
Apple Judge ‘Inclined’ to Unblock Epic’s Unreal Engine but Not Fortnite - JumpCrisscross
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-24/apple-judge-inclined-to-unblock-epic-tools-but-not-fortnite
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vaxman
Sorry the Bloomberg link showed me a purported recent picture of Celine Dion
and I found it hard to concentrate.

Seriously, we the people need to force Apple and Google to authorize qualified
third-party app stores and open source the minimum level of development tools
to support the hardware, even if they decide to never sell another device
again. “It’s just that simple.” (Yeah, I know Google already voluntarily does
this, but why target Apple —this should apply to any other manufacturer that
mass-produces and “corners” the unsuspecting public market with proprietary
systems, even automotive entertainment units.)

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codestic
The fact that you say “force Apple” is really all there is to know. Apple
isn’t the boogeyman here. Ruf had it US coming and the judge clearly sees it
too.

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TiltMeSenpai
You can already authorize an arbitrary third party Android app to act as an
app store, the only thing stopping you is your own decision making. Can't do
that with iOS. You can even build your own AOSP device from scratch if you
feel like, and it would be completely compatible with everything in the
Android ecosystem (assuming you did a good job). If one party is making an
effort to support open software lifecycles, while another is actively trying
to inhibit them, isn't it the government's job to step in and correct? If not,
why do we even put up with government in the first place?

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xuki
Well, that only happens if Apple is deemed a monopoly. A non-monopoly can do
whatever it wants with its store. It will take years for anything to happen,
look how long it took Microsoft back in the 90s.

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SyneRyder
The judge is already leaning in the direction of monopoly, she sees no
competition (and deliberate acts to block competition) to the App Store on the
iPhone itself. Quoting her comments to Apple's counsel:

 _" There is no competition. The question is, without competition, where does
the 30 percent (App Store commission) come from? Why isn't it 10? 20? How is
the consumer benefiting from, you (Apple) get to say what you want it to be?"
she asked._

[https://www.itnews.com.au/news/judge-inclined-to-block-
apple...](https://www.itnews.com.au/news/judge-inclined-to-block-apples-move-
to-hamper-epics-developers-552339)

~~~
xuki
The actual trial is not gonna happen any time soon, this is only for an
emergency injunction to stop Apple from cutting Epic access to Apple
Development tools. Watching the whole thing it's likely Fortnite will be off
the App Store for the time being, and Epic will be able to continue to support
Unreal Engine.

~~~
vaxman
The major companies in Silicon Valley are already facing legislative scrutiny
right now (Tim Apple testified in front of Congress a couple weeks ago and
looked shocked at the revelations being thrown at him —I am guessing he will
be firing a whole lot of people who must have known about that stuff, but
forgot to mention it during their briefings). In addition, there are publicly
announced anti-trust investigations underway by the Exexutive branch in US,
EU, Russia and beyond. Sure there will be fines for past deeds, but they can
shut it all down by allowing users to shop at any app store they want.

