European iPhones will have more freedom than American iPhones. Amazing
Based on what others are saying: no. Apple still retains total control over software running on what is supposed to be your hardware.
A first look at Europe's alternative iPhone app stores
161–170 of 216 posts
Re: A first look at Europe's alternative iPhone app stores
#162> Currently, the new version of AltStore is deep in Apple’s approval process and will be ready to go live once it gets the thumbs up from the company. I do hope that EU will push harder and we will be able to install anything we want (even alternative stores) without blessing from greedy mega-corp...
AFAIK the DMA specifically allows this to protect the operating system, so Apple is always going to be involved in the process to ensure basic security.
Whether you agree with that or take Apple’s word on what is a valid security concern is up for debate
Re: A first look at Europe's alternative iPhone app stores
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
The one week limitation is so mind bogglingly stupid, it’s something only Apple could come up with.
Hostile, not stupid.
Hostile is stupid, because Apple's brand is something along the lines of "make things straightforward and high quality for the end user". If they can't justify a short duration like a week they are betraying that brand.
This brand supports them doing all sorts of things that some like and some chafe at. For example, the ios store, grossly deficient as it is, is IMHO a relative win: combined with the strict hardware lockdown it makes me comfortable casually downloading apps, and more importantly my parents downloading apps. Other examples are the automatic backups to the cloud or the Safari requirement. I look at my dad's virus- and crapware-ridden windows machine and just shake my head. It's gotten so terrible that he uses his phone more and more because it keeps working.
Apple understands the subtlety of that brand too well, and they get away with a lot (e.g. they crushed a lot of opportunities for advertising spyware -- yay! -- but kept that capability for themselves).
BTW I wouldn't and don't tolerate that automatic backup in macos nor a strict app store lockdown, and if the mac really headed in that direction I'd go back to Linux. For example, Dropbox is a first class citizen on the mac, but not quite on ios.
I understand that some chafe under the ios restrictions, and I don't blame them. I still think of my laptop as my "real" personal computing device and my phone as something I want to always be working.
Re: A first look at Europe's alternative iPhone app stores
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
This complaint boils down to “X is not very free because they have laws that differ from my own country due to very different cultures.” > The main "freedom" in America is the ability of wealthy interests to screw over everyone. Try as I might, I’m failing to picture which shadowy cabal of wealthy elite might be behind the laws preventing day drinking in parks, and how they might be benefiting from it.
There’s a very good case to be made that these kind of laws are selectively used as a tool to oppress minorities and the poor. So while it’s probably not the straightforward Mr. Burns picture you painted, it is absolutely one of many tools in a large toolbox employed in America to continue to maintain the existing power dynamic.
This is a very interesting perspective that I hadn’t considered, and I think it’s because I’m from a very small Midwest town where homelessness is not an issue.
So when the person I replied to talks about public drinking in parks, in my head I’m picturing the family gatherings my family does each year in the park; and I think about several of my relatives who struggle with alcohol addiction, and my reaction is “well yeah, of course nobody wants to deal with a huge group of drunk people being rowdy in the park.”
What I don’t consider is how those same laws can be used against homeless people to remove them from the same park. In a town of 3000 people, homelessness is not something that really exists here.
Thanks for your comment, it has helped me understand the issue.
Re: A first look at Europe's alternative iPhone app stores
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
That sounds terrible indeed, I'm sorry to hear that, but anecdotes don't make a statistic. For example my parents had always been tech illiterate android and windows users and never got hacked or robbed online. >The only thing that keeps them safe these days is iOS. BS. If a resourceful and motivated actor wants to phish your credentials they can do it even if you use iOS as well. They can call you and impersonate yo…
Have you actually seen how a wide-open computing device looks like in regular person's hands?! Those IE instances full of "punch the monkey" toolbars were not just a meme, you know. I moved my family from Windows to Linux and then iPads as soon as I could. I still encounter hacks (iOS's calendar for some reason is vulnerable to appointments from spam emails) but it's incomparable to how it was before.
