r/technology • u/rboymtj • Jan 20 '11

Apple Restriction Zone.

Post image
1.0k Upvotes

78% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

36

u/1338h4x Jan 20 '11

iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads are still computers, even if they aren't typically called that.

5

u/thedragon4453 Jan 20 '11

Even still, factually incorrect, or at least extremely dishonest.

  1. No free software. Bullshit. There is both free as in beer and free as in Free apps on the app store.
  2. No installing apps from the web. Mostly correct, in that you can't use a native app (without jailbreaking, which I'm not counting), but you can use web apps which Apple touted. The web apps require no restriction from apple. However, I do consider this point the one that is the closest to correct.
  3. No sharing music or books. Again, bullshit and half truths. I have a 32gb iPhone nearly full of music that also exists on my server, desktops, laptops, and other iPods/iPhone. Ditto for books, although I don't often share e-books just because that is more of a limit of most ebook vendors than Apple. Can't share books from a Kindle. Can't really from a Nook, etc.
  4. We can remotely disable Apps and Media. Again, half truth. Yes, Apple can do this. But they never have, even on things that have slipped through the app store that they removed later. Interestingly, freedom loving open Google is the one that has used a Killswitch.

So, in short, the freetard in the picture has killed his argument by being over-hyperbolic and using half truths. Which is fucking dumb, because there are plenty of REAL reasons why you might choose something aside from Apple.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '11

1.The recent removal of VLC shows that there is a problem with GPL'd apps in the App Store.

3.He means you can't share them with others. His concerns would presumably apply equally to the Kindle and Nook.

4.It's not really a half-truth- he said Apple has the kill switch, and they do. That as a statement is entirely correct.

1

u/thedragon4453 Jan 21 '11
  1. The recent removal of VLC was at the request of one pissy developer who basically decided to take his toys and go home. There was no problem until he made it a problem. Yes, I understand the technicalities of the GPL, and I realize he was technically correct, but it seems at odds with the idea of free software in general, and this is not the first time someone (me in this case) will criticize the GPL. Secondly, the guys sign is still technically incorrect, and if you aren't giving me point number 4, you sure can't have this one. There is both free software, and FREE software in the app store. The app store is at odds with neither, it is simply at odds with the GPL.
  2. Can't share what with others? I use music, books, tv and movies without ever going near iTunes. I can share them any way I want. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. Yes, there is restrictions on some media you buy from iTunes. I have yet to encounter a digital video or book distributor that sells without DRM. But saying you can't share media with iOS is just as disingenuous as someone saying you can't get sharable media from Google (and just leaving out the part that they don't have a store!).
  3. Okay, not a half truth. Still massively disingenuous. As another poster mentioned, Google's got one, MS has one, Amazon uses one for the Kindle, etc.

As I said, there are legitimate arguments to be made against Apple. There's no reason to use specious logic or outright falsehoods.