There is an underlying assumption here: that Apple and the AppStore have the user's best interest in mind. The assumption is that the developer and Apple are bo

There is an underlying assumption here: that Apple and the AppStore have the user's best interest in mind. The assumption is that the developer and Apple are both working towards the same thing. That's been proven untrue with walled garden providers over and over again. Ever see a commercial for an Apple product? Apple has one thing in mind: the farming out of development to tens of thousands of little starry-eyed developers scattered around the world. As long as those guys keep cranking out things that make Apple look good and advance corporate policy, they're there to help both you and the user. If you want to write inside the walled garden, have fun with it. Providing value to the user is the goal, right? In some scenarios it probably makes sense to develop in that fashion. But not in every scenario. Don't go into this thing either blinded against using an AppStore or blinded towards using one. The truth is a lot more complex. I could list a dozen scenarios that easily would lead me to choose a stand-alone web app. "Technopolitics" or my personal opinion of Apple has nothing to do with it.