So let's all wear the same clothes, eat the same foods, engage in the same pastimes, work the same hours, walk at the same speeds, drive the same car. Then the only abstraction will be in our dreams - the only place we will be free! Our dreams will then be the blessed relief that we will always look forward to as our own little free moment.
Point is, such didactic statements are stupid, as is the whole 'less choice is actually more freedom' mantra.
Put it this way. Say the government mandated one phone. One car. One style of house. One fashion outfit. You don't need any more than that. You're freed from having to micromanage your stuff. Sure, you can wear your outfit any way you want, and get your one car in whatever colour, but hey, uniformity breeds freedom from the enduser, right? Because 'micromanagement' is bad, right?
So let's all make our own clothes, grow our own foods, invent our own pastimes, work random hours, ignore road signs, and build our own cars.
There's a happy middle, and I think we're approaching it (given the mobile ecosystem, from both sides). I enjoy using iOS, and for most of my apps I don't care where they store it. I do agree that there appears to be a design flaw in iOS surrounding this, but allowing users complete control over their system only allows them (including me) a greater opportunity to shoot themselves in the foot.
But we're already at the happy middle. I don't design my phone hardware, I don't design my operating system, I don't grow my own food...
... but I am free to do all of those, plus free to modify all of those in the way I choose, should I want a better fit. Sure, I may have to be a dev, and have background knowledge in how to engage in some of those, but the capability is there. Granny Jones isn't going to shoot herself in the foot because of some downloaded maps.
> So let's all wear the same clothes, eat the same foods, engage in the same pastimes, work the same hours, walk at the same speeds, drive the same car.
Yes, clearly restrictions for the space available to apps on a mobile phone is the same as political totalitarianism.
And user space apps not being able to address/change kernel space in Unix is also a major blow to our freedom.
Wow, is that what all the downmodding is about? Way to miss the point, HN.
I'm trying to say that choice is not equivalatable to micromanagement - if it was, and the elimination of micromanagement is good, then the elimination of choice would be good - which it patently isn't. You have choice over a great many things in your life which are trivial, yet which people find important to have.
It was an analogy - "put it this way. say the X" kinda makes that clear.
Point is, such didactic statements are stupid, as is the whole 'less choice is actually more freedom' mantra.
Put it this way. Say the government mandated one phone. One car. One style of house. One fashion outfit. You don't need any more than that. You're freed from having to micromanage your stuff. Sure, you can wear your outfit any way you want, and get your one car in whatever colour, but hey, uniformity breeds freedom from the enduser, right? Because 'micromanagement' is bad, right?