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Your point of view is completely right if you agree that a government or a corporation should be allowed to censor the programs you can run. App store in iOS c

Your point of view is completely right if you agree that a government or a corporation should be allowed to censor the programs you can run. App store in iOS creates a centralized distribution system that makes censoring straightforward. Because this kind of systems are very lucrative then there is huge pressure from other platform owners to force all their users to use their app store (only) too. Only thing that holds them back right now is the inertia and pressure from the existing users but the trend has been clearly sketched out though their actions.

valuearb 9y ago
Apple can't censor the programs you run on iOS. There is jailbreaking, and Apple's Testflight even allows developers to distribute up to 10,000 copies of your app with minimal review. One of the reasons iOS is so popular is the inherent safety in Apple's sandboxing and app review. If you don't care about that Android has app stores that are far less restrictive and it's easier to side load apps on. That's real consumer choice, you don't expect Nordstroms to allow all of Walmart's clothes vendors to dump their crap on it's shelves. As far as our phones and PCs are concerned, we live in a wonderfully free world. You can distribute software to anyone on a web page, or native apps to billions of people by following a few app store rules. If you don't like either of those options, you can actually build your own smart phones to offer consumers what you think is a better choice, there are multiple operating systems that are entirely open source. The only pressure on platform owners is customer expectations. They don't like viruses, malware, etc. Some don't like their kids downloading apps that might lead them in ways they don't like. Giving customers what they want isn't censorship at all.
- astrodust 9y ago
  It's like Disney World: Full of restrictions but with the guarantee of safety. Other people would rather head into backwater Thailand where it's run by gangs and pirates, which is fine, but it's not for everyone.
astrodust 9y ago
You make it sound like corporate censorship is without consequences, but it isn't. You can push back against it, you can pick a different platform in protest. Governmental censorship is a problem because you can't easily switch governments, plus there's things like charters and constitutions that are put in place to prevent it. Corporations have not adopted this sort of thing, at least not yet. The problem with the App Store is it's similar to a retail chain. Is it "censorship" that Wal-Mart won't carry your product? Is it "censorship" that McDonald's doesn't sell Whoppers? The same people that argue for freedom in app stores would be railing against the government if there was some mandate that Wal-Mart allow anyone to sell any product.

valuearb 9y ago

Apple can't censor the programs you run on iOS. There is jailbreaking, and Apple's Testflight even allows developers to distribute up to 10,000 copies of your app with minimal review. One of the reasons iOS is so popular is the inherent safety in Apple's sandboxing and app review. If you don't care about that Android has app stores that are far less restrictive and it's easier to side load apps on. That's real consumer choice, you don't expect Nordstroms to allow all of Walmart's clothes vendors to dump their crap on it's shelves. As far as our phones and PCs are concerned, we live in a wonderfully free world. You can distribute software to anyone on a web page, or native apps to billions of people by following a few app store rules. If you don't like either of those options, you can actually build your own smart phones to offer consumers what you think is a better choice, there are multiple operating systems that are entirely open source. The only pressure on platform owners is customer expectations. They don't like viruses, malware, etc. Some don't like their kids downloading apps that might lead them in ways they don't like. Giving customers what they want isn't censorship at all.

astrodust 9y ago
It's like Disney World: Full of restrictions but with the guarantee of safety. Other people would rather head into backwater Thailand where it's run by gangs and pirates, which is fine, but it's not for everyone.

astrodust 9y ago

You make it sound like corporate censorship is without consequences, but it isn't. You can push back against it, you can pick a different platform in protest. Governmental censorship is a problem because you can't easily switch governments, plus there's things like charters and constitutions that are put in place to prevent it. Corporations have not adopted this sort of thing, at least not yet. The problem with the App Store is it's similar to a retail chain. Is it "censorship" that Wal-Mart won't carry your product? Is it "censorship" that McDonald's doesn't sell Whoppers? The same people that argue for freedom in app stores would be railing against the government if there was some mandate that Wal-Mart allow anyone to sell any product.