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So how would Apple enforce code signing on code that ran on top of a VM like Java or C# or scripting languages?
By not allowing JITs, just like on iOS.
They are also not going to allow any Electron apps?
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I wish game consoles were open, but I don't care as much because they're single purpose. A PS4 is not designed to be your primary computer. An iPhone, by contrast, will be many people's primary or even they're only computer. What does it mean for our society if a single company has control over what that computer can display? I see this issue as broader than just competition—I think it's analogous to free speech.
So the console isn’t a general purpose computer but the iPhone is? By whose definition?
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So the console isn’t a general purpose computer but the iPhone is? By whose definition?
How many people use a game console as their primary computer? What about their phone?
And before you bring up an esoteric development scenario, I assure you that developers aren’t using their phone as their primary computer.
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I can't add my UK CC to my account though as it's not a Dutch one, so I switched to the UK region, and then it errors out with "your account is not valid for use in the UK store. You must switch to the Dutch store before purchasing". Why ...? I don't know. Because content licensed for a particular geographic region. I mix regions, too. It's not rocket surgery. You just have multiple iTunes accounts, which are as easy…
Nothing you said is easy; it's all a massive PITA and incredibly user-hostile. I do appreciate the advice, but I just want to do normal things without jumping through hoops. I don't even use iTunes; do I have an account? Don't know, and frankly don't care either (I've given up on it). Here's how everything else works: I see a price for something, I decide I want it, I fill in my CC number, and I have it. No need to g…
1: Scroll to bottom of iTunes screen. 2: Click the flag. 3: Choose new country. Doesn't sound that dramatic to me.
I don't even use iTunes; do I have an account?
If you don't have an Apple account, then what is it that you're complaining that you can't make a purchase from? iTunes and Apple accounts are the same thing.
I can't add my UK CC to my account
The account that you say you don't know you have? You're going to have to make up your mind when you rant.
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There is a moral/philosophical connection to free speech and the app store pseudo-monopolies (code as speech), but it also happens to be very concrete in Apple's case: you literally cannot tell customers through your app what other alternatives might be used to pay you. (And before someone comments about how this doesn't conflict with the 1st Amendment, you are obviously correct; but free speech is as much a societal…
You view this as a bad thing. As a consumer, I view it as a good thing. I’m not sure if folks remember what “apps on mobile” were like before Apple came along, but it was the goddamn Wild West. The fact that it’s walled in, that I’m not going to get pwned, that my parents won’t (and won’t be tempted to by the promise of an extra $0.99 saving) is to my mind, a good thing. If all this competition that the article talke…
However, I don't think that a link that says "Click here to start your Netflix subscription" threatens that experience in the slightest; it's only a threat to Apple's revenue model. (While there are legitimate concerns about fraud/phishing/etc, that can be reviewed on a content level by Apple, as they already do in other respects.)
There are perhaps arguments against allowing side-loading; even if the process is cumbersome for non-techies, there remains a "dancing bunnies" [0] problem that might lead to malware on Grandma's phone (or, just a very poor software experience).
But even there, I'm not convinced that there isn't a reasonable tradeoff. While the needs for macOS and iOS are clearly different, the former has a very reasonable default that allows unsigned executables, while discouraging them to non-technical users, and giving a great experience buying and installing software through the App Store. (Strictly speaking, one can pseudo-sideload on iOS via XCode if one has the source, but at the cost of $99!)
I think a more reasonable policy might be requiring all apps to be code-signed (so malware and pirated apps can be shut down), but allow side-loading with a great number of scary warnings. Most people will still prefer the App Store experience, and as with the Mac App Store, the increased audience will usually be worth the 30% cut (which, by the way, if faced with "competition" from side-loading, may be pressured down into a more reasonable 10-20% range.)
Whether it's Apple, Nintendo, or Amazon, any platform that makes itself a mandatory middle-man between third-party buyers and sellers is rent-seeking extraction at best, and a net economic loss at worst (preventing value-creating relationships from existing at all). In my opinion, smart and reasonable regulations of such marketplace platforms would be a win for both economic growth and personal freedom.
[0] https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-dancing-bunnies-problem/
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Probably because part of the ios appeal is the insanely smooth interoperation between your mac laptop, your appple watch, and your iphone. If you already have a mac because, say, your work got you one (which in the tech industry is ludicrously common) then getting an iphone if you're shopping for a new device makes a whole lot of sense.
And? Tons of apps on MacOS aren’t in the AppStore.
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So how would Apple enforce code signing on code that ran on top of a VM like Java or C# or scripting languages?
By not allowing JITs, just like on iOS.
This is exactly what I'm talking about. You're using bad or outdated second or third-hand info with no regard for the game of telephone involved in getting it to you, nor the anti-Apple zealots obfuscating the truth on its way.
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Apple has a profit margin of 37%. 2017 the App store revenue was ~50 billion, which means Apple made 15 billions from fees. Their net income was ~50 billion, too, which means 0 App store fees would reduce their profits by 30%. Not sure if all numbers are correct, but I guess this should give us a ballpark feeling of what we are talking about.
Putting together margins on their hardware and software products just can’t be right.
The profit margin is a number that includes everything. I compare this to the revenue they make from app store fees. If they stop taking that revenue, their revenue decreases by exactly that amount, their expenses stay the same, so their profit also decreases by exactly that amount.
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It's almost as if there is a very large hacking scene for game consoles because people want to run whatever they can on the hardware they bought. Let's also not forget the whole Other OS fiasco with the PS3. I'm sure if the next Xbox had the ability to run Windows 10 it would sell like crazy.
> I'm sure if the next Xbox had the ability to run Windows 10 it would sell like crazy. Or even better if it was a true OS, like Windows 7.
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Nothing you said is easy; it's all a massive PITA and incredibly user-hostile. I do appreciate the advice, but I just want to do normal things without jumping through hoops. I don't even use iTunes; do I have an account? Don't know, and frankly don't care either (I've given up on it). Here's how everything else works: I see a price for something, I decide I want it, I fill in my CC number, and I have it. No need to g…
Nothing you said is easy; it's all a massive PITA and incredibly user-hostile. 1: Scroll to bottom of iTunes screen. 2: Click the flag. 3: Choose new country. Doesn't sound that dramatic to me. I don't even use iTunes; do I have an account? If you don't have an Apple account, then what is it that you're complaining that you can't make a purchase from? iTunes and Apple accounts are the same thing. I can't add my UK CC…
Which doesn't fix anything since then it errors and says I need to use the Dutch store.
> If you don't have an Apple account, then what is it that you're complaining that you can't make a purchase from? iTunes and Apple accounts are the same thing.
I creates an Apple account; so that an iTunes account? iTunes is for buying music, no? I don't even have iTunes on my phone. You seem to think that it's normal that people know all this stuff like "Apple account is also your iTunes account", but that doesn't follow at all.
> The account that you say you don't know you have? You're going to have to make up your mind when you rant.
I can't add it if it's in the Dutch region, so I switch to UK region, add it, and then it says my account is only valid for the Dutch region when I actually try to make a purchase.
The purchase I wanted to make were Irish ordinance survey maps for hiking, which is not tied to the Netherlands at all, so you tell me...