For me it’s the opposite, it ashames me to be an EU citizen. The problem with the EU is that it forces this kind of stuff on everyone instead of letting countries compete for the best policies. There is little/no feedback control hence it will drift down the usual decline of increasingly authoritarian systems. It‘s a shame because of the opportunity costs.
I wouldn't agree, we are all living in a system where monopolies are trying to benefit easiest ways, and diverse population tries to eliminate useless gatekeeping by as minimum regulation as possible. The complexity of this "minimum regulation" task always evolves, and not that many countries succeed ever.
So in my opinion, EU as a joint effort of _countries_ you mentioned, forced to break this useless monopoly gatekeeping, making competition tougher for monopolist. This is good, but it is very rare occasion when it's really that easy solution like this. And yeah it could be patternized in a wrong way obviously... but the idea itself is for good. It it the reason why standards exist, it makes coordination cheaper, competition tougher, and users more productive.
Do you mean the plug in the wall for adapters? Assuming so but please correct me if I’m wrong. :)
Not the hill I’m going to die on, but doesn’t the lack of change kind of prove the point? Is what we have today the absolute best thing we could have? There’s probably room for innovation here. It’s a balance right? Not changing is good but also… it can’t get any better. With consumer electronic devices we’d still be using DVI ports and the red/yellow/white audio video cables had this legislation come into existence only a few years back. Important to remember that.
That being said I think Apple should support USB-C across all devices because it’s just damn good. I was irritated they added the HDMI port back actually. Hopefully they’ll remove it in the future again and just keep USB-C everything.
From what I understand Thunderbolt is actually a pretty good implantation it’s just proprietary for Apple. That’s fine. I also understand Apple’s desire to maintain a minimum level of quality for USB-C cables being plugged into the iPhone. I’m not sure why that’s controversial.
in the old days, the government ensured that the physically strong people would not get the best deals because they could force you to give up your product.
While on the one hand the EU as a collective has more power than member states, it's a stark contrast to the US for example where companies and people move around to states whose laws suit them. I for one am all for apple's hardware, so if California banned lightning port for example I can happily avoid them and they do ban and regulate a lot of things yet they are the richest and most populous state even with people preferring other states for nicer laws. "Everybody gets a place and united we will prosper" should be the motto of any union of states.
You must be young & not remember the huge mess that charging was in the early 2000s. Every single brand had a proprietary charging port/connector - same with their data connectors. These days it’s bliss in comparison. They more often than not were also hard wired into the electrical plug, making matters even worse (and power bricks weren’t solid state, they were cooper transformers, which were heavy!).
Usually I like reading the HN comment section as it is one of the few places (I know of) where people communicate in a respectful manner. Unfortunately, conjecturing about someones IQ in this manner because his view differs, makes me reconsider this.
never understood the anti-regulatory vitriol expressed by normal people (that is people who would not directly benefit from the absence of regulation but actually have much to lose), especially in the US (but UK's Brexit ideology used the regulatory overreach accusation against the EU to "good" effect too - the "curved banana" absurdity).
from the food we eat, the medicine we take, the cars we drive, the planes we fly, the banks with bank with, and, dare I say, the digital technology we have, the quality of our experience relies 100% on there being strong, non-captured, informed, hands-on regulation that tries on an ongoing basis to correct market failures (for which there is a mountain of damning historical experience)
remove regulation and energy companies will put poison in your car tank and they will destroy the atmosphere, banks will fall apart and your life savings will evaporate, planes will be flown with minimal tests and collapse and you will be inside, techs will pilfer and sell your behavioral profile to the highest bidder
self-regulation is a tool that works in certain circumstances but definitely cannot be relied upon across the board. especially not in oligopolistic conditions where better alternatives will struggle to receive traction. especially not on the face of our economies having ignored entirely the environmental damage of throwaway electronic devices and plastic pollution
what is the risk of veering to the opposite side, actual regulatory overreach, that is somehow gratuitous and does not simply try to correct some market failure? At worst it may delay things here and there. Taking a step back and looking at the outcomes of "the move fast and break things" ideology, that might not be a bad thing at all
Meh. Android has had sideloading from the start. It's been the common term for not using the blessed app stores for a while, even when it's been allowed since the beginning.
Most people do not have "their own code". Instead it is your code you want me and my grandmother to load and I simply do not want to, unless you go through Apple's hurdles to check and verify it.
I don't want to jump out of a plane therefore I want to outlaw skydiving.
Actually I don't have to outlaw things I don't like for myself. I will simply not go skydiving and other people are wellcome to take the risk for themselves.
No one is forcing you to load anything you don't want to. You don't need to force your decision onto everyone. There is a difference between "I don't want to load your code" and "I don't want anyone to have the ability to load your code".
If you want to jump out of the plane, please pick a provider that serves skydivers. Do not try to open the door of a regular plane from a normal airline. Moreover, please do not try to make it illegal to have airlines that don't allow opening the door during mid-flight. It makes flying more dangerous for all of us, especially those who don't happen to have a parachute around.
No one is forcing you to stop loading whatever you want on your phone. Just pick a phone manufacturer that allows that. There is a difference between "I want to load anything on my phone" and "I want to load anything on any phone I choose, even from a manufacturer that specifically caters to people who are quite reluctant to load your code unchecked on their phones".
