If you need the approval of the platform vendor to ship an app, then it isn't a platform

http://www.scripting.com/stories/2008/09/13/whyIphoneIsAnUreliablePlat.html

by jacobscott • 18 years ago

50 20 18 years ago

jacobscott2• 18 years ago

seems like this applies to many new "platforms", for example Facebook.

benzim• 18 years ago

On facebook you can release any app without approval. The only time you need approval is to be added to their app directory. I don't think facebook ever bans apps without a tos violation.

jacobscott2• 18 years ago

So is consensus that the RockYou app disabling was legit? The power to ban for a ToS violation still seems strong -- this isn't something Microsoft or Apple (or any Linux distro) has on the desktop, right?

ivey• 18 years ago

Myspace, on the other hand, is harder to get through than mobile carriers. I've basically given up.

alex_c• 18 years ago

This is a good example why the industry as a whole is always salivating for [software as a service | client-server apps | web apps]. It puts control squarely in the hands of the vendor, rather than the user (I count developers as being the users of a platform).

tomjen• 18 years ago

Only if there is only on of the service. There is only one Amazon cloud storage, but there are thousands of other online storage places so switching is easy.

On the other hand there is only one IPhone, and because it uses coca switching is difficult.

t0pj• 18 years ago

"There is only one Amazon cloud storage, but there are thousands of other online storage places so switching is easy."

1) I don't think switching would be that easy unless you're just getting started.

2) Thousands of other online storage places I guess you simply pick you poison, er, locked down platform with various restrictions.

rokhayakebe• 18 years ago

You could not have said it better. Apple being a tab less restricted than others does not make it Open.

chrisbroadfoot• 18 years ago

How is Apple less restricting than others? Who is 'others'?

talboito• 18 years ago

I imagine he meant major cell phone carriers and their app decks.

trezor• 18 years ago

I'm pretty sure every single phone I have had (and I have an 3G iPhone now) has been more open for development than this one.

Every single one has had a public SDK and public development tools. And no vendor-approval needed.

zenspider• 18 years ago

Dave Winer has been bitching about apple for years and years and years... it is his favorite hobby.

rantfoil• 18 years ago

In an era of crowdsourcing, you'd think we could have 100% open platforms that automatically self-correct.

Bad apps should be rated lower. Great apps should be rated higher. Like Yelp, perhaps there should be a class of "super raters" that are selected by the owners of the community -- and perhaps they get moderation privileges -- kill spam, kill viruses, kill bad apps.

mattmaroon2• 18 years ago

A platform is called a platform because you build stuff on top of it. It might not be an open platform, but it's still a platform. (It's all semantics anyway, but the assertion doesn't make sense.)

Create• 18 years ago

"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that..."

The 5 real reasons to avoid iPhone 3G:

    * iPhone completely blocks free software. Developers must pay a tax to Apple, who becomes the sole authority over what can and can't be on everyone's phones.
    * iPhone endorses and supports Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology.
    * iPhone exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track you without your knowledge.
    * iPhone won't play patent- and DRM-free formats like Ogg Vorbis and Theora.
    * iPhone is not the only option. There are better alternatives on the horizon that respect your freedom, don't spy on you, play free media formats, and let you use free software -- like the FreeRunner.

http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/why-free-software-and-app...

_b8r02• 18 years ago

You forgot reason 6:

* iPhone has a tiny market share across 2 devices and requires you to learn an entirely new development, deployment and management environment compared to Symbian, Blackberry or Windows Mobile.

axod• 18 years ago

Not sure if you're being sarcastic with these or what...

1. You don't have to use the apps at all. I don't. Use webapps on the second to none web-browser.

2. You don't have to use DRM at all. I don't.

3. If something wants to know your location, an alert pops up and you allow it, or don't.

4. Who the hell has any clue what ogg vorbis or theora is. People know mp3. Apple pay like $1 or something to license it.

5. Maybe they are somewhere on the horizon, I haven't seen them yet..

_b8r02• 18 years ago

I read that as "If you need the survival of the platform vendor to ship an app, then it isn't a platform".

Which in a bizarre way is also true I guess.

If you need the approval of the platform vendor to ship an app, then it isn't a platform

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