OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/21620/Apple_Bans_3rd_Party_EFF_RSS_App_from_App_Store Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:19:03 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com Comment by FealDorf http://osnews.com/thread?367121 http://osnews.com/thread?367121 Apple's starting to look less and less attractive for me nowadays.. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (FealDorf) Comments The Guardian http://osnews.com/thread?367124 http://osnews.com/thread?367124 A flavor of the damage this stuff is doing to Apple can be seen from this MSM story

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/jun/04/apple-iphone

Apple needs to stop trying to control what its customers do with their software and their machines. The more it tries, the more it loses. It is on a hiding to noplace, attempting to control things that are non of its business, and as far as one can see, purely for the sake of control. There is no discernible reason why people should not read the Kama Sutra on their phones, access EFF materials, or install their purchased copies of OSX on the machines of their choice.

Apple appears to be trying to control what they do simply for the sake of controlling them. Utterly misguided. Unfortunately, the only explanation of the existence of this behavior is a corporate culture that is deeply twisted, and fundamentally opposed to one of the key ingredients in Western intellectual freedom. That is where it becomes not simply ridiculous, but loathsome. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (alcibiades) Comments How to build a good company http://osnews.com/thread?367125 http://osnews.com/thread?367125 1. Have a good product
2. Give a lot of stuff away for free(dom)
3. Don't do braindead shit like this


Companies _I_ like: Red Hat, Google

Companies _I_ avoid (If I can): Microsoft, Apple Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (kragil) Comments déjà vu http://osnews.com/thread?367129 http://osnews.com/thread?367129 This article reminds me of the recent story where Apple banned a Nine Inch Nails app (which streams some of their music) because Apple objected to one of the songs - despite the fact that Apple themselves sell said song on their iTunes store.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8039779.stm
(Trents reply to Apple does make be chuckle)


It really does feel like they have idiots in charge of the iPhone app store.Edited 2009-06-05 10:47 UTC Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:46:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Laurence) Comments Jailbreak or... http://osnews.com/thread?367136 http://osnews.com/thread?367136 http://www.iphonelinux.org/index.php/Main_Page

Lets hope the iPhone linux project matures some day soon. ;)

iPhone with Linux,Compiz, KDE4 or Gnome Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (pupdawg) Comments RE: Jailbreak or... http://osnews.com/thread?367141 http://osnews.com/thread?367141 iPhone is good on the hardware-side of things; it looks good, has a well-working and adequately sized touchscreen and all the bells and whistles you could imagine you'd need on a phone.

But the software side lacks. No support for MMS has already put off many people, and it's one of the reasons why I wouldn't buy iPhone. But also the Apple's tendency to try to limit and control the users is a good reason to avoid it. But when Linux is actually working well and fine on an iPhone it'll suddenly become every attractive to any homebrew dev, and will most likely very soon have every possible feature you could ask for, including MMS support. At that point I am all for an iPhone myself, too.

EDIT: Forgot to add that I don't suggest either GNOME or KDE4 for it without heavy modification. As a toolkit for the applications themselves Qt4 would be a good choice in that it is a lot easier to create fluid animations in Qt4 than GTK+, and on a small screen fluid, clear animations actually are useful for making it easier to see what's happening.Edited 2009-06-05 13:55 UTC Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:49:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (WereCatf) Comments RE: Jailbreak or... http://osnews.com/thread?367143 http://osnews.com/thread?367143
http://www.iphonelinux.org/index.php/Main_Page Lets hope the iPhone linux project matures some day soon. ;) iPhone with Linux,Compiz, KDE4 or Gnome


...Or buy an Android handset and not only have your fully functional phone with a Linux kernel, but also support the companies who are investing into open software. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:06:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Laurence) Comments Comment by daedalus8 http://osnews.com/thread?367145 http://osnews.com/thread?367145 I quick thought... What if Apple had the market share of Microsoft?

Oh man.. I think I'm gonna have nightmares tonight!! Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:21:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (daedalus8) Comments RE: The Guardian - irony http://osnews.com/thread?367154 http://osnews.com/thread?367154 I find it rather ironic that the two biggest offenders in the current software market are both born of a country founded by Hackers (yes, the founding fathers where political hackers and some very much hardware hackers). Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jabbotts) Comments RE[2]: Jailbreak or... http://osnews.com/thread?367155 http://osnews.com/thread?367155
...Or buy an Android handset and not only have your fully functional phone with a Linux kernel, but also support the companies who are investing into open software.


