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Its an interesting problem. From the software developer's perspective, I see this as a free speech issue, in much the same way that an artist would feel harmed
by ryanhuff 17y ago
Its an interesting problem. From the software developer's perspective, I see this as a free speech issue, in much the same way that an artist would feel harmed if his/her work was forced out of circulation. The iPhone platform is the quintessential place to be for mobile applications, and to not have access to the platform is certainly a huge disadvantage with reaching an audience. Disregarding the technical issues at play, as a developer, I would feel violated if my application, that I poured hundreds of hours into, was summarily denied access to the market.
On the other hand, I understand Apple's perspective. They are product zealots who want to control the user experience much more-so than most other companies. They built the product, and should reap the rewards of their innovation. They see the user as their customer, and they are ultimately responsible for the complete user experience. That is their right. Also, its a dog-eat-dog market, as the various players maneuver to either protect their established markets (Adobe), stay relevant (Opera), or try to gain market share at Apple's expense (Google). I would not expect Apple to invite something like a Chrome runtime onto the iPhone. That would be tantamount to Google providing a version of Chrome that disabled all Google ads and tracking. In Apple's case, allowing completely open access would go against everything that Apple stands for as a product focused company.
As a developer, as painful as it is, those are the ground rules. The only ways the rules will change are either via competitive forces or government regulation, the latter of which I hope we stay away from.
- blasdel 17y agoIt's entirely a free speech issue, just not at all for the developer. The freedom of speech lies with the publisher (the final actor in the chain), not the author unless they are one and the same. The right of a newspaper to print whatever stories they want is concomitant with their right to not publish any particular story -- the right to be censors themselves.
- carussell 17y agoThat's a flawed analogy. There aren't artificial limitations preventing you from then publishing your own newspaper. You have no such opportunity to compete with the App Store. Pre-emptive note: countering with a response similar to "I wasn't referring to the App Store; I was referring to the iPhone itself, which you are certainly free to compete with." doesn't just betray your analogy as incongruous. It would reveal that your analogy was helplessly broken from the start.
- ryanhuff 17y agoI think the argument to your point is that the Appstore and the iPhone device are two components of one product. Following that analogy, the other outlets would be the Android marketplace, Blackberry AppWorld, or Microsoft upcoming app market.
- carussell 17y ago> the Appstore and the iPhone device are two components of one product Disagreement with this is the source of the uproar.
- carussell 17y agoThinking about it further, it's also horseshit even if you wanted to entertain the notion of "oneness". The App Store has been around only a fraction of the time that the iPhone has.
- ryanhuff 17y agoI mostly agree with your point, but my comment about free speech was in regards to the perspective of the developer. You may not consider it relevant, but I think its important to gain a complete understanding of the issue. Regardless of who owns the publishing channel, some developers are being shut out of the primary outlet for their creative expression. Again, I am not arguing that everybody should have unfettered access to the Appstore. Apple built it into the success that it is today. Kudos to them! However, its important to understand why some developers feel constrained and limited by the system I do wonder about viewing Apple as a publisher. How much responsibility does Apple have for the content, and does this responsibility differ from that of a newspaper?