I disagree. I think there is a very real dichotomy between ease-of-use and flexibility, where flexibility is defined as the ability to run arbitrary software fr

I disagree. I think there is a very real dichotomy between ease-of-use and flexibility, where flexibility is defined as the ability to run arbitrary software from arbitrary sources. Ease-of-use in the real world is only partially a user-interface design issue, even though that is what software devs spend all day talking about. Turning on a device and being sure that no viruses are going to infect your computer, no malicious people are going to steal your email, and your device will probably just work is a giant ease-of-use feature. It makes your device easier-to-use when you don't have to worry about what your software will do, and that only comes when every single piece of software on your device comes from an authorized source that has been vetted by fairly reliable people who have the power to remotely fix problems on your device (for example, removing apps that turn out to be malicious). Don't kid yourself, even though you might disagree philosophically, removing developer flexibility is very much an ease-of-use feature for consumers.