Exactly! I intentionally avoid all apple consumer products like the plaque. I refuse to support a company that excessively limits what you can do with their products. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (kenji) Comments RE: Jailbreak or... - Android on iPhone http://osnews.com/thread?367157 http://osnews.com/thread?367157 I so want to see iPhone running Android OS. Dual input sensing and everything.. oh that would make me laugh. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jabbotts) Comments RE: Comment by daedalus8 - been considered before http://osnews.com/thread?367160 http://osnews.com/thread?367160 If MS had not dominated the software market then someone else or multiple other's would have braught about the home computer market. Apple would have been a strong contender also but we'd end up with a much more restrictive market and potentially more towards embedded software. Of course, the FOSS folks where a reaction to Unix so that variable would also exist still; potentially more would have been motivated to explore it earlier. Maybe Apple would have put out a Vista in the mid 90s rather than people being motivated by Vista in the last few years.

Every time this idea pops into someone's head, the variables that didn't exist in the previous time make it a whole new "what if" outcome. ;) Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:24:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jabbotts) Comments Bah http://osnews.com/thread?367171 http://osnews.com/thread?367171 Other than Steve's fashion sense, the difference between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates isn't worth a bucket of warm spit. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Vinegar Joe) Comments Here's how it works http://osnews.com/thread?367178 http://osnews.com/thread?367178 There's an old saying, "I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it."

That, effectively, is one of the drivers in terms of evaluation of an App on the iPhone.

If an App on the iPhone leads to "objectionable material", then that material may just as well be bundled in within the App itself. At a minimum, the application is a gateway to objectionable material.

Now it's easy to say "I can surf the most heinous sites on the internet on Safari on the iPhone, what's the difference?"

Simple, the difference is that Apple doesn't know or care what you surf, and, specifically, it hasn't SEEN what you surf.

But if you create an app that acts as a portal to "heinous material", then the app is effectively that heinous material, and Apple isn't going to let that application through.

Apple tested this app and "saw" questionable content. If Apple had not see this content, the App would have likely passed. Because later, if someone complained that "I ran this app from the iPhone and got terrible content", Apple could justifiably say "well, it wasn't there when we reviewed the applications." They have reasonable deniability about the content.

But, here, Apple "saw" the content, now it "knows" it's there, so they're standing behind their content policy.

I think it's fair that Apple would allow a dedicated "disney.com" RSS reader rather than a dedicated "sexwithgoatsonfire.com" reader.

Perhaps later if they enable Parental Controls on the phone and app store, you can get your "sexwithgoatsonfire.com" RSS feedreader. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (whartung) Comments Comment by Kroc http://osnews.com/thread?367180 http://osnews.com/thread?367180 I can only imagine that the App Store approval process is staffed by people who have no technical knowledge at all and cannot separate code from content.

Apple are going to continue to have bad PR mess-ups like this one until they drastically re-think their approval process. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:25:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kroc) Comments RE: Here's how it works http://osnews.com/thread?367183 http://osnews.com/thread?367183 I guess what your saying is that when Apple tested the Safari browser, they did not go to Playboy.com and hence it pass the test. I guess the same logic would be true for their YouTube application also - during all their tests they never tested against material that could have 'offended' anyone.

Apple New/SameOld Moto: Your right to express depends on what we think of it. ;) Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dindin) Comments RE: Here's how it works http://osnews.com/thread?367198 http://osnews.com/thread?367198
But if you create an app that acts as a portal to "heinous material", then the app is effectively that heinous material, and Apple isn't going to let that application through.

Apple tested this app and "saw" questionable content. If Apple had not see this content, the App would have likely passed. Because later, if someone complained that "I ran this app from the iPhone and got terrible content", Apple could justifiably say "well, it wasn't there when we reviewed the applications." They have reasonable deniability about the content.


A: Apple changed their mind and unbanned the NIN app.

B: You really think someone is going to complain to Apple about "terrible content" from the EFF? You really think the EFF puts out content that is heinous and not worthy of being seen? OK fine you object to Downfall parodies. But srsly.. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (MamiyaOtaru) Comments RE[2]: Jailbreak or... http://osnews.com/thread?367214 http://osnews.com/thread?367214
...Or buy an Android handset and not only have your fully functional phone with a Linux kernel, but also support the companies who are investing into open software.


