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Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

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Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#331

Post by queuebert »

Nifty3929 wrote: post #268

I think people forget that Apple is not making devices for the Hackernews community. They are making devices for people that just want something that works pretty well and has reasonable security - even to the extent of protecting them from themselves. They have other things to do with their time than learn about security vulnerabilities and how to avoid them. They want to just click 'yes' on every popup and expect t…

This is a false dichotomy. You can build a system that is secure by default but allows you to opt out with sufficient technical knowledge.

Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#332

Post by shuckles »

croes wrote: post #88
shuckles wrote: post #10

Another company that would like Apple to donate R&D resources to them to add iOS API for free.

You mean APIs the Apple watch already uses?

It’s not API. That’s the whole complaint of the post. Just because it’s implemented internally does not mean it’s ready for framework support. Have you ever built an API before?

Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#333

Post by frollogaston »

CivBase wrote: post #315
Nifty3929 wrote: post #268

I think people forget that Apple is not making devices for the Hackernews community. They are making devices for people that just want something that works pretty well and has reasonable security - even to the extent of protecting them from themselves. They have other things to do with their time than learn about security vulnerabilities and how to avoid them. They want to just click 'yes' on every popup and expect t…

IMO, Apple's position as part of a duopoly disqualifies them that kind of defense. When customers aren't empowered to choose which company they engage with, companies should not be allowed to choose which customers they support.

The customer has plenty of choice here, including just not having a smartwatch. It's a toy.

Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#334

Post by Avamander »

mystified5016 wrote: post #280
Avamander wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should be, but BT stacks are super crap and it's hard to truly guarantee that. Pretty sure they do not currently require the highest (actually proper) security level from everyone.

[flagged]

Do you actually have anything conducive to say, anything specific you'd like to argue against?

Encryption is optional, there are four security levels for BLE, multiple pairing methods, privacy extensions, there are so many ways to mess things up.

Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#335

Post by Pfhortune »

9rx wrote: post #225
Nextgrid wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regulation? When a market is stuck in a local maximum, an external force would be beneficial to push it out of it.

Unless regulation is the problem[1], you need the will of the people[2] to see regulation come into force. But if the people had the will, they could just see it through already. No need for regulation. [1] Which it is in the case of computing. Intellectual property law makes direct competition against the law. [2] Assuming a democracy.

> But if the people had the will, they could just see it through already.

How does this work in the context of this discussion?

Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#336

Post by shantara »

Nifty3929 wrote: post #268

I think people forget that Apple is not making devices for the Hackernews community. They are making devices for people that just want something that works pretty well and has reasonable security - even to the extent of protecting them from themselves. They have other things to do with their time than learn about security vulnerabilities and how to avoid them. They want to just click 'yes' on every popup and expect t…

We’re rapidly approaching the point where having a smartphone is becoming a necessity for being a functional part of the society. You could argue that is some countries we’re already past that point. A device of this social importance that’s also locked into one of the two American megacorps absolutely needs as much scrutiny as possible, since the interests of those megacorps are not aligned with the interests of the society.

To give one example, Apple has removed an option for Airdrop file sharing between iPhones that are not on one another’s contact lists after the pressure from the Chinese government to stop it from being used for protests coordination. And yet this change was silently rolled out globally as a part of an iOS update.

So, no, “Good enough for most people” is not actually good enough.

Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#337

Post by MPSFounder »

I like Apple. But this is exactly why regulation is needed. I often meet people (including knowledgeable engineers etc) who think companies will do the best thing. Just like Flint did the best thing by poisoning their own people. Apple is a for profit company, and it will debilitate any 3rd party device. That is because by killing its market, profit is to be made by buying it for cheap. It's that simple folks. The end user can go and screw themselves, as far as they are concerned.

Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#338

Post by eddieroger »

sigmar wrote: post #293
Nifty3929 wrote: post #268

I think people forget that Apple is not making devices for the Hackernews community. They are making devices for people that just want something that works pretty well and has reasonable security - even to the extent of protecting them from themselves. They have other things to do with their time than learn about security vulnerabilities and how to avoid them. They want to just click 'yes' on every popup and expect t…

Couldn't you make that argument for literally any anticompetitive practice? Like in the 1990s: "Microsoft isn't making an OS for people that want to try different browsers"

Unlike Microsoft of the 90s, there are alternative mobile operating systems that are actually competing with iOS and Apple, so the argument isn't the same. In fact, people point out that iOS doesn't have majority share when you look at global usage, and only has a small majority when you look at the US. Microsoft's next nearest OS competitor didn't make a browser, and a lot more than half of computer users were using Windows.

Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#339

Post by shuckles »

celsoazevedo wrote: post #111
shuckles wrote: post #10

Another company that would like Apple to donate R&D resources to them to add iOS API for free.

Isn't that included in the price of the device you buy?

What is “that”? The iOS SDK is public knowledge and it makes no guarantees about future features.

Re: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

#340

Post by firefax »

This sounds noncompetitive, and bad, but can I just say I don't see the appeal of these watches? I much prefer a simple casio.

I got around Europe with a CA-53W. I did currency conversion, and had an alarm so I didn't have to leave my phone unattended in a 10 bed hostel.

I find my mind is clearer not using these things, not constantly bombarded with pings, and instead mindfully checking the phone occasionally to see if I missed any texts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_CA-53W

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