4 ms·

This whole situation reeks of entitlement. Apple is under no obligation to make someone’s ideal business model feasible. Just like if you want to post content

This whole situation reeks of entitlement. Apple is under no obligation to make someone’s ideal business model feasible. Just like if you want to post content on Facebook, or if you want to sell through Stripe, or you want to deliver groceries on Instacart, or you want to have a business in the USA - you have to follow the rules created by the owners of the platform you stand on, or find/start a new platform. This is a fundamental aspect of social life, not some corporate profit-seeking BS from Apple. No one is making DHH do an email app. No one is forcing him to charge $99. If Apple is so big and bad, then maybe he should be working on a new mobile phone platform instead of another email app. Complaints about injustice without alternatives hold little weight. Finally, if this was something society actually needed, I think I’d feel differently. If this fight was over an app that was critical to survival or civil liberty or something, it would mean something different for Apple to reject it. But it’s not something we need. It’s not important or critical in any way. It’s a new email app. Forgive me for not busting out a bigger violin for someone who has already released multiple profitable software products and is now upset that an even richer entity won’t let them have their exact way.

esrauch 6y ago
I think you know it's completely unrealistic for DHH to make a competing phone platform, so your argument is clearly not in good faith. Microsoft was well positioned to do it and spent many billions and failed to make it work. Im not sure that the situation is actually that egregious yet, but if the barrier to entry becomes so high that it warps the whole economy to the detriment of society we shouldn't just say that's fine because those few companies deserve the freedom to act that way.
- toohotatopic 6y ago
  Microsoft wanted to establish a Windows phone platform where phone manufacturers pay license fees. If they had finished Nokia's Maemo with a Windows graphics framework and given away the operating system for free they would have had a much better chance. There is room for another platform as long as it serves what the market wants.
throwlogon 6y ago
> Apple is under no obligation to make someone’s ideal business model feasible. Sure, but if it's in someone's interest for Apple to change their policies, it makes sense for them to try to pressure Apple to do so. There's no reason to uncritically accept Apple's policies, and it's more feasible to direct public pressure toward Apple than to build a new mobile platform.
alwayseasy 6y ago
You want a market economy that is competitive and where dominant players are curtailed to avoid them stifling innovation. Did society actually need the internet when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 said AT&T had to release some of their control on the internet?
saagarjha 6y ago
I'm not sure if you realize this, but you've just laid out an argument that boils down to "I think your app is kind of stupid and not really important, since it just does email. I'd be more inclined to listen to you if you did something I approved of. You could also try to pivot to competing with two of the largest corporations in the world in something that is their core competency if you don't like the current situation." Do you see how you failed to address the part where there's a problem in the current situation and how your argument simply boils down to "I don't really care for what you're doing", which is completely orthogonal to the problem?

esrauch 6y ago

I think you know it's completely unrealistic for DHH to make a competing phone platform, so your argument is clearly not in good faith. Microsoft was well positioned to do it and spent many billions and failed to make it work. Im not sure that the situation is actually that egregious yet, but if the barrier to entry becomes so high that it warps the whole economy to the detriment of society we shouldn't just say that's fine because those few companies deserve the freedom to act that way.

toohotatopic 6y ago
Microsoft wanted to establish a Windows phone platform where phone manufacturers pay license fees. If they had finished Nokia's Maemo with a Windows graphics framework and given away the operating system for free they would have had a much better chance. There is room for another platform as long as it serves what the market wants.

throwlogon 6y ago

> Apple is under no obligation to make someone’s ideal business model feasible. Sure, but if it's in someone's interest for Apple to change their policies, it makes sense for them to try to pressure Apple to do so. There's no reason to uncritically accept Apple's policies, and it's more feasible to direct public pressure toward Apple than to build a new mobile platform.

alwayseasy 6y ago

You want a market economy that is competitive and where dominant players are curtailed to avoid them stifling innovation. Did society actually need the internet when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 said AT&T had to release some of their control on the internet?

saagarjha 6y ago

I'm not sure if you realize this, but you've just laid out an argument that boils down to "I think your app is kind of stupid and not really important, since it just does email. I'd be more inclined to listen to you if you did something I approved of. You could also try to pivot to competing with two of the largest corporations in the world in something that is their core competency if you don't like the current situation." Do you see how you failed to address the part where there's a problem in the current situation and how your argument simply boils down to "I don't really care for what you're doing", which is completely orthogonal to the problem?