GitHub Should Start an App Store • Hacker News Board

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#161

Post by ratsmack » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 7:59 PM UTC

danShumway wrote: post #150

ratsmack wrote: post #56

A better solution would be an entirely community driven app store that is not beholden to any corporate influence.

FDroid exists already. Okay, it doesn't host proprietary apps, but whatever. The point is, this isn't a tech problem anymore, it's not a problem where someone can just make a new platform to solve everything. Google has contracts with phone manufacturers that ban them from adding 3rd-party app stores alongside Google Play. And none of these app stores are going to show up on iOS. It's a cultural/legal problem at this…

>Google has contracts with phone manufacturers that ban them from adding 3rd-party app stores alongside Google Play.

That's kinda like Microsoft requiring a payment for every PC sold whether their OS was installed or not. Predatory contracts from a monopolistic company... who would have thought.

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#162

Post by agilob » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 8:05 PM UTC

villasv wrote: post #32

> 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'…

>Sure, lets pipe user feedback directly into GitHub issues. Good luck with that if you have a hundred issues a day.

Average user is less than poorly educated about technology. Their level of competence when raising a bug is simply pathetic, a lot of times. I manage an email server for a family, they write to me "email doesn't work", I check issue and respond "domain should be gmail.com not gmail,com" (notice the comma).

This reminded me how sqlite team was getting emails or calls at night, from some random people because another software was crashing. User went to "about/legal" and found license of SQLite, so obviously they decided to contact SQLite and complain on bad software. https://github.com/mackyle/sqlite/blob/3cf493d/src/os.h#L52-...

Now imagine facebook api breaks backwards compatibility, so you get 1000 of new issues in a day with title "broken", "doesn't work", "shit is crahing so gave 1* fix it now I might review it later".

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#163

Post by throwaway3699 » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 8:06 PM UTC

ryanlol wrote: post #100

throwaway3699 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously. Gab isn't a far right white supremacist website. It's just right wing Twitter. I don't understand where all this hyperbole comes from but it's a perfect example of the low-information individuals we have in society today.

Twitter is right wing Twitter, Gab is decidedly a far right website. Just take a quick look at the comments on the top stories in the “Gab trends” section: https://trends.gab.com/item/60163b8f144291532b8bccb0 Bill gates conspiracy theorists https://trends.gab.com/item/601682466beb1e3de3156fe1 “Pence is a traitor!” https://trends.gab.com/item/6016992e144291532b8d5986 “Socialists are murderers!” Are these normal right…

The populist right has been systemically purged from Twitter. It's not that Twitter is left wing but they ban right wing thought, leading it to be a slanted echo-chamber. Gab is definitely right wing Twitter.

I've seen equally whacky things trending on the left side, e.g. "Russian Ads on Facebook won Trump the election".

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#164

Post by dspillett » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 8:08 PM UTC

whatshisface wrote: post #116

simias wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This is situational and opportunistic. It can change any day. In fact, managing an important app store is exactly one way to re-(un)-balance this relationship. I agree. Sorting huge, multinational, publicly traded companies in friends and enemies list is so obviously bogus and immature that it baffles me that this is so prevalent. Microsoft is not your enemy. It's not your friend (unless you're one of the shareholde…

It's repeated very often that companies maximize shareholder value, but that's not really true. Companies follow the personal interests of their management and employees, in proportion to their power within the institution, which sometimes involves shareholder value.

Given higher-ups are either invested to some extent, or otherwise feel their prospects are aligned with the stock price because the investors will have them out if it doesn't do well enough, so I'd say the considerations always involve shareholder value. It might not be the only factor, and sometimes other factors win out, but it is always a factor.

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#165

Post by bullen » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 8:13 PM UTC

The only thing that matters is recurring payments with automatic VAT! Nobody provides this service yet?!

If you just want to sell a one-off app use itch.io, they charge and pay VAT for you! (but they don't have recurring)

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#166

Post by TiccyRobby » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 8:20 PM UTC

You already have a decentralized app store, namely Fdroid. I think it is pretty decent too. And it is the furthest we can go in decentralized app store right now.

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#167

Post by ok123456 » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 8:22 PM UTC

If you want an "App Store" of open source software install gentoo.

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#168

Post by freeone3000 » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 8:23 PM UTC

Irishsteve wrote: post #109

vagrantJin wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The devs are the consumers. So it can be a niche store? I dont know what a normal person would be doing on github.

What I meant is - GitHub could create a Google Play store. The supply side (Devs) are on GitHub in abundance, so they could have a big catalog. If GitHub could somehow solve the demand side (Phone users) they'd be sorted.

It's a large pile of open source software. It's able to be redistributed freely, by design. Everyone is in the position to take advantage of the catalog, if they can somehow solve the demand side -- that's what the entire problem of a store is about. F-Droid has been trying for years!

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#169

Post by triceratops » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 8:25 PM UTC

throwaway3699 wrote: post #163

ryanlol wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twitter is right wing Twitter, Gab is decidedly a far right website. Just take a quick look at the comments on the top stories in the “Gab trends” section: https://trends.gab.com/item/60163b8f144291532b8bccb0 Bill gates conspiracy theorists https://trends.gab.com/item/601682466beb1e3de3156fe1 “Pence is a traitor!” https://trends.gab.com/item/6016992e144291532b8d5986 “Socialists are murderers!” Are these normal right…

The populist right has been systemically purged from Twitter. It's not that Twitter is left wing but they ban right wing thought, leading it to be a slanted echo-chamber. Gab is definitely right wing Twitter. I've seen equally whacky things trending on the left side, e.g. "Russian Ads on Facebook won Trump the election".

> equally whacky things trending on the left side, e.g. "Russian Ads on Facebook won Trump the election".

Why is that "whacky"? There were Russian ads.[1] They obviously intended to affect the election result (because why bother otherwise). Whether or not they were actually successful in affecting the election is unknowable. But it's not flat-earther-whacky to think they succeeded.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mueller_report#Social_media_ca...

Re: GitHub Should Start an App Store

#170

Post by ocdtrekkie » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 8:30 PM UTC

Phemist wrote: post #155

syshum wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This really is a generational divide, those of US that were around for the 90's and early 00's Microsoft crap still have a bad taste for the "new Microsoft" that claims to love FLOSS (while still showing many signs of EEE.. ) During that time Google was very friendly to FLOSS, and open protocols (remember when GChat was just a XMPP client) Today MS and Google seems to have flipped, Google now is fully embracing Embra…

I have developed a rekindled hatred for M$ in the past few weeks trying to install firefox on a fresh installation of windows 10. I counted 5 seperate scare tactics employed by M$ to keep you using Edge. I thought they were successfully sued for monopolistically coupling Internet Explorer to Windows and had a flow in their installation menu's for installing competing browsers. I was surprised that this is now totally…

The thing to experience here, is to try using Google sites with Edge: Microsoft has definitely been pushing people to use Edge, but it pales in comparison to how heavily Google abuses their web properties to shove Chrome down peoples' throats.

Back when I used Gmail, I'd open my email and get not one, but TWO separate things, one a popup box, and one a top bar, telling me I should switch to Chrome, and dismissing it never stuck. It'd come back in a week or so. Even once Edge started running on Chrome code, Google stepped up writing new tricks to claim that Edge was "less secure" because it didn't direct telemetry straight to Google servers.

Google's underhanded push with Chrome has hurt everyone, and unfortunately, Microsoft probably can't "target just Chrome" in retaliating against such messaging, so Firefox gets hit too.