lemm.ee

-4 points

1 year ago

No, the Switch is not such a device.

The article is very obviously about PCs. The Switch is not a PC.

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SquirtleHermit@lemmy.world

[ - ]

6 points

1 year ago

Just because the switch runs a proprietary OS does not mean it isn’t a personal computing device. It can run Linux, it has a CPU and memory, it runs software, its a personal computer for sure.

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[ - ]

-2 points

1 year ago

Yes, it does. It cannot possibly be described as a PC if the end user can’t install arbitrary software without restriction.

Calling a Switch a PC isn’t slightly incorrect. It’s complete and utter horseshit.

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SquirtleHermit@lemmy.world

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5 points

1 year ago

The ability install “arbitrary software without restriction” is what defines a PC? Now that is complete and utter horseshit. A Chromebook isn’t a PC? A laptop with account restrictions to prevent the end user from installing software isn’t a PC? A desktop running an immutable linux distro isn’t a PC? Quit your bullshit. A PC is a computing device with a CPU and Memory, meant to be used by several people or less at a time, everything else is superfluous.

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-3 points

1 year ago

A chromebook runs arbitrary software without any sort of hacks. Before this was the case, Chromebooks were very obviously not PCs. So do immutable OSes.

Account restrictions are the owner of the hardware “running arbitrary software” to control what someone else can do and completely irrelevant.

There is no scenario where you can call a Switch a PC, any more than you can call a phone a PC, an ATM a PC, or a pregnancy test with a chip in it a PC. It’s not a misunderstanding; it’s a lie.

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SquirtleHermit@lemmy.world

[ - ]

3 points

1 year ago

Honestly, I think you are just using a very specific (and pretty inaccurate) definition of a personal computer. Also, a strangely specific usage of “arbitrary”. All of the cases I mentioned (chromebooks, immutable distros, enterprise windows with administrative restrictions) intentionally lock out the user from running software the hardware could otherwise support.

Saying a device that the manufacturer artificially locks out users from installing non approved software is somehow related to the definition of a PC is simply a lie.

You can install Linux on smart phones, so by your definition, a phone is a PC. You can install Linux on first gen switches without modifying the hardware, so by your definition, first generation switches are PC’s. You can even install Linux on modern switches just by soldering on a special chip, so “modified switches” are PCs.

ATM’s often run Windows as the base OS ffs, of course you could call them a PC. As you said;

the owner of the hardware “running arbitrary software” to control what someone else can do is completely irrelevant.

If account restrictions are the “owner of the hardware” preventing the end user from “running arbitrary software”, then all that means is Nintendo owns your switch. Not that the switch is incapable of running arbitrary software.

Your strange definition of PC simply does not hold up to scrutiny. I get that you are trying to say that “because a Switch is a device manufactured for the express purpose of running games only accessible through Nintendo’s official channels, it is a far different user experience than what we think of as a traditional desktop”. But to say it isn’t a personal computer, when it is a personal device that runs software using a processor, ram, storage, a graphical processor, all connected by a central print circuit board is simply absurd.

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Telorand@reddthat.com

4 points

1 year ago

If you jailbreak the Switch, you can do all of those things. But by your definition, because I can’t arbitrarily install Windows software on an Apple computer, it is not a PC.

Just because it’s not easy doesn’t mean the Switch isn’t a personal computer. It is a device you can personally own that takes bits and bytes and performs computations with them that results in things like saving a game (data storage), internet communication (network computing), and video rendering (video stream computation).

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-2 points

1 year ago

You can’t “jailbreak” any current switch without replacing hardware.

You can install Windows software on a Mac.

Calling a switch a PC is a lie. It’s not ambiguous, and it’s not a gray area. It’s a malicious, bold faced lie.

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https://www.britannica.com/technology/personal-computer

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Telorand@reddthat.com

3 points

1 year ago

…malicious…

Bruh, are you for real? Lol.

Words have meaning. I’m sorry you don’t like the definition of Personal Computer. Go write to the dictionary committees about it. You are emphatically wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer

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SmoothIsFast@citizensgaming.com

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2 points

1 year ago

You are a fucking idiot lmaooo, at least it’s entertaining seeing you properly roasted for your clear fucking misunderstandings and defence of closed down personal computing hardware. Bravo I’m sure some Nintendo corporate stooge is smiling at you for justifying locking down bought hardware to a closed ecosystem with outrageous prices for games. Why the fuck are you even using federated social media if you love locked down controlled ecosystems?

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[ - ]

-2 points

1 year ago

How is saying “the switch isn’t a viable alternative to the steam deck because it’s not a PC and can’t do anywhere close to the bare minimum to be a PC” promoting a locked down ecosystem?

A console cannot be called a PC or replace a PC. It is a lesser category of product.

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