Monday, February 22, 2010

Apple Bans Certain Apps From IPhone

Word is out that Apple has banned certain apps from the IPhone.

People are upset about it, as you can see in the comments here and here (and a lot of others places as well).

Here’s my response:

First, good for Apple. The one thing the world needs more of is portable p0rnography. Or not. Whatever their reasons, it is good to see Apple taking a stand on this issue, or though it is probably not driven by actual morality.

Second, this approach to business is probably why Apple has such a small percentage of the computer market, and why prices on Apple computers are so high. From the beginning, Apple was tightly controlled in their hardware and so there were no “Apple-compatibles” like there were “IBM-compatibles.” And without the market in hardware, there is no reason to invest in writing software. You can argue all day long you are paying for quality. But people who don’t use Apples, or have used both, know the truth and so they won’t buy it. But like Apple, you can try to keep selling it.

(Or if you want to buy me a Macintosh Laptop to try, I will be glad to try it myself again.)

Smart business decision? Probably not. Apple has made lots of money, but probably not nearly so much as they could have. And Microsoft rules the world of computers. 

Third, if you don’t like Apple’s approach to IPhone apps, you are more than welcome to get another phone. No one is forcing you to use an IPhone. You can build your own phone. Or simply pick another. Or do without. Face it, we lived for years without cell phones, and it would probably be a better way of life to return to that (at least in some respects).

It always makes me laugh when people respond as some have to this, thinking they are entitled to do whatever they want to do with something they bought. You’re not. You live in a false world imbued with a false sense of entitlement. (Look up “imbued” on your dictionary app if you don’t know what it means.)

So that’s my technology rant for the day (posted from my HP laptop which is a horrible laptop that I can’t stand … over my wireless broadband internet connection from Comcast which is way too expensive but thanks to our great neighborhood, my only other option dial-up).

1 comment:

Jon from Bucksport said...

Wow. Good point about the kind of apps being banned. I am glad that Apple is taking a little moral high ground although a quick perusal through the App Store will reveal that a lot of smut is getting through the approval process.
Old friend, I have to take you to task: if you are going to go on a tech rant you have to at least be current! Apple products are competitively priced today as opposed to 15 years ago and they are selling them by the truckload which is why Apple sells more MacBooks than Dell or HP sell of their horrible laptops. So while 15 years ago Apple seemed to have shot themselves in the foot in the long run (which after all is what counts) they are making a lot more money and wielding a lot more influence than Microsoft has with their lowest-common-denominator approach.
All that to say this: some of the most used apps on my iPod Touch are BibleReader and Logos which are awesome and there are a lot more great religion apps out there too. And the iPad is going to rock the world of books. Logos and Olive Tree are both working on their versions for iPad to have them ready this spring. The other app that I am waiting for is a hymnal that can give me access to thousands of hymns instead of the 500-600 that bound hymnals are constrained to.
Always enjoy your thought, man! Even when you play the Luddite!