Why do we accept bullshit from Android/ios?

5 points by waqas- 10 years ago | 3 comments

Imagine, on your laptop, linux, win or mac, as soon an you connect to internet a bunch of apps start downloading stuff from the internet in the background and you have little or no control over it, and that is the default behavior. There would be riots. But we accept the same from Android and IOS. Requiring so many intrusive permissions that were unheard of in desktop apps and starting without user initiative. For example whatsapp, as soon as you connect data or wifi, it starts downloading shit and you cannot stop it. The apps start without the user asking for it. Same goes for the facebook app, and so many others - sometimes slowing and crashing older devices. I just dont understand why it is accepted on your phone where the privacy is arguably more important, and not accepted in desktop - which does not allow apps to have so much control over when they start or stop. Specifically i want to know what is being done about it? Is there a mobile OS being developed out there that will respect the user and device owner more than the manufacturer?

informatimago 10 years ago |

The assumption is that since those devices lack (convenient) input devices, the user has a hard time controlling them and therefore they get a free run.

In a unix system, a runaway program is very close to a kill command. It's so ingrained int the ecosystem that it's actually one of the easiest command to give, in any UI provided: C-c in the terminal, C-a K (or close button) in window managers, etc.

But on handheld computers, there's no key, no button to kill a program. The best you can do on iOS is a double-click on the home button, then a long-press on the icons, and then a click on the delete button on the icon. On Android it's similarly convoluted.

This is also the reason I guess, why originally no programming (or scripting) system is provided on those computers.

But it is more from a lack of imagination on the part of Apple and Android, than a real limitation of the input devices. You have to remember that those devices and their software is not designed by programmers, but by fashion designers. The purpose is to make them beautiful, not practical, so they may sell a lot of them thru pure peer pressure and keeping-up-with-the-joneses. My golden iPhone is better than your silver iPhone.

So basically, there's space for whole new OSes running on those devices. Probably easier done on Android where the hardware documentation might be obtained more easily, but you could also replace iOS on rooted Apple devices.

waqas- 10 years ago | |

a kill button comes later in the process. on android apps start in the background without being initiated by the user. windows had the simple "msconfig" to change that, linux doesnt even lets apps get startup permissions without asking user to enter their password and agree. but on android its the opposite. every app will start whenever the app developer wants it to. it will start and it will use your internet and send your location and your messages and the name of your grandma to the developers server and google and whoever the developer wants it to. and i dont see any escape from this.

Old_Thrashbarg 10 years ago |

Agreed. Android's all-or-nothing permissions is horrendous and causes me to avoid most apps.