
Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister discusses
10 ways locked-down app store delivery models limit choice for developers -- and ultimately hurts users. The model, best known in the form of
Apple's notoriously finicky iPhone App Store, has established an entirely new relationship between software vendors and consumers, one some are calling 'curated computing,' a mode in which choice is constrained to deliver more relevant, less complex experiences. This model, deemed essential to the success of tablets, provides questionable value to developers, undermining their interests in a variety of ways. From disproportionate profit cuts, to curator veto powers, to poor security, fragmentation, and
hostility to free software, developers must sacrifice a lot to 'curated computing' to get their wares into the hands of end-users.
Member since:
2006-02-06
Agreed with the above. Doid does. This article is really a bitch about Apple's app store more than a relevant bitch about app stores generically.
Android has an app store but developers can offer their apps directly from their own websites if they like. Android also supports alternative app stores such as Mobihand. If you want freedom, the choice is pretty clear to me.
Edited 2010-07-10 04:12 UTC