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Sideloading was basically the main reason people picked Fire Sticks over more locked-down options. Without it, it just becomes another closed streaming box, and
by BFV 6mo ago
Sideloading was basically the main reason people picked Fire Sticks over more locked-down options. Without it, it just becomes another closed streaming box, and a lot of the “power user” appeal disappears.
- kennethrc 6mo ago"Basically the main reason"? I can count among my friends and family some 50 Fire Sticks, and we're all happy with them, as they do what they say on the box. We Tech folks (and some more than others) live in a bubble, but the other 99% of the users couldn't care less about this.
- spwa4 6mo agoIf that's true, then why would Amazon ever care about this?
- mlloyd 6mo agoBecause those folks don't move the needle on sales. They're buying one, maybe two firesticks and using them OOB. I'd bet a significant portion of sales go to people 'jailbreaking' them and buying in bulk.
- spwa4 6mo agoThen this would be stupid. Obviously if the product stops doing what people want (jailbreaking, not sure what the scare quotes mean) sales will plummet.
- kennethrc 6mo agoPressure from rights holders or law enforcement? Amazon has sold ~250M Fire Sticks; there's just no way most of 'em aren't used by regular people as vanilla FSs
- xnx 6mo ago> Sideloading was basically the main reason people picked Fire Sticks over more locked-down options. Any advantage to a Firestick over a Chromecast with Google TV?
- hollow-moe 6mo agoCCwGTV was discontinued, now there's only the Google TV Streamer thing...
- xnx 6mo agoGood point. I guess the Firestick advantage is $35 vs. $80 for Google's box.