Ask HN: Why don't smartphones encourage programming like early 80s computers? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Why don't smartphones encourage programming like early 80s computers?

#231

Post by herbst » Mon, Apr 17, 2023, 7:58 AM UTC

DerekL wrote: post #230

herbst wrote: post #216

When Smartphones came out I couldn't think of anything else than creating apps for it. Naturally I learned Java and android as soon as I could. I published my first app soon after. Well it didn't work so well on all devices. It worked on all my test Devices so I was stuck and the app was removed from the store. Years later I released a game. It was taken offline several times before I didn't care anymore. Half of the…

Many Android developers now use Kotlin instead of Java.

Doesn't help against the rather hostile play store ecosystem I guess. Also for my taste it's still java just in another outfit. I know it isn't, but all the things I don't like about coding java are there too.

Re: Ask HN: Why don't smartphones encourage programming like early 80s computers?

#232

Post by antifa » Mon, Apr 17, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

safety1st wrote: post #228

antifa wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reply is a perfect example of the "overstate/understate" propoganda in action. Really? The United States didn't commit mass murder? Read a history book. Can you imagine school children in China, one of them asks in a political science class "What's wrong with US democracy?" and nobody can give them an answer without first mentioning the genocide of native americans, the mass graves in latin american, the contras…

There really is no comparison unless your goal is to make China look good by distorting the facts. The highest estimate I've seen for deaths on the Trail of Tears is 15K. Iraq was perhaps 100K-200K. The Chinese killed some 75,000,000 people (mostly their own) in the 20th century. Plus, why did you make this about the US? Have you forgotten that other democracies exist? I was talking about the human rights track recor…

> why did you make this about

We were talking about democracy and citizen's education regarding how their own country's political systems.

You're the one who is so obsessed and foaming at the mouth with any chance to bash China/USSR, you couldn't hesitate to derail a non-ideological conversation into boring ideological drivel.

Re: Ask HN: Why don't smartphones encourage programming like early 80s computers?

#233

Post by mixmastamyk » Mon, Apr 17, 2023, 5:56 PM UTC

gabereiser wrote: post #134

asddubs wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

at least on x86 you're still able to install whatever operating system you want, even if only for legacy reasons

New motherboards have safe boot enabled and you can’t disable it in UEFI. So no, you can’t.

Nope, my new laptop allows disabling. Also many distros are installable anyway/have been signed.

Re: Ask HN: Why don't smartphones encourage programming like early 80s computers?

#234

Post by tester457 » Mon, Apr 17, 2023, 8:53 PM UTC

ttttt444yeak wrote: post #195

lozenge wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The speed you can input data into a smartphone just isn't conducive to creating anything. It isn't a grand conspiracy. On my computer I've never created something with the same screen size as the intended viewer.

This is the real reason. It's very simple. Not even programmers would program on a smartphone so of course non programmers also aren't going to do it.

There are many people who write short programs on smartphones with termux.[0]

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24979258

Re: Ask HN: Why don't smartphones encourage programming like early 80s computers?

#235

Post by simne » Tue, Apr 18, 2023, 1:46 AM UTC

Because just about 10% of people could enjoy mathematics with current education technologies, and I think, people who enjoy programming are subset of who enjoy mathematics. This is natural limitation, unfortunately.

This is not to say, some people better then others, just every human have some strong sides from possible set, but very rare people strong at all.

For simplicity, there are three main classes - math, arts, psychology (as example, Betazoids in Star Trek are not totally fictitious, exists people who are so strong in sensing others, so it could appear, like they read your thoughts). This is good correlated with number of graduated in Germany - ~35% (I think ~10% math, ~10% art, ~10% psychology). Some people are physically strong.

Programming is mostly math.

So, early 80s computers, gives great tools into hands of math people, and this duet gives lot of fruits.

After computers penetration become much more than 10%, it become impossible for education system, to educate more math people, so for others computer becomes just entertainment.

I believe, with AI teachers, private highly-custom education will become more affordable, so larger percent of math-capable will appear, but I can't predict exact number, may it become twice bigger, the same with others (arts, psychology), so 70% will be with diploma.