Fully functional only after you provide a Google ID, that is. Until then it's just a brick.

You need to root an Android phone the same way you need to jailbreak an iPhone if you actually want functionality on your terms. There's no free lunch with Google, or the providers. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (elsewhere) Comments just a guess http://osnews.com/thread?367229 http://osnews.com/thread?367229 I watched the parody, and while I can't really claim to know why Apple considers it offensive, I can guess: f-bomb and p word (the latter of which alone can make a movie rated R in the U.S. if it's said like two or three times). Maybe that's why? Also, don't forget that Hitler isn't exactly a happy image, so most people don't have any urge to see or hear things about him. (And if you loved this, I guess that means you hated Valkyrie, heh.) Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:39:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Rugxulo) Comments RE[3]: Jailbreak or... http://osnews.com/thread?367262 http://osnews.com/thread?367262

Fully functional only after you provide a Google ID, that is. Until then it's just a brick.


True, but you don't actually need to use any google tools against that ID once you've provided


You need to root an Android phone the same way you need to jailbreak an iPhone if you actually want functionality on your terms. There's no free lunch with Google, or the providers.


All rooting does is gives you a small handful of additional apps and beta OS updates (some of which aren't even stable).

And though you might be locked to T-Mobile with the G1, that's no different to the network locking on the majorety of any other phones these days (smart or bog standard handsets) Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Laurence) Comments RE[2]: Jailbreak or... http://osnews.com/thread?367269 http://osnews.com/thread?367269 I do plan to buy a Android handset soon but I would still love to see it run on the iPhone just too see Apple talk a hit where it counts. Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:20:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (pupdawg) Comments RE: déjà vu http://osnews.com/thread?367283 http://osnews.com/thread?367283
It really does feel like they have idiots in charge of the iPhone app store.


It sounds like they're employing the same geniuses who used to enforce the AOL TOS. AKA, the type of folks who would kick users offline for using the word "breast" in a breast cancer forum. Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (StephenBeDoper) Comments bleh http://osnews.com/thread?367304 http://osnews.com/thread?367304 Apple is a monopolistic p.o.s that deserves to go bankrupt. **** of a company to work for too. Oh, and iPhones suck. Sorry, retarded p.o.s hardware imho.

Dave Sat, 06 Jun 2009 22:55:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (melkor) Comments RE[2]: The Guardian - irony http://osnews.com/thread?367311 http://osnews.com/thread?367311 It's more ironic that Steve Jobs and Woz used to hack AT&T's phone system with blue boxes, and now the iPhone is an AT&T exclusive in the U.S. that we mere mortals aren't supposed to hack, or else. Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Johann Chua) Comments Typical OSNews http://osnews.com/thread?367312 http://osnews.com/thread?367312 You guys whined about Eucalyptus, the Book Reader app on the iPhone and upped the irons to fight the power. Where was your follow revealing that Eucalyptus is now available on the iPhone?

http://th.ingsmadeoutofotherthin.gs/eucalyptus/Edited 2009-06-07 05:13 UTC Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tyrione) Comments RE: Typical OSNews http://osnews.com/thread?367323 http://osnews.com/thread?367323
You guys whined about Eucalyptus, the Book Reader app on the iPhone and upped the irons to fight the power. Where was your follow revealing that Eucalyptus is now available on the iPhone?

http://th.ingsmadeoutofotherthin.gs/eucalyptus/


I think your fanboyism got the best of you and is making you see things that aren't there. We never reported on Eucalyptus, nor did we report on the book reader app. Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom_Holwerda) Comments oh no! http://osnews.com/thread?367342 http://osnews.com/thread?367342 A politically correct, hypocritical company with with a monopolistic bent?
Say it aint so!
lol

Apple has always nauseated me.
I will not own or use ANYTHING of theirs.

In my eyes, they are worse than Microsoft. Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:58:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (solarcontrol) Comments RE[3]: The Guardian - hehe.. true http://osnews.com/thread?367379 http://osnews.com/thread?367379 Yup, Apple was funded by criminal enterprise. I can't hold that against them though as it would negate many big businesses. Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jabbotts) Comments