> On the MacBook Neo, I can even opt to not use MacOS at all and instead install Asahi Linux if I so choose
Wait, does Asahi even run in this thing, or is that unfounded speculation?
Your phone is an entire computer
231–240 of 329 posts
Re: Your phone is an entire computer
#232I really don't understand the argument here. That the product is locked down by design is a feature, not a limitation. Yes, this has the side effect of making them more money and allowing a walled garden to form, but given that the vast majority of users wouldn't do anything different with their phones if a shell was present, this is in my opinion not that large of an effect. The snide around "clicking on links is da…
>On the other hand, being cryptographically locked-down is an optional feature. If you don't like it, buy a computer without that feature. But that's the thing, where can I buy a phone without a locked-down operating system? GrapheneOS on a Google Pixel is basically the only option right now, and this still has problems thanks to hardware attestation in a lot of apps that the ecosystem forces us to use. This is large…
> All of our expectations for control over our phones are completely out of whack compared to other computers.
I would, sadly, challenge this. If anything, our desktops and laptops are the exception now. Phones, TVs, game consoles, set top boxes, cars, Amazon echos, ebook readers, tablets, security cameras, autonomous devices like vacuum cleaners — when I think of the myriad devices we interact with that have a computer in them, they are all as stringently locked down as possible.
Re: Your phone is an entire computer
#233> On the MacBook Neo, I can even opt to not use MacOS at all and instead install Asahi Linux if I so choose Wait, does Asahi even run in this thing, or is that unfounded speculation?
It’s definitely speculation. Not sure it’s unfounded, the project has built some level of support for all other Apple Silicon Macs: https://asahilinux.org/docs/platform/feature-support/overvie...
Re: Your phone is an entire computer
#234This feels a bit like when my friend Colin put out a challenge for people to get Windows XP running on the then-new Intel Macs. I love this idea. I'd love a tiny full computer that I could dock onto other hardware and just carry around. https://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/183700272/intel-ma...
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Re: Your phone is an entire computer
#235I really don't understand the argument here. That the product is locked down by design is a feature, not a limitation. Yes, this has the side effect of making them more money and allowing a walled garden to form, but given that the vast majority of users wouldn't do anything different with their phones if a shell was present, this is in my opinion not that large of an effect. The snide around "clicking on links is da…
Also phones are network devices on a carrier network. A long time ago, people didn’t even own their own phones. Their landlines were property of the phone company. Apple achieved what was nearly impossible by getting iPhone capabilities on a carrier’s network. (They did another impossible feat with the iTunes Store and selling tracks for 0.99) iPhone capabilities caught up to most people’s computing needs but at the…
You can buy a cellular data plan for your laptop. Just plug in a 5g radio to your usb port or in some laptops you can even install it internally in a dedicated pcie slot.
Carrier approval is not the reason phones are locked down. If it were then rooting android devices wouldn’t be possible.
Re: Your phone is an entire computer
#236I really don't understand the argument here. That the product is locked down by design is a feature, not a limitation. Yes, this has the side effect of making them more money and allowing a walled garden to form, but given that the vast majority of users wouldn't do anything different with their phones if a shell was present, this is in my opinion not that large of an effect. The snide around "clicking on links is da…
I understand this for a user’s primary phone, and agree to a large extent.
However, the article touches on ideas like using an old phone as a server. It would be nice if on first boot a user could choose if the device will be a phone or a generic device. This way, when I decide to upgrade my phone, my old would could be reset and then setup with macOS to use for wherever I want. The alternatives are to sell it, recycle it, use it as an overpowered iPod touch, or throw it in a drawer for 10 years.
Re: Your phone is an entire computer
#237Earlier quoted context omitted.
And it is not stopping people from steal IPhones as they can resell parts as usual.
The stolen parts have serials on them that get blacklisted. iOS isn't going to run with a camera that's been marked as stolen.
And the consequence for this is that you can't replace your own camera - or home button. Instead of a thief stealing your phone, Apple steals your phone. Not worth it. They could still track it by IMEI when it connects to a network.
Re: Your phone is an entire computer
#238> On the MacBook Neo, I can even opt to not use MacOS at all and instead install Asahi Linux if I so choose (assuming Apple continues to allow custom kernel booting as it has in M-series Macs).
Is this true? Does Asahi support any A series chip (or the A18 Pro specifically)?
Re: Your phone is an entire computer
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
And yet, try getting a full backup of your Google phone onto your own computer. (Without rooting/wiping the whole thing.) Heck, try getting just your text messages off (without a separate app)! You can't. (Last time I checked.) The backup is encrypted in the cloud, and the only way to download it is to restore it to a phone. Whereas I can just plug in my iPhone and get a full backup, complete with sqlite manifest, co…
Google takeout. Done, nice try though to make some totally irrelevant comparison to excuse apple behavior.
Does that include all the local storage from my apps now?
Re: Your phone is an entire computer
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
> hardware attestation in a lot of apps that the ecosystem forces us to use Only a tiny amount of apps force you into hardware attestation, and these are mostly around banking, mobile payments and the like. So just use a separate, locked down device for those (where the anti-fraud protection of a locked-down system can be a benefit) and your more open day-to-day device for mostly everything else. A hidden advantage i…
>Only a tiny amount of apps force you into hardware attestation Luckily this is still true, but I'm not confident that it will stay this way. For a few examples, I've been unable to use my phone as a metro card in my city because even though it goes through the metro's app, the app redirects back to google pay. Google's own Waymo app won't work without stock OS even though all it does is call robotaxis. >these are mo…
Be sure to give apps that behave that way one-star reviews.
I just tested Waymo and my usual solution of Magisk Play Integrity Fix was insufficient, suggesting hardware-backed attestation. This is the kind of crap Microsoft was doing that inspired Google to put "don't be evil" in its mission statement. We all know how that went.