The question is more: Why the fuck do you care if Apple allows sideloading or not. It is a feature you do not have to use and (if Apple implements sideloading) you probably would need to explicitly activate. Just leave the option off, but instead you are here saying the option should not exist for anyone. Those that are reluctant to use it can just ignore it.
WHY?
I should be able to load anything on any phone THAT I OWN. Even if the manufacturer does not want me to. I bought the Phone. I didn't Rent it. I didn't borrow it. IT IS MY PHONE. Why should the manufacturer dictate what I am allowed to do with the phone?
"My Liberty ends where yours starts." is a great Quote in your bio. Is it just there as decoration or do you believe what it means?
So you want the ideological argument then? Well let's see if we can find the various freedom's borders here.
You deserve the freedom to do whatever you want with you device, of course. Jailbreak it if you want. Or throw it away and get another on the free market.
Apple is a private company. They deserve the freedom to create and market a device with the tradeoffs, features and limitations they see fit. Locked down, if they can manage to. Because they are not selling just a device. They are actually selling access to a bunch of services, a platform, a walled garden if you want, for which the device is the entry point, the interface.
And, finally, I deserve the freedom of choice. To choose between open platforms and closed, safe ones, to have both options on the market.
Like when looking for a home: you can buy in the middle of nowhere (and do what you want), rent (and have very limited rights) or buy in a gated community and have certain rights but not unlimited freedom. Because this is true Liberty: when others can freely choose to do things we don't agree with. Like under Capitalism: you can have communist Coops, but under communism you can't have private companies...
But then for those of us not in the EU, Facebook et al suddenly have access to a plethora of data they didn’t have before via side loading thanks to a European law.
No need to worry. EU laws concerning iOS only apply to products sold within the EU. Apple is within their rights to keep their operating system locked down outside the EU, and all recent reports indicate that this is exactly what they'll do. So unless your country decides to pass similar legislation, you're free to enjoy Apple's restrictions.
And so your concern is because of... the EU, and not your own politicians for failing to regulate a completely out of control corporation running psychological experiments on users without their consent ?
Since this will be required by the DMA as mentioned in another comment, the more accurate phrasing would be "How about Apple simply not selling their phones in the EU (if they don't like it)?"
Just like nobody's forcing a consumer to buy an iPhone if they don't like it, nobody's forcing Apple to do business in the EU.
God, sometimes I really wish they would do just that. Just a week ago, Germany launched a public transport ticket that can only be acquired via an app. Imagine the outrage if suddenly every iOS owner could not use that service (paid with tax money of course) that entirely depends on US software services because the companies decided the EU bullying is just enough for now (just like Google did with China).
If the EU wants to "boss around" like they do in this headline, maybe it should ensure having actual EU businesses capable of competing with US ones. But more regulation will surely do it, I’m sure, this time.
The ticket you are talking about can be purchased via website. [0]
Apart from that, I'm not sure I see your point. If Apple left the EU market, their stock would tank, and Google would be delighted to pick up the market share.
Your framing is interesting, by the way. When Apple puts restrictions on its users, that's corporate freedom. When the democratic legislative process of the EU results in restrictions on Apple, that's bullying.
Enacting laws is not bullying. Enacting laws and then issueing "warnings" about an undefined "spirit of the law" that was intended to have been followed, that's bullying. Either there is a clear law or there isn't, if your law allows behavior that you don't want, don't blame the player, blame your law and change it.
Stop with the FUD. I know you have a big imagination but the reality is that I can side load apps on Android, and all the big companies that push me t install their apps are using the official store and I never see random websites showing fake links to banking apps.
Guess what apps I have to side load, the apps the Stores do not allow, like Huawei app for my solar panels(iOS users will have to use the website since no side loading for them).
Please other Android users, can you help to fight this FUD? why did you side load apps? Do you see fake links to fake banking of FB apps? Did some big website pushed you to side load their app instead of an app from the store ?
Android Play store doesn't have the same user protections as iOS Appstore. There is no reason to force sideload on Android because you can already spy on everything the user does with your Playstore apps (why would you even expect anything else from Google? The whole thing is set up for spying). That's not the case on iOS. You're comparing incomparable.
Yeah these suggestions often come from a place of “this is what I want” instead fully think it through. Those 4 steps and 5 warnings you need click through? Please! I don’t want to manage my family’s apple devices collection when things go wrong.
It sounds exciting, but it doesn't sound great for business. No surprise there is no new company in the DAX, CAC40.. etc in edging towards half a century now.
There is a trade off in terms of the economic condition and that can be seen in European salaries and the brain drain which reinforces it. It isn't all good for the longer term, but if a majority of people like it, be careful what you wish for.
I've just bought some new iDevices _now_, in order that they come with Lightning ports, rather than the anticipated USB C on the next model.
Specifically because the Lightning port seems the more robust (and easily cleaned) of the two, for a device which will spend a significant chunk of the next 3-5 years in pockets, picking up lint and other dirt.
Relative charging and data transfer speeds seem less of an issue than the practical issues.
I've less concern about USB-C on laptops, tablets, etc. Simply because their operating environment will be less challenging.
The EU can do some amazing things, however there are also many problems. The recent https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/eu-cra-secure-coding-solut... seems particularly dangerous.
Also don't read about the Pfizer vaccine deal with the EU/ von der Leyen. You might loose your trust/ happiness very quickly.
Of course, the EU's handling of the Ukraine/ Russia crisis is particularly bad as well, the war could have been over by now. I mean, many Ukrainian people are dying in vain.
