this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026
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[–] Ulrich@feddit.org -3 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

No it's not. Someone just made that up.

[–] Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works 9 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (2 children)

Yes, Apple did. Before that, it was called downloading

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 0 points 13 hours ago

Yes, Apple notoriously invented it for the Android Debug Bridge too.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org -2 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (3 children)

Once again, no they didn't. Literally just look it up. You have the knowledge of the world at your fingertips.

The term "sideload" was coined in the late 1990s by online storage service i-drive as an alternative means of transferring and storing computer files virtually instead of physically

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

Had I said "downloading" it wouldn't have made much sense, would it?

[–] Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works 4 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Yep, and that definition was definitely what you meant lmfao.

You’re obviously within spitting distance of the point, you basically spelled it out in your last sentence, just, I don’t know, reread your words slowly?

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Yep, and that definition was definitely what you meant lmfao.

What difference does it make? Thats the origin of the word. I've provided evidence that it was not invented by Apple. Where's your evidence?

You’re obviously within spitting distance of the point

The point is, we have words for a reason. And there's no reason to use 12 when I can use 1. Sorry you're having trouble understanding that.

[–] Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago

we have words for a reason

what difference does what I meant make?

”Downloading” is 12 words

Ok bud, whatever you say 🙄

[–] chunes@lemmy.world 3 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

listen, I've been in technology since before i-drive existed and I've never heard of i-drive nor do I care about the vocabulary they used.

The first time I ever heard the term sideloading was when these mobile stores started using it to make other options sound illegitimate.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 1 points 3 hours ago

Oh well if that was the first time you heard it, that must have been when it came into existence...?

[–] lIlIlIlIlIlIl@lemmy.world 0 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Can I ask you why Google has deliberately chosen to ALWAYS use the term sideloading? Doesn’t that seem weird for an internet company - who should know better - to not just say “install?”

How do you think this came to be?

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Can I ask you why Google has deliberately chosen to ALWAYS use the term

For the same reason I ALWAYS use it: Because it's shorter than "installing apps from outside the Google Play Store".

How do you think this came to be?

I literally just told you that in the comment you replied to.

[–] lIlIlIlIlIlIl@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

I do not agree with your reasoning, tempting as it may be to believe that Google is neutral