You'll never convince average Americans about the complexity of the problem. This is a massive systems problem, and we need law to guide how the system should operate so that the ecosystem around Apple doesn't suffer.
Or, perhaps, it’s not a system problem at all. “You’re all too dumb to understand this” isn’t much of an argument.
Getting the DOJ and congress to force Apple to open their platform is generally a terrible idea, and will not likely find broad support in the US or EU.
The fever dreams here of getting the US Congress to break up / force to open / regulate one of its darlings is surreal.
Not only is it politically and legally highly dubious (listen to the judge in the Epic case , she can barely contain her contempt for Epic’s line of argument), it will cause far more problems than it solves.
Solution 3, the most common solution available and that has a 100% track record: the market changes. People build new things, people buy different things. They don’t necessarily stop buying iPhones, but it becomes less important.
Case in point, Microsoft retains a PC monopoly with Windows. People still buy PCs. But no one really cares that much.
The smartphone App Store market is barely a decade old and we are ready to treat it like a utility to be enshrined for 50 years. It took decades to regulate electrical generation vs distribution. It also didn’t really “open things up”, it just enshrined the existing players as the standards.
The only pipe dream here is that the government will somehow force Apple to run other people’s App Store software on their devices, and remove any curation ability. Considering that curation and integration is what Customers actually want, I don’t see how any government enacts this in the consumer interests. It’s only in the interests of other vendors.
At best it would be an independent App Store approval process regulated by the government.
It absolutely is regulation. The vast majority of computers dating back to the 1960s didn’t allow you to install anything you wanted on them (if you wanted support!). My network switches (outside of merchant silicon) don’t allow it. The game consoles don’t allow it. My in-car computer doesn’t allow it.
The Personal Computer with its tinkerer and hobbyists roots is the exception. I think tinkering is great. But I also think it’s legitimate for a user to trust their device can’t be tinkered with.
The restrictions of the iPhone are a feature. Getting rid of them is getting rid of one of the main drivers for its success. I think forcing Apple to allow jailbreaks without blocks is legit, as it allows for tinkering. But that’s not generally what people have in mind: they want the full Apple experience except Apple can’t set the rules anymore, but retain all the responsibilities for support.
Let’s also be clear - if I was a software developer, I can download and install my own software on my iPhone - without jailbreak! - today, without the App Store, and without Apple review, using ad hoc distribution. So personal software install and tinkering has never never been the issue.
This is about ISVs that want to force apple to lower their security restrictions so their 3rd party stores can curate and sell whatever they want, and Apple still has to support everyone.
This is not going to happen by the EU or US governmentS. At best they might regulate the App store process. But governments won’t cross customers and customers will en masse object to a Wild West experience like the PC.
I do appreciate computers that don’t have restrictions, but I don’t want or need that in my phone. If you do, then go ahead and buy one that acts that way. The happy iPhone users will continue to live in their walled garden.
It has been 30 years, but there are FCC technical rules for consumer radio's. There are specific rules for channel requirements. Includes the ability to receive on all defined channels in the alloted band.
The comment about banning single channel radio's was from an old ham radio book. If you think about it an old school AM radio that works on a single channel can be made really cheaply. I think you only need one tube and a couple of components.
If you look online you don't see anything about technical requirements. But you do notice that historically the FCC has had a serious bug up it's butt about making sure no one could buy up all the stations in an area. So you can imagine what the old FCC thought about radio stations selling radio's that can't pick up their competitors stations.
I don't use apple products. Voting with your wallet is the only kind of voting the corporates understand.. besides shitstorms on social media.
I use Android but will pay for a Linux phone as soon as one can be bought here in Denmark (importing can be really expensive) and I would happily pay a monthly fee to not be tracked/targeted (be free of Google at last).
That's your opinion. Android is not perfect but at least I am free to sideload anything I want without jailbreak so I'm not stuck in Google's walled garden.
>I can't stop giving Apple money, because it will very adversely affect the quality of my life
Jesus, in what first world is giving up on Apple impacting one's quality of life? This is meme material.
Of course it's my opinion. Did you read it as an universal statement on everyone's behalf?
And it is my world where giving up Apple smartphones and tablets will effectively means not using any of these, because as I said there are no suitable alternatives. So doing that will make my life far less convenient and comfortable than it is and it's not a real option.
"Jesus, in what first world is giving up on Apple impacting one's quality of life?"
Likewise, this is also just your opinion. Why can't you accept other peoples opiniin on their idea of quality of life?
And it actually makes sense to me (even though I never use apples products). Because it means changing (allmost) all your apps and software. Everything you set up to your liking. Don't you think changing this is hard and therefore lowers quality of life?
Sure, if you feel a walled garden improves your life go ahead, but don't be surprised later when the owner of the garden takes advantage of you being locked in.
