Comment by ur-whale
2 years ago
> Earlier today I decided to switch my Android for an iPhone.
Mistake #1 : switching to an even more closed computing environment, where user has strictly no control
> android
Mistake #2 : running on a tech. stack you do not control: closed-source, walled-garden
> wallet
Mistake #3 : using a wallet instead of your own private cold storage to hold any kind of significant amounts of money
> but its still up there, #1 search result.
Mistake #4 : trusting that Apple is making huge efforts to secure their environment.
In the same vein as "not your keys, not your coins" :
- "trust the vendor, not your coins"
- "not your hardware, not your coins"
- "not your operating system, not your coins"
- "not your key management software, not your coins"
- "not open source and therefore not auditable, not your coins"
> Mistake #1 : switching to an even more closed computing environment, where user has strictly no control
I've been with Google Nexus and Pixels for many years, roughly starting with the Nexus One. Ironically, I switched from an iphone 3GS at the time that I owned for a few months.
After many years of being on windows, then linux, then Mac, then back to linux, now back to Mac with linux on ssh, my conclusion is that user control doesn't necessarily mean a better user experience. A closed computing environment allows for consistency and sturdiness. When you start looking at your phone as a device, rather than as a computer, it becomes obvious.
> Mistake #2 : running on a tech. stack you do not control: closed-source, walled-garden
I don't control android in any way. I could read its source code if I really, really wanted to but why would I? I want a product. A device. Would you read the source code of your washing machine? Dish washer? At some point you want to live your life and stop reading anything and everything as if you actually have enough time to tinker with all of it.
> Mistake #3 : using a wallet instead of your own private cold storage to hold any kind of significant amounts of money
Meh. 'Significant amounts of money' is subjective. Some would say the amount of money I lost would be a life changer, some would shrug it off as a yearly bonus on the lower end of the scale. Fact is, I had my bitcoin on some version of a pixel for roughly 7 years and never had a problem.
> Mistake #4 : trusting that Apple is making huge efforts to secure their environment.
They made a huge effort to secure their hardware; its some of the best in the world. The thing is they put a ton of focus on hardware security but hardly enough on software / service stuff. In this case, the app store search was compromised by some bots leaving reviews.
Your general theme seems to rely on having access to open source on all levels leads to more security.
This is patently false. For example, the vast majority of smartphones use baseband processors that are not just closed source with closed source drivers, but the ICs themselves are tightly guarded secrets by their manufacturer (probably Qualcomm). There are probably a dozen or so chips in every smartphone running all sorts of firmware you have no access to. Same goes for computers.
In fact, I would argue that Apple's model might be the most secure, because they do SoC, which requires they know far more about and have much more control over the inner workings of every sub component.