Item — HN Reader

A few things: first, I have been enjoying the author's blog posts on using Gambit-C Scheme, so this is personally annoying.

Wider issues: what a bad decision on Apple's part. I used to be a huge Apple fan (I wrote the free chess program that Apple gave away when they released the Apple II, did a Mac commercial app in '84, and used to treat the 6 volumes of Inside Mac developer's guides as ancient and precious religious texts). The issues with the appstore crap-shoot are irritating, even just reading about other people's experiences.

Apple is now a very valuable company and their behavior seems to be changing.

1 comments

In this, Apple is analogous to a totalitarian state. Most corporations fit this model with regards to their properties. They arbitrarily had closed off their harbors and borders (no native 3rd party iPhone apps) but then saw the opportunity to make a lot of money and opened the doors. (iPhone SDK and App Store.)

We should not be surprised when a totalitarian state employs arbitrary coercive actions in its own interest, and this is not the first such maneuver by a closed source company. We should be in the mindset of people doing business in a totalitarian state. We should be aware that there is an iron hand under that velvet glove and that equitable treatment under that regime is motivated by that regime's self interest, not by a principle like the rule of law.

Open Source = The Rule of Law? I never made that comparison before.

(I will continue to prepare to do business in the totalitarian state, but I will be a good little merchant and try my best to avoid notice, and I won't be surprised if I find the police closing up my shop sometime.)