Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

wired.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 229 posts

Re: Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

#171

Post by Steko »

cageface wrote: post #167
enraged_camel wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as the full ramifications of said decisions are clear, sure, allow people to make their own. But it's not possible to know at a glance what Android app is malicious and which is not. Even an application that looks legitimate and works legitimately may steal your data behind the curtain without you knowing, which is what usually happens anyway. This is why an approval process for the app store is good. It's tr…

I support Apple's right to offer you that choice as long as they're not using a broken patent system to take away my choice.

Clearly suing obvious copycat products is what broke the patent system.

Re: Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

#172

Post by cageface »

eevilspock wrote: post #25
fein wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The logical fallacy here is the assumption that the guidelines imposed by apple won't lead to straight up draconian rules, which they almost already have. There is a reason why utopias do not exist.

Jeez louis, who's making that logical fallacy? Don't put your interpretation into other people's mouths. The moment Apple crosses a line, I'll bail. But I disagree that it has. It's just a fucking phone, for Christ's sake. And you can still do this app as a web app. It's a question of two imperfect approaches. Google's "open" Android market (it isn't quite totally open is it?) is far from utopia too, no? All that mal…

It's just a fucking phone, for Christ's sake.

There's a lot more at stake here than that. These kinds of devices are quickly becoming the primary or even the only means of accessing the internet for a lot of people.

Re: Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

#173

Post by Steko »

orangecat wrote: post #165
enraged_camel wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as the full ramifications of said decisions are clear, sure, allow people to make their own. But it's not possible to know at a glance what Android app is malicious and which is not. Even an application that looks legitimate and works legitimately may steal your data behind the curtain without you knowing, which is what usually happens anyway. This is why an approval process for the app store is good. It's tr…

So would you agree that Mountain Lion's Gatekeeper is insufficient, and that Apple should lock down Macs in the same way? If not, what's the difference? It's true that Apple's is a bit draconian, but that's because they care about protecting their users. I hear the TSA's marketing department is hiring.

I think it's up to Apple whether they want to make updates to their OS that lock it down like iOS.

I think it would be a clear mistake for them to do it now.

I also think eventually there is little doubt they will do it but we're at least 3-4 years away from that.

What does "should" even mean here? For Apple's best interest or your's and mine? Clearly Apple should buy us all ponies for xmas, it's not like they can't afford it. Man, who doesn't want a free pony?

Re: Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

#175

Post by nivla »

orangecat wrote: post #166
nivla wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is with the downvotes and no comment? I would love to hear your side of the argument too.

It was a combination of FUD and objective falsehood. You presented no evidence that Google intends to close off Android source, and Android doesn't force users to create or use a Google account.

> You presented no evidence that Google intends to close off Android source.

You are right, but the statement was meant to be more of a what-if situation and not a it is. Either-ways we all can agree that based on the past events that it is not in Google's priority list to keep the open-source community updated:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/googles-decision-to-de...

http://www.itworld.com/open-source/164153/how-google-can-del...

>and Android doesn't force users to create or use a Google account.

If so, could you tell me how I could use an android phone without setting up a Google account? The first screen to hit you when you switch on a brand new android phone is the Google Login/Signup screen.

Re: Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

#176

Post by ucee054 »

Steko wrote: post #154
RexRollman wrote: post #2

Offending people's tender sensibilities should not be a reason to reject an app.

You build your billion dollar app store and you can run it the way you want.

Every comment you have made on this page has been in reply to someone's criticism of the App store's horrid policy.

Every riposte you have given has been that Apple have the right to choose their policy.

Yes, Apple may have a right to have a horrid policy. But that doesn't make the policy any less horrid.

The horridness of the policy is the whole point. You have therefore missed the point every time, with every answer.

Re: Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

#177

Post by eevilspock »

cageface wrote: post #170
eevilspock wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can support an approach and also believe someone is doing it stupidly, or even unethically, all without being contradictory. For example, do you support the right of a newspaper editor to pick and choose which letters to the editor get published? How about a restaurant's reserved "right to refuse service to anyone"? If you do, you still reserve the right in each of these cases to object to individual decisions, a…

But that's exactly the problem with the benevolent dictatorship model. Sooner or later this kind of absolute power is used unwisely or outright abused and you have no recourse. This is why almost every country in the world has abandoned monarchy. It's ultimately too error-prone and inefficient.

What you seem to propose as an alternative to monarchy is not democracy, but anarchy. No rules sounds great in principle...

Even Linux has King Linus. And Android has King Page, Queen Rubin and a host of Lords (Verizon, AT&T, Samsung, etc). Don't kid yourself.

Furthermore, we're talking about a product, a phone, not national governments or the sovereignty of citizens over them. Poor strawman.

Re: Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

#178

Post by fpgeek »

rickmb wrote: post #42

As an Apple fanboy, I've been able to rationalize everything Apple has done concerning the app-store up to now, even if I personally would have like to have seen a way more open and liberal approach. And the overblown anti-Apple FUD, using misplaced terms like "censorship" and "monopoly" whenever an app was thwarted by Apples opaque policies has made it easy to ignore the objections of detractors. But I find it impos…

This isn't the first time Apple's removed an app for political reasons:

http://techland.time.com/2011/03/23/apple-removes-ex-gay-con...

Now, I happen to agree with the politics in that case, but it also illustrates the broader point: A curated app store is inevitably entangled in politics. Approving an app can be just as political a decision as rejecting it.

Re: Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

#179

Post by fpgeek »

nivla wrote: post #61
stephengillie wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if both Google's and Amazon's app stores reject an app, there are still other markets. And you can just download APKs from websites/ftp/etc and install them to your android, no market required.

That is until all the three (Apple, Google and Microsoft) decides to only allow installs from the maketplace, you know for "security" reasons. The problem is if one company gets away with it, others follow suit.

Not really. The competition between Amazon and Google (and other app stores overseas) has made selling an Android device tied to a single app store untenable. For example, the volume of customer complaints about the Amazon Appstore even forced AT&T to give up on blocking non-Market applications.

Re: Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

#180

Post by eevilspock »

mcantelon wrote: post #123
eevilspock wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Newspapers are very influential, more so than Apple. Will you claim that they should print all letters to the editor, with no discretion? How about Hacker News? Shall we lobby pg to remove the ability to flag an article, and let this place turn into Reddit? Yesterday an article I liked had a healthy debate going. It was flagged as not fit for HN (It was political, about race not technology in any way) and it was take…

>Newspapers are very influential, more so than Apple. Will you claim that they should print all letters to the editor, with no discretion? Newspapers have limited space and no filtering capabilities for readers. >How about Hacker News? Shall we lobby pg to remove the ability to flag an article, and let this place turn into Reddit? I have the choice to use my web browser to read sites other than HN (and I don't need t…

And you don't have the choice to buy a different brand of phone?

Limited space is NOT why newspapers have editors. There's a reason the NY Times is so different from the Wall Street Journal.

As I just said in another comment, Even Linux has King Linus. And Android has King Page, Queen Rubin and a host of Lords (Verizon, AT&T, Samsung, etc). Don't kid yourself.

And to repeat, I think Apple's decision in this case is lame and cowardly.

Post reply on HN