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Android's sideloading limits are its most anti-consumer move

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522 points josephcsible | 3 comments | 13 Oct 25 15:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.203s | source
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HiPhish ◴[13 Oct 25 16:27 UTC] No.45570232[source]▶
We need to stop calling it "sideloading", we should call it freely installing software. The term "sideloading" makes it sound shady and hacky when in reality it is what we have been able to do on our computers since forever. These are not phones, they are computers shaped like phones, computer which we fully bought with our money, and I we shall install what we want on our own computers.
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tomall ◴[13 Oct 25 16:36 UTC] No.45570367[source]▶
I like the term "direct install" which someone suggested in one of the previous threads.
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1. bigwheels ◴[13 Oct 25 18:35 UTC] No.45571802[source]▶
Or just "install". This word was sufficient my entire life until the Apple App Store came along and hijacked it.

"Why should I change my name? He's the one who sucks"

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ADgS_vMGgzY&t=3s

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2. numpad0 ◴[13 Oct 25 19:45 UTC] No.45572546[source]▶
Would it be possible to exclude app store install from "Install", eg swapping positions with sideloading? The idea would be that "app store sideloads" are more like enabling features than installing something novel, and installs allow something unplanned to be enabled.
3. kube-system ◴[13 Oct 25 21:02 UTC] No.45573316[source]▶
You could certainly say that. But if you go up to a normal person on the street and say "Google has prevented you from installing apps on your phone", while they're still able to install from Google Play just fine, they're going to look at you like a crackhead.

Language is for conveying information to other people. If your audience doesn't understand what you're saying, you're effectively screaming into the void.