[OT] Draconian computer company policies, was: Mobile LC Apps Downloading Stacks After installation

jonathandlynch at gmail.com jonathandlynch at gmail.com
Fri Aug 11 12:39:46 EDT 2017 

It seems that this is another reason to use LC's HTML5 deployment.

Since external javascript is permitted, one could do the "sideloading" by accessing a website created with LC.

It would just be an LC HTML5 app displayed inside of a browser widget.

Of course, it would be easy to abuse this by adding in function calls to LC on the mobile device, so we would need to be careful.

In Augmented Earth, reports can have ads added to them. The report, with the ad, is displayed through a browser widget. This will allow advertisers to place high-quality ads, which they will love.

However, nothing in the app would give them access to extra system calls. It is still sandboxed, but only by choice.

So, that great power thing still applies - and thanks to the great Stan Lee for that meme!

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 11, 2017, at 12:20 PM, J. Landman Gay via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
> 
> In this case, the restrictions are to prevent malware from entering the app stores, which hardly sounds Draconian to me. Even so, there have been a handful of apps that made it through the vetting process and affected dozens or hundreds of users. It's rare but it has happened.
> 
> --
> Jacqueline Landman Gay         |     jacque at hyperactivesw.com
> HyperActive Software           |     http://www.hyperactivesw.com
> 
> 
> 
>> On August 11, 2017 9:46:37 AM Richmond Mathewson via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I cannot quite see how people are prepared to go on buying Apple iPads when
>> there are such draconian restrictions as to what one can run on them.
>> 
>> While the Android "thing" may not be much better, at last one can
>> side-load almost anything one wants.
>> 
>> But, Like Richard Stallman, I suffer from the "horrible" belief that
>> once one has bought something
>> it belongs to you and you should not be told what you can and cannot do
>> with it.
>> 
>> OK, OK, I'm back off to the kitchen to carry on slicing vegetables with
>> a roll of toliet paper.
>> 
>> There is a whole world of difference between a set of actions one cannot
>> do because of the
>> physical limitations of a thing and a set of actions one is not allowed
>> to do because a bunch of people
>> in California want to carry on mucking you around even after they ahve
>> successfully manipulated you into buying their
>> over-priced product.
>> 
>> Currently trying to get my ASUS Intel Tablet  which runs Android to do a
>> few things I want it to, but Google [wouldn't Douglas Adams
>> have a fit of the dry boak?] do want me to do with it.
>> 
>> Richmond.
>> 
>>> On 8/11/17 5:35 pm, Jonathan Lynch via use-livecode wrote:
>>> If we could have our own LC App Store, where people could play an app with a player app on different platforms, it would be quite excellent.
>>> 
>>> At the very least, I think Apple would object.
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>>> On Aug 11, 2017, at 10:09 AM, Roger Eller via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Several companies HAVE their own app stores.  Samsung is one that comes to
>>>> mind.  http://joyofandroid.com/android-app-store-alternatives/
>>>> 
>>>> ~Roger
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Fri, Aug 11, 2017 at 10:00 AM, Jonathan Lynch via use-livecode <
>>>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> If Apple and Google allowed player apps that play external code, companies
>>>>> could essentially set up their own app stores, bypassing google play and
>>>>> iTunes.
>>>>> I cannot imagine either company would appreciate that.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Aug 11, 2017, at 9:52 AM, Ralph DiMola via use-livecode <
>>>>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>>>>> Mark,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Thanks for weighing in. I would like to read into those licenses that I
>>>>>> could update my core LCS, but I know in my soul that if I do that it's
>>>>> just
>>>>>> a shoe waiting to drop that could affect not only my license but the
>>>>> entire
>>>>>> LC community. I also feel that when I create an extra button(with stub
>>>>> code)
>>>>>> because a "data" update offers more options that I am staying within the
>>>>>> guidelines and the spirit of the App/Play store rules. I see this as
>>>>> simple
>>>>>> decision. I call it the "Johnny, did you eat a cookie?" scenario. Johnny
>>>>>> says "no" because he did not eat "A" cookie but ate 3 cookies. I am not
>>>>> a 2
>>>>>> year old and know what these rules were intended to prevent.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> By the way, I was once rejected because my data update "answer" dialog
>>>>> was
>>>>>> worded as "An app update is available". I explained that it was a data
>>>>>> update and not code and changed the verbiage of the dialog. I then passed
>>>>>> the review. Moral: The review team can look VERY close at any app during
>>>>>> review.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> As it was said in Goodfellows... At least, that's how I feel.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Ralph DiMola
>>>>>> IT Director
>>>>>> Evergreen Information Services
>>>>>> rdimola at evergreeninfo.net
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>> From: use-livecode [mailto:use-livecode-bounces at lists.runrev.com] On
>>>>> Behalf
>>>>>> Of Mark Waddingham via use-livecode
>>>>>> Sent: Friday, August 11, 2017 7:24 AM
>>>>>> To: How to use LiveCode
>>>>>> Cc: Mark Waddingham
>>>>>> Subject: Re: Mobile LC Apps Downloading Stacks After installation
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On 2017-08-11 12:20, Jonathan Lynch via use-livecode wrote:
>>>>>>> I know the reviewers at app stores are not always careful, but
>>>>>>> something like an LC player would surely get their notice.
>>>>>> Review, from my understanding, is heavily automated (it has to be - if
>>>>> you
>>>>>> think of the scale of the App Stores these days). However, there is
>>>>> always a
>>>>>> means to get in contact with a human about specific issues (which can
>>>>> take a
>>>>>> while to get escalated with someone who can actually do something - but
>>>>> at
>>>>>> least it is possible).
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> They do allow us to import JS, but JS is way more sandboxed than LC.
>>>>>> Yes - this is true - however, as I noticed this morning Apple no longer
>>>>> have
>>>>>> their advisory about allowing arbitrary JS to be downloaded and run
>>>>> within a
>>>>>> WebView. This is simply because you can could build a host app which
>>>>> gives
>>>>>> access to every single OS API on iOS and make all of them callable from
>>>>> JS
>>>>>> (even if the JS bundled with the app does not use any of it).
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> So, the point is the language is not the point - what the code running in
>>>>>> the language does is important.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Like Google, Apple are wanting to know precisely what OS APIs your app is
>>>>>> calling at the point of review - so they have some idea of the surface
>>>>> area
>>>>>> of attack for any malicious intent. How much analysis they currently do,
>>>>>> no-one really knows - however the guidelines means that (in principal)
>>>>> they
>>>>>> have reasons to pull any apps very quickly if they find that they are
>>>>> doing
>>>>>> something which is 'not allowed'.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Warmest Regards,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Mark.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Mark Waddingham ~ mark at livecode.com ~ http://www.livecode.com/
>>>>>> LiveCode: Everyone can create apps
>>>>>> 
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