5 ms·

At the end of the day, when you have to move your product through someone's market, it's not your product, it's not your business, and those aren't your custome

At the end of the day, when you have to move your product through someone's market, it's not your product, it's not your business, and those aren't your customers. It's all theirs. Because if you do something they don't like, they will just turn you off ... or worse, they'll call you and tell you to change it. That can just as easily apply to the platform it was built on. Windows, OS X, or Android, can do this today if they were so inclined (well maybe not Windows due to anti-trust concerns -- but that has to do with market dominance, not openness). What you're saying is that you must run on a full stack you completely build, from the foundary, CPU, on up (because Intel could break all Windows computers with firmware update if they were so inclined). We've all built on something, giving away some degree of responsibility and ownership. Now maybe Notch's point is that this is where he draws the line. It seems like an odd place to draw it IMO, especially given how fast the game market tends to move (when was the last time someone asked you to play Words with Friends?). But like I said before, more power to Notch wherever he goes. I'll miss not playing Minecraft as I move all my machines to Win8 (admittedly not much of a gamer though), but not for too long I'm sure. Have you tried installing unsigned software on Windows 8? You get a huge window pretty much saying NO. Only after clicking on more info, do you get an option to override. I can only guess what will happen with Windows 9? Really, that's a complaint of yours? I actually which there was a setting to not let these install at all.

bad_user 14y ago
Android allows for third-party sources when installing software. There are developers out there that distribute their software through other channels than Google Play. E.g. one of the Humble Indie Bundle that I bought had 4 Android games in it and distribution was through download links sent by email. And when publishing on Google Play, at least for now, there is no approval process. And no, Windows and OS X cannot do this today, as long as installation of software from third-parties is still possible and your OS is not remotely controlled by them. Microsoft can't do anything today to ban an app on Windows. But it's increasingly clear that they want this capability. For those of us familiar with the gaming industry since the nineties, we've experienced this same fight between PCs and gaming consoles and even though the PC wasn't a common household appliance until the mid nineties at least and even though the likes of Sega, Nintendo and later Sony looked poised to take over the world, most games were built for PCs first, because that's were the innovation was and because nobody could pull the rug from under your feet. Even the arguments were exactly the same as today - for consumers it was ease of use, no viruses/mallware and a better return on investment, while for developers it was the lack of piracy, promotion and a piece of a large pie where the competition was controlled. And it's a pretty sad fact that this is precisely what Apple and now Microsoft are trying - the consolification of the PC. Well I for one do not think that consumers will buy into it. And I predict that Windows 8 will only have moderate success, while Windows 9 will be a total failure, just like Win Me and Windows Vista before it.
- recoiledsnake 14y ago
  >Well I for one do not think that consumers will buy into it. And I predict that Windows 8 will only have moderate success, while Windows 9 will be a total failure, just like Win Me and Windows Vista before it Perhaps Windows 8 and 9 may fail due to a multitude of reasons, but I don't think the inclusion of the app store from where one can safely download applications will be even a small reason for it. If anything, consumers will love it for that reason.
  - bad_user 14y ago
    I'm not talking about the inclusion of an app store. I'm talking about the trend to make that app store the only distribution channel available. iOS may have been a success, but that's only because it's good at what it does and because people don't need it to do much. Prior to smartphones, a phone was only good for making calls. And with tablets it's all good as long as it has a browser and some freebies. The elephant in the room that nobody is talking about when speaking about closed platforms is ... piracy. Take away the ability of people to pirate stuff on their PC, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
    - fauigerzigerk 14y ago
      I agree. Piracy and porn and a long tail of other things. But I fear that 99% of the money to be made on software for consumers will be in the locked down part of the world. People who pay for stuff can be easily intimidated because they have something to lose.
    - antidoh 14y ago
      " I'm talking about the trend to make that app store the only distribution channel available." Indeed. I think Microsoft is retreating into an echo chamber. By making the app store the only practical way to distribute products, Microsoft is missing all the wild things that might catch on if they would only let them alone. The browser comes to mind. Or the spreadsheet.
- nivla 14y ago
  Just because android allows installing third-party softwares now doesn't mean it will remain like that forever. Remember when you could install chrome extensions the same way but now Google only allows you to install them from their store and the only other way is not so client friendly workaround?
fauigerzigerk 14y ago
If some gatekeeper standing between me and my customer has a veto on my product and sometimes even on my communications with my customer, calling it "some degree" of anything is an absurd euphemism. Particularly if there's only a handful of such gatekeepers world wide controlling entire industries.
valdiorn 14y ago
> Really, that's a complaint of yours? I actually which there was a setting to not let these install at all. That comment made me very sad :(
aneth4 14y ago
Frightening to think you are among a generation of computer users that doesn't view a platform on which anything can be installed as the default. I remind you just a few years ago, the idea of an OS vendor restricting software installation would have been confusing let alone normal as it is now.

