Talk:Sideloading

Apps ?
Is sideloading apps different from content ? Is installing to card the same thing ? --195.137.93.171 (talk) 19:03, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

yes.yes Liuying101210 (talk) 10:53, 24 February 2019 (UTC)

yes Liuying101210 (talk) 10:54, 24 February 2019 (UTC)

Sideloading
Never heard of such a definition. Sideloading or remote transfer is moving data from one remote system to another remote system without having to download and then upload. If you are moving a file to a device you are downloading or transferring to the device. If you are moving a file from the device you are uploading or transferring from the device. --  :- ) Don  04:49, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Agreed that the term, along with uploading and downloading, are ambiguous in common usage. Uploading and downloading have been around since before the Internet so their definitions should not be limited to the Internet. The Internet is just another network, albeit a vast one. As I understand the terms, the action of moving data between machines was either uploading and downloading based on the viewpoint of the device from which the transfer began. Most folks would agree that sending a file from my laptop to a server (or cloud storage) would be uploading and retrieving that file would be downloading. But what of tethering a peripheral to my laptop over a serial connection, such as USB or FireWire? This might be the scenario that inspired sideloading; although, I'm under the impression that its usage was not widespread until smartphones were commonplace. I cannot recall ever seeing sideloading in print or conversation pertaining to flash drives or other external storage devices. In the old days, we simply described pulling applications (and data?) off such storage devices as "loading" from them. With that in mind, it seems to me that I would be merely "loading" music onto my ipod, no? 137.100.97.30 (talk) 23:06, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

I also agree. This is silly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.91.171.34 (talk) 13:10, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

Just for Android?
"In terms of Android Devices, Sideloading typically means installing an application package onto an Android Device that was not downloaded directly from the official Android App Market."

For me sideloading always was the process of getting line-of-business apps onto devices inside of a company's domain or similar. Same for Android as for iOS, Windows, whatever.. Isn't it?

Sideloading should cover all aspects, where files are transferred between devices without involving the internet. I can download an app or a file using my computer, load it into a USB drive, and sideload it to my Mac. Or I can connect my android device to my computer and sideload the app or file to my phone - once again without using the internet.

I think calling out Android devices as a special case is just highlighting the popular, yet incorrect usage where anything downloaded outside the official app store is called sideloading. If you're getting the file directly from your mobile phone - whether or not the source is the official app store, it is STILL downloading. :-/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.200.190.122 (talk) 12:14, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Definition
There is nothing in the article to differentiate sideloading from installing from any other media, floppy? cdrom? dvdrom? usbstick? nintendo ecard? tape? usbstick? etc... What makes one sideloading and not another? ZhuLien 116.240.194.132 (talk) 05:45, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Advanced Writing and Research
— Assignment last updated by JohanKusanagi (talk) 02:35, 17 February 2023 (UTC)

Why is there no mention of sideloading on Windows?
Since Windows 8, it's been possible to side load apps on Windows. This article has no mention of that and should be updated to reflect that. 2604:2D80:EB00:A900:ACC9:D976:FF8:31C3 (talk) 22:04, 31 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Since Windows 1.0, it's been possible to put arbitrary apps on Windows; this isn't like Android, where there's an official App Store from Google, or iOS/iPadOS, where only apps from the App Store can be loaded on non-jailbroken devices - there's nothing magical about being able to buy a {box of floppies,CD-ROM} at the computer store or download an app on Windows. Windows is more like macOS than Android or iOS in that regard. Guy Harris (talk) 23:02, 6 February 2024 (UTC)