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by rekoil 870 days ago
PlayStation is a games console, it's a purpose-specific device. I think there needs to be regulation there as well, but not the same regulation as for general-purpose computing devices like the iPhone or Android, or whatever Apple are slowly trying to turn MacBooks into.

I don't pretend to know all the answers, my stance is that the reason our society is where it is today is at least in part because computers have been computers, and not this "my way or the highway" approach Apple has for the iPhone.
1 comments
JumpCrisscross 870 days ago
> PlayStation is a games console, it's a purpose-specific device

Why isn't the iPhone a smartphone, a purpose-specific device?

> there needs to be regulation there as well, but not the same regulation as for general-purpose computing devices like the iPhone or Android

This shifts the game from defining what Apple can and cannot do to what a general-purpose computing device is. And that's the point. That's why this framing is great if you're Apple. A specific discussion regarding tangible outcomes morphs into an arcane debate over jargon and philosophy.

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rekoil 870 days ago
> Why isn't the iPhone a smartphone, a purpose-specific device?

Because it can be extended via software to support whole new categories of apps.

Sure, a games console technically is a computer and the above statement is true for it as well, but it wasn't marketed as such.

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wvenable 870 days ago
What about my obsolete car software?
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rekoil 870 days ago
That's a little different, but an interesting topic to discuss!

In my opinion there are 3 ways forward in such situations.

1. The manufacturer designs the car so that the infotainment unit is replaceable when they stop updating the original. Replacements not certified as "road safe" would be illegal to install.

2. The manufacturer literally never stops updating the software... (yeah, obviously this isn't a real alternative, but it's technically acceptable if a manufacturer wants to attempt to make that promise)

3. The manufacturer, after ceasing updates, provides the necessary documentation for an alternative software to be built, but it wouldn't be obviously legal to install just anything, the software would need to be certified "road safe" and how you would assert that you're not running unsafe software is not obvious to me.

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wvenable 870 days ago
I don't know why my infotainment system modifications would need to be certified. The head unit itself is swappable with something that just runs stock Android.

(I don't swap it because there are a few minor annoyances with that)

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rekoil 870 days ago
Because there are laws about what a driver is allowed to do while driving and for very good reasons. Infotainment systems are a natural source of distractions, and without safeguards there isn't anything stopping things like Netflix from running while the car is being driven.

I wish we lived in a world where we could say, "sure but the driver knows not to put that on while driving, so we're all good!", but we very much unfortunately don't...

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