bad_user 14y ago

Android allows for third-party sources when installing software. There are developers out there that distribute their software through other channels than Google Play. E.g. one of the Humble Indie Bundle that I bought had 4 Android games in it and distribution was through download links sent by email. And when publishing on Google Play, at least for now, there is no approval process. And no, Windows and OS X cannot do this today, as long as installation of software from third-parties is still possible and your OS is not remotely controlled by them. Microsoft can't do anything today to ban an app on Windows. But it's increasingly clear that they want this capability. For those of us familiar with the gaming industry since the nineties, we've experienced this same fight between PCs and gaming consoles and even though the PC wasn't a common household appliance until the mid nineties at least and even though the likes of Sega, Nintendo and later Sony looked poised to take over the world, most games were built for PCs first, because that's were the innovation was and because nobody could pull the rug from under your feet. Even the arguments were exactly the same as today - for consumers it was ease of use, no viruses/mallware and a better return on investment, while for developers it was the lack of piracy, promotion and a piece of a large pie where the competition was controlled. And it's a pretty sad fact that this is precisely what Apple and now Microsoft are trying - the consolification of the PC. Well I for one do not think that consumers will buy into it. And I predict that Windows 8 will only have moderate success, while Windows 9 will be a total failure, just like Win Me and Windows Vista before it.

recoiledsnake 14y ago
>Well I for one do not think that consumers will buy into it. And I predict that Windows 8 will only have moderate success, while Windows 9 will be a total failure, just like Win Me and Windows Vista before it Perhaps Windows 8 and 9 may fail due to a multitude of reasons, but I don't think the inclusion of the app store from where one can safely download applications will be even a small reason for it. If anything, consumers will love it for that reason.
- bad_user 14y ago
  I'm not talking about the inclusion of an app store. I'm talking about the trend to make that app store the only distribution channel available. iOS may have been a success, but that's only because it's good at what it does and because people don't need it to do much. Prior to smartphones, a phone was only good for making calls. And with tablets it's all good as long as it has a browser and some freebies. The elephant in the room that nobody is talking about when speaking about closed platforms is ... piracy. Take away the ability of people to pirate stuff on their PC, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
  - fauigerzigerk 14y ago
    I agree. Piracy and porn and a long tail of other things. But I fear that 99% of the money to be made on software for consumers will be in the locked down part of the world. People who pay for stuff can be easily intimidated because they have something to lose.
  - antidoh 14y ago
    " I'm talking about the trend to make that app store the only distribution channel available." Indeed. I think Microsoft is retreating into an echo chamber. By making the app store the only practical way to distribute products, Microsoft is missing all the wild things that might catch on if they would only let them alone. The browser comes to mind. Or the spreadsheet.
nivla 14y ago
Just because android allows installing third-party softwares now doesn't mean it will remain like that forever. Remember when you could install chrome extensions the same way but now Google only allows you to install them from their store and the only other way is not so client friendly workaround?

fauigerzigerk 14y ago

If some gatekeeper standing between me and my customer has a veto on my product and sometimes even on my communications with my customer, calling it "some degree" of anything is an absurd euphemism. Particularly if there's only a handful of such gatekeepers world wide controlling entire industries.

valdiorn 14y ago

> Really, that's a complaint of yours? I actually which there was a setting to not let these install at all. That comment made me very sad :(

aneth4 14y ago

Frightening to think you are among a generation of computer users that doesn't view a platform on which anything can be installed as the default. I remind you just a few years ago, the idea of an OS vendor restricting software installation would have been confusing let alone normal as it is now.