>> How does allowing sideloaded apps or unlocked bootloaders help the average soccer mom?
>Millions of people installed Fortnite mobile without an appstore, you should ask them.
That's a mischaracterization of my argument. I never claimed they couldn't sideload an app or that it was difficult. After all, all they had to do was follow the on-screen instructions. Furthermore, sideloading wasn't helping them. The user went through more steps to install a game just so epic could skip the 30% play store tax. Maybe epic passed the savings on the consumer instead of lining their profits (ha!), but the only entity that sideloading clearly helped was epic.
>But you get a device that records your life intimately and is one subpoena to Google or Apple away from making your life very, very difficult.
* you can opt out of the tracking/uploading to google/apple
* even if you opted into tracking/uploading, there's things that aren't but local malware can get (eg. emails, phone recordings)
* requiring a subpoena requires judicial approval and leaves a paper trail. it's also not an option for some groups (eg. foreign governments). there's a reason why mercenary hacking firms (hacking team, NSO group, DarkMatter) are a thing.
FWIW Apple devices can still download apps from multiple versions back (my ipad mini can download apps on ios 9), developers might just set a minimum OS requirement if they use certain new APIs.
> The vast majority of customers want an app store with tighter controls, and both Google and Apple provide it.
Tell that to the millions of people who installed Fornite mobile outside of any app store.
Most people don't care where their software comes from at all.
The reason there are complaints about the app store is because both Apple and Google are capricious and inconsistent with their application of their rules, and have no problem pretending their strict rules need to be enforced, but then allow apps that break their rules with adware or spyware on their app stores.
> ...both Apple and Google are capricious and inconsistent with their application of their rules...
this got me thinking. how is that handled by a democratic system of government? with an independent judiciary, of course. we need an independent, third party App Court! we need a powerful organization that can referee and literally force Google and Apple to put an app back in their stores.
That's time consuming and expensive. If you found yourself in a situation where you're signing a non-compete out of desperation, you're lacking in both time and resources.
Isn't this the problem, why should it be down to you to challenge. If it's illegal why doesn't the government investigate and take the company to court?
If you get stabbed don't the police arrest the person and, the state try and convict them? They don't leave it to the victim to mount a case, surely?
A proper legal system would provide sufficient reward to make it always worthwhile to challenge companies _clearly_ abusing their power in that way.
In some cases of injury, especially involving corporations, the criminal justice system does let civil court system take the lead with wrongful death lawsuits and the like.
And even criminal trials end up in plea bargain settlements. The trial and deliberation isn't necessarily expected.
I was desperate for work and signed a non-compete for a security guard job, one of the easiest jobs to get. If I got a job at a competitor within N miles I would have had to pay $Xtimes1000 to my current employer.
Doesn't have to make it to court for them to strongarm you into a settlement. The threat of a lawsuit is enough for many to agree on a settlement just so it doesn't go to court, even if you'd likely win as a defendant. Lawyers are expensive and so is the appeals process.
Exactly. As the cops say, you may beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride. In a court it costs money to win or to lose. If you fight, they can afford to fight more than you can.
The nasty letter and threat of a lawsuit are the threats. You have to remember that for many Americans, a lawsuit means bankruptcy and that in most states non-compete agreements are lawful.
In the US, 'organic' does not mean sustainable. Voting with your wallet is not enough. This situation requires large scale change and regulation to remedy.
Certainly true. There is a particular sustainability problem I have been thinking about for some time: the "organic" versus "low till" conundrum.
Reducing chemical usage through organic farming practices is good. Reducing tillage is very good for the soil biome -- soil that has been undisturbed for 5 years has hugely more organic matter, hugely more worms and other healthy organism, better water retention, better aeration, the list goes on.
Here is the conflict: In order to achieve low- or no-till farming, chemical weed control is usually necessary. In order to avoid chemicals and stay organic, mechanic weed control is the norm, causing much soil disruption.
Wholesale conversion to organic farming practices will never let us restore the soil biome unless we come up with a new solution for weed control that is cost competitive.
And even if it was, the uptick in price is usually quite high; it seems most groceries have the highest margins on things marketed as healthy/sustainable.
Don't confuse margins with prices. I can't speak for the grocery stores, but at the producer level organic growing practices are higher cost. The farmer may get a higher price and yet also have a lower margin. That is certainly true for broad-field crops such as organic soy beans -- the higher price for organic at the grain terminal often does not make up for lower yields and higher input costs. I have seen broad-field crop farmers attempt organic and give it up as a risky, often money losing venture. (Source: I am a fly-over country landlord with skin in the game.)
Yeah, your point about the production costs is correct and seems easily generalizable. I don't think I can generalize the grocers the same way. This is an anecdote from 6 years ago, so take it that way, but in my area the average margin over all the stores and all of their items was just under 2%. Iirc, most grocers were taking losses on certain staples while maintaining a +50% markup on food marketable as healthy. I don't mean organic, just things perceived to be healthy. Some discount grocers and farmers' markets have opened business since then, so it may not be the same anymore.
Set theory, graph theory, stats, discrete math and linear algebra all rear their heads in various fields, but you could go your entire web dev career without having to understand them.
> The solution, in my humble immigrant opinion, is to train Americans to take on service jobs that cannot be easily automated / performed by cheap labor overseas.
It would also require software developers to take an honest look at our industry.
Every Democrat in the Senate voted for it, including two independents.