@ masonwheeler
Flash may not be "a right," but computer owners (including iPhone or iPad owners) have a natural right to use their personal property as they see fit. By using DRM technology to restrict what apps people can and cannot use on their personal property, Apple is infringing on the property rights of their customers and are guilty of property crimes.
You do have the right to use a device as you see fit, and you can, within the law and allowing that the manufacturer can limit what tools and assistance they offer you if you go outside what they choose to support.
You can build apps for the iPhone in many ways and distribute them freely across the internet - many people just ignore this fact and blather on about Apple regardless.
Here is the Apple URL promoting this very open method of iPhone/iPod/iPad development:
http://www.apple.com/webapps/
WebApp development for the iPhone is fairly simple to cross-platform to android, and to Nokia phones. It will also run in Safari browsers on desktop machines.
Totally open, and HTML/Javascript based. Cacheable on the phone under the control of the developer. And is very simple to do.
Sorry to all you idiots arguing that Apple controls iPhone - you are just plain wrong.
Also anyone who wants to upload native software to their phone can join the developer program and do so. This makes the iPhone a platform rather like many other Unix/Linux platforms where if you compile it yourself you can use it. Not only can you use it yourself but you can code-sign for 100 phones at a time. Admittedly you must keep up program membership to keep using it.
If you don't wish to do this - then why not develop web-apps?
The only place that Apple has any real control over what an App does is through the App store, in this respect they limit what they will sell or distribute for free and code-sign for the platform.
And this is nothing to do with revenue collection - as you can put an app on the store for free download. There are many apps on the store that are free but require some sort of fee to be paid to the developer though some other means to be of use, where Apple collects no revenue from the provision of the App to the customer besides the program joining fee.
The problem is if Apple does not make code signing mandatory then the quality control of apps destined for mobile handsets is not viable.
We shall see in a year or so what removing the control does for the android users - they will be free to get whatever malware they want - just like Windows users are.
Apple is not infringing on any customer's rights - sorry you are just a paranoia monger sprouting bad legal advice. And Apple has not commited any property crimes in this respect either.
Just jailbreak your iPhone if you are that stupid - i.e. remove the code-signing control and break the contractual obligations that all phone manufacturers have with the Carriers.
Or you can buy an iPhone outright from Apple in my country and have no subsidy from a telco, so no network lock, just like any other mobile phone.
But whatever - you can use any app you care to build on your phone - and you can use apps built by other people, they can use any text editor they like to build it, load it onto a web server and give you a URL - Apple need never know - but they do recommend this so go ahead.
Now will you just shut up with your paranoid delusions!!!!
And about time Journalists pointed out the errors in these arguments rather than making wild claims about Apple's intent.
Discussion on:
Message 6 of 1
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
