I would love a github logo on other app stores; verifying the tag hosted on github was compiled and released to the app store without modification.
GitHub Should Start an App Store
51–60 of 319 posts
Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store
#52People are raising some good concrete objections but I wonder if there isn’t the kernel of a good idea here.
Maybe GitHub should be offering additional services to better help pipe projects into all kinds of app distribution mechanisms. App stores, platform package managers (apt dnf ports homebrew), language package managers (gems pip maven CPAN npm etc), stand-alone installers (dmgs install exe-s), maybe even containers.
These services could form a layer with some autonomy from the underlying project — the author of the project rarely handles alll (or sometimes any) of the distro channels.
Anecdotally I feel like most of this stuff happens outside of GitHub, which is fine and actually good, but maybe there are things GitHub could do to smooth the process? To help the original authors arrange things in releases or set metadata in a way that’s useful downstream to packagers?
But some of it happens in projects already, sometimes for a desktop type app you’ll see a dmg or some other installer right in the project files. This could probably be more standardized.
Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store
#53I have a question regarding the moderation needs of stores: why exactly do we need stores for mobile devices, whereas we don't have any store or moderation for installing application on computers, or visiting websites? Except various edge cases, you can technically visit any website that is served from any server, or you can install any application that has the correct binaries for your platform. What makes mobile de…
A walled garden is a plus for most consumers. Especially non-technical consumers who want to download something and be sure it's not spyware that will brick their phone. If you want to be able to install anything you can buy a pinephone but I can't imagine it would be fun to install anything on a pinephone. Apple offers a walled garden as an offering to i-device users. Other companies try to mimic Apple's success. Mo…
> I can't imagine it would be fun to install anything on a pinephone.
It's actually fun to do "apk add audacity" (yeah, there's also multiple gui frontends...) and have it installed and working as well as on desktop. OK, that one uses a traditional desktop interface, but it is still usable. Plug it into a docking station and use a mouse and keyboard + screen if you prefer.
Okay, that's not really sideloading, especially as each distro has its packaging format. You can use flatpaks for this (and they are sandboxes), some CIs provide builds as flatpaks (KDE does this).
One issue is that Linux executables are still very much architecture-dependent.
Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store
#54Sounds like a great way to create incentives that undermine githubs mission while simultaneously taking a huge amount of developer resources for a product that will have niche interest at best. Building app stores is hard. Moderating app stores is hard. Both are significantly different from running GitHub. While I appreciate the author's intent here, this just doesn't feel like it was deeply thought out.
I'm not convinced by any of the arguments the author points out which would actually address the problem of App Stores.
Essentially they are arguing for Github (Microsoft) to host and have an App Store on their platform and control it because they listen to their users, which is quite frankly a very poor reason.
Cydia and F-Droid packages are already 'App Stores' which you can install apps via pressing 'Add to Cydia' or 'Add to F-Droid' buttons on the publisher's website. You're free to add whatever app and install whatever app you want without Apple / Google stopping you, and its decentralised.
The same has been said for desktop apps (Native or Electron), which have been hosted on the publisher's websites for years, without the need of an App Store. I can imagine an 'App Store' equivalent for Desktop which works like Cydia and F-Droid which allows users to discover and install an app with a simple deep-link into the App Store. Linux has this already, equivalents for Windows and macOS are possible but it should not come from GitHub.
The above approaches are already there and are completely decentralised. Unlike the author who is going for another centralised App Store in the hands of GitHub / Microsoft (again).
Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you think Microsoft wont turn their back and get on the ban/censorship train like any other company I believe that would be a mistake. They will have some "woke" employees and journalists grill the executives and then they will cave to mob rule just like the rest.
Is hand-wringing over "woke" bogeymen the next evolution of grousing unironically about "SJWs"?
I highly advise you write down somewhere what sort of event it would take for you to change your belief that this is nothing to be concerned about.
Then, at least do a cursory check to see if such an event has occurred already, it may well have.
https://mobile.twitter.com/thomaschattwill/status/1354194374...
Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store
#56A better solution would be an entirely community driven app store that is not beholden to any corporate influence.
Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store
#57> They already host source code of millions of apps. Release integration should be trivial to implement. Release integration is trivial for anyone. It's the easiest and most irrelevant part of the app stores. > Unlike Google they actually listen to their users. They were awesome during youtube-dl debacle. And controversial on others, like shutting down Popcorn Time's repository. As any other, they'll listen if there'…
The funny thing about these "reasons" the article writes, is that it does not give any reason why GitHub would want to create such an app store. Most the reasons stated are basically what we will supposedly benefit. There is literally no reason from GitHub's point of view why they would be interested in creating such a product to begin with.
Of course, there might be reasons form Microsoft to create an alternative to the App Stores say for a gaming marketplace etc. But specifically for GitHub I cannot see why they would be interested in the overhead.
Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store
#58> They already host source code of millions of apps. Release integration should be trivial to implement. Release integration is trivial for anyone. It's the easiest and most irrelevant part of the app stores. > Unlike Google they actually listen to their users. They were awesome during youtube-dl debacle. And controversial on others, like shutting down Popcorn Time's repository. As any other, they'll listen if there'…
> This is a minor but users will be able to raise issues
I don't think people understand what an average (and below average) cell phone user is like. Just read some of the App store reviews (fraction of the people that use apps actually write reviews).
This pipe-dreaming would come crashing down from being a minor issue to major, the wrath of an average user is insane.
Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is hand-wringing over "woke" bogeymen the next evolution of grousing unironically about "SJWs"?
I highly advise you write down somewhere what sort of event it would take for you to change your belief that this is nothing to be concerned about. Then, at least do a cursory check to see if such an event has occurred already, it may well have. https://mobile.twitter.com/thomaschattwill/status/1354194374...
The first thing would be for someone to actually define "woke", as opposed to slinging it around as a conveniently-nebulous catch-all to describe people they're opposed to (see also "liberal" and "conservative"). What is the woke manifesto?
If you have something to say, then please just say it without couching it behind vague terms and "you can connect the dots yourself" conspiratorial thinking.
Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store
#60> They already host source code of millions of apps. Release integration should be trivial to implement. Release integration is trivial for anyone. It's the easiest and most irrelevant part of the app stores. > Unlike Google they actually listen to their users. They were awesome during youtube-dl debacle. And controversial on others, like shutting down Popcorn Time's repository. As any other, they'll listen if there'…
None of the arguments make their suggestion(s) a good idea. It solves none of the problems of the App Store as it just offloads the work onto Github (Microsoft) who can also de-platform who ever they want on their centralised App Store.
It would be business as usual under a different Big Tech name.