121–130 of 665 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given the issues that termux has hit, they're certainly moving that way. https://github.com/termux/termux-packages/wiki/Termux-and-An...
Yep, Termux is the most used app on my phone and I don't know what I will do when they have to migrate to SDK 29. I will probably buy another phone and install LineageOS.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> "Can't you just make us a general-purpose computer that runs all the programs, except the ones that scare and anger us? Can't you just make us an Internet that transmits any message over any protocol between any two points, unless it upsets us?"[1] The War On General Purpose Computing continues. Far too many business models depend on selling general purpose computers as "appliances". They presume it is possible to…
There's nothing wrong with the appliance business model - embedded devices that use microcontrollers are Turing complete and yet no one complains about those. It's only when devices are marketed as general-purpose (i.e. smartphones, PCs) but are locked down to prevent running arbitrary user-loaded code that it becomes a problem.
I also mind when things like my tractor or my car are locked down to prevent my ability to use a 3rd party repair shop, repair it myself, or make changes so the item better suits me: The person who fucking owns that computer.
I think there's a very real risk that the concept of "ownership" is going to die if we continue in this fashion.
Do you own a thing if you're prohibited, intentionally - by the manufacturer - from making any changes? I'd say no.
Do you own a thing if it has to check in to an online service controlled by someone else before it works? I'd say no.
Instead you're just renting, and these companies are intentionally rent-seeking (in the worst possible way).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The biggest problem with "alternative" platforms is just the lack of app support. I used to have a Nokia N9; great phone. But it didn't support WhatsApp and I was out on the loop on the WhatsApp chat all my other coworkers were in. Then there's things like banking apps, flight check-in apps, food ordering apps, dating apps, etc. etc. Can you do without those? Sure, of course. But if I want to order food where I live…
Unless PWAs really took off, in which case, you wouldn't need to develop for the custom linux phone - you would just need a supported browser.
The web is dead. Kids today grow up using the "google app". They did what AOL couldn't.
I'd love to be wrong.
I had to go look to see what this was: "DroidScript is an easy to use, portable coding tool which simplifies mobile App development. It dramatically improves productivity by speeding up development by as much as 10x compared with using the standard development tools. It’s also an ideal tool for learning JavaScript, you can literally code anywhere with DroidScript, it’s not cloud based and doesn’t require an internet…
Time for one of these again. So... having read through their marketing material, this is an on-device tool that opens up what appears to be most of the Android application API to at least the user of the device, and potentially to any Droidscript applications they grab from other sources, and... maybe to other apps on the device? It's not clear from a quick read how extensive the runtime control is. So just right out…
> We don't allow apps with any code that could put a user, a user’s data, or a device at risk. If Google thinks the ability to execute arbitrary code puts users' data at risk why don't they go the full iOS route and ban everything, from scripting apps to other JS engines beside Chromium? I am so sick of their behaviour, the only reason I am still on Android because things like F-Droid still exists and iOS is even mor…
- iSH: an Alpine Linux shell environment, powered by an x86 to ARM JIT emulator
- Scriptable: an iOS automation tool using Javascript, it can even integrate with native iOS APIs like photos and calendars, create native UIs, etc.
- Pythonista: a Python IDE, you can create 2D games, use it as a REPL, integrate with native APIs, and much more
And of course, there are the 1st party apps, Playgrounds and Shortcuts.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Banning it first is fine. banning it first, then not giving a reply to the concerns they have is not. Even if they have reasonable believe or proof that droidscript is indeed malware, it looks like at least a chunk of their userbase uses it for legitimate usecases and the devs, who likely invested at least a few hundred hours of work in it, deserve at least some communication.
I used to work at Google, and a friend reached out to me for help – his company's app was in a similar situation, with similar communication from Google. This was a good friend from high school, so I pressed the issue using internal channels. The person handling it on Google's side was very assertive about them violating a policy, and after some back and forth I received a _vague hint_ about what was the supposed vio…
you see exactly this happening all the time here on HN. the sentiment for the past few years is abysmal. google is actively blowing up their power user/developer customer base. looks like a metric somewhere got optimized a bit too well.
It's seriously time to re-embrace the idea of ownership and control of our devices, and reject Android and iOS altogether. Developing for those platforms has become worse and more restrictive over the years, and this kind of crap is now just everyday news. How good are Pinephones[1]? Are there better alternatives? [1] https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/
Maybe it's just time to see phones as what they are - a phone. I don't really care what software is ran in my truck, as long as it works (And that's why I'll not buy a Tesla). It's a phone, use it to call text and guide and browse some internet. That's it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Curious, is the Librem 5 an alternative you would consider?
Sure, it is a good alternative. But I still need a phone to do some work, like Whatsapp and banking apps (which I don't think Librem supports). So I am waiting for it to become stable and a little mature.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most users would prefer a mostly safe experience and gladly give up the option to run arbitrary code on their device for that experience (including arbitrary code they've written). In an all-out "this or that" between allowing IDEs on the Play Store in general and giving the average Play Store user what they want, the IDEs would lose. But it does suck if there is no legitimate way to release an IDE targeted to run on…
Most users don't really understand what they're giving up when they give up the option to run arbitrary code As with privacy (Facebook privacy settings, cookie boxes), it's easy to bamboozle the general public with complexity and then interpret their confusion and (violated) trust as consent.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Time for one of these again. So... having read through their marketing material, this is an on-device tool that opens up what appears to be most of the Android application API to at least the user of the device, and potentially to any Droidscript applications they grab from other sources, and... maybe to other apps on the device? It's not clear from a quick read how extensive the runtime control is. So just right out…
> this is the kind of app that would never have been legal at all on any version of iOS. Pythonista is a complete Python programming environment which provides access to camera, music, contacts, the network, and so on, and has been available for iOS since 2016. What specifically distinguishes Droidscript from Pythonista such that you think Apple would reject Droidscript? https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pythonista-3/id1…