

Gruber is wrong about OpenAppMkt the fight for open is about distribution - voidfiles
http://alexkessinger.net/story/gruber-wrong-about-openappmkt-fight-open-about-distribution

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tptacek
This is a semantic argument that boils down to the question of whether Apple
is happy to have a vibrant marketplace of HTML5 applications or whether it
sees those applications as a threat to its tightly-controlled app store. If
HTML apps are a threat, they are indeed "routing around" an obstacle set up by
Apple.

But there's no evidence at all that Apple sees HTML applications as a threat;
Jobs himself has repeatedly promoted them as a means of delivering cross-
platform apps, or apps that aren't appropriate for his app store. Apple as a
company promotes its adoption of HTML5 and showcases features in HTML that
provide app-like experiences.

I just don't see a lot of controversy here.

~~~
semanticist
If you want any more evidence to show that Apple are heavily in favour or HTML
applications, just look at Dashcode. It's essentially an iPhone webapp IDE,
providing a framework to make 'native' feeling apps.

People set their level of expectations according to the distribution channel.
If you go to some web page, you're not surprised if it doesn't work well or
has obnoxious adverts, and everyone knows that the web is full of porn.

An App Store experience is expected to be better. People hold Apple
responsible for curating the App Store, so it can't be as open as the web.
People demanded that curated experience because closed/curated is simpler and
easier to work with.

Ultimately, I don't see Apple caring how your app is distributed - through
their closed platform or the open HTML platform - as long as people keep
buying their phones.

It's easy to apply FSF-style ideology to Apple's decisions, but ultimately,
they're really only interested in selling stuff. (Which means making stuff
people want to buy.)

~~~
voidfiles
My point was that if someone created a distribution channel to rival how good
the App Store is, not what we have now. There is not App Store "killer" out
there right now, but they only way to get an app store killer is to start
making an alternative.

If it because a good competitor, then it could put developers in a position
where they would need to make a decision. This one, or that one. At that point
if you had a store that was more open, then the App Store, I think you could
break the control of the App Store.

Again, I don't think we have that right now, but you have to start somewhere.

