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

201–210 of 229 posts

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

#201

Post by bergie »

Steko wrote: post #197
cageface wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One man's "predatory and misleading" is another man's gospel truth. Putting the authority to decide who is right and wrong on these matters in the hands of a single, all-powerful arbiter is just begging for abuse.

"Putting the authority to decide who is right and wrong on these matters in the hands of a single, all-powerful arbiter is just begging for abuse." For all of society yes but for one company's store, that's just how the free market works. Walmart like Apple and many other merchants decided they didn't want to sell porn in their store. If you're offended by this decision of theirs you are free to take your business el…

That argument is getting old. I can buy some things from Walmart, and the things they don't sell from some other store. In the mobile apps world this is not possible.

Apple has a monopoly on iOS app distribution, and that makes their behavior so worrying. And of course it has enboldened Microsoft to follow the same model, something they probably would have never attempted on their own.

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

#202

Post by fpgeek »

eevilspock wrote: post #199
fpgeek wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even Linux has King Linus. Once upon a time (a few years ago), King Linus and his nobles weren't terribly happy with many of the technical decisions the Android team made. How did King Linus exercise his sovereignty? Did it stop the Android team from doing what they wanted?

You're missing the point. Linux would never have gotten to the point of being useful for Android if Linus Torvalds didn't have a benevolent dictatorship. Anyway, if you are truly for freedom, support Apple's freedom to do things its way and Google's to do things its way. You can follow whichever one you want. Or did you want to dictate to me and millions of others that they can't choose a walled-garden such as Apple'…

My point is that whatever you want to call the governance model of Linux it isn't anything like a (non-joking) dictatorship. A real dictator could and would have stopped the Android team from leaving (i.e. made them do things his way or not at all). Linus not only didn't stop them from leaving, he couldn't.

When the benevolence is built-in, it isn't a dictatorship, it's something else. And something else doesn't support your argument about walled gardens, it undermines it.

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

#204

Post by ars »

blazingfrog2 wrote: post #140

Instead of calling this a political move, I'm wondering if they would allow an app that tracks murder victims across the US as they happen. My guess is that it would be rejected too for the same reasons, which are probably not political. This would simply be, as they said, crude. And IMHO, inappropriate.

Would either side of the "national drone debate" (if there is such a thing) object to this app?

Those opposed to it would like to know what's happening.

Those in favor would like to see how effective it is.

I can't see either side objecting, so I agree with you that it's probably the fact that it's about death that is the reason they were rejected.

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

#205

Post by retrogradeorbit »

Steko wrote: post #195
ucee054 wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 an…

I'm not missing the point, I'm contesting it. You're assuming the conclusion that the policy is horrid. No, that's what is under debate. I'm fine with the policy of not approving this app. I'm sorry you came here to here a dittohead fest where everyone echo'd your views and didn't get it.

I've heard developers echo your sentiment right up until it was their app that was rejected. Pride cometh before a fall.

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

#206

Post by retrogradeorbit »

Steko wrote: post #136
mike-cardwell wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of that answers my question. Why can't adults opt in to seeing adult apps? There are literally hundreds of millions of non-iDevice smartphone users who don't live with these restrictions and who are not being harmed at all. Is there something special about iDevice users that means they need extra protection? Of course not.

"Why can't adults opt in to seeing adult apps?" Because Apple made the iPhone and they own the iOS store and they decided they could make more money with it this way. "There are literally hundreds of millions of non-iDevice smartphone users who don't live with these restrictions and who are not being harmed at all. " This is called assuming your conclusion. There are certainly standards at Google Play and Amazon's An…

'Because Apple made the iPhone and they own the iOS store and they decided they could make more money with it this way.'

That's a statement of fact, but does not answer the question of why.

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

#207

Post by mcpherrinm »

fpgeek wrote: post #181
philwelch wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how will that fork get on any phones for customers to use? "People can just sideload the OS" is not a feasible answer here.

People will just buy different Android phones from someone else. We've already been through this. AT&T (uniquely among US carriers, I believe) blocked non-Market applications on all of their devices. The success of the Amazon Appstore forced them to change that policy.

Saying "the success" was what caused it isn't really accurate, though.

If it hadn't been for a large, US corporation lobbying AT&T to allow their product on the handsets, would it have gone through?

A future where AT&T allows the Amazon and Google app stores only is still one that could happen.

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

#208

Post by lukifer »

thisischris wrote: post #152
hcarvalhoalves wrote: post #135

Everything now is an app, distributed inside walled gardens. Censorship! Yay! In other news: just make stuff like this as a mobile site.

This is a mobile site with a native wrapper- that's why it isn't allowed.

Mobile-wrapper apps are indeed allowed. This one was rejected specifically for "crude" content.

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

#210

Post by flyinRyan »

Steko wrote: post #173
orangecat wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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

I certainly hope not. I'm fine with them "locking down" phones and tablets. These are appliances and I can't put Android on my toaster either (well, maybe it's possible). But a computer is something totally different. They can have it locked down by default but they have to always provide a way for power users to do whatever they want. The day they lock down Mac OSX the way their appliances are locked down is the day that every developer who uses them now to have a unix with a decent UI is going to leave.

Post reply on HN