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"If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use is the rule?" Do we really want to live in a world in which a few tech companies get to shave 30% of

"If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use is the rule?" Do we really want to live in a world in which a few tech companies get to shave 30% off of all the value produced by a significant portion of the entire economy? Why should we put up with that? Because we made a rule a long ago that in general companies can decide their own pricing structure and device policy? Is a slavish adherence to this rule worth making us all 30% poorer? Why? We can and should make an exceptionion to the general principle of corporate independence whenever we find ourselves in a situation in which a key piece of public infrastructure happens to be privately owned --- and app stores have definitely become public infrastructure). We shouldn't let a blind adherence to an abstraction prevent us from ensuring that this public infrastructure is run in the public interest.

supernova87a 6y ago
You need to carefully watch for yourself falling down the trap of growing the definition of what is an entitlement and what is not. An app store that sells games and voluntary entertainments is not a public infrastructure, operated in the public interest. That's almost laughable. And don't be so quick to conclude that now because you reap the benefits of a system that was previously set up, you can simply decide that you think the % is too high and take it back "in the public interest". Go ahead, propose that every company only be allowed a 5% markup on its costs. Let's see where that takes us.
- quotemstr 6y ago
  Don't you think it's at least plausible that app stores are natural monopolies like electrical service? And mobile devices really are a key part of almost everyone's life these days: why wouldn't the nearly-exclusive channel for software distribution to these devices be infrastructure important to the public? When you have a natural monopoly operating key public infrastructure, regulation is a clear and justifiable option.
  - supernova87a 6y ago
    You are confusing the concepts of a monopoly and a public utility.
  - parasubvert 6y ago
    Utility regulation only works when the product doesn’t change and is a fungible commodity - power is power. It also is about driving prices down for consumers for that commodity. The iOS and Google platforms have barely existed more than a decade, and the platforms + app ecosystem are constantly evolving. New platforms and app ecosystems are emerging too, with Facebook/Oculus, Valve/Steam, Amazon with Fire/Alexa, etc. Enshrining today’s dominant app ecosystems as the government sanctioned ones will surely stifle their evolution and innovation, because that’s what declaring something a utility does: assumes there is no differentiation, so slow government regs / bureaucracy can control it. I don’t believe Apple and iOS are the end of history of ecosystems. Atari wasn’t, Microsoft wasn’t, IBM wasn’t.
- Qwertious 6y ago
  It's fair to say Epic isn't a public utility, but I would say Apple and Google Play app stores are. Because they contain a bunch of stuff people literally need to do their jobs. "Go ahead, propose that every company only be allowed a 5% markup on its costs. Let's see where that takes us." In the case of Android, it takes us back to when Google previously had a 5% cut. They've done it before they can do it again.
  - pjmlp 6y ago
    99% of what people need to do their jobs is also available on other platforms and as Web applications.

supernova87a 6y ago

You need to carefully watch for yourself falling down the trap of growing the definition of what is an entitlement and what is not. An app store that sells games and voluntary entertainments is not a public infrastructure, operated in the public interest. That's almost laughable. And don't be so quick to conclude that now because you reap the benefits of a system that was previously set up, you can simply decide that you think the % is too high and take it back "in the public interest". Go ahead, propose that every company only be allowed a 5% markup on its costs. Let's see where that takes us.

quotemstr 6y ago
Don't you think it's at least plausible that app stores are natural monopolies like electrical service? And mobile devices really are a key part of almost everyone's life these days: why wouldn't the nearly-exclusive channel for software distribution to these devices be infrastructure important to the public? When you have a natural monopoly operating key public infrastructure, regulation is a clear and justifiable option.
- supernova87a 6y ago
  You are confusing the concepts of a monopoly and a public utility.
- parasubvert 6y ago
  Utility regulation only works when the product doesn’t change and is a fungible commodity - power is power. It also is about driving prices down for consumers for that commodity. The iOS and Google platforms have barely existed more than a decade, and the platforms + app ecosystem are constantly evolving. New platforms and app ecosystems are emerging too, with Facebook/Oculus, Valve/Steam, Amazon with Fire/Alexa, etc. Enshrining today’s dominant app ecosystems as the government sanctioned ones will surely stifle their evolution and innovation, because that’s what declaring something a utility does: assumes there is no differentiation, so slow government regs / bureaucracy can control it. I don’t believe Apple and iOS are the end of history of ecosystems. Atari wasn’t, Microsoft wasn’t, IBM wasn’t.
Qwertious 6y ago
It's fair to say Epic isn't a public utility, but I would say Apple and Google Play app stores are. Because they contain a bunch of stuff people literally need to do their jobs. "Go ahead, propose that every company only be allowed a 5% markup on its costs. Let's see where that takes us." In the case of Android, it takes us back to when Google previously had a 5% cut. They've done it before they can do it again.
- pjmlp 6y ago
  99% of what people need to do their jobs is also available on other platforms and as Web applications.