Comment by divan

1 month ago

Your smartwatch is probably more powerful than some of your past computers too. Same with your DSLR camera. Even your smart fridge. These are specialized hardware+software gadgets designed to a particular purpose, which is very different from being a development platform. Same with a phone.

A modern smartphone is mostly a general-purpose computer designed to run arbitrary software with a couple tightly integrated and/or regulated bits. That's very different from a DSLR, which is designed to take pictures.

That said, a camera with a fully open software stack would be fun.

  • Oh, so no specialized hardware? Just a general-purpose components for general computation tasks?

>These are specialized hardware+software gadgets designed to a particular purpose, which is very different from being a development platform.

Then I shouldn't be able to install software on it at all. For any given device either its functions are fixed, or they're modifiable at the sole discretion of the owner. There should be no middle ground.

  • > There should be no middle ground.

    Why?

    • Because that's what ownership is. The owner of something has complete decision power over that thing, not anyone else. That might leave him with some liability depending on what he does, but that's his prerogative.

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Why shouldn't I be able to reflash my fridge? I own it. I did this with my vacuum robot for example.

It doesn't have to be easy or convenient, but it shouldn't be impossible.

  • What stops you from flashing your fridge, besides the fact you bought an unflashable fridge?

A smartphone is not a specialized hardware or software, it's a general computation device.

Its just a completely bogus argument. Its not a fucking smart fridge, come on

  • > a smartphone is ... a general computation device

    Right, just a motherboard with CPU and memory put into small case, like in old good garage days.

    • That's not what a general computation device is and you know it. Do not play stupid or bullshit me.

      For MOST people, a smartphone is their only computational device. Let me say that again. It is their _ONLY_ device.

      Could you live your life using only a PS5? How about you throw away your phone and replace it with a washing machine?

      The smartphone IS NOT an appliance. It is absolutely a general computational device. I can't believe this is even up for debate, it's actually blowing my mind.

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Yeah, this is the sleight of hand. They used to all be computers, now we have reduced freedom to "development platforms". No. It's hardware, I bought it, I should be able to run any code I want on my DSLR (and I do), my fridge, my oven, my smartwatch, anything I own.

Just a nit …

As this is HN - a very thoughtful and technically astute demographic - it’s very unlikely that your parent, or others reading, own a “smart fridge”.