Open Letter to Tim Cook: Sabotaging Web Apps Is Indefensible

libreom@lemmings.world to Firefox@lemmy.ml – 711 points –
Open Letter to Tim Cook: Sabotaging Web Apps Is Indefensible
letter.open-web-advocacy.org

We need to exert more pressure on apple and eu to not remove PWAs. Every signature counts, please sign and share EU has already started a preliminary investigation on this http://archive.today/2024.02.26-223134/https://www.ft.com/content/d2f7328c-5851-4f16-8f8d-93f0098b6adc

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It seems the solution is simple. Don't use apple products anymore. Windows or linux.

Unlike apple, there's ways to make windows private and secure and most distros of linux are mostly private and mostly secure

Windows is the one where I need an account to install and that spies on me and throws ads in my face, that one?

Like I said, there's ways to make it private. And there's ways to block the ads. There's ways to use it without a Microsoft account too.

Apple devices have a second network adapter to bypass your VPN and any adblocking software you have to serve you locally relevant ads.

second network adapter

Source? A quick search didn't turn up anything.

search results are always being tampered with. Which search engine did you use? They may have back-peddled on that due to security concerns...or maybe someone in the executive room has a soul and convinced the others not to do it.

Or maybe they're already doing it and there aren't any apple users that know about it, because unlike windows and linux, you have no control and no way of getting control over your apple devices.

I checked too. Can you use your engines to source the claim?

It’s very interesting but I would’ve thought somebody would’ve Wiresharked it or seen the suspicious traffic hitting their router (perhaps).

You don't need an account. De-bloating scripts take care of most other annoyances. You can fairly easily beat windows into submission

You don't need an account.

Technically true but worthless to your average consumer. You need to interrupt the installation process, enter a command in a terminal after knowing how to access the terminal and then you can use a local account.

This is worthless to your average person.

The same argument applies when Linux neckbeards waddle out of a basement to declare something is simple; just open terminal and do Y.

The average consumer doesn't know what NTFS or FAT32 is. I don't think they'll understand the privacy implications of Windows reporting.

Not tried in a while but it used to just be a case of leaving it disconnected from the net during setup.

Failing that you can still sign up with a throwaway account and convert it to local in the options after installation iirc. It's not ideal but it's still something at least.

There are additional steps now which I mentioned.

your average consumer

People aren't "consumers" A consumer is a gaping maw that eats everything until there's nothing left.

People are people. They're home users, they're customers, they're clients, they're citizens, they're legal residents. But they are not now or will they ever be "consumers"

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Too bad when more and more people buy Apple phones for some reason, well at least where I live (which is the poorer part of central Europe), I have no idea how people can spend this kind of money for a 4 or 5 year phone, when you can buy something more capable for the same money and you will actually know it will get supported with updates for more than 2 years

Can't wait for this to be more widespread in the future to the point iMessage will be the messaging standard

It's mostly a moot point anyway. The vast majority of people who buy apple products "for some reason" will have no frame of reference or desire to learn what has changed as far as web apps are concerned.

Except I live in central/eastern Europe and most of these people were android users

It definitely is just a brand thing and the fact they maybe bought a shitty budget phone and then went straight for the iPhone 11s/12s and thought "this is so good and android sucks", because that's just the fact the price is 4 times higher compared to the old phone

For example for the same price you can get a pixel 7 or an iPhone 12 (or an Samsung A54, S20 FE or a flip 3, which aren't that great considering they are on sale currently, and I'm comparing this price to the normal prices of the other two), imo the pixel is a lot better value than the iPhone in that case

Also the retailer in question is czc.cz, probably the best retailer in Czechia for tech because others just focus on appliances or aren't as good (but tbh they do quite suck since they just for some reason have crazy prices or don't have some things other retailers here and around the world have)

Same reason poor people buy overpriced designer handbags. Status symbol…

Yup, those status symbols are for poor and upper middle class people.

  • poor - a few nice things makes you appreciate them a lot
  • upper middle class - no need to save money on such things, so you get "the best" or whatever
  • rich - you get bespoke stuff, "designer" stuff is for plebs
  • middle class - "a few nice things" isn't as good as "lots of pretty good things" and a funded retirement

Source:

  • poor - my in-laws
  • upper middle class - DINKs I work with, wealthy neighbors
  • rich - movies
  • middle class - me

What I always found odd is that many people will try Android. And at the first problem they'll switch to iPhone.

However the iPhone may demonstrate the same exact problem, among many more, yet they just deal with it anyway.

Probably because on Android there is likely a way to fix it, but it involves a bit of research and picking the best way.
Whereas on iPhone, thats yhe wayvits intended to be so "suck it up".
Some people just dont want to have to deal with the choices

This topic is about mobile devices, not desktop. Last I checked, Windows and Linux aren't mobile OS's.

Android is LTS kernel + Google patches. I know it's not the flavor of Linux you are talking about, but most of my apps are side loaded via F-Droid and a few from Aurora as a Play store proxy on a de-Googled ROM (GrapheneOS). There is no walled garden here.

The most relevant part to this discussion is that Android doesn't restrict Web browsers. On Apple, all Web browsers, even Firefox, are nothing but reskins of Safari.

So their restrictions on Web apps affects all Web browsers on IOS because they only allow their own html engine.

It's absolutely insane how far we have fallen from the 90's. Back then MS got in trouble just for including a browser with the OS. Now Apple has the majority market share in the US and is allowed to not only to bundle their own browser, but doesn't allow any other browser other than their own.

While you’re right about Android not restricting browsers, the context that is missing here is that the EU is (rightfully) forcing Apple to allow actual alternative web browsers/engines. In doing this, Apple is claiming that it’s too hard to support pwas while complying with the EU rulings.

It’s utter bullshit, and pwas should continue to be supported in safari and other browsers on iOS, but Apple’s just gotta be a spiteful asshole while complying with the letter of the EU law.

I live in the United States, currently use iOS devices, and regularly use pwas. It’s pretty unlikely my next phone will be an Apple device. I’ll probably end up with a pixel running Graphene.

There are mobile Linux distros.

I am looking forward to installing Ubuntu Touch on my device:
https://ubuntu-touch.io/
https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/

There are also a bunch of others, which I haven't looked into.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_mobile_devices

Yup, and Linux specific devices: Purism Librem 5, Pinephone, and Pinephone Pro. I was hoping to replace my phone with one this year, but they're not quite there yet for what I need, but I'll probably get one anyway to mess around with.

Maybe now, but Postmarket, Ubuntu phone, and Purism could be relevant in the future

How is Windows ever an option? What a troll

Although I agree with you it is not a good choice.

Depending on your threat model it is acceptable. Everyone has different trade offs.

Not only about threat models, some software is simply available for Windows only. If you need it for work, you're stuck, and that's that.

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