>Have you actually seen how a wide-open computing device looks like in regular person's hands?!
Wide open computing has also enabled generations of tinkerers, skilled workers, creatives and innovations that changed our lives for the best.
The few negatives don't override the fact that open computing on consumer tech has been a net positive in the grand scheme of things.
Re: A first look at Europe's alternative iPhone app stores
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
What I don't understand is why people keep using Apple? There are already platforms that allow this. Use them!
Apple does a lot of things right, for better or worse. Want copy paste? It’s consistent across the whole system because you have one choice. You don’t have to guess how the pop up is going to work beyond context. Other more open platforms get messy and fragmented hoping the developer chose a good implementation. Want encrypted messaging? Easy, just talk to other iPhones. Want less infection risk? Live in Apple’s wall…
I'm pretty sure I have a consistent copy/paste experience on my Fedora laptop, despite it being "open". Do you have examples of a "fragmented experience"?
> I get less calls from grandparents asking for iOS assistance than Android, the interface is more intuitively laid out.
I'm trying to think of a time that either my parents or grandparents called for support on Android. On iOS I've had plenty of questions posed, though usually because Apple don't want people to get WhatsApp notifications, for example.
Re: A first look at Europe's alternative iPhone app stores
#167Re: A first look at Europe's alternative iPhone app stores
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you actually seen how a wide-open computing device looks like in regular person's hands?! Those IE instances full of "punch the monkey" toolbars were not just a meme, you know. I moved my family from Windows to Linux and then iPads as soon as I could. I still encounter hacks (iOS's calendar for some reason is vulnerable to appointments from spam emails) but it's incomparable to how it was before.
>Have you actually seen how a wide-open computing device looks like in regular person's hands?! Wide open computing has also enabled generations of tinkerers, skilled workers, creatives and innovations that changed our lives for the best. The few negatives don't override the fact that open computing on consumer tech has been a net positive in the grand scheme of things.
> Wide open computing has also enabled generations
I totally agree with you. I love open computing! I grew up with it and it afforded me the chances in life that allowed me to get where I am today.
And I hate what Apple has done to it and how it treats us, developers. But exactly because we want open platforms in the future, we need to be on Apple's side on this one. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but we need to give up short-term interests for the long-term gain.
Because it's clear we need both closed and open platforms on the market - each has its use cases and customers. But for that to exist - we need competition in the platform market (not only the platforms to be open to competition - this is an important aspect). And you know what the biggest competition killer is? Regulation. Even well-meaning regulation (which DMA isn't, btw). Regulation always favors incumbents. Regulation ensures startups have a harder job while big corporations simply add another lawyer on the payroll. Regulation is why Europe is so far behind in the high-tech field.
Anything EU throws at Apple - Apple will eventually (begrudgingly) implement. But they will still be market leader, they will still be big and arrogant and treating devs like crap. Meanwhile every rule will became another obstacle in what way of a new, better platform to appear. Regulations ossify markets and kill innovation. In the end we will be left with a few, "well" regulated, mammoths corporations.
Personally, I'd rather have a whole bunch of chaotic startups trying everything and fighting Apple every which way. The few negatives will lead to a net positive in the grand scheme of things.
Re: A first look at Europe's alternative iPhone app stores
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
I actually live in the EU. We (the citizens) have zero control over that regulatory body. ZERO. None of those represent me and I have no way of influencing them in any way. While multinational companies?! I can actually stop being their customer and vote with my wallet. Much more democratic, IMHO.
> I actually live in the EU. We (the citizens) have zero control over that regulatory body. ZERO. None of those represent me and I have no way of influencing them in any way. Start here: https://elections.europa.eu/en/
Do you think I didn't vote?! Do you really believe a single vote changes anything when populist politicians promise to fleece "evil foreign corporations" while giving free money to their constituents?