> Why shouldn't you be able to install a linux distro and turn your old iPhone or iPad into a really power-efficient home server-type appliance, if you want to?

> Why shouldn't you be able to install a linux distro and turn your old iPhone or iPad into a really power-efficient home server-type appliance, if you want to? Why didn't you buy a phone that allowed you to do this? This sort of argument seems to me to be fundamentally inconsistent. The only reason to pass a law which will force Apple to do something is if there is a "Moloch trap" [1], in which Apple can take advantage of crowd dynamics to do force the crowd into doing something which most people in the crowd don't actually want to do. But the argument for a walled garden on phones is precisely the same: The argument is that without a walled garden, you get a "Moloch trap": because they can't collect the Apple Tax, the only way for them to make money is to spy on you and sell your data -- something you as the consumer don't want, and that maybe Apple doesn't want either. (And before you say, that Apple can simply treat the phones like they treat their computers, where they simply sell the hardware and don't make extra money either from the Apple Tax or from spying on you -- there's another "Moloch Trap" with shares and capitalism: If Apple's phones are significantly less profitable than Google's, then shareholder will rebel and replace the CEO with someone who will be as profitable as Google. If you forbid Apple from collecting the Apple Tax, then Moloch will force them to spy on you -- unless you manage to forbid anyone from spying.) If Moloch Traps don't exist, then there's no reason to force Apple to open up their phones, because the Market will provide you with a good alternative. If Moloch Traps do exist, then there's a reason not to force Apple to open up their phones, as the walled garden helps them prevent a different kind of trap. [1] https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/