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Cake day: January 12th, 2024

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  • The best way to implement that ban is to have a variable on the device (smartphone) that holds the approximate birthdate of the user (sth like 2002-01-01) and then the device gives forward the information about whether the user is 16+, 18+ forward to any app of maybe even website that requests that info.

    The parent who buys the device gets a code to configure the device to set the birthdate, and without that code, it’s not changeable for the user. The platforms then only have to look at that variable to figure out whether the user is old enough.

    This way, you shift responsibility to the user, but in a way that is technically possible. Because today, it’s almost impossible for a not ultra-tech-affine parent to actually implement age controls on their children’s devices.







  • Monopolies are bad in every sector with the exception of software development. Let me explain:

    When you produce 5 cars, you have 5 cars. That’s 5 times as good as 1 car. So it makes sense to produce more cars.

    When you have 5 programs (that each do the same), you have effectively 4 redundancies and you could get the same work done with 1 program. So, 5 programs is worth just as much as 1 program, and the other 4 are a waste. So it is more efficient to only write every software once. This also reduces bloat and confusion. For example, if iOS and Android had more common code basis, it would probably be better for everyone.

    Consider this meme, but with products instead of standards:

    This is why monopolies make sense in software development. Google developed a lot of software, including Android, which doesn’t need to be developed 10x times by 10 different companies. It only needs to be developed once. That’s the difference between hardware (cars) and software.