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I'm always confused by this. If Dell didn't allow Opera or Firefox or Linux to be installed on the computers they sell, or Microsoft didn't allow 3rd-party app

I'm always confused by this. If Dell didn't allow Opera or Firefox or Linux to be installed on the computers they sell, or Microsoft didn't allow 3rd-party applications on Windows, people would be up in arms. But Apple is allowed to block anyone from installing any application on their own personal iPhone, and there aren't lawsuits flying?

qqq 18y ago
Is Apple preventing it from being installed in any way or just via Apple's app distribution mechanism? (I don't know either way, just asking.)
- alexandros 18y ago
  just via Apple's distribution mechanism. Which is the only way to install stuff on your iPhone, short of jailbreaking it.
  - cstejerean 18y ago
    the appstore is by no means the only way to install things on your phone. as a developer you can install whatever you want on your phone including write applications that run in the background. apple will just refuse to publish said apps to the apple store.
    - qqq 18y ago
      Can other people download those off your website and install them without using any crazy hacks?
      - cstejerean 18y ago
        right now you can have up to 100 beta testers for your app, but you need to generate a key for them based on their device ID.
    - erik 18y ago
      Yes, but you have to pay apple, and be approved by them before you receive a developer key. Apple still plays the gatekeeper.
      - cstejerean 18y ago
        Before the SDK was released you had no way to get any apps onto your phone, or anyone else's. I see the current situation as a step forward and I believe Apple will looses restrictions for ad-hoc distribution of applications, they just need to figure things out (the same way they needed a while to figure out building a good SDK and distribution platform).
        silencio 18y ago
        Sure there was, and there still is. It's called jailbreaking, but Apple doesn't like it (will refuse to support your iPhone should there be problems, so you'll have to revert). There were multiple apps one can still use to get jailbroken apps on one's iPhone. It also happens to be the only way one can pirate existing app store iPhone applications, sooo...
        anewaccountname 18y ago
        >"[...] same way they needed a while to figure out building a good sdk distribution platform" More likely the reason for the delay in doing the above was because they needed to figure out building a good lock-down and kill-switch mechanism.
    - randallsquared 18y ago
      I was under the impression that no apps on the iPhone could run in the background.
      - nailer 18y ago
        It's a SDK licensing agreement restriction, not a technical one. Plenty of Installer apps run in the background.
- Zaak 18y ago
  My understanding is that the only other way to install apps on an iPhone is to hack it, which opens up its own can of worms.
andreyf 18y ago
IANAL, but although the phone hardware is "yours", I think what you can do with the OS is defined by the license agreement. Prohibiting third-party software on Windows may seem crazy, but there's no reason a EULA cannot prohibit it.
unalone 18y ago
But Dell offers an open platform. Blocking a particular app would require making an exception. The iPhone is closed; every time Apple approves an app it's making an exception. And Apple's already stated that they won't accept JavaScript interpreters.
axod 18y ago
It's just the same as a billion other areas - mp3 players, tvs, phones, games consoles. The PC is pretty unique in terms of its openness to 3rd party software. But IMHO it's a moot point - the iPhone has a fantastic fast fully featured browser which can do most stuff.

qqq 18y ago

Is Apple preventing it from being installed in any way or just via Apple's app distribution mechanism? (I don't know either way, just asking.)

alexandros 18y ago
just via Apple's distribution mechanism. Which is the only way to install stuff on your iPhone, short of jailbreaking it.
- cstejerean 18y ago
  the appstore is by no means the only way to install things on your phone. as a developer you can install whatever you want on your phone including write applications that run in the background. apple will just refuse to publish said apps to the apple store.
  - qqq 18y ago
    Can other people download those off your website and install them without using any crazy hacks?
    - cstejerean 18y ago
      right now you can have up to 100 beta testers for your app, but you need to generate a key for them based on their device ID.
  - erik 18y ago
    Yes, but you have to pay apple, and be approved by them before you receive a developer key. Apple still plays the gatekeeper.
    - cstejerean 18y ago
      Before the SDK was released you had no way to get any apps onto your phone, or anyone else's. I see the current situation as a step forward and I believe Apple will looses restrictions for ad-hoc distribution of applications, they just need to figure things out (the same way they needed a while to figure out building a good SDK and distribution platform).
      - silencio 18y ago
        Sure there was, and there still is. It's called jailbreaking, but Apple doesn't like it (will refuse to support your iPhone should there be problems, so you'll have to revert). There were multiple apps one can still use to get jailbroken apps on one's iPhone. It also happens to be the only way one can pirate existing app store iPhone applications, sooo...
      - anewaccountname 18y ago
        >"[...] same way they needed a while to figure out building a good sdk distribution platform" More likely the reason for the delay in doing the above was because they needed to figure out building a good lock-down and kill-switch mechanism.
  - randallsquared 18y ago
    I was under the impression that no apps on the iPhone could run in the background.
    - nailer 18y ago
      It's a SDK licensing agreement restriction, not a technical one. Plenty of Installer apps run in the background.
Zaak 18y ago
My understanding is that the only other way to install apps on an iPhone is to hack it, which opens up its own can of worms.

andreyf 18y ago

IANAL, but although the phone hardware is "yours", I think what you can do with the OS is defined by the license agreement. Prohibiting third-party software on Windows may seem crazy, but there's no reason a EULA cannot prohibit it.

unalone 18y ago

But Dell offers an open platform. Blocking a particular app would require making an exception. The iPhone is closed; every time Apple approves an app it's making an exception. And Apple's already stated that they won't accept JavaScript interpreters.

axod 18y ago

It's just the same as a billion other areas - mp3 players, tvs, phones, games consoles. The PC is pretty unique in terms of its openness to 3rd party software. But IMHO it's a moot point - the iPhone has a fantastic fast fully featured browser which can do most stuff.