Oh, Apple... isn't this what got Micro$oft in trouble?

Recently updated iTunes and found this waiting for me in my MacBook Pro’s dock:



And magically an icon for Apples new App Store appears in my dock. Anti-trust much? :

Apple Inc.: A prominent new reason we need a pro-Net Neutrality Law

I noticed this over the past few weeks as I read various coverage of iPhone apps that Apple was and was not letting get through.  Check out these headlines:

Radio Station Apps: No Longer Welcome in the App Store

Apple Bans Android Magazine From The App Store

Why Does Apple Make Donation Apps So Hard?

In short, Apple seems to be using it’s position to stop certain information from getting onto it’s devices.  Want to listen to your favorite local radio station now that you live in a different city? Sorry, you won’t be able to on your iPhone.  That’s a shame since it’s just a little station with a tiny budget and not much ability to reach a national audience. Now, thanks to Apple, a great (and inexpensive) channel for reaching a national audience is gone.

Then, we’ve got Apple deciding whether or not you can read about competitors to Apple on Apple devices.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t like Apple telling me what I can and can’t read on my iDevice.  Sure, I can always pull up that Android magazine’s website in Safari, but then, what’s the difference between Safari and an app?

Finally, that last article I link to above talks about how Apple has stopped accepting apps that allow in-app donations to charity orgs (or anyone else).  Why is this? It sure seems like it’s because it means money passes through Apple’s infrastructure without them getting a cut.

Over all, I feel that it’s this kind of “walled garden” mentality that makes us less free as consumers.  When we start accepting limits on what content we are allowed to consume and how we consume that content, I think we become less free as a people, too.

You don’t really appreciate how important Net Neutrality is until you don’t have it anymore.

iPhone App Programmer sneaks tethering back-door into flashlight. Apple yanks app.

gtmcknight:

Flashlight iPhone app has secret enable tethering mode

This link posted while tethering from the highway! It works!!

But Apple yanked the app already :(

No, you mustn’t get something for cheap or free!

iPhone App Store Not as Vetted as Claimed

One of the annoying things about the App Store, Apple's method for delivering Apple-sanctioned applications to your iPhone, is the inconsistency. I've read that many developers are having a helluva time dealing with Apple. Some apps are rejected because of typos in the descriptions, while others are rejected out of hand with no explanation at all.

Then there are the apps that make it on to the App Store when they really shouldn't. I have lost count of how many apps I've downloaded only to find that they refuse to open or work at all once they do open.

To be sure, most of the apps I've tried have worked fine. I just don't understand how apps that so obviously suck don't get filtered from the system while others get through--as in the case of the above screencapped app. It's an app called "Codes Retard." At first, I thought it was some sort of reference app for programmers. You know like "Coding for Dummies" or something. Then I tried to find out what it was and... whoops!

I'm not sure how Apple can justify rejecting some Apps for typos when this thing made it into the US App Store with the entirely wrong language--AND with the claim that it's in English.

I just hope Apple makes the NetShare app available again. I'm so annoyed I didn't know there was an app that allowed you to tether your iPhone before it was yanked.

Tethering, FYI, is when you plug your laptop into your cell phone and allow your laptop to use the cell phone's data connection to surf. Yeah, it's obvious why Apple yanked NetShare, but leaving it up would make them look like they actually cared about what their customers wanted.
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