installing an app on your own device which Google did not curate" sound more risky and sinister than it is, and I'm inclined to agree. I "make" coffee on my keurig. If Keurig decides that making any single-serve coffe pods that aren't owned by the Keurig brand is now called "off-brewing," I'd dismiss it as ridiculous and continue calling it "making coffee." We should use the language that makes sense, not the language that happens be good PR for google.
    - tonyhart7 11mo ago
      "The whole selling point of Android up until now was that it allowed you to install any app you want." we can debate whether this is bad thing or good thing, it would have no ends what matters is reality, the reality is google have the right to change it.
      - engeljohnb 11mo ago
        You've changed the subject. We were discussing whether one ought to use Google's term for it, or the term that's been used to describe this action since (I assume) the beginning of personal computing. Not whether Google is legally allowed to make the change. My reason for bringing up the "selling point" was to bring attention to the language -- "You can install any app you want" has always been the common refrain when I see friends get into a debate about IOS vs Android. People are already using the term because it makes the most sense.

You can also install through the Play store. Sideloading is more specific.

by cbolton 11mo ago

You can also install through the Play store. Sideloading is more specific.

Would you make the same distinction on a mac when installing Photoshop from the Adobe installer vs installing KeyNote from the MacStore ?

cbolton 11mo ago
I'm not too familiar with macOS... How normal/expected is it now to install through the App Store? As mentioned in another comment, for a Linux distribution like Debian there are highly trusted official repositories, and I think using "sideloading" for other sources would make some sense.
- makeitdouble 11mo ago
  On macos I assume most apps are installed outside of the Store, straight from the developper's site. Which would make the Store a "sideloading" channel by that token ? On Linux you have the default package sources, but for instance adding third party sources will still integrate the same with the system, I also never heard someone call installing Go or Java "side loading", though you're getting an installer from the site you need to run on your own. Same way for building from source. IMHO "sideloading" would not apply to any system open enough, where adding stuff from multiple sources is expected from the start.
  - cbolton 11mo ago
    > Which would make the Store a "sideloading" channel by that token ? I don't think so, it's still an official channel offered by the OS maker. > adding third party sources will still integrate the same with the system but obviously with a higher risk of breakage since it was not tested while the official release was cooking (at least for Debian the official set of packages in stable is expected to have virtually no conflict issues, but as soon as you add third-party sources all bets are off). > I also never heard someone call installing Go or Java "side loading" neither have I, but I can imagine that in some contexts it could be a useful term. Like "did you sideload Go?" (implicitly asking if you got the third-party release vs installing from the official distribution repository). I'm not saying people say that, but that the term might also make sense in the Linux world. > IMHO "sideloading" would not apply to any system open enough, where adding stuff from multiple sources is expected from the start. Yeah if there's no sense of "main" channels that are more trusted or more stable the term doesn't make sense.

devsda 11mo ago

Like hacking, sideloading is now a loaded & misunderstood term. It is considered as something only nerds or bad actors do. Let's just call it alternate install.

mrighele 11mo ago
Or manual install.
- exe34 11mo ago
  How about calling the other one "installing from the play store"? installing was there first.
  - miroljub 11mo ago
    Exactly. Let's invent a word for "installing from play store". Playstoring? So we can rewrite the story to something like: Google wants to prohibit app installation on Android phones. The only way to get an app would be through playstoring.
    - exe34 11mo ago
      how about "dogmatize" - I dogmatized this app from the play store.
    - the_gipsy 11mo ago
      Restricted installing
  - fainpul 11mo ago
    Corpoloading
    - amelius 11mo ago
      Nannyloading
11mo ago

engeljohnb 11mo ago

I can install on my Fedora laptop through dnf. I've never felt like I needed a new word to describe downloading and running an AppImage. Why would phones be different?

tonyhart7 11mo ago
well because its not allowed to "install" from third party sources (atleast not yet) google has control on their android ecosystem behave, same reason why its not allowed in playstation or xbox or ios
- engeljohnb 11mo ago
  The whole selling point of Android up until now was that it allowed you to install any app you want. The point of the above comment is that Google intentionally introduced the word "sideload" to make "installing an app on your own device which Google did not curate" sound more risky and sinister than it is, and I'm inclined to agree. I "make" coffee on my keurig. If Keurig decides that making any single-serve coffe pods that aren't owned by the Keurig brand is now called "off-brewing," I'd dismiss it as ridiculous and continue calling it "making coffee." We should use the language that makes sense, not the language that happens be good PR for google.
  - tonyhart7 11mo ago
    "The whole selling point of Android up until now was that it allowed you to install any app you want." we can debate whether this is bad thing or good thing, it would have no ends what matters is reality, the reality is google have the right to change it.
    - engeljohnb 11mo ago
      You've changed the subject. We were discussing whether one ought to use Google's term for it, or the term that's been used to describe this action since (I assume) the beginning of personal computing. Not whether Google is legally allowed to make the change. My reason for bringing up the "selling point" was to bring attention to the language -- "You can install any app you want" has always been the common refrain when I see friends get into a debate about IOS vs Android. People are already using the term because it makes the most sense.